News
UK bans air travel from South America amid variant fears
The UK is to ban air travel from South America and Portugal from 4am tomorrow morning amid fears of a new Brazilian variant of Coronavirus. Announcing the move on social media, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I’ve taken the urgent decision to BAN ARRIVALS from ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, BOLIVIA, CAPE VERDE, [read more]
News
UK pushes back COVID test requirement
The UK has pushed back its requirement for all passengers arrving into England to have proof of a negative COVID test 72-hours prior to arrival. The rules were originally due to come into force today but have now been pushed back to Monday 18th January. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced [read more]
Civil Aviation
Norwegian: Massive job losses at Gatwick
Norwegian is to end its trans-Atlantic and Asian long-haul network as part of its restructuring process resulting in over 1,000 job losses at Gatwick Airport. The airline group which has been struggling to weather the pandemic is closing Gatwick based Norwegian Air UK which operated flights to the US, Singapore, [read more]
Engineering & Leasing
Airbus e-delivery system boosts 2020 deliveries
Due to the global pandemic Airbus found it had a problem with delivering aircraft dipping to just 14 deliveries in April 2020 so in a bid to keep deliveries flowing, Airbus developed an e-delivery system to help speed up aircraft deliveries. The system, which allows customers to receive their aircraft [read more]
News
‘Sonic Boom’ heard as RAF QRA Typhoons intercept private jet
Members of the public in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and London have reported hearing a sonic boom as RAF Typhoon aircraft raced to intercept a private jet over London. Two Eurofighter Typhon aircraft launched from RAF Coningsby earlier today under the UK’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) defence system in order to [read more]
Civil Aviation
Loganair confirms ambitious Isle of Man Summer 21 schedule
Leading UK regional airline Loganair (LM/LOG) has confirmed its schedule for the Summer 2021 season from the Isle of Man (IOM/EGNS). The airline recently switched its daily London flight from London City to London Heathrow and this will increase to twice daily from 28th March 2021. Manchester sees a twice-daily [read more]
News
Bristol Airport begins appeal of expansion rejection
Bristol Airport (BRS/EGGD) will today begin its appeal into North Somerset Council’s rejection of its planning expansion which would allow it to expand facilities at the airport. In February last year, the council voted 18-7 to reject Bristol Airports plans for expansion which would see Bristol Airport capable of handling [read more]
Air Safety
No sign of survivors in Indonesian plane crash
Indonesian Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto has said there are no signs of survivors in the crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 which happened on Saturday. The aircraft crashed just minutes after take-off from Jakarta airport after falling from 10,000ft in less than a minute. Search and Rescue teams have [read more]
Air Safety
Indonesia Plane Crash: All know so far
An Indonesian airliner belonging to local budget airline Sriwijaya Air has crashed off the coast of Indonesia en-route from Jakarta to Pontianak. According to flight data, the aircraft suddenly dropped out of the sky from 10,000ft to sea level in about 60 seconds. The aircraft departed Jakarta at 14:36 local [read more]
Air Travel
News
Airports warns of closure without government help
The Airport Operators Association (AOA), which represents UK airports, has warned that airports may have to close without government assistance following the removal of safe travel corridors. Some of airports in the UK have seen an almost complete drop in traffic as a result of the Coronvirus pandemic and even [read more]
News
UK to close all safe air travel corridors
The UK Government is set to close all coronavirus travel corridors between the UK and other countries from 04:00hrs on Monday 18th January. The move means that all passengers arriving into the UK from Monday will need to quarantine for 10 days, which can be reduced to 5 if a [read more]
News
UK bans air travel from South America amid variant fears
The UK is to ban air travel from South America and Portugal from 4am tomorrow morning amid fears of a new Brazilian variant of Coronavirus. Announcing the move on social media, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I’ve taken the urgent decision to BAN ARRIVALS from ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, BOLIVIA, CAPE VERDE, [read more]
Engineering & MRO
Engineering & Leasing
Airbus e-delivery system boosts 2020 deliveries
Due to the global pandemic Airbus found it had a problem with delivering aircraft dipping to just 14 deliveries in April 2020 so in a bid to keep deliveries flowing, Airbus developed an e-delivery system to help speed up aircraft deliveries. The system, which allows customers to receive their aircraft [read more]
Engineering & Leasing
PIA reaches agreement with Irish Lessor ABRIC to return one ATR early
Dublin based Aircraft Leasing specialist ABRIC has reached a conditional agreement with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) which allows the airline to return one of its leased ATR aircraft. The agreement will see PIA return an ATR72-500 to ABRIC with the contract being terminated provided PIA meets certain undisclosed conditions. The [read more]
Engineering & Leasing
Virgin begins a sale & leaseback program for 787s
Virgin Atlantic has begun a sale & leaseback program for two of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in order to free up around £70m in cash. The deal will see Griffin Global Asset Management, together with Bain Capital, purchase the two aircraft under an agreement that will see the aircraft lease [read more]
Military Aviation
Military
RAF replaces WWII Spitfire pilot’s lost heirloom
Christmas has come early for a World War II Spitfire pilot whose stolen heirloom – a photograph of him flying a Spitfire – has been replaced by the RAF. Dr Edmund James, the last surviving pilot of his Squadron, had a photograph of him flying a Spitfire stolen earlier this [read more]
Military
Lossiemouth will be UK home for E-7 Wedgetail
RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland has been announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the UK’s home for the E-7 Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft (AEW&C) aircraft. The MOD placed an order for five of the Boeing 737-700NG based surveillance aircraft in 2019 will replace the Boeing E-3D [read more]
Military
US Navy training with RAF in Scotland
A US Navy contingent, including Poseidon and F-35 aircraft, have this week been training with the Royal Air Force in Scotland. RAF Lossiemouth, where the RAF’s recently acquired P-8A Poseidon aircraft are based, has been hosting the US detachment as part of “training and maritime security tasks”. The RAF declined [read more]
General Aviation
General Aviation
Department of Transport clarifies GA rules during lockdown
As the UK enters a new phase of lockdown many General Aviation pilots have queried whether they are still allowed to fly their aircraft, the short answer is no, with some specific exceptions. What you can do Carry out Engine Health and Maintenance Flights, but only where there is a [read more]
Civil Aviation
Brexit and the Near-Term Impact on Non-Scheduled Commercial Travel
On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom made history as it formally withdrew from the European Union. While British small businesses and trading partners had been anxiously awaiting the result since the original referendum in June of 2016, few have noted the potential impact to travel to and from the [read more]
Air Safety
Man dies in Scottish gyrocopter crash
Police Scotland has confirmed that the pilot of a gyrocopter has died after his aircraft went down near Avoch at 12:55pm. The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services. He was the sole occupant of the gyrocopter. A spokesperson from the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has [read more]
Air Sports
Air Safety
AAIB sending team to Cumbria glider crash
The Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) is sending a team to the site of a glider accident in Cumbria. The aircraft crashed yesterday (7th August) near Kirkland Cumbria and is understood to have suffered substantial damage. The pilot is believed to have been the sole occupant.
Air Sports
Darth Vader to return to Bristol Balloon Fiesta
The organisers of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta have announced that they have raised enough money to bring the infamous Darth Vader balloon back to Bristol. The Star Wars based special shape was built by Bristol-based Cameron Balloons under a project with the codename “Head One” and unveiled in 2007. [read more]
Air Safety
Alauda Airspeeder debut ends in crash at Goodwood
The Alauda Airspeeder 4 electric flying racing car was due to make its debut at Goodwood’s festival of speed last weekend but a test flight last Thursday ended in a crash. As we reported last week, the AAIB said it was sending a team to the site of an Unmanned Aerial [read more]
Air Safety
Air Safety
The fatal SST crashes that happened within 2.7 miles of each other
There has only ever been two fatal accidents involving Supersonic Transport (SST) aircraft and in a bizarre twist of fate, despite happening 27 years apart, they happened less than 4 miles apart. Two supersonic airlines have been built and flown, The anglo-french designed Concorde and the Soviet Tupolev TU-144, dubbed [read more]
Air Safety
Lockerbie bomber loses posthumous appeal
Scotland’s Court of Appeal has rejected both grounds of appeal that were lodged by the family of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi following a review found that there may have been a miscarriage of justice. Former Libyan Intelligence Officer al-Megrahi is the only man ever convicted of the 1988 bombing on Pan Am [read more]
Air Safety
No sign of survivors in Indonesian plane crash
Indonesian Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto has said there are no signs of survivors in the crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 which happened on Saturday. The aircraft crashed just minutes after take-off from Jakarta airport after falling from 10,000ft in less than a minute. Search and Rescue teams have [read more]
Space
Features
Interview: Thales Alenia Space Team
The number of off-world projects currently in development is staggering.Earlier this month China’s Chang-E 5 landed on the moon to collect up to 2kg of regolith samples and return them to Earth. This is a short mission – Get up, Get rocks, Get home – but even this takes years [read more]
News
European Space Agency – Airbus Contract for Crucial Build
Last month we witnessed significant progress in humanity’s latest space venture. As far as off-world international co-operation goes, this is the largest team exercise for more than 20 years. The inter-continental collaboration which constructed and now operates ISS is now eclipsed by a new task: Put feet back on the [read more]
Features
Mars 2020: Perseverance and Ingenuity
Our solar neighbour is a popular subject of science-fiction. Martians have been the topic of countless stories over the last century. The prospect of humanity exploring and prospering beyond the thinly veiled blue planet is our ultimate goal. After all, we only stepped outside the caves to see what was [read more]
Wales
Cardiff Airport News
Your Pictures: The last flight of a British Airways Boeing 747
British Airways Boeing 747-400 G-BYGC left Cardiff Airport today for the short flight to St Athan marking the end of the Boeing 747 in service with British Airways. The aircraft will now be preserved at St Athan by eCube Solutions and is due to be opened to the public in [read more]
News
Wales Air Ambulance is now a 24h service
The Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC) will now operate their helicopters around the clock thanks for a new double-pilot crew operation which started on the 1st December 2020. Having two pilots on crew means that the Air Ambulance can reach anywhere in Wales during the night from its bases at [read more]
Cardiff Airport News
Wizz Air to launch budget base at Cardiff Airport
Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air is set to launch a permanent base at Cardiff Airport (CWL/EGGF) creating around 40 jobs in March 2021. The airline will offer nine routes to destinations including Alicante, Faro and Tenerife as well as seasonal routes to Corfu and Palma. Sharm El Sheikh and Lanzarote [read more]
Scotland
Air Safety
Man dies in Scottish gyrocopter crash
Police Scotland has confirmed that the pilot of a gyrocopter has died after his aircraft went down near Avoch at 12:55pm. The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services. He was the sole occupant of the gyrocopter. A spokesperson from the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has [read more]
News
Loganair calls for APD pause as it announces S21 plans
Scotland’s airline, Loganair (LM/LOG) has called on the UK Government to introduce a program for aviation similar to the “Eat out to Help Out” scheme which will see Air Passenger Duty (APD) paused in a bid to get people flying again. Dubbed “Tax off for Take off”, Loganair says that [read more]
Civil Aviation
Air China charters to Edinburgh and Heathrow
Air China (CA/CCA, the flag carrier of China, is adding another series of charters from Mainland China to the UK. The planned charter flights to Edinburgh (EDI/EGPH) and London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL) cover the period from the tomorrow through to the end of July. They will be operated by a mixture [read more]
Northern Ireland
News
Manchester to Belfast City route takes off
The new Manchester (MAN/EGCC) to Belfast City Airport (BHD/EGAC) t route has got underway today when the first of four daily return services took off The Aer Lingus Regional service is operated by Stobart Air using an ATR72-600. Julian Carr, Aviation Director at Manchester Airport, said: “It’s great to see [read more]
Civil Aviation
Loganair increases Belfast City routes
Loganair (LM/LOG) is re-establishing the Belfast City to Glasgow Airport route. The service, which starts on 4th September, will operate twice-daily Monday to Friday and a single flight on a Saturday using an Embraer EMB145 Regional Jet. The routes from Belfast City to Aberdeen and Inverness are due to restart [read more]
Air Safety
Aer Lingus under fire over packed flights
Irish carrier Aer Lingus (EI/EIN) has come under fire after images appeared on social media showing a packed flight from London to Belfast. The images posted on twitter by BBC NI journalist Kelly Bonner show a packed flight with most of the seats taken in breach of social distancing guidelines. [read more]
Channel Islands
Channel Islands
Aurigny to stay grounded until September
Guernsey-based airline Aurigny (GR/AUR) has confirmed its flights will remain grounded until the end of August. The airline says that the disruption to flights is as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and that its grounding until the end of summer is in line with the Coronavirus Exit Strategy produced [read more]
Airshow News
BEA Airbus A319 to fly at Jersey airshow
British Airways has announced that its baby retro jet, the BEA Airbus A319, will fly at the Jersey Airshow this September. The specially painted Airbus A319 G-EUPJ has been painted in the British European Airways (BEA) livery as part of the airlines 100 year anniversary, BA100. BEA was was one [read more]
Air Safety
AAIB says Emiliano Sala was exposed to potentially fatal CO levels
A special bulletin by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has said that the Cardiff City Footballer Emiliano Sala was exposed to potentially fatal levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO) in the final moments before his plane crashed just north of Guernsey. The toxicology results show that Sala had a carboxyhaemoglobin [read more]
