Routes

London’s hub airport is almost operating at capacity and a decision is expected in the coming weeks about a possible expansion. On the agenda is the extension of an existing runway, the creation of a third runway, or an expansion at fellow London airport Gatwick.

Sweden's hub airport believe a number of factors are driving more and more Chinese tourists to Stockholm, although the market is still underserved.

The Chinavia project was initiated in 2012 and works toward making Scandinavia more appealing and welcoming to Chinese travellers to ensure that Scandinavia keeps its position in the global competition to attract Chinese visitors

Germany’s second biggest airline, Air Berlin, will downsize their current fleet by 40 aircraft. Eurowings will receive 35 aircraft, whereas Austrian Airlines will receive five.

Time is running out to register for next year's events and save up to £2,200

The Romanian low-cost carrier has announced this morning that their next base will be Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The carrier’s expansion into the UK will create around 35 jobs immediately ahead of operations in March 2017.

The largest commercial aviation event in the world will head to Spain next year when World Routes 2017 takes place in Barcelona.

A growing tourism industry and increased business investment make Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast an exciting destination for Routes Europe 2017.

Routes Asia will be held in Japan for the first time in its 15-year history when it takes place in Okinawa next year.

Las Vegas is the host destination for Routes Americas 2017 – the meeting forum for airports, airlines and tourism authorities that want to develop new air services across the Americas.

As the event comes to a close, and the last meetings take place, here is what went on in Chengdu, China.

The annual World Routes air service development forum was officially transferred to the city of Barcelona at a ceremony today (27 September) in Chengdu, China.

The Chinese outbound tourist is changing. As the middle class continues to grow so too does the nature of their travel and tourism habits.

For the first time at World Routes, a panel solely of women were put together to discuss how their careers have panned out within the industry. The Women in Aviation and Tourism panel at World Routes gave a personal approach to the industry, and how to progress within it. Within the aviation and tourism sectors, women progressing to senior management has a much higher success rate than other industries.

Insight from the World Routes Tourism Summit in Chengdu, China.

For the first time at a Routes event, delegates have been able to vote for the stand they liked the most in the exhibition.

Insight from the World Routes Strategy Summit in Chengdu, China.

India's civil aviation ministry joint secretary, Arun Kumar, is hoping that World Routes 2016 can be the catalyst to unlock more open skies agreements with countries across Europe. Speaking on the third day of the conference in Chengdu, China, he revealed that following an open skies agreement with Greece, India saw the event as the ideal platform to create more.

China has now become the largest inbound travel market for Indonesia ahead of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia and figures from Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency for the first quarter of this year show it now accounts for almost one in five foreign tourist arrivals into the country.

Singapore's Changi Airport was also named as the winner in the over 50m passengers category, while Shannon Airport was honoured in the Under 4m passengers category; Athens International Airport in the 4m-20m Passengers category; Dublin Airport in the 20m-50m passengers category and Tourism and Events Queensland in the destination Marketing category.

Following a hugely successful opening day, World Routes 2016 was fully in swing as it entered its second, with a full-day tourism summit taking centre stage.

AirAsia X will return to the European market from 2018 when it starts to receive its Airbus A330neos and it is seeking a possible partner to help feed its routes, according to the budget carrier’s chief executive officer, Benyamin Ismail.

There are opportunities aplenty for Norwegian UK, from a whole new market in China to destinations in the Caribbean and an interest in eastern Europe.

Congo Airways, a state-owned flag-carrier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is working hard to improve the country’s record on air safety.

Insight from the World Routes Tourism Summit in Chengdu, China.