LONDON - As Virgin Atlantic withdraws from Shanghai the airline has been looking for 2025 network opportunities beyond its US catchment: Virgin Atlantic will add the two new destinations of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Accra (Ghana) to its network for summer 2025 and restore an idle Canada route.

LONDON - The UK Government has approved a London City Airport plan to ease its annual passenger cap from 6.5 million to 9.0 million passengers and to fly three extra flights in the first half hour of operations during the week, but rejected the airport's application to extend the Saturday curfew.

LONDON - European Airlines struggle with adverse market conditions on routes to China. British Airways will suspend its London - Beijing service for a year citing commercial reasons. Overcapacities triggered by Chinese airlines present a yield challenge to all competitors on international routes.

LONDON - Virgin Atlantic announced the launch of new routes across three continents. Network growth comes as the airline capitalises on "sustained demand for international travel" and will add "more than 250,000 total seats" across Virgin Atlantic’s network, compared to 2019 while accepting new aircraft.

LONDON - Ryanair adds over one million seats to its winter schedules to and from 20 UK airports "in response to British Airways’ announcement that it will cancel 8 percent of its winter schedule due to staff shortages and capacity cuts" at "hopeless Heathrow" airport. The Irish LCC expects to carry more passengers this year.

LONDON - Staff shortages meet demand peaks: British Airways is canceling 10,300 additional short-haul flights through October to stabilize its schedule and "protect as many of our holiday flights as possible". Pending labor action at Heathrow airport will not cause British Airways additional headaches.

LONDON - Virgin Atlantic has opened applications to recruit 400 new cabin crew to take to the skies in its red uniform in summer 2022. Still, the airline remains cautious about future staffing needs. The additional roles will be part of an initial 6-month fixed term contract with the view to extend.

LONDON - The UK is about to decide whether or not to extend slot relief for airlines. 56 percent of people surveyed who are planning to fly in the next 12 months are concerned about airfares increasing if airport slot rules remain the same, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Gatwick Airport and Wizz Air. 

LONDON - British Airways and Qatar Airways extend their joint business. The news follows British Airways’ relaunch of daily services to Doha, with the airline’s first flight taking off from Gatwick this month, giving customers access to Qatar Airways’ expansive global network with connections to over 100 destinations.

LONDON - British Airways will use sustainable aviation fuel produced on a commercial scale in the UK after signing a multi-year agreement with Phillips 66. Thousands of tonnes of SAF will be produced at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery near Immingham and will be supplied to British Airways early 2022. 

LONDON - Heathrow has begun recruiting for over 600 new frontline roles as the restart of transatlantic travel and easing of international restrictions boosts confidence in the aviation sector’s recovery. The reopening of the US travel markets stimulates demand in the core business of the airport.

FRANKFURT - After more than a year in storage, British Airways restarts A380 operation with crew familiarization rosters on short trips within its European network. On Monday morning, the A380 G-XLEF went on the BA902/903 rotation from London Heathrow to Frankfurt and back.

MANCHESTER - The first Aer Lingus transatlantic service from the UK took to the skies Wednesday with the departure of the airline’s first ever non-stop direct flight from Manchester to Barbados. The IAG airline will expand its Manchester flights with new services to New York and Orlando in December.

LONDON - Norse Atlantic Airways and the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) have entered into an agreement that will deliver hundreds of jobs in the UK. Norse plans to commence affordable flights between Europe and North America in 2022 with a fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft.

DUBLIN - Ryanair laid the groundwork for recovery and expansion with the opening of a new 50 million Euro training center in Santry, close to Dublin Airport. The Irish low-cost airline consolidates training operations under a new agreement with Airline Flight Academy (AFA) and announced a hiring spree.

ABERDEEN - Loganair, the UK’s largest regional airline, has further bolstered its route network as it launches a new direct service between Aberdeen and Dublin, with the first flight taking to the skies Sunday 5 September. The airline operates the route with a 49-seat Embraer 145 regional jet.

LONDON - The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published aviation statistics for the second quarter of 2021. Overall, 6.3 million passengers flew in and out of the UK between April and June this year - compared to 3.4 million in quarter one 2021 - across 124,000 flights (81,000 flights in quarter one 2021).

LONDON - JetBlue Airways has officially entered the transatlantic market with new, nonstop service between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR). The first customer-carrying JetBlue flight between the U.S. and the U.K. touched down at Heathrow Thursday just before 10 o’clock.

LONDON - Virgin Atlantic might tap the stock market as the recovery takes shape. The airline will follow up on its IPO plans by autumn, Sky News reports. Virgin Atlantic is co-owned by billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group, that holds a 51 percent interest, and Delta Air Lines with a 49 percent stake.

LONDON - More than 3,500 UK pilots have written to the Government to highlight a "new and unfair system" that means UK pilot licences have been "seriously degraded in value and utility" following Brexit. The new state of play might even have prevented UK pilots from securing UK jobs.