Louise Haigh says she hopes to ensure a repeat of the air traffic control failure of August 2023 never happens again
Airline passengers will benefit from tougher enforcement of consumer protection laws following an inquiry into the August 2023 air traffic control meltdown, transport secretary Louise Haigh has said.
She said she wants to ensure “all passengers feel confident when they fly”.
Continue reading...Move by US authorities comes after plane was shot at on Monday, injuring attendant and forcing airport shutdown
The US Federal Aviation Administration has banned civilian flights into Haiti for 30 days after a jetliner was shot at on approach to Port-au-Prince.
Bullets hit the Spirit Airlines plane when it was about to land on Monday, injuring a flight attendant and forcing the airport to shut down.
Continue reading...Spirit Airlines flight heading from Florida to Port-au-Prince diverted to Dominican Republic after flight attendant was grazed by bullet, amid broader violence in Haiti’s capital
Haiti’s international airport shut down on Monday after gangs opened fire at a commercial flight landing in Port-Au-Prince, prompting some airlines to suspend operations as the country swore in a new interim prime minister who promised to restore peace.
The Spirit Airlines flight headed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-Au-Prince was just hundreds of feet from landing in Haiti’s capital when gangs shot at the plane, striking a flight attendant who suffered minor injuries, according to the airline, the US embassy and flight tracking data.
Continue reading...Team led by Paralympic champion will work with aviation industry to ‘break down barriers’, says transport secretary
The Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson is to lead a new taskforce created to improve air travel for disabled passengers, the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, has announced.
The taskforce will spend nine months speaking to disabled passengers to establish what are the biggest barriers to air travel, and working with the aviation industry to find short- and long-term solutions.
Continue reading...Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez trade blows in court after confessing to shooting Ripudaman Singh Malik
Two men have pleaded guilty to the contract killing of a Sikh man who was acquitted in the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight from Montreal to Mumbai.
According to an agreed statement of facts released by a British Columbia court on Monday, Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez confessed to shooting Ripudaman Singh Malik in 2022. But they remained silent over who hired and paid them for the murder.
Continue reading...Authorities yet to uncover source and motive of surge in fake bomb threats, as dozens of planes forced to reroute
A reported 90 hoax bomb threats have been made against Indian airlines in the past week, provoking international travel chaos as planes were grounded, diverted and flown to safety by fighter jet escorts.
The unprecedented surge in fake bomb threats against multiple Indian and international airlines has caused severe disruption to India’s aviation industry and created a growing sense of panic among air passengers.
Continue reading...The Air India flight landed at Changi Airport after being escorted by air force F-15SG jets, in what was the third threat to the national carrier in recent days
Singapore’s air force mobilised two fighter jets late on Tuesday in response to a bomb threat on an Air India Express flight bound for the city-state, its defence minister said.
Two Singapore air force F-15SG jets scrambled and escorted Air India flight AXB684 away from populated areas after the airline received an email that there was a bomb on board its plane, Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post.
Continue reading...Airline says postponement will last until at least 31 March and is providing travel waivers to some customers
Delta Airlines has postponed all flights between New York’s John F Kennedy airport and Tel Aviv until at least 31 March because of the conflict in the Middle East, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Delta is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports and will communicate any updates as needed,” the airline said.
Continue reading...Blake Wilson was killed when aircraft on ‘unauthorised flight’ struck roof of DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in August
A pilot who died when the helicopter he was flying crashed into a Cairns hotel was “affected by a significant amount of alcohol” at the time, the country’s air safety investigator has found.
Investigators on Thursday said Blake Wilson, 23, took the helicopter from a far north Queensland airport hangar for an “unnecessary and unauthorised” flight after a night of drinking in August.
Continue reading...Carriers that cancel flights to block competition could face civil penalties in move against Qantas-Virgin duopoly
Airlines that strategically cancel flights to block competition at Sydney airport could face civil penalties as the Albanese government moves to crack down on the Qantas-Virgin duopoly.
A new bill, to be introduced on Wednesday, will focus on Sydney airport’s controversial slot allocation system, which restricts the airport to 80 takeoffs and landings per hour – known as slots. An overnight curfew to minimise noise further limits flight numbers.
Continue reading...Technical issues meant the film, starring Dakota Johnson, was played on all screens before it was swapped for a family-friendly movie
Qantas has apologised to passengers on a flight from Sydney to Japan after an R-rated film was played to the entire plane.
Passengers on the flight to Haneda were shown the start of Daddio, a 2023 R-rated film starring Dakota Johnson.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...City authorities take case to Lombardy regional court in effort to block initiative by Matteo Salvini
Milan council has appealed against a “grotesque” move to rename the city’s main airport after the scandal-tainted late former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The council approved a resolution to take the case to the Lombardy region’s administrative court after the initiative to rename Malpensa was accelerated by Matteo Salvini, the transport minister in Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government.
Continue reading...Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air France and Lufthansa among carriers pausing services to and from Beirut
International airlines have suspended more flights to Lebanon amid an Israeli bombardment that authorities said had killed almost 560 people since Monday.
The United Arab Emirates-based airline Emirates announced the temporary suspension of its flights to Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday. Its sister airline flydubai also cancelled flights to Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Continue reading...Rodent posed risk to electrical wiring on Scandinavian Airlines flight from Oslo to Málaga
Airline meals hardly carry high expectations but this week a passenger faced more than just a disappointing supper after a mouse crawled out of their meal, forcing their flight to make an unscheduled landing.
The incident occurred during a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight from Oslo to Málaga on Wednesday, forcing the plane to land in Copenhagen, the company said on Friday.
Continue reading...Lobbyists are increasingly confident about expansion plans as concerns for the economy start to deepen
The younger, tormented minister mulling his position before the Labour government granted Heathrow’s third runway in 2009 might have been greatly relieved to know that, 15 years later, not a shovel would have touched the ground.
But now, returning to power with a revamped energy and climate brief, Ed Miliband again finds himself in a cabinet which, many in aviation hope, may usher in bigger airports and more flights – as well as enough CO2 emissions to outweigh any new solar farms.
Continue reading...Eagle-eyed reader and consumer solicitor say local bylaws are key to question of enforcement
Are private fines sent by Bristol airport’s contractor to motorists who pick up passengers outside its designated, paid-for, drop-off and pickup zone unenforceable?
It looks as though they may be, if an eagle-eyed Guardian reader and a leading consumer solicitor are correctly interpreting the bylaws that govern the airport.
Continue reading...Catherine King says new charter may force airlines to compensate you if they bump you off a flight, delay your flight, or cancel it
Airlines in Australia may yet be forced to compensate passengers for bumping them to other services because of overbooking, delaying or cancelling their flights, under the charter of aviation rights proposed by the Albanese government.
The transport minister, Catherine King, told Guardian Australia that, despite the aviation white paper not endorsing a standalone compensation provision, the government aims to have legally enforceable penalties included in the charter. It also wants powers granted to the proposed new aviation ombudsman to deal with how airlines treat passengers.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Approval requires the establishment of a noise amelioration program for nearby communities
The federal government has approved a third runway for Melbourne airport, with conditions set to share and minimise the effects of aircraft noise on surrounding communities.
The transport minister, Catherine King, announced the go-ahead for the runway construction on Friday, saying it would allow the airport to cater for the demand of a growing city and provide better access for freight and passengers.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Just hours after opinion appears in AFR, shadow minister clarifies divestiture as ‘one of the various tools the treasurer needs to look at’ but not Coalition policy
The shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie, was forced to clarify the Coalition does not support breaking up Qantas just hours after floating the possibility of forced divestiture powers in the aviation sector.
McKenzie warned the competition watchdog’s review of the aviation sector “will be a failure if it does not address the role of divestiture” in an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review on Monday.
Continue reading...Officials say two people on board Cessna plane that struck row of townhouses, displacing families and causing fire
Three people were dead after a small plane crashed into a row of townhouses on Saturday morning in a neighborhood east of Portland, setting the homes ablaze, authorities told KATU-TV.
Officials earlier in the day had said the plane was carrying two people and that at least one resident had been unaccounted for.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that a twin-engine Cessna 421C came down at about 10.30am local time near the Troutdale airport.
Continue reading...