Airline says cyber-attack is not responsible for problem affecting its website and airport operations
British Airways has said “significant technical issues” resulted in a number of flight cancellations and disruption across its operation on Friday.
The airline said the problem, which was affecting its website, app and airport operations, had not been caused by a cyber-attack.
Continue reading...In the damning new Netflix documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, the errors and oversights that led to two crashes are examined
For the vast majority of travelers, stepping foot on an airplane entails a tremendous act of near-blind faith. We control our own cars, trains operate on set tracks at ground level, but flying requires us to put total trust in the expertise of a complete stranger to operate a machine too complex for us to understand. Every time these gargantuan hunks of metal don’t plummet screaming from the sky towards a certain fiery doom, it feels like a miracle, even if that’s how the majority of flights play out. Rory Kennedy’s damning new documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing takes a close look at two incidents included within the small number of flights when things go wrong, and shows us the tragedy that strikes when that sacred compact between passenger and airline is violated.
“I fly a good deal, and the truth is I’ve got a bit of a fear of flying,” Kennedy tells the Guardian from behind the wheel of her car, talking transit in transit. “I like to think that when I walk down that jetway, the manufacturer of that plane is invested in keeping it up in the air, that the regulatory agencies focused on safety are doing in their job, and that at least in our country, the government is making sure the regulatory agencies enforce those safety measures. In this case, it seems that all of those agencies failed us.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Thousands of near-empty planes flown since March 2020, new figures reveal
Almost 15,000 “ghost flights” have departed from the UK, according to newly revealed official figures.
The ghost flights, defined as those with no passengers or less than 10% of passenger capacity, operated from all 32 airports listed in the data. Heathrow was top, with 4,910 ghost flights between March 2020 and September 2021. Manchester and Gatwick were the next highest. There were an average of 760 ghost flights a month over the period, although the data covered only international departure and not domestic flights.
Continue reading...Requirement to take lateral flow test will end from 4am on 11 February, cheered by airlines as a ‘landmark’
Coronavirus testing for double-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK will be scrapped from 4am on 11 February.
In a boost for travel firms and families planning trips abroad, eligible passengers will no longer have to take a post-arrival lateral flow test (LFT). The change will save families about £100 a trip. The industry body Airlines UK said it was a “landmark day”.
Continue reading...Shane McInerney allegedly refused to wear a mask, threw a can at another passenger and mooned at a flight attendant
An Irishman who refused to wear a Covid mask during a flight from Dublin to New York and exposed his rear end to a flight attendant faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of assault, the US justice department said on Friday.
Shane McInerney, 29, from Galway, was alleged to have caused the disturbance on a Delta Airlines flight on 7 January.
Continue reading...Report from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows domestic flights were down by almost 60%
Air travel in and out of the UK slumped by 71% in 2021 as the second year of the Covid-19 crisis took its toll on international flying, according to a report.
Just over 406,000 international flights operated from the UK up to 22 December this year compared with almost 1.4m in 2019 before the pandemic struck and travel restrictions were imposed, the aviation analytics firm Cirium said. UK domestic flights were found to have declined by almost 60%.
Continue reading...Passengers returning home for festive season face disruption as Omicron leaves airlines short-staffed
Passengers travelling home for Christmas have been hit with disruption worldwide after airline companies cancelled more than 3,000 flights on Friday, according to a flight tracking website.
The surge of Christmas Eve cancellations came as the rapidly spreading Omicron coronavirus variant meant carriers were unable to staff their flights.
Continue reading...The ‘unspecified breach’ in Frankfurt led to 150 other employees being quarantined for three weeks under Hong Kong’s strict rules
Cathay Pacific Airways has sacked three cargo pilots for becoming infected with Covid-19 during a layover in Frankfurt, citing an unspecified “serious breach” of crew rules while overseas.
“The individuals concerned are no longer employed by Cathay Pacific,” the company said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Continue reading...Months after Mohadese Mirzaee became Afghanistan’s first female commercial airline pilot, the Taliban took Kabul. Now a refugee in Bulgaria, she is determined to fly again
Sitting alone in her small flat in Bulgaria, Mohadese Mirzaee contemplates the future. Three months ago, she left behind her family, and her dream job, in Afghanistan. At 23, Mirzaee was the country’s first female commercial airline pilot.
“Today, I don’t know where to go, but I’m not giving up. I’ve started applying for pilot jobs anywhere because I know I need to get back to flying,” she says by phone from the capital, Sofia.
Continue reading...‘Significant milestone’ paves way for families of 157 victims of 2019 crash to seek compensation, say lawyers
Boeing has admitted full responsibility for the second crash of its 737 Max model in Ethiopia, in a legal agreement with families of the 157 victims.
Lawyers for the families said it was a “significant milestone” for families to achieve justice.
Continue reading...British Airways flight BA001 and Virgin Atlantic flight VS3 performed a synchronised departure from Heathrow on Monday heading for New York JFK for the first time since the US travel ban was introduced due to pandemic
Continue reading...In deserts in Australia and the US, engineers are dusting off aircraft, testing engines and ridding them of rattlesnakes and insects
In the red dust of the Australian desert, more than a hundred shiny planes are lined up nose to tail, an aviation long-term parking lot.
Hundreds more form geometric patterns in California’s Mojave Desert, where engineers whack the wheel hubs of Qantas A380s to scare off rattlesnakes.
Continue reading...Airline, which even barred some people who sought redress, commits to refunds within five working days
Ryanair has promised to start refunding customers for cancelled flights within five working days, after criticism of its reimbursements policy during the pandemic.
The Dublin-based carrier, which has previously described itself as a “no-refunds airline”, has also announced significant improvements to the way it treats customers whose flights are delayed or cancelled.
Continue reading...Holidaymakers say they were given just hours to pay back cash claimed through credit cards
Ryanair has been accused of barring passengers who pursued chargebacks against the airline during the pandemic from taking new flights this year – unless they return their refunds.
An investigation by MoneySavingExpert (MSE) has found that holidaymakers who sought refunds from their credit card provider have faced last-minute demands of up to £600 if they want to board a Ryanair plane.
Continue reading...International Air Transport Association chief calls for simpler travel rules and fewer border restrictions to help sector recover
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has said the airline industry is now over the worst of the Covid pandemic, but urged governments to simplify travel rules and open borders to help the aviation sector operate within a now “endemic” phase of the virus.
Total industry losses are expected to fall to $11.6bn (£8.5bn) in 2022, according to Iata forecasts, which would mean a cumulative loss of just over $200bn in three years as a result of Covid.
Continue reading...Airline has also said it will create 5,000 new jobs across Europe over five-year period
Ryanair has said itplans to fly an extra 25 million passengers a year by 2026, as the no-frills airline tries to take advantage of the industry’s slow recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Irish airline said it hopes to carry 225 million passengers annually by March 2026, 25 million higher than its previous target of 200 million, as it prepared for its annual meeting in Dublin on Thursday.
Continue reading...Workers in depressed sectors or regions won’t be able to plug gaps in areas that have been quicker to recover, ministers are being warned
There are signs outside almost every pub, restaurant and hotel dotting Torquay’s harbour: Staff wanted.
“It’s been packed solid busy, you can’t get a table anywhere,” said Brett Powis, owner of three hotels in the area including the Riviera and Lincombe Hall. For the hotelier, staff shortages made it harder to take full advantage of the busiest summertime boom in the Devon resort for decades.
Continue reading...With passenger numbers growing and time to slash emissions dwindling fast, the industry must tackle urgent stumbling blocks on fuel, frequent flyers and more
Aviation tanked in 2020. The number of people taking flights fell by three quarters compared with 2019 levels and as a result there was a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. But as countries open up and people begin to fly again, aviation is expected to see a slow climb back to previous levels. The industry anticipates a return to 2019 passenger numbers globally by 2023 and to be back on track with previous growth projections within a couple of decades.
All this is bad news for the planet. CO2 emissions from the industry are likely to triple by 2050. But if the world is to limit global heating to 1.5C, it needs to have hit net zero CO2 emissions by this time. Aviation is a complicated sector to decarbonise. It has some prickly ingredients: difficult technological solutions, hidden extra climate effects, an association with personal freedoms and a disproportionately wealthy and powerful customer base. Here are just a few of the big hurdles the sector will need to overcome if it is ever to be carbon neutral.
Continue reading...Virgin Galactic space planes, which the British billionaire Richard Branson used to launch his journey into space in July, have been temporarily grounded by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) while it conducts an investigation into an issue that occurred during the 11 July flight.
“Virgin Galactic may not return the SpaceShipTwo vehicle to flight until the FAA approves the final mishap investigation report or determines the issues related to the mishap do not affect public safety,” the FAA said in a statement to the Guardian on Thursday.
Continue reading...With images of people jetting off to see loved ones overseas, the ad offers a glimpse of what many have been missing
Qantas has released a new ad that promotes getting a Covid-19 vaccine, and it tugs at the heartstrings of Australians longing to travel again.
The ad appeals to those who have been separated from loved ones overseas, with scenes of what the future might offer when vaccination rates are high enough.
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