Empty planes with no one checking in: Staggering 15,000 ‘ghost flights’ took off from UK during pandemic April 11, 2022 The Civil Aviation Authority has recently revealed that almost 15,000 “ghost flights” departed from 32 UK airports between March 2020 and September 2021. With around 4,910 planes Heathrow made the top of the list, followed by Aberdeen, Manchester and Stansted, at an overall average of 720 per month. According to City A.M. estimates, that would [...]
EU Commission adds 21 Russian airlines to banned list April 11, 2022 The European Commission announced today it has added a further 21 Russian airlines to the list of carriers prevented from operating in the bloc. According to the body, the carriers do not meet international safety standards as they are operating domestically without the valid documentation. “The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency has allowed Russian airlines [...]
Sunday Spotlight: Airbus is winning the battle for the skies from beleaguered Boeing April 10, 2022 The recent challenges around safety concerns and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in American aircraft manufacturer Boeing losing ground to Airbus. Although both companies control a significant market share, Toulouse-based Airbus has extended its dominance over the last five years. According to data compiled and calculated by Finbold, shared with City A.M. this [...]
Global aviation to recover by mid-2023 despite uncertainty of Ukraine war April 7, 2022 Global aviation is expected to go back to 2019 levels by August 2023 despite the uncertainty caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, traffic at the end of the year will be between 10 and 15 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels, but a steady recovery is expected to continue [...]
Aircraft lessors see ‘horrendous’ hike in insurance costs April 7, 2022 Lessors are already seeing a “horrendous” hike in insurance costs as the Kremlin’s retaliation against Western sanctions start to bite, said BOC Aviation’s boss Robert Martin. “Because there are going to be huge claims on these insurances this year for confiscation or theft if the aircraft aren’t given back, this will then have a knock [...]
Passenger rights take off as non-EU airlines including BA and easyJet to be made liable for compensation April 7, 2022 Non EU airlines operating flights on behalf of carriers from the bloc will be liable for compensation for delayed and cancelled flights. Issued today by the Court of Justice of the European Union, the verdict represents another boost to passenger rights. “Passengers of a delayed flight may claim compensation from a non-EU air carrier where [...]
Investigation launched after Air France plane goes ‘crazy’ ahead of landing April 6, 2022 An investigation was launched today after an Air France plane “went crazy” just as it was landing at Paris Charles De Gaulle. Pilots on Monday struggled to control the Boeing 777, calling the airport’s air traffic controller to say the plane was “pretty much going nuts,” as it was no longer responding to commands. “Wait! [...]
Russia to resume flights with 52 ‘friendly’ countries April 4, 2022 Russia is set to resume flights with 52 “friendly countries,” according to Moscow news agency TASS. The Kremlin said today it would end its ban – imposed as a retaliation against the West – and would resume routes to and from countries such as Argentina and South Africa. The decision comes after the Russian Government announced [...]
Thousands of travellers hit by ‘technical issue’ with e-gate passport checkpoints April 4, 2022 There are reports of staff shortages and problems with e-gate passport checkpoints across the UK as travellers have taken to social media to air their frustrations, with some saying they had waited hours to take off. Other travellers said several of the automatic e-gates, staffed by Border Force and used to process passengers, were not [...]
Kremlin provides £919.3m for domestic aviation following West sanctions April 2, 2022 The Kremlin announced today it would provide 100bn roubles (£919.3m) to help the Russian domestic aviation market as the sanctions imposed by the West continue to bite. President Putin said in a televised address that domestic flights should become cheaper for Russian and that the share of Russian-made aircraft should increase. Aviation was one of [...]