Category Archives: Air transport

‘A new chapter’: first commercial flight from US since 2019 lands in Venezuela

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Four months after US capture of Nicolás Maduro, officials hail repairing of ties as airliner touches down in Caracas

US and Venezuelan officials have hailed a new era in diplomatic relations as the first direct commercial flight between the two countries in more than seven years landed in Caracas.

Nearly four months ago, US special forces attack helicopters and planes swept into the skies over Venezuela’s capital after Donald Trump ordered the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro.

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Humanoid robots to become baggage handlers in Japan airport experiment

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Japan Airlines will introduce the robots for trial run at a Tokyo airport amid country’s surge in inbound tourism and worsening labour shortages

Japan’s famously conscientious but overburdened baggage handlers will soon be joined by extra staff at Tokyo’s Haneda airport – although their new colleagues will need to take regular recharging breaks.

Japan Airlines will introduce humanoid robots on a trial basis from the beginning of May, with a view to deploying them permanently as a solution to the country’s chronic labour shortage.

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RAF Typhoons scrambled in response to Russian drone threat near Nato airspace

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Jets flew from bases in Romania but did not open fire as potential targets stayed within Ukrainian airspace

Two RAF Typhoons have been scrambled from a Romanian air base to engage Russian drones close to Nato airspace, although they did not open fire.

British defence sources said the fighter jets did not enter Ukrainian airspace, contradicting reports that Russian drones had been shot down by the RAF there, an event which would have represented a major escalation in hostilities between the western alliance and Moscow.

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UK eases airline penalties as jet fuel shortages threaten flights

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Carriers will retain airport slots if they cancel services as passengers are urged to continue with travel plans

Penalties on airlines that cancel UK flights because of jet fuel shortages have been eased, it has emerged, as the government issued fresh advice to reassure the public they can still fly and should stick to travel plans.

Airlines that cancel owing to a lack of fuel will not lose their rights to valuable takeoff and landing slots at busy airports, which can be forfeited when flights fail to operate over a period.

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Almost half of EU’s busiest flight routes are ‘hard or impossible’ to book on trains – report

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‘Stone age’ system of booking cross-border rail tickets holding back climate action by consumers, says thinktank

Europe’s “stone age” system of booking train tickets makes it needlessly difficult for travellers to avoid polluting flights, a report has found.

Booking equivalent train tickets is “difficult or impossible” on almost half of the EU’s busiest international air routes, analysis from the Transport & Environment (T&E) thinktank shows.

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Air Canada temporarily suspends some flights to New York and other locations

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Spirit Airlines reportedly seeks emergency US government funding as war against Iran keeps aviation fuel costs high

Air Canada has announced a temporary suspension of flights from Toronto and Montreal to New York’s John F Kennedy airport, citing rising fuel prices.

The move comes amid growing concerns that airlines worldwide may scale back services as aviation fuel costs climb in the wake of the US and Israel’s ongoing war with Iran, which entered a fragile ceasefire earlier in April. Although Iran announced on Friday that the strait of Hormuz had reopened, helping ease oil prices, fuel costs remain significantly elevated after weeks of disruption.

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Fears of UK and EU flight cancellations as airports warn of jet fuel shortages

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Summer holidays could be hit unless oil flows through strait of Hormuz recommence within three weeks

Airports have warned that jet fuel could run short within three weeks in Europe if oil supplies do not start to flow through the strait of Hormuz, raising concerns over flight cancellations in the UK and EU going into the summer holiday season.

Jet fuel shortages will become so acute without the resumption of supplies from the Middle East that cancellations across Europe will be inevitable, disrupting travel plans for potentially millions of passengers.

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Stork warning: woman gives birth midair on Jamaica-to-New York flight

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Baby was delivered during Caribbean Airlines flight from Kingston to the US; nationality of child to be determined

A routine passenger flight from Jamaica landed at New York’s John F Kennedy international airport with one more person than it took off with after a woman gave birth in midair, potentially setting up a tricky situation over the newborn’s citizenship.

The “medical event” occurred on a Caribbean Airlines flight from Kingston on Saturday, according to a news release from the carrier.

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ICE arrested more than 800 people after tips from TSA, investigation shows

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Reuters uncovers that the TSA shared more than 31,000 traveler records with ICE for immigration enforcement

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than 800 people following tips shared by federal airport security officials from the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency through February 2026, according to internal agency data reviewed by Reuters – a figure far above what was previously publicly known.

The leads came from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which supplied ICE with records on more than 31,000 travelers for possible immigration enforcement, the data showed.

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Air Canada CEO to resign after backlash to video tribute of pilots killed in crash

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Michael Rousseau faced mockery for speaking English and not French while addressing fatal LaGuardia airport crash

The head of Canada’s largest airline is stepping down after his video tribute to pilots killed in a fatal collision became a public relations nightmare for Air Canada, prompting a wave of mockery and indignation at him from both the public and politicians for not speaking French.

Air Canada’s CEO, Michael Rousseau, will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, the company said Monday. He will continue to lead the company and serve on the board of directors until that time, the carrier said.

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DHS funding freeze now longest partial government shutdown in US history

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If the now six-week partial shutdown continues after the weekend, it will become the longest of any shutdown

The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the fourth-largest agency in the US government, became the longest partial shutdown in US history on Sunday.

If the now six-week partial shutdown continues after the weekend, it will also become the longest of any shutdown, surpassing the impasse late last year that dragged on for 43 days.

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US passengers enraged by hours-long lines and missed flights: ‘Absolutely insane’

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Some people are opting not to travel at all amid what they call ‘a manufactured crisis by the Trump administration’

Passengers across the US have had their travel plans upended by the latest Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which has triggered widespread staffing shortages at airports as security employees go weeks without pay.

“We are returning from St Thomas, US Virgin Islands to Boston today and it took fully three hours to get through US customs. Absolutely insane,” Boston-based passenger John Hildebrandt told the Guardian.

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LaGuardia pilots raised safety alarms months before deadly runway crash

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Nasa reports show repeated warnings of close calls before crash that killed two pilots and injured 41 others

Pilot safety concerns about New York’s LaGuardia airport were filed to aviation officials months before Sunday’s collision between an airplane and a firetruck left two pilots dead and 41 other people hospitalized.

According to the aviation safety reporting system administered by the US space agency Nasa, a pilot using the airport in the summer wrote, “Please do something,” after air traffic controllers failed to provide appropriate guidance about multiple nearby aircraft.

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TSA lines stretch for hours as Trump deploys ICE agents to US airports

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President claims immigration agents could help manage long lines as TSA agents go unpaid during partial shutdown

Security lines stretched for hours on Monday at US airports where unpaid Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) screening agents refused to report for duty and ICE agents deployed by Donald Trump were reportedly seen in a dozen cities.

The president claimed over the weekend that immigration agents could help manage long lines, but in Atlanta, little immediate impact of their presence could be observed. Meanwhile, airport staff were getting creative trying to herd thousands of discontented passengers.

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‘A miracle’: Canadian flight attendant ejected from plane survives New York crash

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Solange Tremblay was ejected over 100 metres from the plane after collision at LaGuardia airport, her daughter says

A flight attendant on the Air Canada Jazz flight that collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia airport on Sunday survived in what her daughter called a “complete miracle”, when she was ejected more than 100 metres from the plane while still strapped to her seat.

The CRJ-900 jet, operated by Jazz Aviation, collided with a fire truck as it landed, killing both the pilot and co-pilot. Nine people were sent to the hospital with injuries, including Solange Tremblay, a flight attendant.

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Air Canada plane collides with ground vehicle at New York’s LaGuardia airport, halting all flights

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The regulator has issued a ground stop for all planes and New York’s emergency management authority warned people to expect cancellations and delays

New York’s LaGuardia airport was closed to flights early on Monday after an Air Canada flight and Port Authority vehicle collided.

The New York police department confirmed the collision but could not immediately offer further information. A spokesperson for the New York City Fire Department said firefighters responded to reports of a plane that crashed into a vehicle on the runway at 11:38pm.

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ICE agents will be deployed to US airports on Monday to ease long lines

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Trump and border czar Tom Homan confirm plan to assist TSA agents amid partial government shutdown standoff

Donald Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, have confirmed that the president’s administration is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to US airports beginning on Monday to assist with security amid extremely long lines – and to help airport security agents who have been working without pay since 14 February because of a partial government shutdown.

Homan will lead the effort, Trump said on Sunday.

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Security lines persist at US airports as Congress negotiates DHS funding

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Senate Democrats sent counteroffer on Monday aimed at resolving budget standoff

Negotiations for Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – which oversees airport security officers – remained ongoing as the airport in Atlanta, the world’s busiest, dealt with long security lines on Tuesday.

A White House official confirmed that Senate Democrats sent a counteroffer on Monday aimed at resolving a budget standoff that led to a DHS shutdown into its second month. A Trump administration official confirmed to the Guardian that the offer by Democrats was under review, though Republican lawmakers were quick to dismiss the proposal.

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BA owner’s profits rise by 20% despite drop in passenger numbers last year

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IAG reports record operating profits on margins of more than 15% at British Airways and sister airline Iberia

British Airways’ owner, International Airlines Group, has announced a sharp rise in annual profits to almost £4bn despite a slight fall in passenger numbers in 2025.

Pre-tax profits across IAG increased by 20% to €4.5bn (£3.9bn), with record operating profits on margins of more than 15% at BA and its sister airline Iberia.

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Winter storm brings foot of snow to midwest over busiest US travel weekend

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Plane skidded off runway and 45 cars were piled up as 53 million were under winter weather alerts over Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving weekend storm system brought over a foot of snow and strong winds across the US midwest and thunderstorms across the south, as 53 million people from South Dakota to New York were under winter weather alerts.

Over the weekend, ahead of one of the busiest travel days of the year on Sunday, a 45-car pile-up occurred on interstate 78 in Indiana and a Delta Air Lines plane skidded off the runway in Des Moines, Iowa, during landing.

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