Air traffic control chaos: Over a quarter of UK flights nixed as Heathrow crippled August 29, 2023 Over a quarter of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled yesterday, revealing the huge and ongoing impact of the network-wide air traffic control failure currently disrupting the sector. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 790 departures and 785 arrivals were cancelled, equating to 27 per cent of all flights from the UK. Heathrow [...]
Virgin Atlantic pilot strike action up in the air amid fatigue row August 6, 2023 Virgin Atlantic is heading into turbulence pilots are revving up for a potential strike later this year, demanding an end to the pandemic changes that aimed to rescue the airline from bankruptcy. British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), the union representing the pilots, has raised “serious concerns” about pilot fatigue and wellbeing as 96 per cent [...]
Holidaymakers warned of ‘financial sting’ with airport parking – but which is the worst culprit? August 4, 2023 Holidaymakers are being charged up to four times more for airport parking if they pay on arrival rather than in advance, according to new research. Consumer group Which? said its analysis of prices at 16 UK airport car parks revealed the “serious financial sting”. It compared prices for a week’s stay in mid-August paid for [...]
New transatlantic airline Global buys first plane May 29, 2023 A new UK-US airline, Global, which is intending to launch flights across the Atlantic by spring 2024, has officially announced the acquisition of its first plane. The company said this morning that it had acquired an Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, according to the PA news agency. It confirms last week’s revelation’s in [...]
London Heathrow reports busiest day since Covid with 6.2m jetting off for Easter despite strikes April 11, 2023 London’s Heathrow Airport reported over 6.2m passengers travelled through Britain’s biggest airport in March, a rise of more than a million since February. The West London hub also recorded its busiest day since 2019, with 221,606 flying through on 31 March, despite it being the first day of Unite’s industrial action. The five-week walk-out by [...]
37 per cent of flights delayed last year – but London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports not worst offenders March 22, 2023 More than a third of flights to and from UK airports last year were delayed, new figures show. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said an “unacceptable” 37 per cent of flights were at least 15 minutes late in 2022. That is up from 17 per cent in both of the preceding two years and 25 [...]
UK reinstates pre-Covid take-off slot rules and tells airlines ‘use it or lose it’ January 31, 2023 The UK government has reinstated its pre-Covid airport slot rules, telling airlines they will need to use their take-off slots 80 per cent of the time, or face losing them. Also known as landing slots, airport slots are the permission needed by an airline to land or depart from a specific airport at a specific [...]
‘Intelligence received’ suggesting airports breaking competition law – regulator January 26, 2023 UK airports could be breaking competition law, according to information received by a regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has written to airport operators warning of “serious consequences” for illegal information sharing. The letter, produced jointly with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), stated: “The CMA has recently received intelligence to suggest that some UK [...]
Stansted’s passenger numbers soar 226 per cent as UK airports continue to rebound January 16, 2023 The number of passengers travelling via Stansted soared 226 per cent in 2022, the airport reported today, in yet another encouraging sign that Britain’s airports are gradually recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Essex hub reported that 23.3 million passengers have passed through its gates over the past 12 months. The numbers for December (1.8 [...]
Capital flight: 3m flew from London City Airport in 2022 in bid to avoid travel chaos at Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted January 13, 2023 London City Airport has delivered its year-end goal of 3 million travellers after banking on the disruption that plagued its rivals over the past summer. The Newham hub announced today passenger levels were up 318 per cent on last year’s levels, but nevertheless trailed behind 2019’s 5.1 million visitors. The airport capitalised on rivals’ delays [...]