The damaged plane, a 26-year-old Boeing 747-400 was flying from Detroit to Seoul two weeks ago when it encountered a hailstorm. It's not clear whether the plane, registered as tail No. N664US, will return to service (Delta is phasing out its 747 fleet by 2017).
Wizz Air will begin two new services to Birmingham in September. The twice weekly service from Warsaw to Birmingham begins on the 14th September. The twice weekly service from Budapest to Birmingham begins on the 15th September.
easyJet is expanding service at Amsterdam. The airline will be adding six new routes from Amsterdam for the winter season.
Grenoble, begins 12 December, once a week. Lyon, begins 17 December, four times a week. Milan-Linate 27 October, six times a week. Salzburg, 18 December, three times a week. Tel Aviv, 26 October, four times a week. Tenerife South, 15 December, twice a week.
More than 100 people are feared dead after a military transport plane crashed in a residential area of the Indonesian city of Medan.
The Hercules C-130 plane hit two houses and a hotel before bursting into flames creating a huge fireball.
Air Force head Agus Supriatna visited the crash site and told the AFP news agency that there were no survivors among the 113 people on board.
Around 50 bodies have been taken to hospital - others are being recovered.
A major rescue operation is under way at the site which was covered in flames and thick black smoke.
Military personnel removed an aircraft wheel from the crash site on Tuesday
It is too early to know exactly how many people were killed in the disaster, our correspondent says, or what caused it.
Rescuers are having to deal with wreckage from the aircraft as well as debris from destroyed buildingsThe crash is one of several involving military aircraft in recent years
A large crowd has gathered at the crash site
Large crowds watched the emergency services search the flaming wreckage.
The plane had just taken off when it ran into trouble.
"It passed overhead a few times, really low," a witness told the Reuters news agency.
"There was fire and black smoke. The third time it came by it crashed into the roof of the hotel and exploded straight away."
Air Force Chief of Staff Agus Supriatna said that the pilot had asked to return to base because of technical difficulties.
"The plane crashed while it was turning right to return to the airport,'' he said.
The Hercules transport plane was manufactured in 1964, but a military spokesman said he was convinced that it was in good condition.
Correspondents say that it is the second time in 10 years that a plane has crashed in Medan.
Air Canada will add London Gatwick to its network in spring 2016, a move Canada’s largest carrier is making just as WestJet Airlines enters the market. Flights will be operated by Air Canada rouge, the low-cost subsidiary Air Canada created to compete with WestJet, Air Transat and other Canadian charter carriers. Air Canada rouge will fly Boeing 767s with 24 seats in a premium-economy section and 256 seats in economy. The summer-only service begins on May 19, 2016.
British Airways has said farewell to Terminal 1 at London Heathrow Airport, consolidating its flights into two terminals from today. Heathrow Airport closed the doors on Terminal 1 yesterday for the last time after almost 47 years of service. The last flight to depart Terminal 1 was the BA970 to Hanover at 21:15, while the last arrival was the BA144 from Baku at 22:40.
TripAdvisor has launched dedicated airport pages, enabling travellers around the world to get information about what to do, where to eat and where to stay at 200 major airports around the world. When travellers search for an airport on TripAdvisor, they will be directed to a dedicated airport page with reviews, ratings and other information about hotels nearby as well as restaurants and attractions in both public and transit areas.
Six passengers were injured on Monday during an emergency evacuation of their Canadian WestJet flight, which was diverted to Winnipeg following a "threat."
The Boeing 737 was diverted on its way between Edmonton in the western part of the country to Toronto following the threat, WestJet reported on its Twitter account, without providing details.
After landing, six passengers were injured while exiting the aircraft "during the emergency evacuation," WestJet said.
The airline reported 54 passengers and 5 crew members were evacuated from the aircraft.
This is the second incident of its kind in three days for WestJet. A Halifax to Edmonton flight was recently diverted following a report of an explosive device on the 737 with 153 people on board. No device was found.
UPDATE: 1/6/15 09:50GMT The death toll from the crash of an air force transport plane in the Indonesian city of Medan jumped to more than 140 on Wednesday, indicating a growing list of victims from the neighborhood where the plane went down.
A propeller from the C130 Hercules transport plane rests on the roof of a building. (Reuters: Roni Bintang)
North Sumatra police major A. Tarigan told TVOne that 141 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a residential area where the C-130 Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff on Tuesday.
The air force says there were 122 people on the plane including military personnel and their families.
Map of the area in question (BBC News)
Witnesses said it was shooting flames and smoke before crashing. Air force chief Air Marshal Agus Supriatna has said the pilot told the control tower that he needed to turn back because of engine trouble and the plane crashed while turning right to return to the airport.
Aircraft crashed in Medan. (merdeka.com/Yan Muhardiansyah)
The air force repeatedly raised its figures for the number of the people on the plane, indicating lax controls and raising questions about whether it was accepting paying passengers despite previous promises to crack down on the promise. Hitching rides on military planes to reach remote destinations is common in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago that spans three time zones.
The plane's manifest listed 50 people on the doomed flight from Medan to the remote Natuna island chain, according to North Sumatra police chief Eko Hadi Sutedjo, but the actual number was more than double that. The plane had traveled from the capital, Jakarta, and stopped at two locations before arriving at Medan.
The plane ploughed into the newly built residential area, causing a huge fireball (BBC News)
Indonesian lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin said there could be a number of civilian passengers who had paid to board the Hercules C-130 aircraft.
Mr Hasanuddin said investigations will be done to determine if there were payments made to fly with the ill-fated plane built in 1964.
“I received information that there were passengers who paid up to 900,000 rupiah (US$69), but I’m still checking if this is true. Even if you take a civilian flight, it’s not so expensive,” said Mr Hasanuddin.
The bodies were taken to the Adam Malik hospital in Medan, where relatives waited to collect them (BBC News)
The politician from the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) said the Hercules aircraft is meant only to transport military personnel or logistics for military operations.
Other than that, the Hercules can be used as a transport aircraft during disaster and emergency, transport for regional offices, or to transport the families of soldiers who are on duty.
“The procedure allows for the transportation of logistics when there is a disaster, the families of soldiers who are on duty in the region, or regional governments to facilitate their work,” he said.
Emergency services rushed to extinguish the flames and reach any possible survivors (BBC News)
Mr Hasanuddin added before the aircraft departs for an operation, there must be a passenger manifest produced by the Commander of the Airbase.
“Those who board the aircraft must be registered in the manifest as permitted by the Airbase Commander,” he concluded.
There have been a number of families who admitted that they paid to fly on board the military aircraft.
Witnesses said they paid up to million rupiah (US$76) per person to get on board the plane. “My cousin paid 1 million rupiah,” said Hendra Bakkara, a relative of the victim.M
Indonesia has a patchy civil aviation safety record and its cash-strapped air force has also suffered a series of accidents. Between 2007 and 2009, the European Union barred Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe because of safety concerns.
UPDATE: 30/6/15 13:10GMT At least 116 people are feared dead after an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed Tuesday into a major city shortly after take-off and exploded in a fireball.
Firemen attempt to extinguish the fire surrounding the wreckage (Reuters / Irsan Mulyadi / Antara Foto)
Air force chief Agus Supriatna said the manifest showed there were 113 people on board the plane – 12 crew and 101 passengers – when it crashed, and he did not believe any had survived.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Stephanie Dekker tweeted that the pilots had asked to return to base after take-off as something was wrong with the plane. After the plane turned around, it crashed, Dekker said.
Security forces and rescue teams inspect the site (Roni Bintang/Reuters)
Many passengers were likely to be family members of servicemen and women, said a spokesman for Medan airbase, where the plane took off.
At least one child has so far been confirmed killed.
The local search and rescue agency also said that three people were killed on the ground when the 51-year-old plane went down near a newly built residential area, hitting a massage parlour and a small hotel.
A rescue operation swung into action, with ambulances ferrying bodies from the site, and crowds of anxious residents gathering around a police cordon to view the smouldering wreckage.
Residents of Medan described the terrifying moment just after midday when the plane came down. “It was very scary,” said Novi, an employee of an international school who goes by one name, describing how she heard the plane and saw it flying very low before the crash.
Firefighters and military personnel work at the site (Gilbert Manullang/AP Photo)
Another local resident Januar, 26, said the aircraft appeared to be in trouble just before the accident. “I saw the plane from the direction of the airport and it was tilting already, then I saw smoke billowing.”
‘Crushed by debris’
Medan’s police chief described the bodies as “crushed by debris of the buildings and the fuselage”.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed sorrow at the accident, tweeting: “May the families be given patience and strength... May we remain protected from disaster.
UPDATE: 30/6/15 11:00GMT
The plane crashed into houses and buildings, including a hotel, located near the Soewondo Air Force Base, where the plane took off. Officials with Adam Malik Hospital told the news site detik.com that the hospital has received 36 bodies, with three victims saved.
None of the bodies have been identified and it's unclear how many of the victims are military personnel and how many are civilians, North Sumatra police chief Eko Hadi Sutedjo said. The plane was carrying 50 people based on its manifest, he said.
LAST UPDATED: 30/6/15 9:31GMT At least 30 people were killed when an Indonesian military transport plane crashed into the city of Medan on Sumatra island and exploded in a ball of flames.
An image of the scene posted on Twitter. (@news_executive)
An Indonesian military transport plane crashed on Tuesday shortly after take-off in the city of Medan on Sumatra island, exploding in a ball of flames and damaging nearby buildings.
Location of Medan, Indonesia. (BBC News)
The C130 Hercules crashed into two houses and a car, local media said.
Reported photo of the scene on twitter (@GerryS)
"We don't know yet the number of people on board or how many casualties have been caused," military spokesman Fuad Basya said.
Pictures showed the aircraft and several surrounding cars on fire with thick billowing black smoke.
There was no immediate information on the number of people on board or any casualties on the ground after the plane went down. Metro TV reported there may have been 13 people on board.
Indonesian police and military officials secure the crash site (AFP)
Dramatic pictures on social media showed large crowds and emergency services gathering around the flaming wreckage, with the fuselage of the aircraft visible among thick plumes of black smoke. Buildings in the vicinity of the crash zone were also clearly damaged.
Eyewitnesses said the plane was seen circling the air space at low altitude before it crashed.
Air force operations commander Agus Dwi Putranto said on local television there were 12 crew members on the plane. The total number of passengers on board was unknown.
“A Hercules was... transporting military logistics from Medan,” military spokesman Fuad Basya told AFP. The plane took off at 12.08 pm from an air force base and crashed in the city about two minutes later about five kilometres from the base, he said.
Residents gather next to the crash site (AFP)
Air force spokesman Dwi Badarmanto said a rescue effort was underway.
Asked about potential casualties, Mr Fuad said: “We don’t know for sure but inside there will be the plane crew, pilot, but I don’t know how many.”
“The latest information we have is that 30 have died.... The number could go up,” Mr Hisar Turnip, a spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, told Reuters.
A doctor at a Medan hospital, told Reuters only patients with light injuries had so far been received, with Adam Malik hospital spokeswoman Sairi M. Saragih later saying the hospital had received five bodies so far.
The crash site in Medan. (Metro TV)
The plane was on its way from an air force base in Medan to the remote Natuna islands and crashed a few minutes after takeoff, Mr Fuad said. Media said the pilot had asked to return because of technical problems.
Mardiaz Dwihananto, police chief of Medan city where the accident happened, told AFP that five to six bodies had so far been recovered from wreckage of the plane and buildings after the crash in a residential area. "The bodies were in (the) debris of the plane and buildings... we are taking the bodies one by one by ambulance to Adam Malik hospital. We haven’t managed to evacuate all of the bodies.”
Photo of the scene on twitter. (@rriwow)
"It passed overhead a few times, really low. There was fire and black smoke. The third time it came by it crashed into the roof of the hotel and exploded straight away," Elfrida Efi, a receptionist at the Golden Eleven Hotel, told Reuters.
She added that the plane also hit a massage parlor, where there are usually a few people during the day.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine military aircraft that can use even rudimentary runways for takeoffs and landings. It is currently the principal tactical airlifter for a lot over 60 nations worldwide, and there are 40 different models of the heavy-duty plane currently in service.
Photo of the crashed C-130 Hercules on twitter. (@karobukanbatakk)
It is the second time in 10 years that an air plane has crashed into a Medan neighborhood. In September 2005, a Mandala Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff from Medan's Polonia airport, into a crowded residential community, killing 143 people including 30 on the ground.
Medan, with about 3.4 million people, is the third most populous city in Indonesia after the capital Jakarta and Surabaya.
All stories via: AP/ABC/REUTERS/STRAITS TIMES/CNA/RT/MERDEKA Video:
A PLANE bound for Paris from Mexico City has been diverted to Shannon Airport following reports of a fire on board.
The Aeromexico Boeing Dreamliner 787 AM3 was diverted following reports of a suspected fire in the cargo hold. The plane landed at Shannon just before 3pm and all passengers have disembarked safely.
A number of fire crews and emergency vehicles were on the runway to greet the plane when it landed at Shannon, where it is being assessed, a spokesperson has said.
“The aircraft landed safely at 14.50, all passengers disembarked and the plane is currently being assessed.”
The plane, which can carry more than 300 passengers, left Mexico City last night and was due to arrive in Paris at around 4.30pm GMT.
Heathrow Terminal 1, opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1968, will say goodbye to its final passengers this evening. The terminal will close after 47 years with airlines having completed their move to new, modern world class facilities. The final departure will be a British Airways flight to Hanover.
Swiss has unveiled further details of its new Bombardier C-Series aircraft fleet, which it is acquiring for its European short- and medium-haul network. The attractive cabin interior and innovative new passenger seat were presented during the first visit to Zurich of the state-of-the-art new twinjet, of which Swiss is launching customer.
EVA Air has initiated a codeshare agreement with fellow Star Alliance member, Turkish Airlines on its Taipei–Istanbul route. The deal marks the first stage of collaboration between these two airlines, which will aim to benefit passengers with a higher number of combined frequencies for better connectivity and increased travel flexibility between these two countries.
SWISS has signed a new deal with Travelport . The carrier will be utilising Travelport’s advanced technologies including Rich Content and Branding which provides much more comprehensive product features than ATPCO branded fares.
Air Canada has expanded its extensive global network with the announcement of new non-stop services to London’s Gatwick airport and Lyon, France beginning in summer 2016. The two new routes will provide customers even more convenient options when travelling to Europe for business or leisure.
A female airline passenger crossing the tarmac of a South Carolina airport was injured after a nearby lightning strike Saturday night.
The American Airlines flight, which left from Hartford, Connecticut, was destined for Charlotte, North Carolina but diverted to Columbia, South Carolina due to severe weather in the area.
Delta’s joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic Airways is expanded outside its London hub today with the launch of a new summer service between Orlando and Belfast, Ireland.
Air Canada has expanded its extensive global network a new new non-stop services to London’s Gatwick airport and Lyon, France beginning in summer 2016. The two new routes will provide customers even more convenient options when travelling to Europe for business or leisure.
SWISS has signed a new deal with Travelport . The carrier will be utilising Travelport’s advanced technologies including Rich Content and Branding which provides much more comprehensive product features than ATPCO branded fares.
Most aircraft use about two-thirds of the runway to take off. This is an Ilyushin IL76 freight aircraft taking off fully laden for an 11 hour flight, warm day, no wind....... oh and look, no runway left either!
Aerolíneas Argentinas head Mariano Recalde confirmed the two pilots who appeared in a video allowing actress and model Vicky Xipolitakis to manipulate the Austral plane they were driving have been fired.
“These are responsibilities that have put lives at risk,” Recalde said vowing to act “firmly” and have “justice investigate” the incident.
“As soon as we became aware of the situation, we dismissed the pilots. They are two irresponsible people who put at risk the security of people and we will request justice to investigate, as the 190 article of the Penal Code expresses,” the president of Argentina’s flag carrier said in statements to the C5N TV news channel on Thursday’s night.
“It is not an isolated matter but public, that’s why we will act firmly because nothing justifies what happened, and it will have to be analyzed whether they committed a crime,” he said adding Xipolitakis will also face sanctions by the airline.
Air Seychelles has announced the appointment of Roy Kinnear to the position of chief executive, with effect from July 1st 2015. Kinnear joins Air Seychelles from strategic partner Etihad Airways, where he held the position of senior vice president, revenue management and planning, responsible for leading the airline’s revenue management, inventory control, pricing, and revenue forecasting.
Qantas Group has said it will work with its fellow shareholders in Jetstar Hong Kong to review the enterprise, following the Air Transport Licensing Authority’s decision to reject the local carrier’s application to establish an operation in Hong Kong. Jetstar Hong Kong – a joint venture between Shun Tak Holdings, China Eastern Airlines and the Qantas Group – was announced in March 2012.
Virgin Atlantic is celebrating the first of its new summer flights between Belfast and Orlando and has also confirmed the return of the route for next year. The weekly service from Northern Ireland to the Sunshine State will continue for four weeks this summer.
Norwegian will launch flights from Boston, Baltimore/Washington, DC and New York City to two Caribbean destinations: the Guadeloupe Islands and Martinique. Only two years after launching its long-haul operation, Norwegian will now be the largest foreign airline at New York’s JFK airport in terms of number of routes.
MSC Cruises and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have signed a new partnership agreement that will benefit MSC Cruises’ guests travelling to Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The partnership with Etihad Airways reflects MSC Cruises’ long-standing commitment to its guests and is testament to the company’s wish to always make its all-around offering a best-in-class experience, both at sea and in the air.
Colombo: An Emirates Airbus A380 plane carrying over 500 people from Sydney to Dubai made an emergency landing in the Sri Lankan capital on Friday due to a "technical fault".
The Emirates plane was diverted to Colombo where it landed safely, an airport spokesman said.
"Emirates flight EK413 from Sydney to Dubai...Was diverted to Colombo due to a technical fault," the airline said in a statement without giving details about the nature of the problem.
"The aircraft landed safely at the Bandaranaike International Airport and passengers were transferred to other Emirates flights," the Emirates statement said and apologised to passengers for any inconvenience.
Fire fighting crew and emergency units had been placed on stand by.
COLOMBO - Emirates flight 413 from Sydney to Dubai was forced to make an emergency diversion on Friday, June 26 to Colombo due to a "technical fault" aviation officials said.
The front wheel of a small business jet fell off and crashed through a home in St-Laurent minutes before the plane landed at Trudeau airport Wednesday morning.
Avianca has launched its new Boeing 787-8 aircraft on its routes to and from Europe. In a first phase, the Boeing 787 will operate some frequencies on the Bogotá-Madrid, Cali-Madrid and Medellín-Madrid routes.
Completing two decades of continuous service to the ‘Pearl of the Pacific’, Tumaco, Avianca has reaffirmed its commitment to the development of this important region. “There have been 20 years of work to build connectivity at this port in the Colombian Pacific, in which we have had the opportunity to participate in hundreds of initiatives to boost economic and social progress - both for residents and those who come looking for options to expand its business or tourism,” said Avianca president, Fabio Villegas Ramirez.
The F-35 Lightning II Pax River Integrated Test Force from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 conducted the first-ever ski jump of an F-35B Lightning II short take-off/vertical-landing (STOVL) variant June 19. During flight 298, BAE test pilot Peter Wilson launched aircraft BF-04 from a land-based ski jump located aboard NAS Patuxent River. This test is the first of a series of U.K. ski jump events scheduled for 2015.
The boss of budget airline Jet2.com has written to the government appealing for help to crack down on badly-behaved passengers.
As summer gets into full swing, the airline is reporting the highest-ever figures of disruptive behaviour on board its flights - with a 20 per cent increase in drunken and abusive incidents compared to last year.
Now Jet2.com - which flies to 38 destinations from Manchester Airport - has banded together with operators including Monarch to demand industry-wide measures to tackle the problem.
Phil Ward, managing director of Jet2.com said, “It’s time to recognise this problem properly. We want official measures in place to stop this. We are a family airline and holiday company carrying millions of passengers every year.
MSC Cruises and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have signed a new partnership agreement that will benefit MSC Cruises’ guests travelling to Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The partnership with Etihad Airways reflects MSC Cruises’ long-standing commitment to its guests and is testament to the company’s wish to always make its all-around offering a best-in-class experience, both at sea and in the air.
Delta Air Lines has inked a new three-year deal with Chelsea Football Club as the club’s official airline sponsor, again bringing together two major international brands. Delta and Chelsea FC, the English Premier League and Capital One Cup champions, first joined forces in 2012 and since then have worked together to bring the airline’s 170 million annual passengers closer to the club.
