CHINA: Beijing Daxing International Airport To Become Busiest In The World

Construction of China’s mega-airport has finally been completed. When it opens for business on September 30, Beijing Daxing International Airport will be the world’s largest single-terminal airport covering an area of over 1.4 million square metres – that’s more than double the size of Heathrow’s four terminals combined.

With a total of seven runways planned, the new airport will ultimately handle over 100m passengers each year and rub shoulders with Atlanta International in the US as the world’s busiest.

The total budget for the airport, which took just under five years to build, came to a total of £9 billion. To put that into perspective, building a third runway at Heathrow is projected to cost £14bn, and won't be operational until 2026 at the earliest.

The Chinese capital already has an enormous airport in the northeast. Ahead of the Olympics in 2008, Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) opened a third £3bn terminal to bump up the total capacity to 85m passengers a year.

But the city has seen a strong surge in air traffic growth and Capital airport has become overcrowded since 2016, exceeding the 100 million mark in 2018.

Located 46 kilometres south of Tiananmen Square, Daxing (PKX) will act as a second international airport for Beijing and relieve its overloaded sister site. The much smaller Nanyuan Airport – the oldest in China – will be closed once Daxing opens.

Building an airport of this capacity is not straightforward. The designers had to find a way to bring all facilities under one roof whilst laying the foundations for the next phases of the airport expansion.

To prepare for the influx of passengers, the architects had to fundamentally rethink how an airport is designed.

The result is a seven-floor complex with an underground structure linking to a satellite building – which is yet to be built, but will increase the annual capacity to 72m passengers, with further expansion to come.

Unlike the typically linear design of airport terminals, Daxing resembles a starfish. We wanted to design a building that is the most compact with minimal walking distances, says Jean-Charles Content, lead architect at ADP Ingénierie, an engineering subsidiary of the company that operates the Paris airports.

In 2014, the company was awarded a contract to design the terminal building, alongside several partners including late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD).

The building is designed to allow for sufficient space between each pier to fit all aircraft and organise the flow, Content says.

The layout was inspired by traditional Chinese aesthetics, which often feature spaces centred around courtyards, and has 79 aircraft stands arranged across five piers.

Once passengers reach the commercial area in the centre of the structure, Content explains, they will have to walk no more than 600m – the equivalent of eight minutes – to the furthest gate. The sixth pier is separate, and will host administrative offices and parking.

High-speed, regional, and subway trains will connect the airport to the city of Beijing and other parts of the country. The big difference with this train station is that it’s not a dead end, it’s not located in front of the terminal.

The train station is literally underneath the terminal, says Content. From the platform of the airport express service, lifts will take passengers directly to the departure levels.

But to house a railway station inside an airport complex – with trains that run at 250km per hour – BIAD had to earthquake-proof it, says lead architect Wang Xiaoqun.

Some 1,000 anti-seismic isolation bearings were built into the concrete slabs of the ground level to prevent the terminal building from shaking. As a result, the airport is capable of withstanding an 8.0 magnitude earthquake.

Daxing will be the first airport with two departure levels. Because we designed a terminal for 45 and then 72 million passengers and there is a lot of equipment to fit in for check-in and security, we needed to create a second level for departures.

That is one of the biggest features, says Jean-Yves Coulot, ADP Ingénierie's general manager for China. We wanted to keep it compact and under the same roof.

The top level will have traditional check-in facilities for international and domestic flights, the one below will be dedicated to frequent flyers who are primarily travelling domestically.

The separation is meant to speed up the check-in and security process, Coulot says, particularly for people who checked in on their phones and want to leave their luggage at a self-service bag drop.

From facial recognition at check-in to real-time baggage tracking on mobile phones, travelling through Daxing will be a paperless experience for passengers, according to a spokesperson for SATS, which services aircraft while they are on the ground.

The Singapore-based company will be responsible for the ground handling and inflight catering at the new airport, it already is at Beijing Capital International Airport.

The architects were not only tasked with designing an airport that would make the travel experience as efficient as possible, but also with executing it at speed.

It took less than five years to actually build the airport. We have been extremely impressed by the speed of this project, says Coulot.

At a stone-setting ceremony held on December 26, 2014 the site was still farmland, he recollects, adding that they have been able to build one of the largest airports in the world in such a short time.

The design, however, was a long time in the making. ADP Ingénierie was involved in an initial master plan phase and, from 2011 to 2014, was shortlisted several times and then finally awarded the architecture contract.

Once the concept design was honed, BIAD took over to carry out the development.

It’s a pretty impressive piece of execution, says Richard Gammon, managing director of global aviation at engineering firm Aecom, which was not involved in the project. He compares Daxing airport to Abu Dhabi’s new Midfield Terminal – of similar scale and complexity, that building was commissioned more than ten years ago and, in 2017, had to be delayed to late 2019.

When the airports have strong government backing, and particularly when there is alignment between airlines and airport operators, they tend to move quickly, he says.

But the making of this airport has been a truly international endeavour: Germany’s Thyssenkrupp delivered 155 elevators and 22 escalators whilst Wirtgen machines were used to pave the apron area.

Xsight Systems, an Israeli company, provided an AI-powered detection software that will help keep the runways safe from bird strikes and other potentially damaging objects.

The challenge with any airport project is the long timeline and complexity. The aviation industry is fairly fast-moving, so I would be interested to see what level of adaptation and flexibility was built into that design, says Gammon, adding that industry changes can affect what technology and equipment is used or the way airlines operate, which in turn, dictates the number and types of aircraft stands needed at an airport.

In Europe and the US, for instance, airlines are increasingly moving from larger aircraft to operating smaller, more efficient ones at higher frequency, he says.

My experience of Asia is that typically they would rather go fast and implement changes after the opening. However, if the design is not adapted and updated, airports risk becoming a construction site again shortly after opening.

BIAD may have preempted those risks. The airport will handle 45m passengers a year when it opens, increasing to 72m passengers and two million tonnes of cargo by 2025 once a satellite building has been built.

The whole satellite design and construction will start once the airport is in use, says Xiaoqun.

In the long run, Daxing airport will be able to accommodate 620,000 flights and more than 100 million passengers a year – in the hope of taking away traffic from other Asian hubs such as Dubai and Tokyo – but this will require constructing three additional runways and a whole other terminal building.

ADP Ingénierie’s Content proposes mirroring the design of the first terminal, but only time will tell if that is the right approach.

Of course, in time, there will be another competition, there will be new ideas, he says. The future may not look exactly like that.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: WestJet Boeing 787 Dreamliner First London Flight Begins

Although WestJet has flown to London for a few years now, this was the first transatlantic WestJet flight on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on April 29, 2019 that took off from Calgary and landed the next morning at London’s Gatwick Airport.

WestJet has previously operated transatlantic routes. In the past, as a low-cost carrier, WestJet offered service in two-classes on Boeing 767 aircraft.

These 767s previously flew for Qantas before WestJet took them over. This was a huge step for WestJet and the airline put their widebodies on their route to London’s Gatwick airport.

Seating up to 262 passengers, these 767s were relatively stuffed and lacked many traditional features of a full-service aircraft. WestJet’s 767s lack seatback screens and instead have a tablet holder.

There is no business class, only Economy and Premium, which really is just economy with a few extra perks and legroom.

On the bright side, the 767 is a comfortable aircraft for passengers. WestJet had a 2-2-2 configuration in Premium and a 2-3-2 configuration in Economy.

It looks like WestJet really has shed much of their low-cost model in favor of a traditional full-service approach.

No doubt, WestJet is aiming to compete against the larger and well-known Air Canada.

For WestJet, operating a newer, fuel-efficient aircraft with an upgraded hard product will easily make them a force for Air Canada to reckon with.

Air Canada really didn’t have any other full-service competition. Canada has a relatively large low-cost market with players like Air Transat and Sunwing. Air Canada ventured into the low-cost market with Air Canada Rouge.

WestJet’s 787s will go head-to-head with Air Canada’s product on key transatlantic routes including to London.

WestJet is to use the 787 to fly to Dublin, Paris, and London from their hub in Calgary. In addition, the 787 will operate flights between Toronto and Calgary. However, Air Canada flies to Heathrow while WestJet flies to Gatwick.

For WestJet, the first transatlantic 787 flight was a major success. According to their news release, the flight was completely sold out. WestJet’s 787 represent an increase in capacity from 262 passengers on the 767 to 320 on the 787.

Speaking on the launch of 787 transatlantic service, WestJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Arved von zur Muehlen, said: the London market has quickly become an important one for us with service from six cities across Canada. It is no accident that the first transatlantic flight on the Dreamliner is to our largest international market, from our largest hub and home in Calgary.

We’re glad to see WestJet’s commence 787 transatlantic service and look forward to future advancements WestJet makes with their fleet and route network.

This is a major step forward and places WestJet at the standard of a full-service carrier. Now, WestJet will have to maintain principled growth and remain profitable in a time when many airlines have undergone rapid expansion and subsequent failure.


Tourism Observer

MOROCCO: Royal Air Maroc Receives First 737 MAX From Boeing

Boeing on December 21, 2018 delivered the first 737 MAX (CN-MAX, msn 60008) to Royal Air Maroc, which plans to use the fuel-efficient, longer-range version of the popular 737 jet to expand and modernize its fleet.

Morocco’s flag carrier – which welcomed its first 787-9 Dreamliner last week – will take delivery of three more 737 MAX 8s and three more 787-9s over the next few months as part of its strategic plan to strengthen its operations.

The 737 MAX 8 airplanes will build on the success of Royal Air Maroc’s fleet of Next-Generations 737s. The MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, and other airframe enhancements to improve performance and reduce operating costs. It also integrates engine technology to reduce the operational noise footprint of the airplane.

Compared to the previous 737 model, the MAX 8 can fly 600 nautical miles (1,112 kilometers) farther, while providing 14 percent better fuel efficiency. The MAX 8 can seat up to 178 passengers in a standard two-class configuration and fly 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 kilometers).

Royal Air Maroc plans to deploy its 737 MAX 8 on routes from Casablanca to Accra (Ghana), Lagos (Nigeria), London–Heathrow (England), Bologna (Italy) and Paris (Orly and CDG).

Boeing has also partnered with the industrial sector in Morocco, supporting the development of the kingdom’s aviation industry through initiatives such as the joint venture MATIS Aerospace that specializes in producing wire bundles and wire harnesses for airplanes.

Boeing is also helping to educate local youth through partnerships with EFE-Morocco and the INJAZ Al-Maghrib association.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: Passengers Stuck At Gatwick Airport After Two Drones Were Spotted Flying Over The Airfield

The runway at Gatwick remains closed on Thursday morning following reports of drones flying close to the airport – despite briefly reopening overnight.

Flights in and out of the airport were suspended at about 9pm on Wednesday after two drones were sighted near the airfield.

Gatwick announced that the runway had reopened at about 3am on Thursday – but just 45 minutes later it was shut again.

Thousands of passengers at one of the UK's busiest airports are experiencing flight disruption after drones were seen over the airfield.

Gatwick's runway remains closed after two of the devices were seen nearby.

About 10,000 passengers were affected as flights were unable to take off and incoming planes were redirected with some landing in Paris and Amsterdam.

Moreover the law says:

- It is illegal to fly a drone within 1km of an airport or airfield boundary

- Flying above 400ft (120m) - which increases the risk of a collision with a manned aircraft is illegal

- Endangering the safety of an aircraft is a criminal offence which can carry a prison sentence of five years

Chief operating officer Chris Woodroofe said staff were trying to find a drone reported as still being in the air.

The airport said 110,000 passengers were due to either take off or land at the airport on 760 flights on Thursday.

Passengers faced delays to their travels on Wednesday night as some flights were unable to leave the tarmac while others were diverted to alternative airports.

Some people reported being left stuck on planes for several hours while they waited to find out what was going on.

Gatwick advised anyone flying from the airport, or collecting someone, to check the status of their flight.

A spokeswoman added that airlines were working to provide affected passengers with hotel accommodation or transport for those whose flights were diverted.

Those due to travel have been told to check the status of their flight, while Easyjet told its passengers not to go to Gatwick if their flights have been cancelled.

European air traffic management group Eurocontrol said the runway would remain closed until 11:00 GMT.

The shutdown started just after 21:00 on Wednesday when two drones were spotted being flown over the airfield.

The runway was briefly reopened at about 03:01, the airport said, but forced to close again about 45 minutes later amid a further sighting of drones.

Police units and a helicopter were still hunting for the drone operator after another device was reported just before 07:00.

Two drones had been seen flying over the perimeter fence and into where the runway operates from, sparking significant disruption.

Police did not shoot the devices down because of the risk from stray bullets.

It is illegal to fly a drone within 1km of an airport or airfield boundary.

Planes were diverted to other airports including London Heathrow, Luton and Manchester.

Some services were re-routed to as far away as Cardiff, Paris and Amsterdam.

Crowds of passengers waited inside Gatwick's terminal for updates, while others reported being stuck on waiting planes for several hours.

Gatwick Airport said airlines were working to provide affected passengers with hotel accommodation or provide alternative travel options.

A spokesman apologised for any inconvenience and said staff were working alongside Sussex Police to investigate the drone sightings.

British Airways said a very small number of flights had been diverted.

The airport expects to welcome a record-breaking number of passengers over this year's Christmas period.

It predicts 2.9m people will pass through its gates during the festive getaway, with 73,000 of those due to depart this Sunday.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: easyJet Wants Heathrow Expansion

easyJet has announced that passengers would benefit from the increased competition to legacy carriers and would enjoy fares around 30% lower on routes to the existing UK and European Destinations if the Heathrow expansion is approved by the government.

The new entrants would also be able to launch flights to the UK and European airports that are not served by Heathrow providing economic connections that are needed in a post-BREXIT world.

The new entrants would also be able to launch flights to the UK and European airports that are not served by Heathrow providing economic connections that are needed in a post-BREXIT world.

easyJet has always in the past encouraged UK airports and the local, regional and national governments within it to make compelling cases for their airports to be linked with Heathrow.

Over the years, there has been a decline in the UK and European flights from Heathrow. From 2000 to 2017, total passengers grew by 21% and flights across Europe as a whole grew by 91%.

During that same period, there has been up to a 40% decrease in the number of domestic flight seats, a 13% decrease in European flight seats and UK destinations served has been reduced from 14 to 8 respectively, resulting in 200,000 fewer short haul seats per week today compared to the year 2000.

From 2000 to 2017, total passengers grew by 21% and flights across Europe as a whole grew by 91%. During that same period, there has been up to a 40% decrease in the number of domestic flight seats.

A 13% decrease in European flight seats and UK destinations served has been reduced from 14 to 8 respectively, resulting in 200,000 fewer short haul seats per week today compared to the year 2000.

easyJet believes that due to the constraints in capacity, this has sectioned out the regional and domestic routes a lot more than it should have done, as they made way for the more international carriers operating out of the airport.

Their case is that the Heathrow expansion should allocate some room for the regional market boom that regional carriers such as Flybe have been waiting for for a long time, especially with easyJet having a significant few regional routes already between Gatwick.

Their case is that the Heathrow expansion should allocate some room for the regional market boom that regional carriers such as Flybe have been waiting for for a long time, especially with easyJet having a significant few regional routes already between Gatwick.

easyJet supported the Airports Commission’s clear and unanimous recommendation and agrees that expansion at Heathrow will provide the greatest passenger and economic benefits, including lower fares by opening up the airport to increased competition.

Expansion at Heathrow will bring significant benefits to all parts of the UK and is in the best interests of all passengers – both business and leisure, long and short haul.

This expansion would enable low-cost airlines like easyJet to operate from Heathrow in addition to existing London bases, allowing them to provide new routes and increased competition on dozens more UK and European routes.

easyJet’s costs are significantly lower than legacy airlines so easyJet’s fares on these services would be lower than those paid by passengers today.

We look forward to engaging with the UK’s regional airports and their Governments and other local organisations to work out which regions will enjoy the largest growth in passenger demand and economic benefits from new connections to Heathrow and the rest of the world.

Expansion at Heathrow must be delivered sustainably.

Local noise and environmental impacts need to be addressed and easyJet supports the Commission’s recommendations on these issues. easyJet will bring our long-term environmental strategy, a key element of which is the next generation Airbus A320 neo aircraft.

These aircraft produce 15% fewer carbon emissions and are 50% quieter than current generation aircraft.

We are taking delivery of 130 of these aircraft and all will be flying with easyJet before the new runway opens at Heathrow.

Expansion at Heathrow will bring significant economic benefits to all of the UK and that’s why we urge MPs to support the Government’s National Planning Statement so that work can start to increase the aviation capacity for the UK.

As easyJet is talking very pro-Heathrow, there is probably a low level of doubt that there are deals being planned as the expansion progresses.

It could be the case that we may see the carrier operating out of LHR over the next few years. We have had other regional carriers such as Flybe recently launch their presence out of Heathrow, meaning that it definitely is all to play for.

easyJet could ultimately launch more significant European services from Heathrow as well, offering great capacity levels with their A321neos that they have on the way, on top of the A320neos that they are receiving already.

If they are to operate out of Heathrow, it could shake the battle between Low-Cost Carriers and more legacy carriers.

easyJet’s quest for Heathrow doesn’t seem to be to thrive, but more to fill the gap in routes that we have seen a reduction in from the likes of Heathrow.

With an already well covered regional network to destinations such as Bristol, Cardiff, Aberdeen and beyond, they will ultimately be wanting to centralize their operations from Heathrow rather than boost their takings.

And with having such an experience, there is evidently a significant level of confidence that it can come to fruition.

The emergence of easyJet can be dangerous to the market that the airport serves. Currently, it more caters to legacy carriers such as BA, Air France, and KLM to name a few.

For the European carriers, there is the great danger that competition intensity would ultimately make Heathrow more of a loss leader rather than a cash cow.

For the international carriers, it may not make much of a difference as they will be flying further than easyJet is intending to reach at this present time.

With the European LCC market already being intense as it is with the collapse of carriers and more, it will be interesting to see what effect this will have on BA’s domestic network in particular, especially as its hub is Heathrow.

And this sheer interest of Low-Cost operations out of LHR could itself bring even more competition with it.

This is where the international carriers could be more affected. With the likes of Ryanair gaining a UK AOC for the purposes of BREXIT, it could be conveyed that Ryanair may venture into the LHR market as well.

With the carrier operating out of more mainstream airports such as Amsterdam in Europe, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Ryanair were to take on KLM on the Amsterdam flight, alongside with easyJet.

It is ultimately dangerous to other carriers across Europe and internationally because fliers may want to sacrifice certain countries of tourism for the cheaper deals, which is the way it is currently going already.

The rise of the low cost fare can, therefore, be more of a reality out of Heathrow, especially with easyJet firing the starting pistol around this movement.

It can open up a lot more positive options for the airport itself but could cause the decrease in revenues for others involved in the process, such as BA on their domestic network.

Furthermore, people in the Heathrow catchment area wouldn’t have to travel elsewhere, like to Gatwick or Stansted for such flights, which would be an additional plus.

It can be established that if easyJet was to gain the space and slots needed at LHR for low-cost operations, then it could definitely change the demographic that Heathrow aims to.

With it providing that potential increase in domestic and regional flights that the airports and surrounding areas could do with, it is only a matter of time before this process starts.

And it is not to say that this process could start whilst the expansion is being implemented. It could happen now, and even more so that Heathrow and easyJet are going on the publicity stage regarding this.

All we need to wait for now is the parliamentary approval and then we can start to see everything come together, more known as the Future of Heathrow.


Tourism Observer

USA: Virgin Atlantic To Commence Las Vegas London Flights Next Year

Virgin Atlantic has announced plans to launch flights to Las Vegas (LAS) from London-Heathrow (LHR), effective on March 31, 2019.

These new flights to LAS are being transferred from London-Gatwick (LGW) to LHR’s Terminal 3, in which Virgin has a significant presence.

The LGW flight used to be operated with the airline’s Boeing 747-400 but the new LHR operation will be operated with the much newer and efficient 787-9 Dreamliner.

Even though it’s a drop in capacity, the airline will now offer more premium seats and their signature Dreamliner product.

Virgin Atlantic have made some route announcements as follows:

- Flights to Las Vegas will now operate from London Heathrow on March 31st, 2019, on the same day that LGW operations to LAS stop, signalling a transfer of flights.

The 787-9 that Virgin will be using for this route will have a three-class configuration, offering 31 Upper-Class Seats, 35 Premium seats and 192 economy seats.

The flight will depart LHR at 12:40 local time and arrive in LAS at 19:05 local time.

In addition, there will be a second daily service to Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS), which will be operated with an Airbus A330-300.

The flight will depart LHR at 20:30 local time, arriving in BOS the next morning at 08:30 local time.

Barbados will also be returning to the network, operating between December 2018 and February 2019 with the airline’s A330-300.

Aircraft in use for LHR-LAS: 787-9 Dreamliner compared to the 747-400 indicating a capacity drop.

- A second daily LHR flight to Boston is to be added also using an A330-300.

- A winter Seasonal service to Barbados will also be operated from LHR also.

From spring 2019 we’re making it even easier for customers to travel from London-Heathrow to Las Vegas and Boston by introducing new flights.

The new services have been timed to offer convenient onward connections for UK and US customers, and feature our award-winning service, a three-course meal and in-flight entertainment on every flight, said Shai Weiss, Chief Commercial Officer for Virgin Atlantic.

We’re also pleased to bring back our popular seasonal service between London-Heathrow and Barbados to offer even more choice for holidaymakers, she added.

The fact that the flights from Gatwick to Las Vegas will be terminated in March 2019 must indicate the growth at Heathrow must be stronger than at Gatwick.

For the likes of Boston, the second daily route is largely due to the rise in demand of business travelers flying to that city more frequently, as well as it being heavily advertised as a tourist destination within the UK.

The Barbados route, however, will be returning due to its overall success in the winter season, although it seems that a year-round service from Heathrow will be on the cards when the demand for the route grows overall across the entire year.


Tourism Observer

QATAR: Qatar Airways To Commence Doha To Cardiff Flights

Qatar Airways has announced that it is to launch Doha-Cardiff route on May 1st.

This is the first time that Qatar will be directly linked to Wales, and more importantly, the Welsh capital, offering passenger and cargo opportunities for those in the catchment area.

After the inaugural flight, the route will then be operated by the 787 Dreamliner that the carrier has in their fleet.

The launch of the new service to Cardiff will be a major milestone for Qatar Airways.

It makes sense that the inaugural flight that welcomes Qatar Airways to Wales is on the A350-900, as the wings of this very plane are built at the Airbus plant in Broughton, North Wales.

The new service will connect the Welsh people with more destinations globally and provide them with the opportunity to experience our unparalleled five-star service.

Qatar Airways forward to flying its new passengers on board and to connect them to Doha and points beyond.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that will operate on this route will have 22 seats in Business Class, offering a 1-2-1 configuration followed by 232 seats in Economy which will run under a 3-3-3 configuration.

The flight schedule is as follows:

- Doha (DOH) to Cardiff (CWL) QR 321 departs 07:25 arrives 12:50 (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)

- Cardiff (CWL) to Doha (DOH) QR 322 departs 15:55 arrives 00:45 (+1) (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)

- Doha (DOH) to Cardiff (CWL) QR 323 departs 01:15 arrives 06:40 (Tue, Thu, Sun)

- Cardiff (CWL) to Doha (DOH) QR 324 departs 08:10 arrives 17:00 (Tue, Thu, Sun)

On top of this new route addition in May, the airline will also be operating services to London Gatwick on May 22nd.

This means that by the end of May, Qatar Airways’ UK portfolio will consist of destinations being Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Gatwick, offering an even spread across the UK to connect passengers to the State of Qatar as well as beyond.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: Russian Plane Searched In London, A Blatant Provocation Says Russia

The search was reported on Friday afternoon. The Airbus returned to Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow in the early hours of Saturday after completing a round trip.

Today, we have witnessed another blatant provocation by the British authorities, the Russian Embassy in London said in a statement. This kind of event is extraordinary.

Confusion arose over who did the search. UK police were involved, but the London’s Metropolitan Police denied a role on Twitter.

Russian diplomatic mission later said the plane had been boarded by border force and customs officers, who ordered the crew off in violation of existing rules.

After long talks conducted by an Embassy officer the captain of the plane was allowed to stay, according to the mission.

Russia’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot described the search as a violation of the world practice of carrying out such inspections. It said UK authorities had forced the crew off and isolated the captain in the pilot’s cabin.

After the search was over, the British officers refused to provide any written document that would specify the reasons for their actions, their legal foundation and their outcome, the Russian Embassy said.

The Embassy tried to contact the UK Foreign Office to clarify the incident and inappropriate behavior of British officials but without success.

It then sent a diplomatic note demanding explanations.

The plane’s pilot, who spoke to Russian media shortly after landing in Moscow on Saturday morning, said British officers were looking for illegal items.

Several people turned up with a dog and told us they needed to search the aircraft for items prohibited for carriage by air, Vitaly Mitrofanov told Rossiya 24 television channel.

The pilot said he stayed in the cabin while the officers were on board and was unaware of what they were doing most of the time. This was against common rules that require crew to accompany inspectors.

I wasn’t allowed to see what they were doing. Under our rules, an inspector is to be accompanied by crew members, Mitrofanov said. “

We agreed to this after consulting the consul and air security so that we could proceed with the flight.

The Russian Embassy blamed the incident on UK’s overall hostility toward Russia following a spat over a former spy’s poisoning.

We will carefully analyse what has happened.

At this moment, we have no other explanation but that the incident at Heathrow is in one way or another connected with the hostile policy that the UK government is conducting with regard to Russia, the statement read.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that the search was ordered by UK authorities to cover up for their lack of progress in the poisoning probe.

Yulia Skripal
Russia has demanded proof of its guilt in a murder attempt at Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

We cannot rule out this being another provocation by the UK authorities that they need in order to save, by all means, their truly tarnished reputation in connection to the so-called Skripal case, Zakharova said.

Ties between Russia and the United Kingdom soured after a former Russian spy and his daughter were found slumped on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4 with symptoms of poisoning.

London blamed Moscow for the suspected nerve gas attack and expelled 23 Russian diplomats.

Russia denied the claims and reciprocated the expulsion earlier this week.

The UK government is considering allowing Russian officials to visit Yulia Skripal, who is recovering in hospital along with her father Sergei after a nerve agent attack.

Ms Skripal is understood to be conscious and talking after she was poisoned with novichok while visiting her father in Salisbury.

Police are treating the poisoning as attempted murder. The attack has provoked a worldwide diplomatic spat as Western nations have joined the UK in expelling Russian officials in response.

Mr Skripal, a former Russian spy, has been in a critical condition since 4 March.

The Russian Embassy in London said in a tweet on Friday that it insists "on the right to see" Ms Skripal, who is a Russian citizen.

A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are considering requests for consular access in line with our obligations under international and domestic law, including the rights and wishes of Yulia Skripal."

Meanwhile, Russia has told the UK it must send home just over 50 more of its diplomats in the ongoing tit-for-tat row.

Russia has already retaliated against Britain for the UK's expulsion of Russian intelligence agents by ejecting 23 British diplomats over the attack on the Skripals.

On Friday, the UK's ambassador to Moscow was told London had one month to cut its diplomatic contingent in Russia to the same size as the Russian mission in Britain.

On Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that meant Britain would have to cut a little over 50 additional diplomats in Russia.

We asked for parity. The Brits have 50 diplomats more than the Russians, she said.

It came after Russia claimed UK authorities searched one of their planes at a London airport in what they called a blatant provocation and threatened to board British planes in retaliation.

The Russian Embassy in the UK said in a statement: Today, we have witnessed another blatant provocation by the British authorities.

Border Force and Customs officers have searched the aircraft that was conducting the Aeroflot flights 2582 / 2583, Moscow - London - Moscow.

This kind of event is extraordinary.

They also alleged British officials had tried to search the plane in the absence of the crew.

The Russian embassy added: "Of course, we will carefully analyse what has happened. At this moment, we have no other explanation but that the incident at Heathrow is in one way or another connected with the hostile policy that the UK government is conducting with regard to Russia."

The Russian ministry of transport later said: "If there is no explanation, the Russian side will deem the actions towards our plane as illegal and also reserve the right to take similar action against British airlines."

Russia is continuing to expel other foreign diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to countries across the world sending home Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

Russia faces mass expulsions of its diplomatic staff around the world, with more than 150 sent back from 25 countries, and NATO.

Ambassadors from a number of other nations, including Germany, Italy, Poland and France, were also summoned by Moscow's foreign ministry.

Sixty Russian diplomats expelled by the United States were due to return home on Saturday, Moscow's envoy said.

In total, 171 people will leave the country, with two Russian planes being provided with one making a brief stopover in New York to collect 14 families.



Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: British Airways Strike Flights Will Be Affected

Flight Delays that’s the prospect for about 5,000 BA passengers for the next 16 days as another cabin-crew strike gets under way.

The 1-16 July strike is the latest episode in a long-running dispute involving members of the Unite union working for BA’s Mixed Fleet at Heathrow.

Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled, but the airline says the “vast majority” of its flights will operate,partly thanks to the planes BA is borrowing.

It was originally about pay. Mixed Fleet was created in 2010, and currently constitutes about one third of BA’s total cabin crew. They are employed on inferior terms to longer-serving staff.

Mixed Fleet cabin crew who are members of the Unite union began strike action at the start of the year in a bid to improve what they called “poverty pay“.

British Airways and Unite have now reached agreement on pay. The battleground has now moved to what the union says are “punitive sanctions” against 1,400 members who took part in previous strikes, involving the removal of bonus payments and staff travel concessions.

The airline’s plans assume that the same number, around 1,400, will stop work. That’s about one in four of the Mixed Fleet total.

BA has also brought in planes. While spare aircraft and crews are difficult to charter in July, because it's peak season, BA’s part-owner, Qatar Airways, happens to have a lot of them sitting idle.

They have been grounded by the geopolitical row in the Gulf, which forbids the Qatari airline flying to a number of neighbours.

The Unite union had objected to the use of these planes, saying that Qatar Airways violated international labour standards. The union also claims: Qatar Flight Duty Time limitations and Rest requirements are inferior to the UK.

But permission for the deal was granted by the Government with just hours to go before the strike began. They will be deployed on short-haul routes from Heathrow to Munich, Brussels, Zurich and other destinations.

British Airways says any passengers who don’t want to fly on Qatar Airways can switch to “real” BA flights or get a full refund.

BA says that 99.5 per cent of its schedule will operate,which means that one in 200 flights will be cancelled. I have identified dozens of flights, all of them long-haul, that have been grounded because of the strike.

The most numerous cancellations are on the Heathrow-Doha link, with 12 flights axed between now and Thursday, but other flights are affected including round-trips to New York, Abuja and Muscat.

Over the next 16 days British Airways would normally expect to carry around 1.8 million passengers, and I estimate 10,000 will find their flight is cancelled. Passenger numbers could also be reduced because of reluctance to book on an airline threatened with a strike.

Flights that do not begin or end at Heathrow, eg those from Gatwick, London City and Stansted, are unaffected.

Passengers are being offered alternative departures, on British Airways or other airlines. They may also choose to cancel with a full refund, to postpone the trip or to reroute.

BA will not pay compensation for cancelled flights: industrial action is one of the relatively few grounds for an airline to refuse compensation due to extraordinary circumstances.

But if passengers are disrupted as a result of the strike, BA must provide a duty of care: meals, refreshments and if necessary accommodation as appropriate.


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USA: Delta Air Lines Is A Leading Global Airline

Delta customers in Greater Boston will have more flights and new destinations this summer as the airline adds new nonstop service to Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Mo.*; Jacksonville, Fla.*; Buffalo, N.Y.*; and Norfolk, Va.*; – a new nonstop destination for Bostonians - as well as a second daily flight to Nashville, Tenn.*, from Boston Logan International Airport beginning Sept. 10.

“Delta is committed to being Boston’s global carrier of choice with service that meets the needs of both business and leisure travelers,” said Bob Cortelyou, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Network Planning.

“Our growing network is built to support the diverse travel demands of our customers with unparalleled overall operational performance, and innovative products and services.”

On Dec. 21, Delta will expand weekend West Palm Beach, Fla., and Fort Myers, Fla., flights to daily, as well as increase weekend Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., flights to twice daily. Delta will also continue to support strong holiday travel demand with nonstop flights to popular Caribbean destinations including Montego Bay, Jamaica; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas; beginning Dec. 21.

“Delta’s new flights and growing presence at Logan Airport are welcome news to the Commonwealth as we strive to strengthen our economic environment and create more connections across the country and globe,” said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.

“Not only will these new flights increase options for travelers coming to and from Boston, but the planned increase to more than 100 daily flights out of Logan is a clear indication that connecting to the Commonwealth continues to be in demand."

Delta’s previously announced nonstop service to Dublin, beginning May 25, and transcontinental service to San Francisco, beginning June 8, combined with the other eight routes, complements existing trans-Atlantic service to Amsterdam, London-Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

When paired with additional joint venture partner and SkyTeam flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, London-Heathrow, Manchester, Rome and Mexico City, the combined group of Delta, Air France-KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Alitalia and Aeromexico offers customers seamless, one-connection access to 174 destinations in Europe and Latin America.

Delta offers more capacity to Europe from Boston than any other U.S. carrier, and is the only U.S. global carrier to offer full flat-bed seats in Delta One.

In addition, Delta One customers enjoy Westin Heavenly In-Flight Bedding featuring a full-size pillow and quilted comforter, chef-designed cuisine, a wine program curated by Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson, a TUMI amenity kit featuring Kiehl’s Since 1851 skincare products and an Alessi-designed collection of serviceware.

Customers flying in Delta Comfort+ will benefit from up to four additional inches of legroom and 50 percent more recline than Main Cabin seats, as well as priority boarding, and every customer will enjoy Delta Studio, which includes hundreds of complimentary movies, TV shows, songs and games, and the ability to connect with Wi-Fi on every flight.

Delta offers the most first class seats of any airline from Boston, and by this fall will operate more than 100 peak day departures to 32 destinations. The airline’s rapid growth includes 12 new destinations since November 2016.

“Logan International Airport has seen tremendous growth over the past decade and we are pleased that Delta is continuing that streak with this exciting announcement,” said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “Over 36 million people traveled through Logan last year, many of them on Delta, and with this new milestone, we are looking forward to serving even more.”

Delta is the No. 1 carrier between Boston and New York connecting business travelers with the Delta Shuttle, operated by Delta and its connection partner Shuttle America, with hourly service 16 times daily between Logan Airport and New York City’s LaGuardia Airport as well as offering eight daily flights to JFK.

Delta Sky Club operates two locations in Terminal A providing customers with several healthy and fresh food choices and a number of complimentary drink options including local Samuel Adams craft beer and Starbucks coffee. THE BAR at Delta Sky Club offers wines and premium spirits.

SkyMiles members can use miles for premium drinks with a swipe their boarding pass.

Delta offers Delta Studio, the airline’s industry-leading suite of onboard entertainment, free for all customers on two-class aircraft. Delta operates the world's largest Wi-Fi-equipped fleet, with more than 1,000 connected Delta aircraft, including the airline’s entire fleet of 680 domestic mainline aircraft, Delta Connection two-class regional jets and all of its widebody international fleet.

*Flights operated by Delta Connection carriers Republic Airline or Endeavor Air.

Air India Joins Fellow Star Alliance Carriers at Heathrow Terminal 2 | The Queen’s Terminal

Star Alliance member carrier Air India has successfully moved all its operations at London Heathrow’s Airport from Terminal 4 to Terminal 2, the home of Star Alliance.

The national airline of India operates up to eight daily flights in and out of Heathrow with either Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and has been serving London for nearly 70 years.

At present it offers two daily flights to Delhi, one daily flight to Mumbai, four weekly flights to Ahmedabad and three weekly flights to Newark (New York).

“With 24 of our member airlines flying to Heathrow, the airport is served by more Star Alliance member carriers than any other airport in our worldwide network.

Therefore our long term strategy for Heathrow has always been to locate all our members under the same roof. With Air India’s successful move to the Queen’s Terminal we have now accomplished this”, said Jeffrey Goh, CEO Star Alliance.

Compared to Terminal 4, the check-in layout and concept in Terminal 2 allows customers to take greater control of their journey. This has been made possible through a combination of increased automation and common check-in.

Travellers who have not checked in online can use any of 81 multi-airline check-in kiosks available throughout Terminal 2. These also print boarding passes and bag tags.

Once checked in, Air India passengers can drop off their bags at the shared counters in Zone D. Customers requiring additional support and assistance or travelling in First Class, Business Class or holding Star Alliance Gold status will also find the respective counters in Zone D.

Air India customers travelling in either First or Business Class or holding Star Alliance Gold status can make use of any of the four lounges in Terminal 2 operated by fellow Star Alliance member airlines Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and United.

UNITED KINGDOM: Third Runway For Heathrow Airport

British Government has officially backed London/Heathrow’s proposal for increasing runway capacity in the southeast of England.

Announcing its decision in a written statement on October 25, the Department for Transport said building a third runway at the airport – the first full length runway in the south-east since World War Two – would deliver “a major boost for the UK economy.”

It added: “It will bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61 billion. Up to 77,000 additional local jobs are expected to be created over the next 14 years and the airport has committed to create 5,000 new apprenticeships over the same period.”

NORWAY: Norwegian To Acquire More Boeing 787-9s

Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos is considering placing a follow-on order for more Boeing 787-9s in “a couple of years,” which he would use to expand its London Gatwick operation.

However, Kjos cautioned that this growth depends on Norwegian securing more slots at the south London airport, which would require a second runway to be built. Heathrow and Gatwick are both battling to secure an extra runway, a decision that rests with the UK government.

Norwegian operates nine 787s, eight of which are the smaller -8 variant. With the airline’s current order book, this will grow to a total 787 fleet of 40 aircraft over the next three years. Some of these aircraft are leased.

Speaking to ATW on the sidelines of the Aviation Club lunch in London on March 17, Kjos said Norwegian would ideally like to operate 50 787s from London Gatwick. This will require a fresh order.

“That is just Gatwick. We would like to operate at least 50 Dreamliners from Gatwick, provided we have the slots. We need another runway,” he told ATW. In a statement issued shortly after the lunch, Norwegian added it was also willing to add 100 short-haul aircraft to its Gatwick base. Norwegian is Gatwick’s third largest airline.

“This is by far the most significant and positive intervention by an airline in the expansion debate to date,” Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate said.
When asked about whether Norwegian could acquire another airline to expand its Gatwick slot portfolio, Kjos replied: “I don’t think we can get that many slots, even if we acquire them through another airline.”

Any follow-on order would purely be for 787-9s, rather than the -8 variant. “The -9 has a lower seat cost and we only go with seat costs,” he said. However, Kjos has no plans to dispose of Norwegian’s eight -8s. “We need them [-8s] to open new routes; they are very good for new markets.”

Norwegian’s order for 100 737 MAXs will also help with its long-haul expansion, as it plans to operate the twinjets on transatlantic services.

Kjos said Norwegian has enough short-haul aircraft in its order pipeline, so there is no immediate need for a follow-on narrowbody order. The short-haul aircraft it has already committed to will be used for long-haul feed. “We need between 50 and 100 more short-haul aircraft in operation, just to take transfer passengers,” he said.

From Gatwick, Norwegian operates long-haul services to Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles and New York, with plans to add Boston and Oakland (San Francisco) this year.

UNITED KINGDOM: Gatwick To Introduce Second Runway

For decades, London’s Gatwick Airport, situated some 28 miles south of the UK’s capital, has played second fiddle to Heathrow.

Traditionally, the image of Gatwick was as a ‘bucket-and-spade’ airport, a jumping-off point for families heading abroad on summer holidays. Heathrow, by contrast, just 15 miles west of central London, was the business executive’s departure and arrival point of choice.
Even today, several scheduled long-haul carriers only use Gatwick because runway-constrained Heathrow simply does not have the available slots to accommodate them.

Gatwick has done much to improve its standards in recent years, notably since it was bought in 2009 from BAA – formerly the owner of London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – by a group of international investment funds, of which the largest is US-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

The new owners have pumped in £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) of investment since taking over, with another £1 billion planned for the next five years. Now, it makes much of the fact that it hosts flights to 47 of Europe’s busiest business destinations and that 20% of its passengers are travelling for work reasons.

Some 40 million passengers used Gatwick in 2015, a figure that is anticipated to keep growing. For some years, it has claimed the record for being the world’s busiest single-runway airport.

However, the significant phrase in that last sentence is ‘single-runway’. More capacity is needed and Gatwick would dearly like to have a second strip of concrete.

The airport’s current design capacity with that single runway is 45 million and Gatwick is constantly rejigging its internal layout to improve passenger flow. One recent development, for example, gave the airport the world’s largest self-service bag-drop zone. But these developments are really at the margin. A second runway – depending on the configuration chosen – could boost capacity to as much as 87 million.

Gatwick’s owners fought long and hard to convince the Davies Commission – the official body set up by the UK government in 2012 to decide on the best location for a new runway for the crowded southeast of England – of its merits but that body last summer came down decisively in favor of a third runway at Heathrow, saying it would bring the greatest benefits for UK Inc.

However, with the UK government yet again dithering over making a decision, and having called for another environmental study into the subject – despite the Davies Commission having taken that into account in its deliberations – Gatwick is continuing to push its case.
It argues that it will be impossible for Heathrow to have a third runway without breaching European Union pollution standards and notes that, unlike Heathrow, it already has enough land in which it can create a new runway without demolishing a nearby village. (Although, in the densely-packed southeast of England, even the less-traumatic Gatwick option would mean diverting a major road and a river.)

And, in an obvious ‘sweetener’ to government, Gatwick says it will take care of the environmental costs itself, whereas at Heathrow the multi-billion pound environmental bill would be borne by the taxpayers.

There is another reason why Gatwick feels this is its moment. A 40-year pact with the county council in whose territory it lies not to push for a second runway runs out in 2019.

Given this opportunity, plus the length of time required for any major airport project to wend its way through the UK’s labyrinthine planning procedures, Gatwick has just launched an exercise to appoint framework consultants to assist in the future development of the airport. That includes a possible new runway, 1km south of the existing one.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest and most successful low-cost carrier (LCC) and a rapidly-growing player at Gatwick, would certainly like to see a new runway there. In mid-February, Ryanair’s rumbustious CEO Michael O’Leary said that he would favor a second runway at both Gatwick and Ryanair’s stronghold of London Stansted, an LCC-heavy airport northeast of London, as well as a third strip at Heathrow.

That way, he said, the three airports could compete with each other and let the market decide which it favored.

However, most Brits interested in the country’s future economic health and weary of the interminable vacillation of successive governments, just want someone to take a decision and start building a new runway. Somewhere. Anywhere. But soon.

Bed Bugs Fly Free On Many Airlines

A British Airways plane infested with bed bugs was allegedly kept in service despite staff knowing about the problem - a claim the airline denies.

Staff at the airline logged the issue after the insects were spotted and passengers bitten on a flight from the US to Heathrow last week. So serious was the problem that an entire row – 47 – was closed in economy class, the newspaper said.

But staff claimed that engineers did not have time to deal with the bugs and bosses decided to keep the aircraft in service. Days later another real infestation was reported on the same Boeing 747 during a flight from Cape Town to Heathrow.

British Airways denied that it had allowed the plane to return to the sky after the outbreak was discovered.

Whenever any report of bed bugs is received, we launch a thorough investigation and, if appropriate, remove the aircraft from service and use specialist teams to treat it, a spokesman said. The presence of bed bugs is an issue faced occasionally by hotels and airlines all over the world. British Airways operates more than 280,000 flights every year, and reports of bed bugs onboard are extremely rare. Nevertheless, we are vigilant about the issue and continually monitor our aircraft."

The aircraft has now been fully disinfected and cleaned.

As the name would suggest, the insects are more commonly spotted in bedrooms, and outbreaks sometimes occur in hotels.

Last month a couple posted a video showing dozens of bed bugs on the mattress in their New York hotel room. The incident left one of the guests covered in bites.

And in July two holidaymakers won compensation from Thomas Cook after they suffered severe rashes thanks to a bed bug infestation at a resort in the Dominican Republic.

But outbreaks do occasionally occur in the sky. “There are numerous cases of bed bugs being spread on airplanes,” according to Bed-Bugs.com, which offers extermination services. “Bed bugs can spread through close proximity with fellow travellers as well as their belongings.

They also thrive where there is frequent turnover of people. On airplanes, people are in close proximity, are not able to move other than on the plane, and their belongings are required to stay untouched for long periods of time. This is an excellent recipe for bed bug transmittal.”

In 2011 BA was forced to ground two 747s after a passenger said she was bitten on a flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow. The same woman claimed she was bitten on a separate flight from Bangalore to London a month later and set up a website (since closed) to put pressure on the airline to act. Forums have described sightings on US carriers too – including American Airlines, United and Delta.

CHINA: Guangzhou - Thriving Food Scene And Booming Tourism Economy

Guangzhou is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in South China.

China Southern Airlines operate flights out of their hub based in the Guangdong province connecting the city to China and continents around the world.

Situated 120km North West of Hong Kong, Guangzhou has a thriving food scene and a booming tourism economy.

Tourists from around the globe visit the Guangdong province capital to visit the numerous attractions from the Pearl River to Shamian Island.

China Southern Airlines operate daily flights from London Heathrow to Guangzhou making visiting easier than ever. Return fares start at as low as £200* from the UK in economy class when booked with Alternative Airlines.

*Excluding taxes and any applicable charges

HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific To Launch Gatwick To Hong Kong Flights

Cathay Pacific have announced that starting from 2nd September 2016 they will operate a four-times weekly service from Gatwick.

The service set to operate out of Gatwick's South terminal, will complement Cathay's five-times daily service from London Heathrow for a total of 39 flights weekly between the two cities.

Cathay Pacific’s general manager Europe, Neil Glenn said: “Cathay Pacific has been flying between London and Hong Kong for 35 years and our commitment to the UK market remains strong.

“We are delighted to launch a non-stop service from Gatwick to Hong Kong, using our new state-of-the-art A350 aircraft, which will help meet increasing demand for both business and leisure travel between the Asia Pacific region and the UK.”

He also added: “These additional flights between London and Hong Kong will provide our passengers with greater choice and flexibility and, at the same time, continue to boost Hong Kong’s standing as an international aviation hub.”

The new non-stop service between Gatwick and Hong Kong is subject to government approval.

Top 50 Busiest Airports In The World

Below are the Top 50 busiest airports in the World for 2012

The tables above show the number of passengers for the top 50 busiest airports in the World for last year (2012).

Airport Information Index:

1. The busiest airport are ranked depending on the number of passengers flying to or from each airport.

2. Passenger may only be catching connecting flights from an airport to another destination.

3. Passenger Number data is related to the Airport Council International estimated full year figures for 2012.

UNITED KINGDOM: British Airways Adds Seasonal Glasgow – Salzburg Flights

British Airways (London) will add weekly winter ski seasonal Airbus A319 service from Glasgow to Salzburg starting on December 12 per Airline Route.

BA is also adding Airbus A319 service from London (Gatwick) to Valencia starting on November 6 and to Porto on February 11, 2016.

In other news, British Airways on May 4, 2016 will resume the London (Gatwick) – Lima route with Boeing 777-200 ER aircraft. The restored route will operate three days a week.