Category Archives: Airline industry

Airbus to test folding wings for next generation of bestselling planes

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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.

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Australia to ditch paper arrival cards for incoming travellers

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Digital customs declaration to be phased in at all international airports and seaports after successful Qantas trial

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.

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Ryanair passenger almost sucked out of shattered window during flight

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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.

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Search under way after Boeing 737 cargo plane goes missing off Pakistan coast

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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).

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Call to suspend new EU border system in peak holiday period as planes leave half full

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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.

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Thunderstorms disrupt Gatwick and Heathrow as hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled

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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.

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Rome airports threaten to suspend new EU passport system to avoid summer ‘disaster’

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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.

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Ryanair investigated over charging parents to sit with their children

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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.

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Air France and Airbus guilty of corporate manslaughter for 2009 plane crash

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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.

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Heathrow could be forced to allow other firms to build third runway to cut costs

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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.

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‘Inevitable’ jet fuel shortages will drive up air fares this summer, says Willie Walsh

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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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Frontier Airlines plane fatally strikes person during takeoff at Denver airport

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Passengers evacuated safely after person jumped perimeter fence and walked on to runway, airport spokesperson says

A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a person on the runway of Denver’s international airport during takeoff, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate, authorities said.

The plane, headed to Los Angeles, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff” at about 11.19pm on Friday, the Denver airport’s official X account wrote.

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Airline emissions in Europe top pre-Covid levels despite pledge to decarbonise

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Promises to cut emissions and use more fuel-efficient planes fail to stop rise, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% up on 2019

Emissions from flying in Europe have now passed pre-pandemic levels, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% higher than in 2019, research has shown.

Total aviation emissions continue to increase despite industry pledges to decarbonise and the introduction of more fuel-efficient planes, driven by the massive expansion of low-cost carriers.

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Airlines among companies using fuel surcharges to cover surge in costs, UK survey shows

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Firms raising prices at fastest rate in three years, driven by soaring energy and wage bills but also extra materials costs

Airlines and other companies are increasingly using fuel surcharges to cover soaring costs, a survey has found, in a further sign of Iran war-linked inflation hitting the economy.

A poll of companies in the services sector, which includes airlines, found rising fuel prices had contributed to businesses raising prices at the fastest pace in more than three years in April.

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Nigerian refinery accused of sacking union members is key to UK plan to tackle jet fuel shortage

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Heidi Alexander says part of answer to strait of Hormuz crisis is importing more fuel from US and west Africa

A refinery in Nigeria accused of dismissing workers for joining a union has emerged as key to the UK government’s hopes of saving the summer holiday amid a jet fuel shortage.

Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said at the weekend that part of the answer to the strait of Hormuz crisis was to import more fuel from the US and west Africa.

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Heathrow in talks with airlines to end row that could delay third runway

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Airport seeks deal with BA owner, Virgin and billionaire local landowner, who has own expansion plan, over cost and service issues

Heathrow’s new chair has opened talks with airlines and the billionaire local landowner Surinder Arora to defuse a row that threatens to further delay the £49bn plan to build a third runway at Europe’s busiest airport.

Philip Jansen, who was appointed at the start of the year, is understood to have held meetings with the airport’s carriers and with Arora, who has been promoting his own £25bn expansion scheme, in the hope of finding the middle ground in a row over cost and service issues.

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Political blame game begins and passengers left adrift after Spirit ceases operations

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Republicans blame Biden administration block on JetBlue deal; Democrats point to fuel price surge amid Iran war

US airlines and government officials battled on Saturday to deal with stranded passengers and stricken employees after discount carrier Spirit Airlines abruptly ceased operations – and a political and business blame game got under way over the collapse of the low-cost carrier.

“If you have a flight scheduled with Spirit Airlines, don’t show up at the airport; there will be no one here to assist you,” the US secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, warned at a press conference after laying out measures for customers booked with the Florida-based company to obtain refunds or find discounted flights on other airlines.

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UK eases airline penalties as jet fuel shortages threaten flights

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Carriers will retain airport slots if they cancel services as passengers are urged to continue with travel plans

Penalties on airlines that cancel UK flights because of jet fuel shortages have been eased, it has emerged, as the government issued fresh advice to reassure the public they can still fly and should stick to travel plans.

Airlines that cancel owing to a lack of fuel will not lose their rights to valuable takeoff and landing slots at busy airports, which can be forfeited when flights fail to operate over a period.

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White House close to deal of up to $500m to rescue ailing Spirit Airlines

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Rising costs have continued to plague the company, now facing soaring fuel costs due to the war with Iran

The White House is finalizing a financing package to help ailing US budget carrier Spirit Airlines, which could receive as much as $500m in loans as rising costs continue to plague the company.

News of the potential deal comes as Spirit and others struggle with soaring fuel costs due to the war with Iran.

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Air Canada temporarily suspends some flights to New York and other locations

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Spirit Airlines reportedly seeks emergency US government funding as war against Iran keeps aviation fuel costs high

Air Canada has announced a temporary suspension of flights from Toronto and Montreal to New York’s John F Kennedy airport, citing rising fuel prices.

The move comes amid growing concerns that airlines worldwide may scale back services as aviation fuel costs climb in the wake of the US and Israel’s ongoing war with Iran, which entered a fragile ceasefire earlier in April. Although Iran announced on Friday that the strait of Hormuz had reopened, helping ease oil prices, fuel costs remain significantly elevated after weeks of disruption.

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