Category Archives: Air transport

Heathrow remains loss-making despite rise in passenger numbers

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Airport says people will be able to ‘travel as normal’ in peak period around coronation despite strike

Heathrow airport has warned that it is still loss-making, even as it continues to be Europe’s busiest airport, welcoming almost 17 million passengers in the first three months of the year.

The airport also said that passengers would be able to “travel as normal” during the peak getaway period around the coronation of King Charles III, taking place on 6 May, despite a fresh planned strike by security staff.

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Sunak eyes deal to allow UK passport holders to use e-gates at EU airports

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PM may discuss idea with European Commission chief in June, reports say, after diplomats raised it informally

Rishi Sunak is seeking to capitalise on his improved relations with the EU with hopes of an agreement to allow British passport holders to use e-gates when travelling in the bloc.

Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that British diplomats had raised the issue informally. A potential discussion was foreseen on the sidelines of a meeting in Japan the prime minister and the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, will attend in June.

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Caught short at 35,000ft: plane forced to turn back after toilets malfunction

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Five of eight toilets broke down on Austrian Airlines flight carrying 300 people from Vienna to New York

An Austrian Airlines plane had to return two hours into a flight from Vienna to New York after five of its eight toilets broke down.

About 300 people were onboard Monday’s eight-hour, Boeing 777 flight. The crew decided to turn around after finding a technical problem was preventing the toilets from flushing properly, a spokesperson for the airline told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday.

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Australians face 50% hike in air fares to fly to Europe this year, data suggests

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Thirst for ‘revenge’ travel after the Covid pandemic is driving return prices to almost $3,000 to some European cities, booking site says

Australians looking to escape winter and fly to Europe for a summer holiday are facing fares almost 50% higher than the same period last year, as airlines keep prices high despite the supply of available seats and fuel prices improving in recent months.

The average price for a return economy air fare from Australian cities to European destinations such as London, Paris and Milan for travel between the beginning of June and end of September has grown to $2,571, according to data compiled by booking site Kayak.com.au from searches made since early January up to last week.

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Air France and Airbus cleared of involuntary manslaughter over 2009 crash

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Paris court clears aviation giants over disaster that killed 228 people flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris

A Paris court has cleared Air France and Airbus of involuntary manslaughter over the crash of flight 447 in 2009 that killed 228 people.

Giving its verdict on Monday, the court said if there had been faults committed, “no certain causal link” with the accident could be shown.

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Ministry of Defence awards £650m to firms working on Tempest fighter jet

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BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce among those funded, with aim of producing new aircraft by 2035

The Ministry of Defence has awarded £650m to manufacturers working on its Tempest fighter jet, in the latest sign that the UK is pushing forward with the aim of producing the aircraft by 2035.

The companies who will receive the money are led by manufacturer BAE Systems, jet engine maker Rolls-Royce, and the UK arms of Italy’s Leonardo and European missile-maker MBDA.

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Pilot walks away from light plane crash near train tracks in Queensland

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AirMedpatient transfer plane forced into emergency landing in Brisbane rail corridor with cause unknown

A pilot was left with only minor injuries after their light plane crash landed on to a rail corridor south of Brisbane.

The aircraft, an AirMedpatient transfer plane, was forced into an emergency landing just after 6.10am on Friday in Hillcrest, with only the pilot on board.

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Two construction workers killed in accident at New York’s JFK airport

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Workers trapped under collapsed rubble in trench near terminal 7 pronounced dead at the scene

Two construction workers were killed in a job site accident at New York’s John F Kennedy international airport on Monday, officials said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said the two workers were trapped under construction rubble at about 11am. A spokesperson for New York City’s fire department said the rubble collapsed in a trench near the airport’s busy terminal 7.

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UK is Europe’s worst private jet polluter, study finds

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UK tops all league tables for highly polluting form of travel, with a flight taking off every six minutes last year

The UK is the private jet capital of Europe, with more flights than anywhere else on the continent, analysis has found.

Last year, a private jet set off from the UK once every six minutes, putting the country ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to the extremely polluting form of travel. Many of these journeys have been called “polluting and pointless” by Greenpeace, as they are so short they could have easily been taken by train – and in one case, cycled in 30 minutes.

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Bordeaux city hall set on fire amid nationwide protests against French pension changes

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Largely peaceful protests are marred by outbreaks of violence as unions claim 3.5 million turned out, while authorities put number at just over 1 million

Emmanuel Macron felt the full force of French anger on Thursday as protesters gathered across the country to demonstrate their opposition to the pension age being raised from 62 to 64.

Unions claimed 3.5 million people turned out across the country, while the authorities suggested the figure was much lower, at just under 1.1 million.

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Electric air taxis being developed for Paris Olympics in 2024

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Aircraft will take off and land vertically, and carry a single passenger between transport hubs, says capital’s airports operator

Athletes are getting in shape for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, and so is the world’s first electric air taxi network.

“We are going to make it happen,” Solène Le Bris of Paris airports operator Groupe ADP told an industry audience at Amsterdam Drone Week. “We are trying to launch the first e-VTOL [vertical takeoff and landing] pre-commercial service in the world: that’s our ambition.”

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Heathrow told to cut passenger charges in move that could lower fares

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Decision by Civil Aviation Authority comes despite airport having argued for higher fees

Heathrow airport has been ordered to cut average passenger charges by about 20% next year, in a move that could translate to lower ticket prices for travellers.

The decision by the UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) comes despite Heathrow having argued for higher fees, which are charged to airlines and are used to fund baggage handling, security and other costs across the airport’s terminals.

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Ex-official in Clinton and Obama White Houses dies in air turbulence incident

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Dana Hyde, 55, was flying from Maryland to New England and suffered blunt-force injuries from violent turbulence

A former official in the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama White Houses died last Friday after the private business jet that the prominent Washington attorney was on experienced stability issues and encountered severe turbulence mid-flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board has since started investigating “a reported trim issue that occurred prior to the in-flight upset” that affected the plane’s altitude control and may have caused the instability.

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Southwest Airlines plane hits birds and makes emergency landing in Cuba

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Smoke enters cabin of US Boeing 737 after nose and engine were struck during departure of flight 3923 for Florida

A US jetliner taking off from Cuba had engine trouble after hitting birds and returned to Havana for an emergency landing on Sunday, Cuban authorities said.

Smoke entered the cabin of the plane but no one was injured in the incident involving Southwest Airlines flight 3923 to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said the airline and the Cuban civil aviation authority, Cacsa.

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Man arrested in Pennsylvania after explosive allegedly found in check-in bag

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Security discovered device during screening and suspect was apprehended after he left Lehigh Valley airport

A man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked on to a Florida-bound flight at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, federal authorities said.

Marc Muffley, 40, is charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft, according to a criminal complaint.

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JetBlue pilot’s ‘evasive action’ averts crash at Boston’s Logan airport

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A Learjet on Monday was directed to wait for passenger plane to land but began to take off, forcing JetBlue craft to ‘climb out’

US aviation authorities are investigating a near miss at Boston’s Logan international airport after a JetBlue pilot had to take “evasive action” while landing when another aircraft crossed an intersecting runway.

The close call occurred at about 7pm on Monday when the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as a JetBlue flight was preparing to land on an intersecting runway, according to a preliminary review from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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UK Border Force urged to ‘deprioritise’ gun and drugs searches to ease queues

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Exclusive: Leaked emails show airport staff were guided to ease passenger waits during school holidays

Airport managers have asked Border Force officers to “deprioritise” customs work such as searching for guns and drugs in order to stop passport queues frustrating travellers.

Leaked emails show that staff at Manchester airport were told this month that customs work should be carried out only if “there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time”.

Any staff who are contingency trained should be prioritised to the PCP [Primary Control Point] when required to prevent excessive queues.

Customs work is deprioritised and will only be carried out when you are satisfied there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time or in the event of a cat A target,” he wrote.

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Wizz Air to suspend Moldova flights due to security fears

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Budget airline links decision to airspace risks from war in neighbouring Ukraine and tensions with Russia

Wizz Air will suspend all its flights to and from Moldova next month due to security concerns linked to growing tensions with Russia.

It comes after a Russian missile was fired over Moldovan airspace earlier this month.

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Lufthansa IT failure leaves thousands of passengers stranded

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Outage causes flight delays and cancellations after cables damaged during construction work

Thousands of passengers worldwide have been stranded after an IT fault at Germany’s flagship carrier Lufthansa caused flight delays and disruption at airlines across the group.

The company said the problem was caused by damage to several of Deutsche Telekom’s glass-fibre cables during construction work in Frankfurt. Repairs would take until Wednesday afternoon, Lufthansa said.

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United flight from Hawaii plunged to within 800ft of Pacific Ocean

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Plane heading for San Francisco took steep dive shortly after takeoff in dramatic incident in mid-December

A United flight from Maui to San Francisco plummeted to less than 800ft above the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff in December, an apparent near crash and previously unreported safety incident revealed by airline industry publication the Air Current.

Flight tracking data analysis revealed that the Boeing 777-200 had reached an altitude of roughly 2,200ft when it began a steep dive, descending at a rate of about 8,600ft a minute. After dipping below 775ft, the flight recovered altitude and traveled to San Francisco without further issue.

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