Vortex from plane landing at Heathrow rips off roof: BBC News

[BBC News] Holes were ripped into the roof of a woman’s house after an aircraft landing at Heathrow created a vortex.

BAA has repaired the damage to the house. Photo: Wikipedia

The sudden current of air was powerful enough to blow tiles and masonry from the home of Patricia Hills in Old Windsor, Berkshire.

BAA, which operates Heathrow Airport, says only one in 10,000 flights results in a vortex. A repair team was sent out to fix the damage at Mrs Hills’ property following the incident on Wednesday evening.

Old Windsor is under the Heathrow flight path.

Mrs Hills first knew of the damage when she heard “a large explosion”. The grandmother said: “I was in the kitchen preparing dinner at the time when I heard the noise.

“I was alarmed to step out the front door and see a large hole in the roof. ”Moments later, a neighbour came out and alerted me to another hole round the back of the house.

“It was quite a mess, it looked like a warzone and was quite upsetting.”

Firefighters arrived within moments, sealing off the area and evacuating the house in case any further debris fell from the roof. BAA Heathrow spokesperson Lizzie Bysshe said the airport funds a £15m Vortex Protection Scheme for homes under the airport’s flight path.

A team of its engineers has completed remedial repairs, reinforcing the damaged parts of the roof. Mrs Hills added: “The airport have been fantastic and came to fix the damage almost immediately.”

Read the original story at BBC News

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BBC News
22 Mar, 2013

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Virgin Atlantic unveils UK airline services: BBC News

[BBC News] Virgin Atlantic has unveiled details of its UK domestic service, including that the operation is called Little Red.

Sir Richard promised that Little Red will have a “rock and roll spirit” Photo: Wikipedia

t will launch on 31 March in Manchester, 5 April in Edinburgh and 9 April in Aberdeen, providing a total of 26 daily services to Heathrow airport.

Virgin won key take-off and landing slots at Heathrow after the struggling carrier Bmi was taken over by British Airways’ parent company IAG.

Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson said Little Red will go head-on with BA.

BA operates around 52 daily flights between Heathrow and Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. BA also runs services to Scotland from Gatwick and London City airports.

Virgin Atlantic hopes that Little Red, which will use Heathrow Terminal 1, will help feed traffic onto its international service operating from Terminal 3.

Sir Richard said on Friday that Little Red will “go head-to-head with BA to provide domestic flights that deliver Virgin Atlantic’s rock and roll spirit as well as real value for money.”

Read the original story at BBC News…..

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BBC News
1st Mar, 2013

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Air France-KLM losses widen as fuel costs rise: BBC News

[BBC News] Air France-KLM, the Franco-Dutch airline, says it made a big loss in 2012, blaming sharply rising fuel costs and trouble with its cargo business.

Air France-KLM has been struggling to reduce its debt mountain in the face of high fuel costs. Photo: Wikipedia

Net losses increased 47% to 1.19bn euros (£1bn; $1.57bn), after a 471m-euro restructuring charge and a 890m-euro increase in its fuel bill.

But operating losses fell to 300m euros, from 353m euros the year before.

Revenues rose 5.2% to 25.6bn euros, thanks in part to increased prices on its North Atlantic routes.

Debt fell from 6.51bn to 5.97bn euros after sell-offs and spending cuts – the company plans to reduce its net debt by 2bn euros by the end of 2014.

Chief executive Jean-Cyril Spinetta said in a statement: “The year 2012 was characterised by a slowdown in global growth and recession in Europe, but nevertheless saw a sharp increase in the fuel price.

“In 2013, we will maintain strict discipline in terms of capacity management, investments and costs.”

Air France-KLM is renegotiating pay and conditions with its staff and cutting more than 5,000 jobs, as high fuel costs and competition from low-cost airlines take their toll on the debt-laden company.

The airline managed to increase…..

Read the full story at BBC News…..

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BBC News
22nd Feb, 2013

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Gatwick Boss calls to expand Sussex and Essex airports: BBC News

[BBC News] A proposal to expand Gatwick and Stansted airports so they can compete with Heathrow has been put forward by Gatwick Airport‘s chief executive.

Gatwick wants three airports to compete but campaigners want demand spread across the UK. Photo: Gatwick Airport Ltd

Stewart Wingate said both the airports in West Sussex and Essex should expand.

The plan would see three airports of a similar size competing with each other and spreading the economic benefit and environmental impact, he said.

But anti-expansion campaigners said the South East had enough air capacity and demand should be spread across the UK.

Several plans have been put forward to increase air capacity in London and the South East including expansion of Gatwick, Heathrow, and regional airports.

There are also three plans to build airports in the Thames Estuary off Kent, and a proposal to build a four-runway airport on Goodwin Sands near Deal.

Mr Wingate said: “What we’re promoting is a model which sees the airports of the South East competing with one another.

“What that means for us is a second runway going into Gatwick and subsequently a second runway going into Stansted.”

But John Byng, vice chairman of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, said the prospect of a second Gatwick runway was “worrying” and added: “It will create much more noise and disturbance for local people.”

He said: “There are lots of services that would be further overstretched by the expansion of Gatwick and what’s more it’s not needed.

“There is plenty of capacity in the South East for the flights that are needed. There isn’t an airport in the country that’s full except Heathrow.

Read the full story on BBC News…..

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BBC News
1st Feb, 2013

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Birmingham Airport runway extension work starts: BBC News

[BBC News] Work has started to extend the runway at Birmingham Airport in a bid to compete for long-haul flights.

Airport officials say the runway extension could be in use by spring 2014. Photo: Wikipedia

Planning permission was granted in 2009 and in February final approval was given for the £40m project to extend the runway by 400 metres.

Chief executive Paul Kehoe said the extension would allow Birmingham to compete with Manchester for flights to the US and the Far East.

The runway extension is also part of a wider plan to increase capacity.

Birmingham is currently England’s second largest regional airport after Manchester, serving 9.6m passengers a year.

Airport bosses said an investment programme could allow it to double its capacity and increase the number of routes it serves.

They believe the runway extension could be in use by spring 2014.

The airport opened a new control tower in June, incorporating the latest technology, which managers hoped would help it attract airlines.

Paul Forrest, from the West Midlands Economic Forum, said having the runway extended would be “very significant” for the region’s economy and could potentially boost regional growth by 3-4%.

He said: “Birmingham is much more competitive than many other airports.

“It’s quicker to get from Birmingham International to Euston than it is to get from Heathrow to Euston on the Tube.

James Puxty, of the NEC Group whose base is next to the airport, said the runway extension was “really positive news” for the company…..

Read the full story at BBC News…..

 

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BBC News
28th Nov, 2012

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BMI Regional launches as independent operator: BBC News

[BBC News] BMI Regional is launching as a fully independent airline, five months after being bought by a consortium.

The business was carved out of BMI in May, after the larger airline was taken over by British Airways’ owner, IAG. Photo: Wikipedia

BMI Regional, which operates 18 Embraer jets on scheduled services as well as leasing and charter contracts in the UK and Europe, was bought for £8m by Sector Aviation Holdings (SAH).

The airline is launching its own website and a new airline code – BM.

BMI Regional will run a total of four domestic and 11 European routes, having recently announced two new twice-daily services from Aberdeen to Bristol and Manchester to Antwerp in Belgium.

The airline’s head office is at East Midlands Airport but its operations base is in Aberdeen.

SAH chairman Ian Woodley told BBC Scotland that it had taken five months of hard work to reach this point.

“This marks another step forward for our business,” he said.

“It is the end of what has been roughly 20 weeks of intensive work, where we have been basically recreating the regional airline as a completely standalone operation from what was – if you like to call it – its original mothership, which was BMI.

“In some respects it would probably be easier to start an airline from scratch.

“You have this mothership with so many umbilical cords, all attached to a subsidiary.”

Mr Woodley, who founded BMI Regional’s predecessor Business Air in 1987 before selling it to BMI in 1996, said the process had involved severing all connections and then negotiating new contracts.

He added: “We have also had to introduce our own entire global distribution reservation system, which some people in the industry liken to open-heart surgery.

“But we’ve had to do all this at the same time as still flying our existing passengers and still maintaining our on-time departure performance.”

Mr Woodley said the company planned to keep the title BMI Regional – at least for the time being.

Under the terms of its agreement with IAG, SAH will have full rights to the BMI name from April next year.

He said: “At the moment we will continue with BMI Regional.

“There is a bit of a decision to take in-house, and we are also going to…….

Read the full story at BBC News…..

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BBC News
28th Oct, 2012

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Glasgow Airport: Four hurt in evacuation of Jet2 Alicante flight: BBC News

[BBC News] At least four passengers have been injured in the emergency evacuation of an aircraft at Glasgow Airport.

Passengers and crew left the aircraft after the captain declared an emergency. Photo: Wikipedia

The captain of a Jet2 aircraft preparing to depart for Alicante declared an emergency at about 07:40. It is believed smoke had been detected in the cabin.

Passengers and crew left the aircraft using the emergency exits.

The runway has been closed and flights to and from Glasgow Airport are currently suspended.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue have been called out to assist firefighters based at the airport.

A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said: “We are currently dealing with an ongoing incident at Glasgow Airport involving a 737 aircraft following reports of smoke within the cabin.

“Emergency services are in attendance and the passengers have been evacuated as a precaution.”

A statement from Jet2 said: “This morning’s flight LS177 from Glasgow Airport to Alicante made an emergency stop on the runway just prior to take-off.

“The aircraft was forced to curtail take-off due to smoke in the cabin.

“All 189 passengers have disembarked the aircraft.”……

Read the original story at BBC News……

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BBC News
19th Oct, 2012

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Gatwick Airport to submit plan for second runway: BBC News

[BBC News] Gatwick Airport bosses are to begin work on detailed plans for a second runway which would double annual capacity to 70 million passengers.

Gatwick Airport to submit runway options. Photo: Wikipedia

The West Sussex airport’s owners say they will scrutinise the options to develop the site up to 2020 and beyond.

The plans will now be put to an independent aviation commission led by former Financial Services Authority boss Sir Howard Davies.

Campaigners fear expansion will raise noise levels and harm the environment.

Gatwick said no runway would be built before 2019 under a legal agreement signed in 1979.

Its bosses believe additional “capacity and flexibility” would help ensure London’s airports provide south-east England with the connectivity needed.

Chief executive Stewart Wingate said it could be “affordable and practical” and a better option than new runways at Heathrow or Stansted airports.

“Over the last three years we have transformed the airport, invested around £650m and have a strong track record for delivering key routes to growth markets,” he said.

“However, we must now look to the future when Gatwick will become full and outline its long-term role in ensuring London has an efficient and resilient airport system that creates the crucial connectivity London and the UK needs.”

The plans sent to Sir Howard Davies’s commission, which will report back in 2015, include evaluations of environmental and economic impacts.

Gatwick said its “masterplan” for the airport contained a “scenario” for a new runway. The plans were put to public consultation for 18 weeks, which ended in January, it said.

Gatwick serves 197 destinations and currently handles about 34 million passengers a year……

Read the full story at BBC News….

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BBC News
17th October, 2012

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Manchester Airport suspend worker for missing fake bomb: BBC

[BBC] An airline security worker has been suspended after failing to spot a fake bomb as it passed through the X ray machine.

The Department for Transport spokesman said. “The safety of the travelling public is paramount,” Photo: Wikipedia

Manchester Airport said it had launched an investigation into the incident.

The Department for Transport carries out regular dummy runs at UK airports to ensure security is up to scratch. A spokesman for the airport said: “We can confirm a security officer has been suspended but we cannot comment further as there is an ongoing investigation.”

The Department for Transport spokesman said it conducted regular airport tests but could not comment further.

The spokesman said: “The safety of the travelling public is paramount, which is why the UK combines intelligence, technology and other measures to provide one of the strictest regimes for aviation security in the world.

“We have a regular programme of inspections to ensure compliance with this regime, but do not comment on the specifics or outcomes for obvious reasons.”

In July, Manchester Airport suspended a number of airline staff after an 11-year-old boy boarded a plane from Manchester to Rome on his own without a passport, tickets or boarding pass.

The boy mingled with families to get through checks and was found mid-air on the Jet2 plane after passengers became suspicious.

Read the original story at the BBC…..

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BBC News
6th Oct, 2012

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Birmingham Airport runway shut as plane skids off: BBC News

[BBC News] Birmingham Airport‘s runway has been shut after a plane skidded off it.

The aircraft skidded off the runway shortly after 13:10 BST. Photo: Wikipedia

Airport officials said the Monarch-chartered flight ZB467, from Nice in France, skidded off the runway shortly after 13:10 BST.

The airport said the Boeing 737 was operated by Lithuanian firm Air Aurela.

Monarch said the plane was being taxied to the terminal when “one set of wheels left the taxi way bringing the aircraft to a stop”. There were not thought to be any injuries.

The airport said all flights were suspended and “airfield services” were assisting the airline crew.

In a statement, Monarch said: “Passengers are being transferred to the airport terminal where they will be cared for by Monarch staff.”

The company said it was working with the airport to move the aircraft and help with the investigation into what happened.

It said that as a “standard precaution”, emergency services were dealing with the aircraft……

Read the full story at BBC News…..

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BBC News
21st Sept, 2012

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