Hours-long delays were reported as IT problems also caused disruption on Dover-Calais ferries
Passengers arriving at major airports in the UK at the start of the bank holiday weekend faced long delays after problems with electronic passport gates.
Travellers expressed their anger on social media over queues of several hours at a number of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick as arrivals had their passports checked by hand instead of the automated machines.
Continue reading...Asiana Airlines flight was about 200 metres above the ground when the passenger pulled emergency exit
A man who opened an emergency exit on a flight mid-air felt “suffocated” and wanted to get off quickly, South Korean police said.
The Asiana Airlines plane was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway on Friday at Daegu international airport, about 150 miles south-east of Seoul, on a domestic flight.
Continue reading...Asiana Airlines officials say man pulled lever to open emergency exit shortly before landing
Police in South Korea have arrested a man who allegedly opened the door on an Asiana Airlines flight shortly before the aircraft landed, triggering panic among the 194 passengers onboard and leaving several requiring hospital treatment for breathing problems.
The Airbus A321 plane landed safely, but with its door still open, at Daegu airport in South Korea at about 12.40pm (0340 BST) after leaving Jeju island an hour earlier, the airport’s flight schedule showed.
Continue reading...More than 3,000 planes scheduled to take off on Friday, with road traffic peaking as leisure trips coincide with commuting
The start of the May half-term holiday for many schools will see “hectic” roads and the most flights departing the UK since before the pandemic, according to industry estimates.
About 19m leisure journeys by car are expected on Britain’s roads over the next four days, and more than 3,000 planes are scheduled to take off on Friday.
Continue reading...Spokesperson says 12 incoming flights affected during almost hour-long suspension due to alert
Incoming flights were suspended at Gatwick airport for almost an hour on Sunday after reports of a drone near the airfield.
Gatwick said 12 incoming flights had to be diverted to other airports because of the alert.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Companies say a compensation scheme like the EU’s would drive up air fares in Australia
Australian airlines are pushing back against calls for new laws that would force them to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled, with claims it would force carriers to preemptively raise air fares to fund payouts.
The resistance follows the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, consumer advocate Choice and the Australian Lawyers Alliance all separately raising the prospect of a compensation scheme to rein in airlines arbitrarily changing their schedules, as the government considers its aviation white paper.
Continue reading...Trevor Jacob, 29, faces up to 20 years in prison after purposely destroying wreckage of small plane that he crashed in 2021
A YouTuber accused of deliberately crashing his plane to get a boost in views has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation, the US Department of Justice announced.
Trevor Jacob, 29, faces up to 20 years in federal prison after he purposely destroyed the wreckage of the small single-engine plane that he crashed in California’s Los Padres national forest in 2021, according to a statement from the US attorney’s office.
Continue reading...Passengers faced average 30-minute wait, slightly worse than Manchester during 2022’s travel chaos
Passengers flying from Birmingham airport experienced the longest delays in the UK last year, official figures show.
Flight departures from Birmingham were on average half an hour behind schedule in 2022, marginally worse than Manchester, in a year marked by chaos for travellers.
Continue reading...Airlines would have to offer cash compensation and accommodation vouchers for cancellations and delays
Ahead of what promises to be a busy summer for the travel industry, the US Department of Transportation is proposing new rules that would require airlines to compensate passengers for cancellations and disruptions caused by the airlines.
Airlines for now are required to issue refunds to passengers if flights are canceled or significantly delayed due to factors within an airline’s control, including staffing shortages and maintenance issues. But the proposed rules, if approved, would require airlines to offer cash compensation and accommodation vouchers in addition to those refunds.
Continue reading...IAG expects to fly almost the same passenger numbers this year as before Covid pandemic
The owner of British Airways has upgraded its full-year profit expectations thanks to strong demand for holiday travel, as the airline group said it expected to fly almost the same number of passengers this year as it did before the coronavirus pandemic.
International Airlines Group (IAG) reported a first-quarter profit for the first time since 2019, before the travel industry was plunged into chaos by Covid lockdowns. It made an operating profit of €9m (£7.9m) in the first three months of the year.
Continue reading...Passenger numbers rose to 16 million last month amid pent-up demand for air travel
Ryanair has recorded its third busiest month for traffic, having flown 16 million passengers in April as it continued to benefit from pent-up demand for air travel.
The budget airline said the figure marked a 13% increase in passenger numbers compared with the same month a year earlier, when it carried just over 14 million people, as customers sought to jet off on spring getaways including during the Easter holidays.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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