Qantas Back In The Sky

Qantas have been ordered to resume flights after it grounded all aircraft over the weekend following an industrial dispute with three unions following rows over restructuring plans including moving some operations to Asia.

The FWA Fair Work Australia ruled Qantas to get its planes back in the sky which experts say is a victory for the airline over the unions.

Planes were grounded by Qantas early Saturday morning as a result of industrial action by union members. This meant 108 planes were grounded leaving thousands of passengers stranded costing the airline $13 million a day.

Manchester Airport Gets Re-Certified - Carbon Footprint

Manchester airport has again been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard, the award recognises the efforts Manchester airport make to reduce their carbon footprint which they have been doing since 2006.

The airport wants all ground operations to be carbon neutral by 2015 this vision was set out back in 2006 and looks set to be met. The airport was awarded the carbon trust in 2008 and has played a big role in getting other airports to follow its initiative which led to the re-certification this year.

How has the airport gone green?

Neil Robinson explains, all electricity bought by the airport is from renewable resources, it launched the carbon challenge a five-year programme aimed at engaging service partners and businesses based on site to target the main areas of the carbon journey and has replaced up to 10,000 lights with LED’s to reduce CO2 and electric usage.

Harry Morrison the director of certification for the carbon trust said any company that has been certified has taken genuine action to reduce their carbon footprint and the effect it has on the environment.

False Alarm At Manchester Airport

A Bomb disposal team was called to Manchester airport earlier in the week amid fears from a suspicious bag belonging to a man who is thought to have a false passport, the man believed to be 59 remains in police custody.

1800 passengers and 500 staff were evacuated from Terminal 1 around 10.30am after inspection the police confirmed it was a false alarm. Supt Phil Davies said the safety of passengers and staff was their primary concern.

11 flights were grounded in total though no arriving flights were affected.

Bomb Threat At Kansas Airport

Kansas City International Airport called in the bomb squad to blast a passengers bag as it feared it was a bomb. The incident took place whilst the ceremonies for remembering the 3000 victims of 9/11 were taking place.

The bag was intercepted at the South West checkpoint and shut down Terminal B while the bomb squad arrived with a robot in tow which aided in destroying the item which was believed to have bomb making equipment inside it minus the explosives and detonators.

The man was taken into custody, early reports suggest the man is a former New York City Police Officer though this has yet to be confirmed. As like all US airports Kansas was on high alert over the weekend and no chances could be taken

Stelios Wants Director Removed

Stelios Haji-Ioannou the founder of easyjet has launched an attempt to remove Rigas Doganis from the board. Doganis is charged with voting in favour of ordering 35 new aircraft before a profit warning was announced. Stelios has called for a meeting of shareholders to vote on the removal of Doaganis.

Stelios was fuming that the order was placed and that Doganis should have foreseen the projected profit warning. The removal vote comes after Stelios had Sir David Michaels last month removed from the board last month.

He also said it was about time directors started paying for mistakes they make with other people’s money.

Easyjet hit back by saying this was an unnecessary and costly distraction that was damaging the company’s reputation and said it would be writing to shareholders to vote against the removal order.

Heathrow To Get New £500 million Rail Link

New plans for a £500 million rail link connecting Wales to Heathrow airport is being drawn up by the transport secretary Phillip Hammond. The new route will end the need for travellers having to enter London from the West to get to Heathrow.

The new route which will include the West of England will cut 30 minutes off journey times according to the Department of Transport. The proposed plans would see a new rail station built at Heathrow that would see 4 shuttles leaving an hour.

The Government has also confirmed that plans to electrify the line between Cardiff and London set out by the previous Labour Government would go ahead, which is essential to the new spur to Heathrow.

Fumes Halt Stansted Flight

An aircraft bound for Stansted airport was forced to land at Gatwick this week after passengers complained the cabin smelled of fumes. The plane had already been forced to stop at Nantes airport amid unusual smells on board the aircraft.

Engineers at Nantes airport checked the plane and gave it the green light to continue its journey which started in Barcelona, however mid air fume smells again forced the Ryanair aircraft to land at Gatwick.

The passengers were transferred from Gatwick to Stansted via a coach a Ryanair spokesmen apologised for the delay and said Ryanair engineers would be inspecting the aircraft which would be out of service until the problem was found

Gatwick Family Measures Paying Off

Gatwick airports attempt to become the airport of choice for families appears to be paying off as figures show a 10% rise in family bookings. The airport has been making an effort to become more child friendly when it joined the family friendly institute earlier this year.

Such measures included games for children and reduced retail prices in the terminals. This would seem to have paid off as an estimated 7000 children meals will be served on British Airways flights flying out of Gatwick through July and August.

The youngsters will be given a Padddington Bear skyflyer pack to keep them busy during the flight. Gatwick Chief Exec Stewart Wingate commented the airport was going out of its way to make the journey through the airport more enjoyable.

Heathrow To Introduce Face Scanners

The UK's largest airport Heathrow will install facial recognition scanners in September in an attempt to prevent illegal immigration into the country. The passenger's face is scanned, after receiving a boarding pass and just before the security check. Before the person boards their flight, their faces are scanned again when they leave the airport waiting room.

Facial recognition scanners are to ensure that passenger board the correct flight. For example, a passenger who arrives from LA won’t be able to get hold of a domestic ticket and fly to Edinburgh.

Aurora Computer Services is the company behind the technology which is based in the UK, the company says their machines known as AIR Systems(Aurora Recognition Systems) can identify a passenger from up to 3 feet away by reading the biometric details of the passengers.

Court Allows TSA Use Of Body Scanners

An appeal court in the US gave the Transportation Security Administration(TSA) the green light to carry on using full body scanners, but stated passengers should have been made aware before using them.



The court ruled the machines known as Advanced Imaging Technology(AIT) were not an unconstitutional search and allowed the TSA to continue using them.

All passengers have the option to opt out of the scanner search and opt for the traditional pat-down instead. Something which many passengers were not aware of, the ruling has been sent back to the TSA with a call for action.

The TSA hit back by saying they do seek customer input and that AIT’s were a major part of their multi layered security for detecting non metallic explosive devices.

Ryanair Brings New Service To Corfu

Ryanair will begin a new service this morning from Stansted airport with flights bound for the Greek Island of Corfu, the new service will be running every Monday and Thursday in an attempt to entice family travellers with the lure of sun and sand.

The scheduled service to Corfu adds to the current Greek destinations from Stansted including Rhodes and Thessaloniki. Nick Barton Stansted Managing director said the airport offered more scheduled flights to European destinations than any other airport and was delighted to add Corfu to that list.

Other new routes announced earlier in the year was a new service to Malmo, Sweeden which will operate every day starting on the 2nd November.

Airport Delays Expected

Delays are expected tomorrow at Uk airports as immigration and customs officers join 750,000 teachers and civil servants in strike action over pension reforms. The Uk border agency is warning travellers the walkout will cause mass delays and travelling on different dates if possible is advised.

BAA have confirmed there airports will be delayed after receiving confirmation from the border agency stating the strike intentions. Thousands of teachers who go on strike tomorrow has will cause heartache for parents who will be forced to have the day off work or make arrangements with child minders.

David Cameron the English prime minister has called the strikes unnecessary as the pension reforms were fair. A poll carried out by the Sun newspaper has the country divided with backing slightly in favour of the strikers

Ryanair to refund Irish tourist tax

Good news for travellers who have booked cheap flights or plan to do so with Ryanair. In line with the abolition of the €3 tourist tax, Ryanair confirmed last month that it will refund travellers who paid this charge on advance bookings.

Ryanair welcomes this initiative partly designed to encourage tourism in Ireland, which had been stunted by this damaging tax.

According to the Head of Communications at Ryanair, Stephen McNamara, customers who purchased a flight to travel to or from an Irish airport can apply for a refund as soon as the abolition comes into effect.

Stansted Parking Dispute Goes Public

A BAA airport car parking customer was left feeling disgruntled after coming back from holiday to find his car scratched after leaving it in the official valet car park at Stansted airport. This was made worse by BAA’s view on the matter that they were not liable for the damage.

The incident occurred in September 2010 after the customer had exchanged numerous letters with BAA he wrote to the Guardian who raised the subject with BAA only to be told the same thing, on reading the terms and conditions it is clear that the airport operator is only liable for damage caused by their drivers.

But as this damage was caused whilst the car was parked up they avoid any responsibility, which the customer was not happy about. After the Guardian published the whole debacle BAA offered to renew contact with the customer to see if they could come to some kind of agreement and the Guardian warned other travellers that the official airport car parks don’t necessarily mean total security.

HIA Staff In Strike Threat

Over 150 staff at 10 Scottish airports are threatening to go on strike over a row over pay, the staff work for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd and the first strike date has been earmarked for the 4th July right in the middle of the busy summer period and is also the same week the Scottish Open is taking place.

A 1% pay rise has been severely rebuffed as some staff are only on £6.85 at the moment, security staff are not even entitled to sick pay, shift pay or any pension benefits. Whilst other HIA staff they work alongside get all of the previous benefits.

To make matters worse there are reports the airport is recruiting strike-breakers to cover the absence of staff and even paying them a higher wage than they pay there own workers. This has caused outrage among strikers however the airport denies this is taking place.

In-flight calls

The controversial issue of in-flight calls is one which is being discussed more and more these days.

There are increasing numbers of airlines which are signing up with OnAir, a system which enables flyers to use their mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices to communicate via voice or data connections during a flight. At present, only some airlines, for example, Air New Zealand, Emirates, TAP Air Portugal and Malaysia Airlines allow passengers to make voice calls using their mobile telephones, while others only permit communication via text or e-mail.

The good news for passengers who like to stay connected with those on the ground is that this initiative will most likely be adopted by many airlines. Companies can decide whether they will allow calls to be made during flights. The more airlines that accept this plan, the more that will follow along the same line.

Monarch Undergoes Brand Change

Monarch is undertaking its biggest rebrand for years and is going from a chartered airline to scheduled routes in an attempt to snatch business from rival airlines Easyjet and Ryanair. As well as positioning itself as a scheduled airline it also undergoing cosmetic changes to its brand image including a new slogan “Fly your way every day”

The planes will feature the new purple and yellow themes along with print, media and digital marketing all featuring the new slogan. Milton Bayer and Flourish were some of the agencies used in the creation of the new brand.

Apart from the fresh look new services will allow passengers to customise their flight with such options as booking allocated seats, meal options and if you want extra leg room. CEO Conrad Clifford said it was a key milestone that Monarch was moving towards scheduled flights and there tailoring service would entice customers.

Bank Holiday Weekend To Escape Ash Cloud

Further disruptions from the Icelandic ash cloud appear unlikely after forecasts suggest the Grimsvötn volcano has ceased to emit ash into the atmosphere, this will be welcome news to Scottish airports along with airlines British Airways, Ryanair and Easyjet.

The cloud had caused disruptions to 250 flights earlier in the week but further disruption are not expected for the upcoming bank holiday weekend. The president of the United States Barrack Obama made his visit to the UK earlier to avoid the cloud when he arrived at Stansted airport late on Monday night.

Other travellers opting to go early were the Barcelona football team who face Manchester United in the Champion league final on Saturday night. They weren’t scheduled to fly to London until Thursday but opted to arrive on Tuesday amid fears of ash cloud disruptions.

Monarch Airlines connects the UK and Spain

Monarch Airlines has added two new connections per week between Malaga and London Luton, just in time for the summer holidays.

The airline has also added two extra flights per week between London Luton and Alicante and Mallorca; two flights between London Gatwick and Mallorca; and one extra between London Gatwick and Manchester to Tenerife.

The total number of routes that Monarch Airlines will be operating this summer between the United Kingdom and Spain is 35. The Managing Director of the airline, Kevin George, stated that they were impressed with the demand for flights with Monarch Airlines to Spain and it is for this reason that they have added new routes.

This summer there will be 2.5 million seats available on flights between the United Kingdom and Spain. The service with this low cost airline enables passengers to pre-book their seats and request extra leg room for an additional fee.

You can book cheap flights with Monarch Airlines between the main airports in the United Kingdom, Birmingham, London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester, and Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Mallorca, Malaga, Menorca and Tenerife.

EasyJet Record Double Losses

The high cost of fuel and increased passenger taxes are being blamed by easyJet for a its pre-tax loss doubling in the last year to £153 million up from £74 million. While passenger numbers actually increased by 12% to 23.9 million losses were recorded due to a rise in fuel costs amounting to £43 million and a further £21 million in passenger taxes.

Chief Executive Carolyn McCall explained the last six months had been tough what with rising fuel costs and cautious behaviour from consumers due to the economy. Though she insisted progress had been made in implementing the strategy set out after the review of business last year.

Mrs McCall remained confident highlighting they had optimised business routes via offering attractive routes at a better frequency and that cash generation remained strong and steps taken were having a positive effect.

BA Worker Sacked After You Tube Outbursts

A British Airways worker has been sacked after, he was found to have made numerous You Tube videos threatening and goading fellow BA workers who had broken the cabin crew strike and returned to work.

Byran Benning a father of two was traced by BA officials and was sacked immediately, he is charged with threatening to poison a pilot’s food stating they were hated by cabin crew and were viewed as glorified bus drivers.

Mr Benning is now trying to sue BA for unfair dismissal saying the messages were not posted by him but posted by his brother. The worker who was stationed at Heathrow’s terminal 5 was stopped from boarding a plane then interrogated about the findings after which he was sacked.

Plymouth City Airport to close

The last flights will be taking off and arriving at Plymouth City Airport in December of this year. The owner of this hub announced that it would be closing as a result of the economic downtown which has affected the UK regional aviation market. At present, there are less than 100 passengers flying out of this hub on a daily basis which is just not enough to keep it in business.

Newquay and Exeter Airports will benefit from the closure, but Plymouth still needs an airport in the future. In the meantime, all the bodies involved are endeavouring to find a way to save the airport and its only airline will continue to sell airline tickets and operate flights to and from the hub until closure.

Boeing Skids Of Runway At Midway Airport

A plane crash was narrowly avoided yesterday when a Boeing 737-700 skidded of the runway at Chicago’s Midway airport. All 134 passengers escaped unharmed after the plane came to rest 150ft from the airports boundary wall.

The plane had circled the airport several times after heavy rain had made landing extremely difficult, however the plane came into land at around 1.30pm on runway 13 of all numbers and the longest runway at the airport.

The Boeing skidded off the runway and ran onto the grass, luckily none was injured, airport officials closed a section of the airport where the plane had finished and confirmed they would be investigating the accident.

Fluid Spill Delays Flights At Birmingham Airport

A spillage of hydraulic fluid on the runway caused delays at Birmingham airport yesterday after the spillage was detected just after 1 pm 8 planes were delayed, 4 of which were waiting to land and 4 that were waiting to take off.

The delay caused problems for around 1000 passengers who were trying to get away and enjoy some bank holiday sunshine. There was a knock on effect delay which saw the last plane delayed by around 2 hours.

The airport’s on site fire brigade cleared the fluid within 40 minutes, it is not clear how the fluid got to be there in the first place.

Coventry Airport Gets £250million Investment

Coventry airport is set for a £250million investment from its new owner Sir Mike Rigby to redevelop surrounding land to create a new business park creating upwards of 10,000 new jobs. Green belt land to the north of the airport and former factory Alvis to the south will be used to create the park, while the airport itself plans to return to passenger flights to tourist destinations.

The news which was announced at a press conference will be met with its critics as did previous similar plans, though developers hope to gain support from the government and locals this time by introducing a link road on the A45.

The council and Mr Rigby will be applying to the government to make it an enterprise zone where potential businesses will get tax breaks and relaxation of planning laws. The new scheme also includes the building of a new hotel and restaurant next to the airport.

BA Chairman Blasts Airport Security

British Airways Chairman Sir Martin Broughton has called for reforms in airport security, speaking at the Department of Transport and Logistics in London yesterday Mr Broughton questioned how a pilot had to undergo the same screening process as a Yemeni student.

He went on to say the one size fits all policy was a waste of resources and profile management should be in effect where passengers are judged on their appearance and mannerisms. Also know as profiling some passengers find this tactic absurd but Sir Martin said concerns were misplaced and missed the point of the exercise.

Heathrow To Use Geo-Thermal Technology

BAA is looking at ways to minimise future disruptions caused from snow and ice that brought chaos to Heathrow last winter when the airport was in a standstill for 5 days.

BAA are working alongside a mystery private company about the possibility of storing the heat from the summer sun in the runway, then using that heat in the winter to stop planes from being stuck in their stands.

The idea is to dig holes in the tarmac that will house the Geo-Thermal technology this will store the heat from the runway which will in turn heat water which will be pumped to the slabs of concrete where the planes are.

BAA have not yet confirmed the cost of the project but have initiated a facelift to one of the terminals may take a back seat to help finance the technology.

Newcastle Airport Future Uncertain

The future of Newcastle airport is uncertain after the 7 councils that own it including Durham, Gateshead, City of Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and the City of Sunderland have announced it may consider selling its share, Copenhagen airport which owns the other 49% are also thought to be considering selling.

The sale is due to mounting debts at the airport and the repayment deadline of a £320million loan taken out in 2006 which is due in 2013 December.

LA7 who manages the Councils stake say they had to pay out £22 million in interest during 2009 and are £4.2 million in the red.

If an investor can’t be found to pump more cash into the airport then the Councils will have to sell their stake.

Jersey to Glasgow and back with easyJet

Towards the end of March, easyJet announced that it will be launching a direct link between Jersey and Scotland. This will be the airline’s second route to Jersey as it already operates cheap flights between the island and Liverpool. It will operate this new, seasonal route three times per week between June and September.

Not only will this improve tourism in Jersey, but it will also provide residents of the island with an affordable low cost service to Scotland. At present, easyJet offers a successful year-round service between Liverpool and Jersey and according to the airline’s Assistant Minister for Economic Development, the Glasgow to Jersey service should achieve the same success.

Airports Ramp Up Prices In Time For Easter Break

The Uk airports have been slammed for steep price rises in airport parking just in time for the Easter break a recent survey carried out by Travelsupermarket.com found that prices had seen a massive 127% rise compared to 2010.

The short stay car park at Heathrow has been singled out in the report as an 8 day stay will set you back £394.40. The best way to avoid this massive charge is park in the Long Stay car park which will set you back a more modest £133.60

An even better way of saving money is by using a comparison site, just by booking in advance will save you lot of money and there are off airport sites that can be even cheaper.

If your planning a trip over the Easter break try and get flights from Blackpool airport as their parking is free!!!!!

Ryanair to launch child free flights

The infamous low cost airline, Ryanair, has recently announced that it will be launching child free flights on the most frequent routes as of October 2011, the start of the winter schedule. This announcement comes following a survey involving 1,000 passengers all over Europe. The results reveal that half of the passengers would pay more for airline tickets to avoid sharing a flight with children. In fact, 36% of those questioned claim their flight had been ruined by noisy children and 18% would be happy if Ryanair restricted the number of kids permitted on flights.

Despite half of the passengers in favour of separating the cabin into "adult" and "family" areas, Ryanair claims that this is not an option as it operates a free seating policy and passengers can pay extra for priority boarding should they so wish. Interestingly, the survey also revealed that passengers feel parents are to blame for their annoyance.

This will come as good news to anyone who is fed up with parents who allow their children to run up and down the aisles, kick seats and annoy other passengers.

Lee Westwood In Emergency Landing

Lee Westwood the World number 2 Golfer and Ryder Cup teammate Ross Fisher were forced to make an emergency landing after their private jet caught fire shortly after take-off. The Ryder Cup winning golfers had just finished participating in the Houston Open and are taking part in the this week’s US Masters Championship.

Westwood gave running commentary on his twitter account showing his humorous side with tweets including "Do the [fire] engines normally follow you down the runway? Only when there's smoke in the cabin I guess!!!” and "They're not here to put my putter out! That's not on fire!"

The plane landed safely, with no injuries to any crew or passengers a problem in the instruments panel caused the fire, which forced the emergency landing.

Stansted Must Go!!!!!

BAA have been told they must still sell Stansted airport along with either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport as the competition commission stood by its ruling to force BAA to sell another 2 airports. BAA was forced to sell Gatwick airport in 2009 after the commission ruled they had too much of a monopoly over the UK airports.

Further sales were challenged by BAA but they have failed and now must prepare to sell another 2 airports. Analysts say it might not be the worst scenario for BAA as it will ease their £12bn debt, however the airport owner is still reluctant to sell.

The commission says the break-up of ownership can only help airlines and passengers with greater competition around and price wars between the airports.

East Midlands Takes Part In Climate Change Week

East Midlands airport is taking part in Climate Change week, joining in with local schools and councils in an attempt to help educate people how to combat climate change and what they can do to help.

The airport will play host to road-shows and events this week, teaching staff members the importance of green travel and its sustainability and willow trees are to be planted around the airports perimeter.

Neil Robinson the Sustainability Director of East Midlands said by engaging staff to think about climate change the airport could reduce its carbon emissions and that the airport felt strongly about green travel.

The Airport is also playing hosting to the East Midlands Climate Change Youth Conference, where students will be lectured on climate change.

Foog Causing Delays At Leeds Bradford Airport

Heavy fog is causing problems at Leeds Bradford airport resulting in cancelled flights and diversions to neighbouring airports Manchester, Durham Tees Valley and Doncaster airport.

The airport is open, though airport officials are telling people to contact their airline before travelling to the airport, only arriving planes are normally affected but a backlog is now causing problems for departures as well.

easyJet is moving up in Scotland

easyJet recently made some interesting announcements that will have a positive impact on travel and employment in Scotland.

Firstly, easyJet announced that it will be introducing its fifth aircraft at Edinburgh Airport, which will create 60 new jobs. Secondly, the low cost airline stated that it will be replacing one of its aircrafts operating from Glasgow Airport, with an Airbus A320 which can seat 180 passengers.

Lastly, the company confirmed its new routes connecting Scotland with Athens, Grenoble and Tenerife, as well as a new domestic flight between Aberdeen and London Gatwick.

Not only is this good news for Edinburgh, but it is good news for Scotland.

Heathrow Bomb Scare Was A Hoax

The bomb scare alert at Heathrow airport yesterday turned out to be a hoax, in what was first reported to be a stand-off between police and a crazed suicide bomber turned out to be a 70 year old man innocent man that must have been terrified.

Officers surrounded the man after they had received bogus information that the man was carrying a bag with a bomb in it and was planning to kill himself and as many others as possible. Terminal 5 was evacuated in scenes of panic and chaos as cops could take no chances.

However the old man was totally innocent and was released without charge.

Suicide Bomber At Heathrow

Police are in a stand off with a man who is threataning to blow himself up at Terminal 5 right now!!!...... More information as we get it.

Spanish airport workers hold Government to ransom

Spanish airport workers are set to hold their Government to ransom after 19 days of strikes were confirmed by airport Unions. British tourists face more misery this summer after last year when BA strikes lasting 22 days caused chaos. Airport ground staff are disgruntled that the Spanish Government plans to sell 49% of the Madrid and Barcelona airport which they feel will put their jobs in jeopardy.

The strikes have been purposely timed to coincide with key popular dates through Easter and summer. The first strike date has been confirmed for April 20th with more strikes taking place throughout May, June and July.

Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has indicated that if the strikes take place his airline will have to cancel 300 flights leaving some 57,000 passengers in limbo. He has called on the EU to take the right to strike away from the airport workers stating it was unacceptable airport workers could hold a country to ransom.

AENA the Spanish airport authority stated they would do everything in their power to avoid a strike. Airport travel news will keep you updated.

Girls Just Wanna Take Off

Cyndi Lauper wowed passengers at Buenos Aires airport last Friday as tempers were starting to flair over delays and cancellations to flights. The 57 year old star who was in the country following a sell out world-wide tour grabbed a airport microphone and started sing her well known classic.

Dressed in black headscarf and glasses the singer began her rendition prompting fellow passengers to join in and sing along with legendry star. The bizarre events can be seen below.

City of Derry to Tenerife with Ryanair

Residents of Northern Ireland are pleased at Ryanair’s recent announcement.

This April, Ryanair will launch its newest route in Northern Ireland that will connect City of Derry Airport to Tenerife. There will be weekly flights between the two destinations starting from April and running through the summer season. So if you have no plans for Easter this year, you should check for cheap flights to Tenerife. Ryanair also confirmed that it will continue to offer direct flights between City of Derry Airport and Alicante. It also offers flights to Faro in Portugal.

This news comes at a great time when people from the North West are starting to plan their summer holidays – and now they have a new route to choose from.

Bird Attack Grounds Continental Plane

A bird caused an aircraft to make an emergency landing yesterday morning after it was sucked into the engine of a Continental Airlines 737-800. The plane which was bound for Houston, Texas had to make other arrangements when the incident occurred and landed at Dulles airport 17 minutes later.

A spokesman for Continental Airlines confirmed a bird had caused the aircraft to make an emergency landing but was pleased to announce no-one was injured in the process, passengers were being flown out of Dulles on alternative planes whilst the aircraft engine was being inspected for damage.

Other bird incidents causing problems for aircraft include a Boeing 777 and an Airbus A319 ran into migrating geese last March which caused both to make emergency landings.

Panic Grips Tripoli

Scenes of panic have gripped Tripoli airport as thousands and thousands of foreigners try to flee the country. Hundreds of protesters have already lost their lives in the battle against Colonel Gaddafi’s loyal forces as they try to force the dictator out of power.

The first rescue plane provided by oil giant BP for its Libya workers arrived at Gatwick airport this morning with some 70people on board, one of the workers described Libya as going into meltdown with constant gunfire which has now spread to the airport as flocks of people try to escape.

David Cameron has apologised to stranded Brits for the delay in deploying evacuation planes though three Hercules Military aircrafts have now been deployed with the first expected at Gatwick this evening.

New BA Route To Tokyo

British Airways started a new service to Tokyo this week as a flight took off from London Heathrow bound for Haneda airport Tokyo which marked the start of a 5 flights a week service between the 2 airports.

The new route is in addition to existing service to Narita airport in Japan at the same time American Airlines also started a fresh service between Tokyo Haneda and Ney York’s JFK airport.

BA General manager Jamie Cassidy claimed it was a historic day and that BA were very proud to be the only airline offering a route from Haneda direct to the UK and that it would give BA customers greater choice and flexibility.

Potential Strike At London City Airport

A potential strike is looming over London City Airport as Union leaders will meet to debate whether to ballot its members over a potential strike related to pay and conditions.

A resounding 97% polled to put the strike to a vote and it seems likely it will take place, the dispute is founded on the fact that ground staff at London City Airport have not seen a wage increase since 2008.

A GMB official said if the strike takes place there is no doubt the airport would be heavily affected.

EU plan to transfer air passenger data

The European Commission is proposing to create a bigger exchange of air passenger data between national authorities at arrival or departure destinations within the EU. The motive for this plan is to prevent terrorism and other crimes such as drug trafficking.

This plan must first be examined by EU Parliament and EU governments before it is put in force. The Commission also assures that the information will be treated with confidentiality in accordance with European Human Rights Standards.

Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, which includes information about the travel dates, travel itinerary, airline tickets, contact details, travel agent who booked the flight, method of payment used, seat number and baggage information, will be transferred to the national authorities on request and it will be kept for 30 days after the flight. The proposal will not apply to flights within the EU or domestic flights, but rather all international flights arriving in or departing from an EU country.

Manchester And Heathrow Airport To Re-Developed

Heathrow and Manchester airport will be re-developed after two contracts were signed for engineering and construction firm Costain to refurbish Manchester airport’s main terminal and be one of the suppliers to minor works at Heathrow airport.

Manchester’s second runway will be used to keep the airport operating 24 hours a day, the work is scheduled to be finished by September this year at a cost of £18.6m. The works at Heathrow will start in March and is expected to run for up to 4 years.

Costain chief exec commented “The contracts represent significant investment in the UK's infrastructure and will help the airports meet the growing needs of passengers in the future."

Ryanair breaks the rules again

Ryanair is one of the most important low cost airlines in Europe, but it is also one of the most criticised.

The most recent attack comes from Judge Barbara Maria Cordoba of the Barcelona commercial court who has ruled that Ryanair is breaking international law by charging customers £40/€40 for issuing a boarding pass at check-in.

In May 2009 Ryanair introduced this fine for passengers who did not bring their pre-printed boarding pass to the airport prior to departure.

The no-frills company claims that without this penalty, it would have to start employing handling staff to issue boarding passes and at present, around 99% of its passengers arrive at the airport with the pass.

If the airline looses its appeal, Ryanair may stop issuing boarding passes to passengers who have forgotten to bring them to the airport.

EasyJet In Row With Servistar

A row has erupted between easyJet and airport agency Servistar after a passenger complained at the way she was treated by two members of the check inn staff at Jersey airport when flying to Liverpool airport. Ms Hannah was told she would have to pay £210 because her baggage weighed over 20kg she challenged the rule by stating she had paid for two bags so was allowed 40kg. The two staff members levied rude and appalling behaviour towards here and demanded the money or she wouldn’t be allowed to fly.

The two members of staff were working for Servistar an airport agency used by easyJet on the check-inn desks, they claim there workers are having to act more like police operatives rather than customer service staff to meet the low budget airlines demands on baggage rules. If they fail to take excess baggage charges or mystery packages go through check-inn the cost is deducted from the operatives salary which Servistar claim has caused a military like operation being carried out of fear of penalty.

easyJet have hit back saying a level of professionalism must be carried out by all workers when representing easyJet and that it doesn’t put excess pressure on its workers nor does it accept their policy is to blame for poor customer service. The airline has since refunded Ms Hannah the £210 and given her vouchers however Ms Hannah says it is the worst form of customer service she has ever received.

35 Dead In Moscow Airport Bomb

35 people were killed yesterday including two Brits after a suicide bomber walked into Moscow’s busiest airport Domodedovo and detonated a bomb thought to be hidden in a suitcase with the equivalent power of 7kg of TNT.

The bomber originally thought to be male is now widely being reported as a female suicide bomber. A further 168 people were injured as a result of the terror attack, the bomb is thought to have been detonated at 4.32pm local time 45 minutes after British airways flight 872 had landed and just seconds after a BMI plane had touched down. A BA plane bound for Moscow was returned to Heathrow after being half way to its destination.

An investigation is now underway, with endless CCTV being monitored and claims are being made that warnings of bombings had been made a week ago and police were tracking three men. However recent reports are focusing on a female bomber.

Airbus A320 NEO Orders Grow

The battle for aircraft supremacy between Boeing and Airbus heated up on Monday as Virgin America confirmed they had placed an order for 30 new Airbus A320 NEO’s and 30 of the existing A320’s the new NEO features advanced engines which are 15% more efficient.

The move is significant as Airbus have overtaken Boeing in Net orders, the Boeing 737 is the same size as the A320 and together make up 44% of commercial aircraft in service. Airbus orders for 2010 were 570 with Boeing trailing at 530.

Boeing claim they are not fazed by the order book for the A320 NEO as only existing Airbus customers have ordered them. Analysts will merit the achievement based on whether they can poach traditionally Boeing customers.

Tu-154Bs land for the last time…..

Russia's transport safety regulator is investigating the cause of a fatal fire which broke out on the 1st January on a Tu-154B Kolavia aircraft before the flight took off from Surgut to Moscow. This event comes after the emergency landing of a Tu-154 at Domodedovo airport at the start of December. The cause for this tragedy was engine failure and the plane broke up on landing, killing two and injuring more than 80 passengers.

As a result of these tragic events and many others, Russia’s transport safety regulator has banned all Tu-154B planes from taking off until further notice. Aeroflot is Russia’s national airline and it stopped operating its remaining 23 Tu-154 aircraft in January 2010.

Lufthansa Seeks Compensation From BAA

Europe’s largest airline in terms of revenue and Heathrow airport’s second largest customer has joined forces with Virgin Atlantic following the snow closure debacle 1 week before Christmas.

After Sir Richard Branson announced his airline would not be paying landing and parking fees to the airport until an investigation was carried out and compensation packages were on the table. Now Lufthansa has jumped on the bandwagon along with its subsidiary BMI.

Both of which want BAA to come up with ways to compensate the airlines, which is assumed via relief on landing and parking fees, during that period.

British Airways have estimated the damage caused by the closure close to £50 million while Virgin estimate a £10 million loss. All three airlines will be looking for compensation from BAA who themselves have announced they lost £25 million because of the snow.

A BAA spokesman commented they would not discuss contractual agreements in the public domain and that a enquiry was being carried out to improve its service to the public.

Airlines vs. Online Travel Agencies

American Airlines’ decision not to continue selling airline tickets on two travel portals may lead to other airline companies following in their footsteps given the airlines’ business ties and importance. Not only does this company have a Joint Business Agreement with Iberia and British Airways, but it is also the third largest airline in the USA in terms of passengers transported.

On the 21st December 2010, American Airlines stopped selling airfares on Orbitz, and since the 2nd January 2011, it no longer offers tickets on Expedia. However, the company continues to operate with Kayak and Priceline.

American Airlines has been criticised by Expedia for this move. Expedia claims that it will make it more difficult for customers to compare airfares. However, other airlines will probably do the same.

Gloucester And Manx2 In World Record Attempt

Guinness World Record adjudicators will be at Gloucester airport this summer as the airport attempts to set a world record for the fastest transit through an airport, the airport is to team up with Manx2 an Isle of Man based airline.

Manx2 chairmen stated his customers receive a service that is second to none at the Gloucester airport. With passengers having their luggage in their hands within 5 minutes of landing, the airline operates 14 flights a week at the airport.

The attempt will take place this year, the time will start from the second the aircraft lands and finish when all passengers have been re-united with their bags. Hopefully there won’t be any mix ups.