Abu Dhabi International Airport's new Terminal 3 is set to be fully operational in the next few weeks, says Abu Dhabi Airports Company in a statement released on Sunday.
Qantas launched A380 flights on the Sydney-Singapore-London Heathrow "kangaroo route" last Friday. QF31 will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with the QF32 return operating on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Bmi gained approval to operate a five-times-weekly London Heathrow-Kiev Boryspil service. UK and Ukraine recently signed a revised air services agreement permitting increased capacity. Specific airport and launch date were not announced. US Airways will launch daily seasonal Charlotte-Paris Charles De Gaulle on April 21 aboard a 767.
Work on a new Saudi Arabian airport in Al-Ula, located close to the world famous historical site Madain Saleh, is progressing well and will be completed next year, according to Hani Jamalullail, director of engineering at Saudi's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
Ending six years of public debate, the UK government approved construction of a third runway and sixth terminal at London Heathrow but simultaneously imposed stricter environmental targets and rejected the introduction of mixed-mode operations (landings and takeoffs on the same runway) on the existing runways as an interim measure. The government also indicated support for construction of a high-speed rail line between London and Scotland via a new international interchange station at LHR that would "unlock" the airport for the rest of the country.
Etihad Airways will launch thrice-weekly Abu Dhabi-Athens service at the beginning of June aboard a two-class A320. Route will be five-times-weekly from October and daily in 2010. Bmi said it will terminate its London Heathrow-Jersey service on March 28, citing poor financial performance. Also, bmi regional will launch thrice-daily Birmingham-Aberdeen service on March 29. It is bmi regional's first route to BHX. Bmibaby will cease operating the route on March 27.
Cathay Pacific Airways announced that it reached an agreement with Airport Authority Hong Kong to delay the completion of its new cargo terminal by up to two years to mid-2013 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 2, 2008).
The US Dept. of Transportation yesterday issued its final order for alleviating congestion at New York LaGuardia and said that airlines have until Feb. 2 to identify which flights they will give up voluntarily in order to reduce total scheduled operations from an average of 75 per hr. to 71 from May 31 to Oct. 24. The proposal was announced last month after DOT's effort to conduct slot auctions at New York-area airports was halted by the US Court of Appeals ( ATWOnline, Dec. 23, 2008).
Ryanair announced expansions at its Edinburgh, Bristol and Alicante bases representing five additional 737-800s and an investment of $350 million. Edinburgh will double to four -800s in March and will see new service launched to Rome Ciampino (four-times-weekly on March 30), Limoges (twice-weekly on March 30), Carcassonne, Leipzig (both thrice-weekly on March 31), Malta (twice-weekly on March 31), Poitiers and Zadar (both twice-weekly on April 1). Frequencies will be increased to Alicante and Dusseldorf Weeze.
Kuwait's Royal Aviation Terminal Building is to be renamed Sheikh Saad General Aviation Terminal in commemoration of the Father Emir Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah.
Bmi and Virgin Atlantic Airways expanded their codeshare agreement to cover Virgin passengers flying from New York JFK to London Heathrow and connecting on bmi flights to Amman, Beirut, Tel Aviv and Tehran. It also will cover Newark passengers connecting to AMM, BEY and TLV, Boston passengers connecting to AMM and BEY and Los Angeles passengers connecting to IKA. Virgin's long-haul customers will have access to bmi connecting flights to Aberdeen, Belfast, Durham Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow International, Leeds Bradford and Manchester.
South African Airways said it is "about to enter a moderate growth phase" and announced network additions designed around a strategy that "focuses on SAA as an African carrier with global reach, enhancing Johannesburg as a hub and moving capacity to more profitable routes." Among the announced initiatives was the April addition of Douala service and a commercial agreement with DR Congo carrier Lignes Ariennes Congolaises under which SAA this month will raise Johannesburg-Kinshasa service to six-times-weekly from four. It will add flights to Libreville in March.
Swissport International will end its ground handling operations in Singapore on March 31 for economic reasons. The decision will result in the termination of commercial agreements with existing customers and business partners. Swissport said it will seek "the best possible solutions" for its some 300 employees in Singapore. It still plans to increase business in Asia, especially in Japan and South Korea.
Virgin Nigeria said it will suspend flights to London Gatwick and Johannesburg on Jan. 27, citing a need to review "our entire long-haul operations including our product offerings on these routes." It said it would resume long-haul service "with a truly competitive offering" following the review and will concentrate on its domestic and regional routes in the meantime. VK serves seven domestic and seven continental destinations.
