Passenger recalls seeing cabin lights flicker and ‘a lot of screaming’ after suspected engine issue
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Liza-Jayne Loch was returning home from a business trip to New Zealand when her Qantas flight ran into trouble.
The plane was climbing above the scenic South Island’s mountain ranges on Saturday afternoon, bound for Sydney, when a bang shook the cabin.
Continue reading...Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a week
Airbus has bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series of strikes over its chief executive’s return-to-the office orders.
The world’s largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. At present, staff are able to work remotely for two.
Continue reading...Fan blade broke off shortly after takeoff on 10 July flight from Greece to Germany, preliminary findings show
Broken engine parts were responsible for shattering a window on a Ryanair plane, causing a passenger to be partly sucked out mid-flight in July, US investigators have said.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found an engine fan blade broke off shortly after takeoff on the 10 July flight from Greece to Germany shattering the window and damaging the fuselage.
Continue reading...Incheon airport had 38.39m international passengers in first half of 2026, as traffic diverted from Middle East hubs
South Korea’s Incheon airport has become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, in part owing to disruption in the Middle East caused by the Iran war.
The airport, South Korea’s main gateway, about 30 miles (48km) west of Seoul, handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of 2026, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade body for airports.
Continue reading...Female staff alleged company failed to maintain safe workplace, after allegations of sexual assault against pilot
The Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay C$4.5m (£2.4m) to settle a decade-long sexual harassment class action lawsuit levelled by its female flight attendants, who alleged the company failed to maintain a safe workplace.
The suit followed allegations by Mandalena Lewis, a former flight attendant, that a pilot had sexually assaulted her and a colleague, but that WestJet kept the pilot flying, thereby putting other employees at risk.
Continue reading...Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failed
A Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to wear a seatbelt.
The child was standing in their chair as the 6 August Porter Airlines flight taxied towards the runway, the airline said. Repeated attempts by an accompanying parent and crew to secure the child in their seat failed, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark as “the aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition”, it added.
Continue reading...Air transport hub in west London reports 7.86m passengers in July, compared with 8.15m for Istanbul’s new airport away from the city
Istanbul airport has overtaken Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers, leading the London hub to say its “case for expansion has never been clearer”.
Figures published on Tuesday showed 7.9 million passengers passed through Heathrow’s terminals in July, compared with Istanbul’s 8.15 million.
Continue reading...Airline says struggling to find room in overhead lockers on planes a ‘stressful part of the airport experience’
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Jetstar will charge its passengers up to $52 to put carry-on baggage in the overhead locker, in a major change to the budget airline’s carry-on rules.
In a press release on Wednesday morning, the airline announced it would remove the 7kg weight limit for carry-on bags, beginning in February 2027. There will still be size restrictions.
Continue reading...Lib Dems call on PM to push for suspension of ‘bungled, malfunctioning’ system as overseas holiday travel peaks
Andy Burnham has been urged to lobby EU leaders directly to suspend the new entry-exit system, EES, as the peak weekend for overseas holidays begins.
About 2.2 million British holidaymakers are expected to head abroad between Friday and Monday, the majority to Europe, with all schools in the UK now on their summer break.
Continue reading...Such technology solves problem of longer, thinner, energy-saving wings not fitting in airports around the world
Airbus has said it will test folding wings for the next generation of its bestselling planes, as the world’s largest planemaker races to work out the shape of future commercial aircraft by the end of the decade.
Longer, thinner wings made of light but strong composite materials offer the promise of energy savings but present a problem for manufacturers because they will not fit in airports around the world, many of which are already at or near full capacity.
Continue reading...Digital customs declaration to be phased in at all international airports and seaports after successful Qantas trial
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The days of filling out paper arrival cards are to end for millions of travellers arriving in Australia on international flights.
The Albanese government has announced it will roll out digital passenger cards to all Australian international airports and seaports after a “successful” trial on Qantas flights into Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Continue reading...Serbian man reportedly saved by wife hanging on to his legs after window shattered on journey from Greece
A passenger on a Ryanair flight was reportedly almost sucked out of a window after it shattered in mid-air during a journey from Greece.
The man was said to have been lifted out of his seat into the plane’s slipstream and hung headfirst out of the window after an engine failure resulted in parts smashing the acrylic window, according to local reports.
Continue reading...Early flight data shows K2 Airways plane crashed into sea with five crew on board south-west of Karachi
Pakistan has located the wreckage of a Boeing cargo plane, the country’s airports authority said, adding that rescuers were searching for the five crew members on board when the aircraft went missing.
The plane was approaching Karachi from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates when radar showed it “rapidly descending” on Tuesday evening after reporting a “navigational system issue”, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).
Continue reading...Airlines and airports say passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours for biometric checks
Airlines and airports have called for the new EU biometric border check system to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period,saying some flights are leaving half full and passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours.
In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, airlines and airports asked for an option to suspend checks under the system over fears the situation will get much worse during the busy summer season.
Continue reading...Passengers report being stuck on grounded planes in sweltering conditions as severe weather causes travel disruption across Europe
Thunderstorms have caused severe delays to hundreds of flights at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, leaving passengers stuck on grounded planes for hours in the scorching heat.
Overnight, downpours and thunderstorms lit up the skies of London after back-to-back days of 30C-plus weather as the UK and much of Europe experienced a record-breaking heatwave.
Continue reading...Airports CEO says letting non-EU passengers skip entry-exit system would be only way to avoid peak season travel chaos
Rome’s airports will have to suspend the EU’s new digital border system for non-EU citizens to avoid a “disaster” during the peak tourism summer months, according to the head of the airports company.
Marco Troncone said that allowing passengers to skip the biometric entry-exit system (EES) was the only way of avoiding travel chaos over the summer amid warnings from other European airport officials.
Continue reading...Budget airline describes inquiry as ‘bogus’ as watchdog says it is only large carrier flying from UK to impose charge
Europe’s biggest low-cost airline, Ryanair, is facing an investigation over the mandatory fee it charges a parent to sit with their child.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the Irish carrier’s terms and conditions require at least one parent to sit with their children, including those with disabilities, and bills them about £8 a flight to do so.
Continue reading...Firms given maximum fine of €225,000 each and are expected to appeal after lower court had cleared them
A Paris appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio-Paris plane crash that killed 228 passengers and crew.
The verdict is the latest milestone in a legal marathon involving two of France’s most emblematic companies and families of the mainly French, Brazilian and German victims of France’s worst air disaster.
Continue reading...Under aviation regulator proposals rival companies would bid to design and build parts of airport expansion
Heathrow could be forced to allow other companies to design and build its third runway and new terminal after the UK aviation regulator argued that rival bids could keep construction costs down.
A long-awaited review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposes changes to the regulatory model that governs how Heathrow runs and covers its costs.
Continue reading...Impact of disruption from Iran war may be felt into 2027 even if strait of Hormuz reopens, says aviation body boss
Increases in air fares for travellers in Europe are “inevitable” over the peak summer period because of the high cost of jet fuel, according to the head of the international aviation body.
While some airlines faced with weak demand have reduced their European fares recently, Willie Walsh, the former British Airways boss who leads the International Air Transport Association, said there was no way carriers could absorb the extra costs in the long run.
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