Category Archives: Air transport

Flight attendant’s breast cancer was occupational disease, court rules

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Sophie Lainault, who worked for Air France, wins legal case linking illness to more than 12,600 hours on flights

A flight attendant in France has succeeded in having her breast cancer recognised as an occupational disease, a first for the country’s aviation industry, her lawyer and a trade union said.

The ruling, which recognised that Sophie Lainault, a former flight attendant for Air France, had frequently worked at night and been exposed to passive smoking, could pave the way for similar claims, the lawyer and the CFDT union said.

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Mechanical fault suspected in helicopter crash that killed British newlyweds in Greece

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Marie Ebert, Alexander Cromie and their pilot died when their aircraft crashed on island of Sifnos

Greek police believe a mechanical fault may have caused a helicopter to crash moments before it was due to land on the island of Sifnos, killing a British couple on honeymoon and the pilot.

Authorities were focusing on Tuesday on the “strange noise” the aircraft, a privately chartered Bell 206, is reported to have made before falling to the ground and exploding on impact.

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Transport watchdog investigates third near miss at Sydney airport

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Two planes came close to collision on the runway on Sunday – hours after another near miss – making a total of three in recent weeks

The transport safety watchdog is investigating a a third near-collision between two planes at Sydney airport – the latest incident occurring hours after one that made national news and raised concerns about air traffic control.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said on Thursday night that it was investigating a second “runway incursion” on Sunday 9 August.

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South Korean airport becomes busiest in world for global traffic amid Iran war

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Incheon airport had 38.39m international passengers in first half of 2026, as traffic diverted from Middle East hubs

South Korea’s Incheon airport has become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, in part owing to disruption in the Middle East caused by the Iran war.

The airport, South Korea’s main gateway, about 30 miles (48km) west of Seoul, handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of 2026, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade body for airports.

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Canadian airline WestJet agrees to settle flight attendants’ sexual harassment class action

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Female staff alleged company failed to maintain safe workplace, after allegations of sexual assault against pilot

The Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay C$4.5m (£2.4m) to settle a decade-long sexual harassment class action lawsuit levelled by its female flight attendants, who alleged the company failed to maintain a safe workplace.

The suit followed allegations by Mandalena Lewis, a former flight attendant, that a pilot had sexually assaulted her and a colleague, but that WestJet kept the pilot flying, thereby putting other employees at risk.

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Passenger jet billed as China’s answer to Boeing and Airbus prepares to make first international flight

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The Comac C919 will fly from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, although experts say it could take generations for it to challenge the west’s dominance of the industry

China hopes to break into the world of commercial aviation with the first international flight of a Chinese-made passenger jet scheduled for Wednesday.

The Comac C919 will take off from Beijing capital international airport at 3pm, landing in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, just over two hours later.

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Canadian airline cancels flight after child refuses to wear seatbelt

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Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failed

A Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to wear a seatbelt.

The child was standing in their chair as the 6 August Porter Airlines flight taxied towards the runway, the airline said. Repeated attempts by an accompanying parent and crew to secure the child in their seat failed, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark as “the aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition”, it added.

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Heathrow says need for expansion clear as it loses title of Europe’s busiest airport

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Air transport hub in west London reports 7.86m passengers in July, compared with 8.15m for Istanbul’s new airport away from the city

Istanbul airport has overtaken Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers, leading the London hub to say its “case for expansion has never been clearer”.

Figures published on Tuesday showed 7.9 million passengers passed through Heathrow’s terminals in July, compared with Istanbul’s 8.15 million.

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‘Not enough air traffic controllers’: safety concerns at Sydney airport after Jetstar and Qatar planes involved in near-miss

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Planes narrowly avoid collision on tarmac with Jetstar A320 forced to ‘brake firmly’ as Qatar Boeing 777 towed into its path

Two planes have narrowly avoided a collision on the tarmac of Australia’s busiest airport as it struggles with staff shortages.

The Jetstar and Qatar Airways planes almost collided at Sydney airport at 7am on Sunday.

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Drone found at German airport after cargo plane collides with object mid-air

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Investigators looking into whether incidents at Leipzig are linked after DHL plane forced to make emergency landing

A DHL cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing after colliding with an unknown object as it was climbing away from Germany’s Leipzig airport, where police later found a drone on the ground.

The German government on Wednesday confirmed the incident, which led to serious disruption of air traffic.

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Water supply failure leaves Gatwick airport without working toilets

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Airport’s bars and restaurants also unable to serve drinks to passengers because of lack of running water

A water supply failure at Gatwick left passengers without access to working toilets or bars and restaurants.

Passengers posted online that they were unable to get hot drinks, wash their hands or fill up water bottles at the airport in Sussex.

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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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Trump switches back to flying on older Air Force One for England trip instead of new Qatari jet

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US president unexpectedly changed plans for flight to England after using Qatari-gifted aircraft to travel to Turkey

Donald Trump flew from Turkey to England onboard the older Air Force One on Wednesday, rather than the new, Qatari-gifted aircraft he used to travel to the Nato summit in Ankara, an unexpected change in plans that prompted questions about security fears.

Trump later boarded the new plane at Mildenhall air force base in the United Kingdom for the trip back to Washington.

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Seaplane lands in New York City’s East River with only minor injuries reported

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Seaplane carrying eight people made ‘hard landing’ and was towed back to dock, according to the fire department

A seaplane made a rough landing in New York City’s East River on Sunday, alarming bystanders and resulting in two minor injuries, according to city authorities.

The seaplane carrying eight people made a “hard landing” at about noon, according to the New York City fire department. The plane made it upright and was towed back to dock, the department said.

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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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French skydiving plane crashes near Nancy, killing all 11 onboard

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Five students and five instructors dead along with pilot after plane fell suddenly near aerodrome, says prefect

A skydiving plane has crashed in north-eastern France, killing all 11 people onboard, according to the region’s prefect.

The parachuting-school plane crashed near Nancy at 11am, said Yves Séguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region.

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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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Police investigating death of man on Jet2 flight from Larnaca to Manchester

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Officers looking into reports the man had been ‘aggressive and disruptive’ and that passengers had restrained him

A police investigation has been launched after a man on a Jet2 flight died after reportedly being restrained by passengers.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester police confirmed the death of the man, who was in his 30s.

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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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