Omicron variant will have “limited overall impact”, Qatar Airways boss says November 30, 2021 Qatar Airways’ boss Akbar Al Baker has said he hopes that the new Omicron variant detected last week “will have a limited overall impact” on aviation’s recovery, with the “process of unlocking” continuing. Delivering the keynote speech at the UK Aviation Club this afternoon, Al Baker – who has been at the helm of the [...]
Long queues at Heathrow as passengers come to terms with stricter Covid rules November 30, 2021 Passengers travelling through Heathrow are experiencing huge queues following the introduction of stricter Covid rules, with bottlenecks forming as a result of people opting to take a PCR test straight after landing. To stop the spread of the new Omicron variant, from 4am this morning all travellers to the UK need to take a PCR [...]
Robert Courts to meet with Balpa following “completely out of touch” comments November 24, 2021 Aviation minister Robert Courts has agreed to meet with the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), after the union’s general secretary Martin Chalk criticised him for being “completely out of touch” regarding the state of British aviation “It was obvious from all the contributions on Monday’s Airlines 2021 conference that the industry is desperate for the [...]
Aviation recovery on its way, BA’s owner assures November 23, 2021 Luis Gallego, chief executive of British Airways’ (BA) owner IAG, is convinced aviation recovery will get back to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, as a result of the easing of air travel restrictions and the opening of transatlantic travel. Speaking yesterday at the Airlines UK conference in Westminster, Gallego revealed that “transatlantic bookings have reached almost [...]
British Airways threatens to cut Heathrow flights if recovery-undermining airport charges don’t come down November 22, 2021 The boss of British Airways’ parent company warned today that the airline will cut Heathrow flights if proposed increases in charges are implemented, IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said the west London airport’s fees are already among the highest in the world and are becoming “more and more expensive”. In October, the Civil Aviation Authority [...]
MP register update shows Boris Johnson used Heathrow lounge and Geoffrey Cox pocketed another £54k November 19, 2021 The latest update to the register of MPs’ interests shows that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was given use of the Windsor Suite at Heathrow Airport for three people on October 7, before he flew to Marbella on holiday. The Windsor Suite is a VIP lounge at Heathrow and has been used by royals including the [...]
Christmas chaos as Heathrow inaccessible via Tube or rail November 16, 2021 Passengers will have to take the car if they want to go to Heathrow on Christmas and Boxing Day. Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) will be in fact carrying out works on the railway network and Tube services to the airport, MyLondon reported. Network Rail will be carrying out signalling and HS2 work [...]
Heathrow lambasted by Virgin Atlantic and BA’s owner over fees November 14, 2021 British Airways’ (BA) former boss Willie Walsh alongside Luis Gallego – the chief executive of BA’s owner IAG – and Virgin Atlantic’s chief Shai Wess has lambasted Heathrow airport for its decision to increase fees. Walsh, Weiss and Gallego, writing on the Sunday Telegraph, have criticised the London hub saying it is ‘”back at its [...]
Heathrow’s passenger traffic rockets after end of restrictions November 11, 2021 October’s passenger traffic at Heathrow airport has gone up 144 per cent compared with the same time last year, following the easing of restrictions. Data from the London hub has revealed that last month more than 3 million passenger passed through the airport, delivering the sixth consecutive month of growth. The relaxation of travel rules [...]
Heathrow’s e-gates fail again leaving passengers stuck November 10, 2021 E-gates at Heathrow airport have failed for the third time in three months, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in hour-long queues. The hub said it was working with Border Force to find a solution as quickly as possible. “This issue is impacting a number of ports of entry and is not an isolated issue at [...]