Budget airline links decision to airspace risks from war in neighbouring Ukraine and tensions with Russia
Wizz Air will suspend all its flights to and from Moldova next month due to security concerns linked to growing tensions with Russia.
It comes after a Russian missile was fired over Moldovan airspace earlier this month.
Continue reading...Alan Joyce is keen to paint a rosy picture but he faces a public with higher expectations, less tolerance for poor service and a hunger for more affordable fares
After years of Covid-induced pain which saw Qantas haemorrhage billions of dollars, sack thousands of staff, record dismal on-time performances and frustrate customers with cancellations, lost baggage and eye-watering air fares, Australia’s national carrier is well and truly back in the black.
Qantas delivered an out-of-the-ordinary $1.43bn underlying net profit in the six months to December that was higher than the profit it recorded in a 12-month period leading up to the pandemic.
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Continue reading...Outage causes flight delays and cancellations after cables damaged during construction work
Thousands of passengers worldwide have been stranded after an IT fault at Germany’s flagship carrier Lufthansa caused flight delays and disruption at airlines across the group.
The company said the problem was caused by damage to several of Deutsche Telekom’s glass-fibre cables during construction work in Frankfurt. Repairs would take until Wednesday afternoon, Lufthansa said.
Continue reading...More than 5.4m passengers travelled through airport in January, double the 2.6m from 2022
Heathrow airport had its busiest start to the year since before the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns in 2020 as travel restrictions continued to ease, according to data published on Monday.
More than 5.4 million passengers travelled through the UK’s and Europe’s busiest airport in January, double the 2.6 million from 2022, Heathrow said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.
Continue reading...Disability royal commissioner writes to company bosses after hearing of people dropped on the floor and discrimination against assistance dogs
The chair of the disability royal commission has written to Australian airline and airport chiefs about improving their treatment of travellers with disabilities, after the inquiry heard stories of people dropped on the floor and discrimination against assistance dogs.
The royal commission has so far heard that people with disabilities are routinely subject to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation when flying domestically, with participants telling the inquiry they felt airlines were “dehumanising” them and that complaints were rarely followed up. Advocates have told Guardian Australia that complaining through the Australian Human Rights Commission is often the only way to seek recourse.
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Continue reading...Tony Burke to appear in court as airline seeks to overturn November decision which found it illegally outsourced ground staff jobs
The federal government will join the Transport Workers’ Union’s (TWU) high court fight with Qantas as the airline bids to overturn a ruling that it illegally outsourced 1,700 ground handlers’ jobs.
The workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, filed a notice of appearance on 16 January to intervene in the case, in which Qantas hopes to overturn a full federal court decision exposing it to a mammoth compensation bill for laying off staff at 10 airports in November 2020.
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Continue reading...A Kenyan DJ’s post of being denied transit through Amsterdam has put the spotlight on airlines’ alleged racist policies
Emma Nzioka, a Kenyan performer and DJ known as Coco Em, was looking forward to the Terra Sagrada festival in Cape Verde for nearly a year. Some of her favourite African artists, such as Boddhi Satva, would be playing.
But Nzioka did not make it to the festival last month, or out of the country, for that matter. At the check-in counter in Kenya, she was told she could not board her flight unless she bought a return ticket with the same airline (she had one with another airline) to “prove” she would return home. Although Nzioka was going to Cape Verde, she was transiting through Amsterdam.
Continue reading...The national carrier leans into its emotional connection with Australians, so it is bound to be the focus of intense scrutiny
Perhaps the only place you could have escaped the news was onboard the plane itself.
When Qantas flight 144 issued a mayday call shortly after it left Auckland for Sydney on Wednesday, a familiar cycle kicked off that would have left many with a sense of deja vu: yet another problem on a Qantas flight. But this one seemed serious.
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Continue reading...Student debt cut for teachers who go rural; WA to ban display and possession of Nazi symbols. Follow the day’s news live
Growing impact of climate disasters on mental health revealed
In case you missed it, a new poll commissioned by the Climate Council shows that four in five Australians have experienced some form of natural disaster at least once since 2019.
This coal cap scheme will see NSW doing our part at the request of the Albanese government to contribute to the national solution of this national problem.
I know those currently providing coal for the local market will appreciate that companies enjoying super profits on the back of the war in Ukraine will now do their part for the domestic market.
Continue reading...Second distress signal in a month for airline after Singapore to London flight made emergency landing in Azerbaijan in late December
A Qantas flight from Auckland has landed safely in Sydney after issuing a mayday call mid-flight due to an “extremely rare” engine failure that meant the pilot had to land with one engine.
Qantas flight 144 landed at Sydney airport about 3.30pm on Wednesday. The Boeing 737 had left Auckland an hour late about 2.30pm local time.
Continue reading...Airline to continue aggressive post-Covid expansion, offering 10% more seats in the UK this summer compared with 2022
Ryanair took record numbers of bookings in January, the budget airline has announced, passing 2m sales in a weekend for the first time.
Its chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said there was no sign of a slowdown in demand despite the economic uncertainty.
Continue reading...Industry hopes China’s reopening might bring wider benefits for travellers with more airfare price competition
Chinese airlines are ramping up flights to Australia as Covid restrictions ease, boosting the prospects for a rapid rebound in travel between the two nations.
Airports said the market was dynamic with carriers large and small restarting routes dormant during the pandemic years, with more flights likely to be added as demand picks up.
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Continue reading...Search for Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared with 239 people on board should resume now that new equipment and data is available, expert says
The Australian government should get behind a new search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the man who headed up the initial search says, now that new equipment and data is available.
Peter Foley was the program director for the international effort, led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, to find the plane. MH370 went down on 8 March 2014, with 239 people on board. The disappearance of the plane is one of the world’s greatest enduring mysteries.
Continue reading...QF19 was three hours into New Year’s Day journey when pilots learned they could not land at Manila
A Manila-bound Qantas plane was forced to turn around mid-flight and return to Sydney after an air traffic control malfunction forced Philippine authorities to shut down the country’s airspace.
Flight QF19 departed Sydney shortly before 1pm local time on New Year’s Day and was about three hours into its eight-hour journey when pilots learned they would not be able to land at the plane’s destination.
Continue reading...The owner of Polaris decided to journey onward from San Francisco after paperwork difficulties arose for the young canine
One very good boy finally has a very loving home.
A puppy abandoned at the San Francisco International airport was adopted by an air pilot just in time for the holidays.
Continue reading...It comes as another Qantas flight leaving Sydney for London on Christmas Day was delayed from taking off due to a technical issue
A Qantas plane that was sent to Azerbaijan to recover passengers stranded after an emergency landing has finally arrived in London on Christmas morning, but a string of challenges has frustrated holiday plans for those onboard.
As relieved passengers queued at Baku airport to board what would be a six-hour flight to London on Sunday morning, the original Qantas plane that flew them to Baku remained on the ground, as engineers continue to be puzzled by the cause behind smoke detection alarms that forced the plane to make an emergency landing.
Continue reading...Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku airport and was met by emergency services on the runway
Qantas pilots on a flight from Singapore to London were forced to make an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan as their plane was flying over central Asia on Friday, due to concerns there was smoke in the cargo hold.
Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev international airport and was met by emergency services on the runway, after pilots reported 7700 – a code used to communicate an onboard emergency to air traffic controllers.
Continue reading...Settlement means airline has reached a pay deal with unions across Europe, excluding Belgium
Ryanair has reached a deal with its pilots in Ireland that will restore the 20% pay cuts the airline made during the Covid pandemic.
The four-year pay deal will also see low single-digit percentage rises for the carrier’s home nation pilots in the next three financial years until March 2027.
Continue reading...Airline blames technical issue for disruption at airports including Denver, New York and Miami
British Airways has apologised after a technical issue triggered a wave of flight delays across the US and the Caribbean.
The airline said problems with its third-party flight planning supplier were behind the delays, as customers reported disruption in departing cities including Denver, New York and Miami.
Continue reading...Passengers at most airports to be allowed two-litre containers of liquid, in major relaxation of 2006 rules
Rules around taking liquids and laptops through airport security will be eased from June 2024, the government has said.
The announcement of the biggest relaxation of aviation security regulations in decades confirms reports last month that the change would come in the year after next.
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