Authorities say car park suffered ‘significant structural collapse’ after blaze
Luton airport has been closed after a huge fire ripped through a multi-storey car park, causing it to collapse and forcing all flights to be suspended.
In an update on Wednesday morning, the airport advised people not to travel to the airport and said all flights would be suspended until 3pm. Passengers were also advised to contact their airline for information about flights.
Continue reading...UK-based charter firm launches ‘ludicrous’ £8,166 Dubai-London route for clients who want to fly with pets
Environmentalists have condemned a “ludicrous” private jet service that transports wealthy people’s dogs, which this week ran its first flight from Dubai to London.
For £8,166, one way, customers were able to sit with their dogs on their laps and sip champagne as they travelled from Al Maktoum international airport to Farnborough in a Gulfstream IV-SP jet.
Continue reading...The plane was en route from Ecuador to Florida, where seven passengers and one crew member were hospitalized on arrival
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation into a JetBlue flight that experienced sudden severe turbulence on Monday, injuring seven passengers and a crew member.
The incident occurred on Monday on JetBlue flight 1256, an Airbus A320, near Jamaica while en route from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the board said.
Continue reading...Airport will share 164 cancellations between airlines until Sunday as it seeks to avoid diversions
Thousands of passengers flying to and from Gatwick this week will have their flights cancelled after the airport announced a cap on movements because of a shortage of staff in air traffic control.
Gatwick imposed an immediate cap on Monday of 800 flights taking off or landing a day.
Continue reading...Akbar Al Baker says request for more flights into Australia was ‘legitimate’ at a time the airline was ‘so supportive of Australia’
Qatar Airways says the Australian government’s decision to block its request for extra flights was “very unfair” given the airline’s support for Australians during the pandemic.
The airline’s bid to fly an extra 21 services into Australia’s major airports was rejected with ministers citing a range of reasons including it being contrary to the national interest.
Continue reading...Campaigners speak out amid suggestion government could reject Climate Change Committee’s advice
Rishi Sunak faces “electoral carnage” if the government rejects its climate advisers’ recommendations on halting airport expansion, a coalition of community groups have warned.
The prospect of a renewed political battle around airport growth in various parts of England has been reignited amid concern from campaigners at suggestions the government could reject the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) advice that all such expansions must be halted.
Continue reading...Demand for travel results in 41% rise but air traffic control industrial action across Europe affects timings
Passenger numbers at Gatwick airport soared to 19 million during the first six months of the year, according to its operator, although air traffic control strikes across Europe contributed to an increase in delayed departures and landings.
Demand for travel resulted in 41% more passengers travelling through the airport between January and June compared with 2022 – when Covid restrictions were still in place – Gatwick said as it released half-year results.
Continue reading...Transport minister rules out cyber-attack after hundreds of flights to and from the UK cancelled
Flight passengers will be affected by UK air traffic control failures for days, the transport secretary has warned as he urged airlines to step up and fulfil their responsibilities to passengers.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mark Harper said National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which provides the air traffic control systems in the UK, had apologised for the disruption, adding: “I’d like to add my apology to that.”
Continue reading...National air traffic services say they have fixed the issue that has caused a network-wide failure but significant flights backlog remains
Here are some photos from Heathrow airport after a network failure caused issues with UK air traffic control, leading to major delays.
The Liberal Democrats have said the prime minister should call a Cobra meeting after a technical fault hit air traffic control in the UK.
Rishi Sunak and his ministers need to get a grip on this issue urgently and hold a Cobra meeting.
Millions of holidaymakers could be facing huge disruption in the coming days due to this fault and we can’t risk this government being missing in action yet again.
Continue reading...Technical meltdown in air traffic control causes bank holiday misery, with 500 flights cancelled and others delayed
Airline passengers have been warned that flight disruption could persist for days, after a technical meltdown in UK air traffic control left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded or delayed on the summer bank holiday.
Returning holidaymakers and those hoping to travel out of UK airports faced cancellations and delays of up to 12 hours after takeoffs and inbound flights were suspended due to a “network-wide” computer failure.
Continue reading...Outgoing CEO faces fiery questions on the airline’s credibility, executive pay and ‘hoarding’ of flight slots
Alan Joyce has refused to answer questions related to his lobbying efforts, while delivering combative responses to allegations of Qantas misconduct, as he was grilled by a Senate committee on Monday.
At an explosive public hearing of the select committee on the cost of living, which Joyce had to be summonsed to after repeatedly refusing to appear, the outgoing Qantas chief executive defended the record $2.47bn full-year profit he announced just days earlier.
Continue reading...Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang cancelled two hours after its scheduled arrival in Beijing
North Korea’s national airline’s first commercial flight since it largely closed itself off from the world in early 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic has been abruptly cancelled.
Journalists gathered on Monday at Beijing’s Capital international airport to await Air Koryo flight JS151 from Pyongyang, due to arrive at 9.50am.
Continue reading...Lawsuit accuses website of deception as it allows travelers to book typically cheaper connecting flight and get off after first leg
American Airlines has filed a lawsuit against Skiplagged, a travel website for cheap flights that shows “hidden-city” ticketing trips.
The lawsuit, which American filed this week in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, accuses Skiplagged of deception, as the website allows travelers to book a connecting flight that is typically cheaper than a non-stop flight and not flying to the route’s final destination.
Continue reading...Thousands of images from second world war include bomb damage to Old Trafford and troops at leisure
Black-and-white aerial photographs offering a bird’s eye view of England as it changed during the second world war are being made available to the public for the first time.
The 3,600 images include pictures of bomb damage to Old Trafford in Greater Manchester, as well as other towns and cities. They also show ancient monuments surrounded by anti-tank defences in West Sussex, and troops at play at a US army camp in Wiltshire.
Continue reading...Canberra man Muhammad Arif charged after Kuala Lumpur-bound Malaysian Airlines flight turned around on Monday because of alleged disturbance onboard
A man accused of making a bomb threat on an international flight out of Sydney airport on Monday afternoon has refused to leave his police cell to face court.
Canberra man Muhammad Arif, 45, has been charged with making a false statement about a threat to damage an aircraft, and for failing to comply with cabin crew’s safety instruction.
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Continue reading...Airport only one to be rated as ‘poor’ and ‘needs improvement’ over all four quarters in year to March
Heathrow failed to meet the minimum accessibility standards for disabled passengers in the year to March, the sector’s regulator has said.
The airport was the only one in the UK to be rated as “poor” and “needs improvement” by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over all four quarters in the period, according to the report.
Continue reading...Australian Airports Association tells parliamentary inquiry market dominance has allowed the two airlines to jack up profit margins
Qantas and Virgin now account for 95% of Australia’s domestic aviation market, a dominance that dwarfs industries such as banking and supermarkets and has allowed the airlines to jack up profit margins, the national airport body has warned.
The continued duopoly of Qantas Group – which includes budget carrier Jetstar – and Virgin Australia in the domestic aviation sector has also allowed air fares to rise above pre-pandemic levels even when adjusting for inflation, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in its submission to a parliamentary inquiry.
Continue reading...Nepali pilot and five Mexican passengers killed after aircraft crashes soon after takeoff near Lukla
All six people onboard a tourist helicopter in Nepal have been killed after it crashed soon after takeoff in the Everest region.
The Manang Air flight was heading for the capital, Kathmandu, from near Lukla, a gateway for climbing expeditions to the world’s highest peak, with five Mexican tourists – two men and three women – and a Nepali pilot onboard.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Racist throwback to Jim Crow days in America
Burney says the advert that ran in the Financial Review encouraging a “no” vote on the referendum over the Indigenous voice to parliament was “totally unacceptable”.
I think Matt Kean, the Shadow Health Minister in New South Wales, really nailed it, David, where he likened it to a racist throwback from the Jim Crow days in America, but it was also incredibly sexist and it is something in the words of Matt Kean, the ‘no‘camp has every right to have a say, but there are better ways of doing it.
I know Aboriginal Australia and I know that people know what the important issues - things like what I’ve identified - education, health, housing, jobs - and Josie Douglas who is this remarkable Aboriginal woman in the central land council put it perfectly: We are about changing lives, not changing dates.
Continue reading...Despite the Climate Change Committee’s warnings to stop growing capacity, Gatwick is gearing up for another try at a second runway
So what bit of “no new airport capacity” did airports not understand? The Climate Change Committee (CCC) spelled it out again on Wednesday: flying accounted for 7% of UK carbon emissions last year, the trend is upwards, and more airport capacity is “incompatible” with national net zero targets.
Of course, they’ve said it before: but as the committee noted in its 2023 progress report, airports have since have been racing to expand. This time, hammering it home, the CCC says that no expansion at all should go ahead until the government sorts out a proper way to manage it.
Continue reading...