David Cameron will in the coming days announce a controversial decision on whether to drastically expand Heathrow airport, in a move that will intensify divisions in the Tory party. Senior party sources said that they believe a Cabinet subcommittee will this week back plans for a third runway at the airport. If Heathrow gets the go-ahead as expected, it is believed there will be a serie...
Arabic graffiti was found daubed on panels covering fuel tanks of easyJet planes at French airports. An investigation is being carried out into who made the inscriptions, which were written on four planes in France. The airports cannot be identified for security reasons. Eleven empty British airliners are on standby at Larnaca Airport, Cyprus, which may be used to fly home thousands of touri...
The sale of the Government’s stake in Britain’s air traffic control network is expected to trigger an international bidding war among pension funds, infrastructure investors, and sovereign wealth funds as interest in big infrastructure assets grows. The Government in the Autumn Statement revealed plans to sell its 49pc stake in National Air Traffic Services (NATS), having ditched an...
Following the very earthbound Abu Dhabi Etihad Grand Prix weekend, sports fans’ eyes will tomorrow turn to the skies as the 12-day 2015 World Air Games takes off in Dubai. A record total of more than 1,200 athletes from 56 countries are taking part in this year’s event, giving the Dubai hospitality sector a welcome boost and further raising the global profile of the emirate as a world-...
Turkey will give to Russian diplomats on Sunday the body of Russia's Sukhoi Su-24M bomber pilot, Igor Mityakov, press attache of the Russian embassy told TASS on Sunday. "We have been confirmed today from the Hatay province to Ankara they will deliver the body of Hero of Russia Oleg Peshkov," he said. "The embassy’s military attache will be on the flight next to the bod...
Representatives of the 12 countries related to the MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine have discussed in the Hague the course of the criminal investigation into the tragedy, Eurojust, the European Union’s judicial cooperation unit, said on Saturday. "The participants in the meeting discussed the progress made in the identification of the victims of the crash and the progress in the crimina...
The aircraft of Volga-Dnepr Airlines carrying the bodies of Russians who perished in the Mali terrorist attack has arrived in Russia’s Ulyanovsk region, a source at the airport told TASS on Sunday. "The plane with the victims’ bodies on board has arrived in the Ulyanovsk region. Only a limited number of people was allowed to go to the runway. The unloading procedure will be clo...
Four people died in a rough landing of an AS-350 helicopter in Russia’s Khanty -Mansi Autonomous District (Yugra), Natalia Gunkina of the local transport investigative department told TASS on Sunday, referring to preliminary information. "The AS-350 helicopter made a rough landing near the Kedrovoye settlement; the preliminary information says on board were five people: two crew...
South African Airways needs to go into business rescue to avoid liquidation. That’s the view of at least one aviation industry expert as the airline awaits the Treasury’s decision on a key aircraft leasing deal. SAA wants to restructure its aircraft deal with manufacturer Airbus. The proposal reportedly championed by chairperson Dudu Myeni is for the planes to now be leased th...
Poland’s new government is moving to cancel two key defense tenders agreed by the previous administration. The Law and Justice party (PiS) was highly critical of the selection of the Raytheon Patriot for Poland’s Wisla requirement for an air and missile defense system and also of Airbus Helicopters for a helicopter replacement program, announced in April by the then Civic Platform a...
By Alex Vanover When I started taking flying lessons in 1998, one thing that surprised me was the relatively primitive engines that modern airplanes use. These are engines that have more in common with tractor engines than the reliable high-tech automotive engines we all drive behind. Would you be surprised if I told you that in the year 2015 most brand new airplanes have engines that use carbu...
Lufthansa German Airlines and Copa Airlines have successfully concluded a codeshare agreement for Copa flights to Latin American destinations. In a first step, Copa flights in the current winter schedule from Miami, Florida, to Panama City, Panama, are being operated under an additional Lufthansa flight number with immediate effect, enabling Lufthansa Group passengers to travel seamlessly from Fra...
Yesterday the Latvian airline airBaltic welcomed a Bombardier CSeries aircraft to Rīga, Latvia, as part of CS100 demo tour to Northern Europe. Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “Bombardier CSeries will be the backbone of our jet fleet beyond 2016. We are thrilled to have this CS100 in Riga for display. Bombardier’s CS300 airliners are integral to the execution of...
The first ever landing by a commercial Boeing 757 passenger airliner on a blue-ice runway in Antarctica occurred yesterday at Union Glacier. The landing was a joint partnership between Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE), Loftleidir Icelandic, and NAS Corporation Limited (NAS). ALE is the parent company of Adventure Network International (ANI). The Boeing 757-200 ER...
The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive a modernized missile defense system in the near future, Colonel Andrei Cheburin announced. "I’m sure that in the short-term perspective we will receive an upgraded missile defense system," Cheburin told RSN Radio. He noted that currently the modernization of missile defenses is underway which will seriously enhance their com...
Russia may delay the delivery of military helicopters abroad as a number of customer delays the payment. This was director of public procurement and military-technical cooperation of the holding “Helicopters of Russia” Vladislav Savelyev told the agency TASS. “Holding plans to carry out all the supplies but there are some delays in terms of payment from foreign customers so th...
After San Francisco, Air India (AI) plans to launch direct flights to Washington DC and other cities in the U.S. AI already operates non-stop flights to three U.S. cities - New York, Chicago and Newark, with operations to San Francisco scheduled to commence from December 2. "AI is actively pursuing to connect more cities in the U.S. (with India). A New Delhi-Washington flight is al...
AirAsia on Friday introduced four new routes out of U-tapao airport, setting a record in the Thai aviation industry for simultaneous launches. The launch of scheduled flights to Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Singapore and Macau demonstrates the low-cost carrier's confidence in new traffic catchments which the sleepy navy-operated airfield in Rayong could create. Friday's launches brought t...
Further simplifying the procedures and making it easier for the procurement of aircraft by airlines, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has delegated the power to grant initial No Objection Certificate (NOC) or in-principle approval for import or acquisition of aircraft to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This comes two after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed norms for r...
An American Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N393AN performing flight AA-199 from Milan Malpensa (Italy) to New York JFK, NY (U.S.), was enroute at FL320 about 170nm south of London Heathrow, EN (UK), still in French Airspace, when the crew reported a cracked windshield and initiated a rather normal descent to FL120. During the descent the aircraft turned north to divert to London Heathr...
The start of the 2015 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will once again begin with the traditional Etihad Airways fly-past as the teams, drivers and race fans at Yas Marina Circuit prepare for the final race of the 2015 season. Etihad Airways’ A380 Chief Pilot, Captain Ali Al Jabri, who is co-ordinating this year’s spectacle and flying the superjumbo over the starting gr...
