British Airways officials are heralding the success of London Heathrow's Terminal 5, which they say is contributing to improved operations and ontime performance just a little more than a year after its very troubled opening. The March 2008 debut of the £4.3 billion ($6.37 billion) facility was ruined when the baggage system broke down, forcing cancellation of hundreds of flights. The fiasco cost BA an estimated £16 million, reflecting the costs associated with the disruption as well as lost revenue opportunities.
American Airlines launched daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Madrid service Friday aboard a 225-seat 767-300. It also started a third daily Boston-London Heathrow frequency and restarted daily seasonal BOS-Paris Charles de Gaulle flights. Continental Airlines launched a seasonal daily Cleveland-London Heathrow service scheduled to operate through Sept. 26 aboard a 757.
AHS Aviation Handling Services is taking over Swissport's passenger ground handling activities at all German stations. Agreement excludes Swissport Cargo Services.
BAA parent Grupo Ferrovial received three bids for London Gatwick, MD Inigo Meiras told reporters last week. According to Reuters, London City owners Global Infrastructure Partners confirmed its participation.
Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian is aiming to increase its Danish presence with up to three more aircraft and eight routes by the end of this year.
MOSCOW'S DOMODEDOVO International has been growing at a dazzling speed and last year had the honor of reporting the largest percentage increase in passengers among Europe's 40 largest airports. Throughput reached 20.4 million, up 9% over 2007, following a robust 22% hike in 2007 and a healthy 10.1% growth in 2006. This compares with an overall decrease in passengers at European airports of 0.2% in 2008 and increases of 6.5% in 2007 and 6% in 2006, according to data from Airports Council International-Europe.
The rate of decline in global passenger traffic slowed in March compared to February, according to Airports Council International. But the organization warned that the swine flu outbreak could affect trends going forward as people cancel travel plans and authorities try to contain the outbreak. Airports handled a total of 250.8 million passengers in March, down 8.3% compared to the year-ago period but an improvement over the 10.3% year-to-year decline recorded for February passenger traffic.
A little more than a year after the highly touted opening of London Heathrow's Terminal 5 turned into a nightmare for British Airways passengers and a public relations disaster for the airline and BAA, the facility is more than living up to its original promise, say BA officials.
US Trade and Development Agency, along with the American Assn. of Airport Executives and Civil Aviation Authority of China joined forces to launch the Airport Environmental Partnership. The AEP will employ resources designed to mitigate the environmental impact of airport development and management. Several US airports have agreed to share their "best practices" on common environmental issues such as green construction initiatives and waste management with their Chinese colleagues.
International Assn. of Airport Executives and IATA are working on a series of airport training initiatives including an airport operations certification program as well as specific courses to support airport employees. Topics include Aerodrome Design and Operations; Safety and Management Systems; Airfield Marking and Lighting, and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting. For more information on the training programs, contact [email protected].
Following a sharp decline in profit in 2008, Dublin Airport Authority will scale back some of its plans for a renovation and airport improvement projects in the face of an anticipated 11% drop in passenger numbers at its three airports this year. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, DAA group, which represents Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports, reported a profit of €78 million, a fall of 28% from a year earlier. Passenger boardings dipped 0.6% to 29.9 million.
LESS THAN 20 MINUTES BY RAIL OR CAR from the heart of downtown London sits a tiny jewel of an airport with a single runway jutting out into a channel that once was surrounded by crumbling warehouses and vacant docks. London City may have sprung from humble origins, but today it shines when it comes to providing point-to-point service to some of Europe's most important business capitals such as Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
US airport privatization appears to be another casualty of the worldwide recession as investors back away from facilities with falling traffic and revenue. Collapse of the deal to sell a 99-year lease on Chicago Midway for an up-front payment of $2.52 billion leaves US FAA's pilot privatization program without a major airport.
FEW AIRLINE EXECUTIVES WILL disagree that the outlook for air cargo is grim. Following eight consecutive months of contraction in international scheduled RTKs, including a 22.6% drop in December and a 23.2% year-on-year collapse in January, IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani in February warned that "alarm bells" were ringing everywhere. Yet Volga-Dnepr Group refrains from such dramatic declarations, preferring to take a more positive outlook.
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey has agreed to oversee two mediators working to resolve the contract dispute between FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. that has simmered since the agency imposed a contract on the union in 2006 after it declared an impasse in negotiations. LaHood made his comments yesterday at a joint luncheon meeting of the Aero Club of Washington and the Wings Club of New York in Washington. Garvey was appointed to lead FAA by President Bill Clinton and her term overlapped part of George W.
Safi Airways of Afghanistan will launch its first intercontinental route, a thrice-weekly nonstop Kabul-Frankfurt service, on June 15. The privately owned carrier, established in 2006, will use a two-class, 196-seat 767-200ER on the route. Safi plans to join the principal international GDSs next month. It currently flies to Kabul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Sharjah, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e-Sherif. Virgin America yesterday launched five-times-daily San Francisco-Orange County service. SNA is its ninth destination.
The developer of Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan is negotiating with the government over a plan to expand the airport's overall footprint from 86,000 sq. m to 100,000 sq. m reported the Jordan Times.
Bahrain-based executive charter business Rizon is adding to its facilities having started work on a brand new business aviation FBO and hangar facility at Doha Airport. The new facility, similar to the size of its UK headquarters at London Biggin Hill now under construction, is scheduled for opening in early 2010.
Bahraini operator Rizon has started work on a new FBO and hangar facility at Doha Airport. The new facility, similar to the size of its UK headquarters at London Biggin Hill now under construction, is scheduled for opening in early 2010.
Following a two year evaluation of Comsoft's ADS-B sensor the UAE's GCAA has selected the German surveillance company to provide three operational ADS-B ground stations.
Dubai International said it expects its passenger traffic to rise following the launch of services by two new airlines, the addition of a new destinations and an increase in frequency of existing services, in the second quarter of 2009.
Dr Fadhil Safar, Kuwait's Minister of State for the Municipality and for Public Works, said the country needs a second airport in order to cope with the increasing number of travellers.
