Category Archives: Airline industry

Aviation chiefs rejected measures to curb climate impact of jet vapours

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Airline industry claimed science not ‘robust’ enough to implement new controls to combat climate warming caused by vapour trails

Airlines and airports opposed measures to combat global warming caused by jet vapour trails that evidence suggests account for more than half of the aviation industry’s climate impact, new documents reveal.

The industry argued in government submissions that the science was not “robust” enough to justify reduction targets for these non-CO2 emissions. Scientists say the climate impact of vapour trails, or contrails, has been known for more than two decades, with one accusing the industry of a “typical climate denialist strategy”.

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Qantas criticised for ‘unfair’ Covid credit scheme despite 12-month extension

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Choice says flight credits should work like gift cards with customers able to split them over a number of transactions

Qantas and Jetstar are being criticised for an “unfair” Covid credit scheme, despite extending the deadline for customers to use the credits by 12 months.

The airlines announced on Thursday they were giving customers an additional 12 months to use their Covid credits, carry-overs from the extensive cancellations and border closures that came during the pandemic.

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Heathrow told to cut passenger charges in move that could lower fares

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Decision by Civil Aviation Authority comes despite airport having argued for higher fees

Heathrow airport has been ordered to cut average passenger charges by about 20% next year, in a move that could translate to lower ticket prices for travellers.

The decision by the UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) comes despite Heathrow having argued for higher fees, which are charged to airlines and are used to fund baggage handling, security and other costs across the airport’s terminals.

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Man arrested in Pennsylvania after explosive allegedly found in check-in bag

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Security discovered device during screening and suspect was apprehended after he left Lehigh Valley airport

A man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked on to a Florida-bound flight at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, federal authorities said.

Marc Muffley, 40, is charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft, according to a criminal complaint.

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JetBlue pilot’s ‘evasive action’ averts crash at Boston’s Logan airport

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A Learjet on Monday was directed to wait for passenger plane to land but began to take off, forcing JetBlue craft to ‘climb out’

US aviation authorities are investigating a near miss at Boston’s Logan international airport after a JetBlue pilot had to take “evasive action” while landing when another aircraft crossed an intersecting runway.

The close call occurred at about 7pm on Monday when the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as a JetBlue flight was preparing to land on an intersecting runway, according to a preliminary review from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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Lufthansa’s ‘green’ adverts banned in UK for misleading consumers

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Airline claim that it was protecting the world’s future is latest ad to fall foul of ASA rules

An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the campaign – which featured a plane with an image of the Earth on its underside and the strapline: “Connecting the world. Protecting its future” – over concerns the German airline was giving consumers a “misleading impression of its environmental impact”.

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UK Border Force urged to ‘deprioritise’ gun and drugs searches to ease queues

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Exclusive: Leaked emails show airport staff were guided to ease passenger waits during school holidays

Airport managers have asked Border Force officers to “deprioritise” customs work such as searching for guns and drugs in order to stop passport queues frustrating travellers.

Leaked emails show that staff at Manchester airport were told this month that customs work should be carried out only if “there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time”.

Any staff who are contingency trained should be prioritised to the PCP [Primary Control Point] when required to prevent excessive queues.

Customs work is deprioritised and will only be carried out when you are satisfied there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time or in the event of a cat A target,” he wrote.

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Wizz Air to suspend Moldova flights due to security fears

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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.

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Qantas delivered a record profit for investors. But can it win back the respect of everyday travellers?

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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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Lufthansa IT failure leaves thousands of passengers stranded

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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.

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Heathrow has busiest start to year since before Covid lockdowns

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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.

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Australia’s airlines and airports urged to improve treatment of travellers with disabilities

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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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Federal government to intervene in transport union’s high court fight against Qantas

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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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‘Ritual humiliations’: African music stars struggle to get visas to Europe

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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.

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Fixation on Qantas won’t end, even if string of incidents were unconnected

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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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News live updates: Australian leaders react to Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation; Queensland braces for severe storms

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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.

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Qantas flight from Auckland lands safely in Sydney after issuing mayday call

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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.

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Ryanair enjoys record January with 2m sales in a weekend for the first time

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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.

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Travel between China and Australia tipped to rebound rapidly as Chinese airlines ramp up flights

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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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Australia should back new search for MH370, says top official who led first effort

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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.

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