All flights in and out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, were canceled Wednesday morning as firefighters tackled a major blaze in the terminal building.
SkyWest Inc., the parent of St. George, Utah-based SkyWest Airlines and Atlanta-based ExpressJet Airlines, posted a second-quarter net profit of $20.7 million, up 22.2% from a net income of $17 million in the year-ago quarter.
The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) will reportedly delay the maiden flight of 150-seat trunk liner C919 to 2015 owing to “some technical difficulties,” an industry insider, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to ATW.
Air Canada reported a second-quarter net loss of C$23 million ($22.2 million), narrowed from a C$161 million net deficit in the 2012 June quarter, and touted record operating income.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary believes there is “little doubt” the UK Competition Commission (UKCC) will ultimately order Ryanair to sell its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus.
By the end of July, Airbus’ backlog reportedly broke industry records, with a total of 5,227 aircraft on order for delivery, according to a company statement.
Moscow will need a fourth airport because the city’s three existing airports will not be able to handle expected high levels of passenger growth through 2030, Russian transportation minister Maxim Sokolov said.
Influential London mayor Boris Johnson has shuffled his preferences for the site of a future London airport. Johnson is a steadfast opponent of expanding London Heathrow and for several years has been promoting a new airport built on an artificial island in the outer Thames Estuary, east of the capital.
Spanish infrastructure company Abertis has agreed to sell its stake in London Luton Airport to a consortium comprising Spain’s airport management and air navigation services provider Aena and AXA Private Equity. The deal is worth €502 million ($666 million) and is subject to approval from competition authorities, Luton Borough Council and the Spanish Board of Ministers. AZ Capital and Citi advised Abertis on the sale process.
London Gatwick Airport has brought in architect Terry Farrell as an advisor as it explores capacity growth options including a second runway. Farrell will provide expert advice on the development of Gatwick, which is forecast to hit its capacity ceiling in 2030. Gatwick claims to be the busiest single-runway airport in the world, handling 34.2 million passengers annually across 180 destinations.
Honduras launched a bid last month for the construction of a $7 million airport at Rio Amarillo, future gateway into the Copán archeological site. Winner is to be announced this December and the airport with a 1.2 kilometer (0.7 mile) runway is expected to be serviced both by local and international carriers. Through its state-private sector alliance, Coalianza, Honduras is also set to open next month the international bidding for the construction of a $130 million international airport in Palmerola, 70 kilometers (43.4 miles) away from the capital city of San Pedro Sula.
First-quarter delays were up and on-time performance (OTP) was down at 10 UK airports, despite a drop in the number of flights handled, according to statistics released by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). From January through March, 78% of scheduled flights were on-time, down four percentage points compared to the year-ago quarter. The average delay across all scheduled flights monitored was 13 minutes, three minutes more than during the same period last year.
May was a “banner month” for the world’s airports, as overall global passenger traffic increased by 4.7% in May year-over-year, Airports Council International (ACI) reported. Compared to May 2012, international passenger traffic increased by 6.9%, and domestic passenger traffic increased by 2.8%. Total freight traffic worldwide stagnated for May year-over-year with 0.4% growth; international freight flat-lined and domestic freight decreased by 1.1%.
SR Technics, part of the Mubadala Aerospace MRO network, will provide heavy maintenance visits (D checks), including painting, for two Finnair Airbus A320s in Malta. This new agreement follows the signing of a 10-year contract between SRT and Finnair
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said “no mechanical anomalies or malfunctions have been found” with the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 that made a hard landing at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) last month.
Twenty-one Chinese carriers are expected to receive CNY433 million ($70.2 million) in subsidies to operate regional routes, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
