No dates announced for industrial action, but stoppages could begin as soon as 8 April, says PCS union
Border Force staff at Heathrow have voted to strike in a dispute over shift patterns.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said 600 of its members, who carry out immigration controls and passport checks, voted 90% in favour of strike action.
Continue reading...Operator also found by Amsterdam court to have painted ‘overly rosy picture’ of sustainable aviation fuel
The Dutch airline KLM has misled customers with vague environmental claims and painted “an overly rosy picture” of its sustainable aviation fuel, a court has found.
In a greenwashing case brought by the campaign group Fossielvrij, the district court of Amsterdam ruled on Wednesday that KLM had broken the law with misleading advertising in 15 of the 19 environmental statements it assessed. They include claims that the airline is moving towards a “more sustainable” future and statements on its website about the benefits of offsetting a flight.
Continue reading...FAA investigating loss of panel before Boeing 737-800 landed safely in Oregon
The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel before landing safely in Oregon.
United flight 433 landed at Medford airport at about 1.45pm on Friday carrying 139 passengers and six crew after departing from San Francisco, the FAA and airline said.
Continue reading...RAF jet was taking defence secretary back to UK from Poland, and flying near Russian exclave of Kaliningrad
Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an RAF aircraft carrying Grant Shapps back from Poland, according to government sources.
Defence sources said there was no danger to Shapps, who was travelling back to the UK, though they called it a “wildly irresponsible” act of electronic warfare.
Continue reading...Aerospace group chief executive urges UK and Europe to pool efforts and merge fighter jet programmes
Europe is unprepared for war with Russia or the risk that Donald Trump could withdraw the US from Nato and needs to ramp up spending on defence equipment, the boss of Airbus has said.
Guillaume Faury, the chief executive of Europe’s biggest aerospace and defence company, said it was a “defining moment” for the continent’s defence industry, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought war to western Europe’s borders.
Continue reading...Pilot and co-pilot unresponsive for nearly 30 minutes, prompting review of country’s night flight operation
Two Indonesian pilots fell asleep for almost 30 minutes mid-flight, an investigation has revealed.
A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for about 28 minutes. The Batik Air flight was travelling from South East Sulawesi to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on 25 January, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said.
Continue reading...Chopper in federal government’s border security mission went down near Rio Grande City, leaving two national guard soldiers and a border patrol agent dead
A helicopter flying over the US-Mexico border in Texas has crashed, killing two national guard soldiers and a border patrol agent, the US military has said.
Another soldier on board was injured.
The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was assigned to the federal government’s border security mission when it went down near Rio Grande City on Friday, the joint taskforce north said. The cause was under investigation.
The crash happened mid-afternoon while the helicopter was conducting aviation operations, according to the taskforce’s statement.
City council approves year-long contract with Knightscope to rent a K5 robot to respond to door alarms at the airport
An autonomous robot is due to become the latest addition to San Antonio International Airport’s security apparatus.
Following a 7 to 3 vote on Thursday by the San Antonio city council, city officials approved a year-long contract with Knightscope, a California-based developer of autonomous security robots, to rent its K5 robot for $21,000.
Continue reading...Meteorologists predicted New York City could get as much as eight inches of snow, with a foot or more possible in Boston
A strong nor’easter storm hit the north-east of the United States overnight on Tuesday, causing airlines to cancel more than 1,000 flights and disrupt the morning work commute for millions.
Meteorologists predicted New York City could get as much as eight inches of snow, with a foot or more possible in Boston. However, warm ground temperatures meant that snow was not yet heavily accumulating in Manhattan.
Continue reading...NT WorkSafe has charged the celebrity croc-wrangler and his aviation company Helibrook with ‘reckless conduct for operating unsafe aircraft’
Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright and his aviation company have been hit with a slew of new charges over a fatal chopper crash that killed his co-star.
Chris Wilson plunged to his death in a remote area of the Northern Territory in February 2022 while attached to a helicopter owned by Wright and being flown by pilot Sebastian Robinson.
Continue reading...Finnair says trial is voluntary and will help estimate weight of planes’ cargo before takeoff
The words “overweight luggage” have the power to induce a whirlwind of stress and embarrassment for holidaymakers. But one airline is upping the stakes by inviting passengers to step on the scales too.
The Finnish airline Finnair started the voluntary weighing in policy at departure gates at Helsinki airport on Monday with the aim of enabling it to better estimate the weight of its planes’ cargo before takeoff.
Continue reading...All three people on board, including the pilot, a flight nurse and a paramedic, were killed on 20 January in western Oklahoma
A dead goose was found in part of the flight control system of a medical helicopter that crashed in western Oklahoma, killing all three people on board, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
While it highlights the goose’s presence on board, the report stops short of specifying a suspected cause of the deadly crash. The report notes that other geese were found in the debris field left by the wreck.
Continue reading...No one else on board single-engine plane that crashed at busy junction along golf course by Buchanan Field airport in Concord
The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed on Tuesday when the aircraft crashed on a city street near a small San Francisco Bay Area airport, authorities said.
The crash was reported at about 11am at a busy intersection along a golf course adjacent to Buchanan Field airport in Concord, officials said.
Continue reading...Aircraft maker suspends financial guidance as it grapples with ‘serious challenge’ of winning back trust amid 737 Max 9 crisis
Boeing faces a “serious challenge” to win back the confidence of regulators and airlines, its CEO has said, as the aircraft maker faces intense scrutiny after a cabin panel blowout.
Dave Calhoun acknowledged the business has “much to prove” since a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet was forced into an emergency landing earlier this month.
Continue reading...Assistant competition minister Andrew Leigh says it is often cheaper to fly from Darwin to Singapore than to Sydney as Labor targets monopolies
Ticket prices are halved when three airlines fly a route compared with a monopoly situation and fares fall further as more rivals are added, according to new findings designed to inform Australia’s competition and merger laws.
The assistant competition minister, Andrew Leigh, will tell a Melbourne audience on Tuesday there are worrying signs that competition intensity has weakened over recent decades, with evidence of increased market concentration and profit markups in several industries.
Continue reading...Rescue teams find charter ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow after it disappeared from radar screens
Four people are reported to have survived after a private jet carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia disappeared from radar screens and crashed in a remote and mountainous area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.
Russian aviation authorities said two passengers and four crew members were onboard the charter ambulance flight, which was travelling from Utapao airport, near Pattaya, to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan.
Continue reading...Body of San Francisco woman, 27, recovered near site of crash involving single-engine plane believed to be carrying four people
A plane that crashed into ocean south of San Francisco on Sunday was a light aircraft that can be built from a kit, authorities have said.
Officials also said on Tuesday that they had identified a body that was found in the water near where the Cozy Mark IV plane crashed as a 27-year-old San Francisco resident.
Continue reading...Incident reportedly happened on All Nippon Airways flight with man, 55, arrested after plane brought back to Tokyo
A drunk US man allegedly bit the arm of a flight attendant on a passenger jet headed to Seattle from Tokyo on Tuesday night, forcing the plane’s return to the Japanese capital, according to local reports.
The attack happened over the Pacific Ocean on All Nippon Airways flight 118, Japan’s Kyodo News reported. Crew members restrained a 55-year-old American man accused of biting an attendant on the arm, and police arrested him after the Seattle-bound plane was brought back to Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
Continue reading...777 Partners, which launched Australian budget carrier in early 2023, had leased four planes for Flair Airlines in Canada, UK court documents show
The private investment firm poised to take over Everton football club and which owns airlines in Canada and Australia is being chased for almost US$30m (A$44.7m) in unpaid aircraft leasing fees and damages.
777 Partners is facing legal action in the UK from three aircraft lessors over unpaid fees and damages related to four aircraft that were leased to Flair Airlines, the Canadian low-cost carrier that 777 partly owns.
Continue reading...Planes await inspection by aviation regulators after panel blowout on Alaska Airlines flight amid heightened safety concerns
Boeing must acknowledge “our mistake”, its CEO has said, after the cabin panel of a 737 Max 9 jet blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight last week.
Dozens of Max 9 planes have been grounded following the incident, awaiting inspection amid heightened concerns around safety. Alaska and United Airlines have since both found loose parts on several jets.
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