Category Archives: Air transport

Three people dead after small plane crashes in Oregon town

Posted on by

Officials say two people on board Cessna plane that struck row of townhouses, displacing families and causing fire

Three people were dead after a small plane crashed into a row of townhouses on Saturday morning in a neighborhood east of Portland, setting the homes ablaze, authorities told KATU-TV.

Officials earlier in the day had said the plane was carrying two people and that at least one resident had been unaccounted for.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that a twin-engine Cessna 421C came down at about 10.30am local time near the Troutdale airport.

Continue reading...

Severe turbulence injures seven people on United Airlines flight from Cancun

Posted on by

Rough weather forces flight from Mexico to Chicago to make emergency landing in Memphis

Severe turbulence caused injuries to seven people on a United Airlines flight from Cancun in Mexico to Chicago and forced an emergency landing in Memphis, according to the airline.

The Boeing 737 was hit by the rough weather and forced to land on Wednesday in the latest such incident to hit the industry. One person was taken to hospital.

Continue reading...

Starmer to end £40m helicopter contract in break from Sunak era

Posted on by

Former PM and ministers drew criticism for the VIP flights Labour says were ‘symbol of their government’

A £40m VIP helicopter contract used extensively by the former prime minister Rishi Sunak is to be cancelled as his successor, Keir Starmer, promises to undo “14 years of rot” under the Conservatives.

Starmer and his defence secretary, John Healey, have decided not to renew a contract for helicopter transport which is due to expire at the end of the year after it was extended in 2023 at Sunak’s personal insistence.

Continue reading...

‘We don’t stop for red lights’: drone deliveries taking off as Australian regulators prepare for air traffic boom

Posted on by

With everything from coffee to mining equipment now being delivered by drone, operators are exploring technology to stop connection black spots sending drones dropping from the sky

Jani Talikka was a commercial pilot flying Boeing 717s, but after ordering a drone delivery as a customer, he decided to shift gears.

“I didn’t leave fixed-wing aviation because I disliked it – but drones are cutting edge,” he told Guardian Australia. “It’s rare you get to be a part of something like this at the start.”

Continue reading...

US pilot who took magic mushrooms and tried to cut engines says behavior ‘unfathomable’

Posted on by

Joseph Emerson charged with 83 counts of reckless endangerment over incident on flight to San Francisco

An Alaska Airlines pilot who attempted to shut off the engines of a passenger plane mid-flight after ingesting magic mushrooms said his actions were “unfathomable”, in some of his first public remarks after he was indicted on 83 counts of reckless endangerment.

In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, Joseph Emerson described the events of 22 October as “30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can’t”.

Continue reading...

UK travellers warned of likely disruption over bank holiday weekend

Posted on by

About 19.2 million people likely to hit road for leisure trips and more than 2 million expected to fly overseas

Travellers are being told to expect widespread disruption this bank holiday as delays and congestion are predicted across key roads and rail routes, and airports are expecting more than 2 million people through their doors.

On what is expected to be the busiest weekend for travel this year, the transport analytics company Inrix said the heaviest road traffic was likely on Friday between 10am and 6pm, and Saturday between 10am and 1pm.

Continue reading...

London City airport expansion given green light by ministers

Posted on by

Climate campaigners criticise decision to allow capacity to increase from 6.5m to 9m passengers a year

Ministers have approved London City airport’s application to expand, in a decision that has disappointed climate campaigners.

The airport submitted a proposal to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights. Local campaigners and Newham council opposed the move, arguing the air and noise pollution would affect people living nearby and that it could potentially increase carbon emissions.

Continue reading...

London City airport: 54% of journeys take under six hours by train, data shows

Posted on by

Exclusive: Most popular routes can be reached quickly by train, as government mulls expansion proposal

More than half of the journeys taken from London City airport last year can be reached in six hours or less by train, data reveals.

The Labour government is preparing to make the final call on the airport’s application to significantly increase its passenger numbers. The airport wants to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights.

Continue reading...

German climate activists stop air traffic after breaking into four airport sites

Posted on by

Police arrest Letzte Generation protesters who cut holes in fences and glued themselves to asphalt

Climate activists have broken into four German airport sites, briefly bringing air traffic to a halt at two of those before police made arrests.

Protesters from Letzte Generation – Germany’s equivalent to Just Stop Oil – gained access on Thursday to airfields in areas near the takeoff and landing strips of Cologne-Bonn, Nuremberg, Berlin Brandenburg and Stuttgart airports at dawn. Air traffic was suspended for a short time at Nuremberg and Cologne-Bonn due to police operations.

Continue reading...

Heathrow says it lost 90,000 transfer passengers after new £10 fee

Posted on by

Airport says ETA scheme introduced by Conservatives is ‘devastating’ for competitiveness

Heathrow airport has said it experienced a 90,000 decline in passenger numbers on routes included in a £10 a person government scheme.

It described the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system as “devastating for our hub competitiveness”.

Continue reading...

Marina Hyde on the ‘brave’ inciters of Britain’s race riots; lightning struck my plane and I plunged 3,000m; the delights of the dead hang – podcast

Posted on by

Where are you Tommy and Elon? Marina Hyde finds that those provoking the race riots are far, far away; the dead hang delight – how this quick, surprisingly simple exercise can change your life; and ‘A bolt of lightning struck my plane’ – one woman’s incredible story of survival

Continue reading...

Large number of buyers interested in Rex despite $500m debt

Posted on by

As private investors circle, Transport Workers Union urges federal government to take equity stake in airline to secure at-risk jobs and shore up routes

A large number of potential buyers have expressed an interest in regional airline Rex as administrators work to keep the embattled carrier flying while weighed down with $500m in debt.

EY Australia has been appointed to chart a path forward for the five companies in the Rex Group since the airline called in the administrators and grounded its Boeing 737 fleet on major metropolitan routes.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Labor ignored Bonza’s plea for help, as questions linger over what transport officials knew and when

Posted on by

Exclusive: Documents reveal what transport minister Catherine King was advised to say in public as budget Australian airline headed for collapse

The Albanese government turned down a plea from budget airline Bonza for financial assistance 10 days before it entered voluntary administration and ultimately collapsed, and new documents have questioned what transport department officials knew and when.

Documents obtained by Guardian Australia through freedom of information laws reveal the transport department prepared a brief on Bonza’s financial assistance request for the transport minister, Catherine King, on 20 April. Ten days later the airline’s planes were repossessed and thousands of passengers stranded across the country.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

United Airlines flight diverted after ‘biohazard’ caused by ill passenger

Posted on by

Flight 2477 to Boston landed in DC to conduct a ‘deep clean’ after crew and passengers began vomiting

A United Airlines flight was forced to divert after a passenger fell so ill on board that it caused what one crew member reportedly called a “biohazard” – and made crewmates and other passengers start vomiting.

The plane, Flight 2477 heading from Houston to Boston on Sunday, ended up landing in Washington DC so it could undergo “a deep clean”, the New York Post reported.

Continue reading...

Flights hit at Frankfurt and Oslo airports as climate protests continue

Posted on by

Service at Germany’s busiest airport gradually resuming as ‘oil kills’ protests spread from Europe to North America

Climate activists have disrupted flights at Frankfurt and Oslo airports on the second day of coordinated “oil kills” protests across Europe and North America.

Demanding an end to fossil fuels by 2030, supporters of Letzte Generation (Last Generation) briefly suspended flights at Frankfurt airport on Thursday morning. The activists said they had cut a wire fence, entered on bicycles and skateboards and glued themselves to the tarmac.

Continue reading...

EasyJet forecasts record-breaking summer as profits jump

Posted on by

Strong results follow drop in European airline stocks this week after Ryanair reported profit plunge

The budget airline easyJet is predicting a record-breaking summer of travel after profits jumped 16% in its most recent quarter of trading.

The bumper figures come only two days after the rival no-frills carrier Ryanair reported a plunge in earnings and a poor outlook for the holiday getaway season, pushing down many European airline stocks.

Continue reading...

Royal family to replace helicopters after flights cost more than £1m last year

Posted on by

Two new AgustaWestland AW139s will be in use this year as total annual travel bill rises from £3.9m to £4.2m

The royal family spent more than £1m on journeys by helicopter last year, and will take delivery of two new ones to replace those they have used for the past 15 years.

In total, royals made 170 helicopter journeys, costing a total of £1,096,300, official accounts reveal, with the total travel bill last year rising to £4.2m from £3.9m.

Continue reading...

Pilot, 26, dies as her plane crashes after skydiving flight over Niagara Falls

Posted on by

Melanie Georger, who dreamed of flying for commercial airlines, was only person onboard after passengers jumped

A 26-year-old pilot with dreams of flying for commercial airlines died in a skydiving flight over the weekend when her small plane crashed near the Niagara Falls after her passengers jumped from the aircraft.

Melanie Georger, 26, was the only person onboard when her single-engine Cessna crashed on Saturday, the Niagara county, New York, sheriff’s office said in a statement. Georger, of Towanda, New York, was working to become a commercial pilot, her father said on Saturday in a statement on Facebook.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

Continue reading...

Holidaymakers warned of more airport delays after global Windows outage

Posted on by

Flyers advised to check with providers for ‘extra steps’, with at least 45 UK flights cancelled on Saturday

Holidaymakers have been warned that travel disruption may continue this weekend as airlines recover from being hit by one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years.

Passengers had their travel plans ruined on Friday as thousands of flights were cancelled internationally after a botched software upgrade hit Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The incident caused havoc across a number of services, with hospital appointments cancelled, payroll systems seized up and TV channels going off air due to the outage.

Continue reading...

‘Bedlam’ in UK as air and rail travel hit by global IT outage

Posted on by

More than 3,000 flights cancelled worldwide after problem affecting Microsoft Windows

Passengers have described “bedlam” at UK airport check-ins after a global IT outage on what was due to be the busiest day for flying since the start of the Covid pandemic, while train networks have also been disrupted.

More than 3,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide after Microsoft Windows operating systems used by airlines, airports and some air traffic systems were affected.

Continue reading...