50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

Latest aviation news

Looking for specific categories? Or Spaceplanes news? United States related news?

Qatar Airways Cargo launches mobile app

Qatar Airways Cargo has launched its first mobile app QR Cargo, available for both Android and iOS devices via Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app aims to provide ease and convenience to the cargo airline’s customers, by having all the important information at their fingertips on their mobile devices. In addition to getting detailed status of their shipments, customers can n...

easyJet launches route from Malta to Geneva

easyJet has today launched a new route from Malta to Geneva.  The new summer service, which is expected to carry over 6,000 passengers in its first summer of operation, commences today and flights will operate twice weekly on Tuesday and Saturday. Fares start from €31.49 one way per person. easyJet launched services to Malta in 2008 and operates flights to London Gatwick, Belfast,...

Oman bank backs Gulf carriers

Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has initiated coverage of the GCC aviation sector and put a buy recommendation on Air Arabia and an accumulate recommendation on Jazeera Airways, backing the budget airlines’ growth potential. Regional air traffic activity is on the rise. According to Iata, passenger demand for Middle East carriers in January had the strongest year-on-year growth at 10.9 per cent...

Turkish-Built Hurkus Passes EASA Test Flight

The Hurkus, an indigenous basic trainer built by Tusas Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), passed a critical flight test that may pave the way for its certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). TAI announced that two Hurkus prototypes, HUR01 and HUR02 were tested by EASA’s flighttest pilot and flight test engineer on March 22-25. The company said the tests w...

Why planes have tiny window holes

THE thought of holes anywhere in an aeroplane probably doesn’t fill nervous flyers with confidence, but those tiny holes in plane windows actually serve a vital purpose. For many of us, it may seem odd that planes come with holes in the windows, but the UK Federal Aviation Administration recently spilt the beans as to why. The Sun reports that it turns out the tiny gaps are used to reg...

Brussels airport resumes flights after terror attcks

A Brussels Airlines flight heading to the Portuguese city of Faro has taken off from Brussels Airport — the first passenger flight to leave the airport since suicide bombings on March 22 blew up its departures terminal. Arnaud Feist, the CEO of Brussels Airport Co., says the three flights leaving Sunday are "a sign of hope" that even partial passenger service could resume so soo...

Singapore Airlines’ low-cost arm Scoot to launch flights to India soon

Scoot plans to operate from Chennai, Amritsar and Jaipur as part of its India entry plan. Scoot Pte. Ltd, the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA), is all set to land soon in three Indian cities including Chennai, making it the fourth carrier from the Southeast Asian nation to operate to the world’s fastest growing aviation market. An announcement in this regard is likely to be...

Ag drone startup ready to take off

In the 21st-century version of a land rush, more than 600 companies have received permission to fly drones over farm fields and collect agricultural data. Only one of them is headed by a 27-year-old experimental physicist and headquartered in an old warehouse building in downtown St. Louis. Harrison Knoll, the founder and chief executive of Aerial Agriculture, thinks his company stands out in o...

Four Hurt as Light Aircraft Makes Crash Landing Off Tel Aviv's Shores

A light aircraft made an emergency landing on Sunday off the coast of Tel Aviv. Magen David Adom medics said both pilots were rescued and taken to hospital with light injuries. Two other people were treated for light injuries for sustaining cuts from rocks while helping to extricate the pilots from the sea, an MDA medic said. All four were also taken to Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv. The aircraft l...

Ryanair Flight 3445 Circles Airport 9 Times Due to Emergency

A Ryanair flight was forced to spend an hour circling Manchester airport (United Kingdom) after striking a bird on take off. The plane was heading to Palma in Mallorca when the pilot had to loop the airport nine times to burn fuel before abandoning the journey and returning to Manchester. The flight crew declared an emergency a little after 6pm yesterday. It was due...

UAE plane makes emergency landing in India's Goa after passenger reports medical conditions

An airplane of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) made an emergency landing on Sunday in western India for a passenger's medical conditions, UAE daily Khaleej Times reported. Air Arabia, a low-cost carrier of the UAE, said one of its planes flying from the country's Sharjah airport to Chennai, capital of eastern Indian Tamil Naidu state, made an emergency landing in the southwestern Indian...

Muslim man yells 'Allahu Akbar' terrifying passengers on flight

Passengers on board a flight were terrified after a man began shouting “Allahu Akbar” at the top of his voice on an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi to Manila. The Muslim man stood next to the exit door of the aircraft and recited the end of the call to prayer - a task that falls to the appointed muezzin at a mosque – inevitably frightening the passengers. A man on...

New First Spaces Seat Will Rival Etihad's First Apartment

Designer Seymourpowell has come up with a new ‘First Spaces’ interior for the Airbus A380 that could rival the most revolutionary and luxurious first class seat in the skies. It doesn’t quite offer as much space as Etihad’s ‘beyond product’ The Residence which even offers a private shower onboard. The idea is akin to the First Apartment onboard Etihad&...

Airlines Continue to Offer Refunds and Waivers for Brussels Flights

Travelers who booked trips through Brussels have options while the airport in the Belgian capital remains closed after last month’s bombings. Passengers whose flights on U.S. airlines are canceled can get a full refund. The airlines are also allowing passengers to rebook without paying the usual ticket-change fee, but the terms differ by carrier. Customers who want to rebook or request...

Estonian CAA grounds Avies over safety concerns

The Estonian Civil Aviation Administration (Lennuamet) has grounded Avies (U3, Tallinn Lennart Meri) following concerns about the carrier's compliance with safety oversight regulations. While Lennuamet did not explicitly state what its concerns were, it did state the suspension of the carrier's Air Operators Certificate (AOC) was effective April 1, 2016 and would last either for a perio...

Handsome pilot with massive social media following suspended over LIVE broadcasts from the cockpit

An Air China pilot who amassed legions of online followers for his on-duty broadcasts from inside the cockpit has been suspended from his job. Images and footage posted to Chinese Twitter site Weibo on Friday show the unnamed pilot in uniform and sunglasses appearing to prepare for take-off. The pictures divided social media, with thousands of online fans praising the 'handsome' pilo...

Drone regulations relaxed for commercial drone pilots

Commercial drone operators will no longer need remote pilot licences or certificates to use the unmanned aircraft on certain flights when new laws come into force later this year. The relaxed regulations, due to come into force in September, are part of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's plans to "cut red tape" and accommodate rising popularity in the remote piloted aircraft se...

Victorian man who lost wife and son in Germanwings crash reportedly suing US flight school

An Australian man whose wife and son were among the 150 people killed when Germanwings Flight 9525 was deliberately crashed into the French Alps is reportedly suing the US flight school that trained the individual responsible. Victorian man David Friday is suing Lufthansa’s Airline Training Centre Arizona for failing to detect any problems with Andreas Lubitz, the German co-pilot who caus...

Alaska Air Nears Deal to Acquire Virgin America

It could be a $2 billion deal. Alaska Air has emerged as the likely winner of an auction for Virgin America , The Wall Street Journalreported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. The offer was set to beat a rival bid by JetBlue Airways 0.99% , the people said, according to theJournal. Alaska Air is expected to pay upwards of $2 billion for Virgin America&nbs...

DARPA's reusable unmanned 'gremlin' planes are a go

Four aerospace and security corporations will attempt to make DARPA's "gremlins program" dream a reality. The Department of Defense division has joined forces with its frequent collaborator Lockheed Martin, Dynetics of Alabama, as well as Composite Engineering and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of California. Dan Patt, the program manager, said these four contractors are &qu...

'The heart of Europe' has stopped beating, for now

Struck by suicide bombers 10 days ago, the airport known as "the heart of Europe" has stopped beating temporarily, causing headaches for thousands of business and vacation travelers, and painful financial losses for Belgium's capital and tourism industry. It's still unclear when Brussels Airport will reopen. But a key hurdle appeared to have been cleared Friday ev...