London Southend appoints former No1 Lounges boss John Upton to top position August 3, 2022 London Southend airport has appointed John Upton, former boss of international lounge company No1 Lounges, as chief executive. Upton – whose tenure will begin in September – will replace Glyn Jones, who has been at the airport’s helm for the last seven years. Jones – who has stepped down following the airport’s reopening to passengers [...]
Air traffic boss gets £1.2m bonus as industry battles with travel chaos July 31, 2022 Martin Rolfe, boss of government-backed air traffic control operator NATS, has received a £1.2m bonus as aviation continues to battle travel delays and disruption. The payment is part of a five-year bonus dated back to 2015, which was due to be paid in June 2020, the Sunday Telegraph reported first. But following the pandemic’s impact [...]
Travel chaos: Two in five airport workers have considered quitting July 25, 2022 More than two in five airport workers are considering leaving the industry, new research suggests. A survey of 1,700 workers by jobs site CV-Library found reasons for wanting to quit included wanting better pay and less stress. Only 5% of respondents blamed the current situation at UK airports, where there have been long delays in [...]
Heatwave: London Luton Airport suspends all flights as high temperatures damage runway July 18, 2022 London Luton Airport has halted all flights as record high temperatures damaged the runway. Temperatures in London are currently 38c as England faces an unprecedented heatwave that has caused disruptions to travel. “Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway. Engineers were called immediately to site and repair works are currently [...]
Stansted’s owner MAG posts £320m loss due to travel restrictions July 7, 2022 Stansted Airport’s owner MAG has posted an annual loss of £320m due to a pandemic-induced slump in passenger numbers. MAG has posted a combined loss of £694m for the last two years. The group – which also owns Manchester and East Midlands airports – reported today that 20.5 million passengers passed through its hubs’ gates [...]
London City launches 10-week consultation to increase passenger capacity June 30, 2022 London City airport launched today a 10-week consultation over its existing planning permission to increase passenger capacity to 9 million by 2031. Following the end of travel restrictions, the east London hub has forecast that 3 million passengers will pass through its gates this year, with numbers set to increase to pre-pandemic levels – 5 [...]
UK Government eases airport slot rules to avoid last-minute cancellations June 21, 2022 The UK Government has announced it will ease airport slot rules to avoid last-minute cancellations as travel chaos continues to rampage through the industry. The decision comes as Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary warned passengers disruption will stay throughout the summer. Under the new plan, airlines will have an “amnesty” period to give back the summer [...]
We’re focusing on profitable passengers not volumes, says Southend airport May 25, 2022 Southend airport is focused on attracting profitable passengers back instead of worrying about volumes, according to David Shearer, executive chairman of the airport’s owner Esken. The airport welcomed its first passenger flight at the beginning of May, after low-cost airline returned back to the hub, with routes services to Faro, Malaga and Mallorca. The airport [...]
Travel chaos hits new low: Thousands of airline passengers forced to wait outside airport for hours May 9, 2022 Thousands of airline passengers at Birmingham Airport were forced to wait in long queues outside for several hours as the aviation sector continues to suffer from staff shortages. The situation on Monday was described as “absolute chaos” and “manic” by travellers on Twitter. One person said it took her “two hours to get through check-in [...]
No delays for pandemic recovery as London City Airport welcomes 35 per cent more passengers May 5, 2022 London City Airport has crowned April its busiest month since the pandemic, after the hub reported a 35 per cent increase on March levels. Over the last month, 256,000 people passed through London City’s gates, up on the 189,000 registered a month earlier. The airport – now at 61 per cent of 2019 levels – [...]