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 - A registration scheme for passengers takes a toll on Heathrow traffic. The airport estimates it lost around 90,000 passengers from the Middle East alone to other hubs since the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) charge of 10 GBP was introduced in November 2023. And things could get worse.
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 - Heathrow airport faces a regulatory setback as its watchdog cuts and caps passenger fee increases even further. UK Civil Aviation Authority outlined new curbs for the 2025 and 2026 periods at Britains largest airport in response to a recent ruling from the Competition and Markets Authority.
LONDON - London Stansted passed the rolling 29 million passengers a year milestone for the first time in its history following its busiest ever June on record. Stansted handled 2.8 million passengers in June, an increase of 8.3 percent on the same month last year - and 153,000 more passengers than the previous busiest ever June in 2019.
MANCHESTER - A "major power cut in the area" affected terminal and flight operations at Manchester Airport Sunday morning. Flights from Terminals 1 and 2 were cancelled, passengers were asked not to come to the airport. Only Terminal 3 flights were expected to depart as scheduled.
LONDON - London Heathrow Airport attracts new investors from France and Saud Arabia. French private equity manager Ardian acquires just under 23 percent of the share capital in the airport company, while the Saudi state fund is taking a 15 percent interest in the Europe's most frequented airport.
WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Transport (DOT) has cleared an extensive codeshare between JetBlue Airways and British Airways. The airlines will connect their networks to numerous destinations in the United States and Great Britain through reciprocal codeshare arrangements.
LONDON - Severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight from London-Heathrow to Singapore left one person dead and 30 other injured. Singapore Airlines confirmed the May 21st incident, which is under investigation, and its tragic outcome.
LONDON - International passengers are set to face long queues at the immigration lanes at Heathrow Airport this week. An unsolved dispute on duty rosters between the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) and the UK Government escalates to a strike of border force officers at Britain's largest international airport.
EDINBURGH - French infrastructure operator Vinci adds another UK airport to its portfolio. Vinci Airports an agreement to acquire an effective 50.01% stake in Edinburgh Airport Limited the company that owns Edinburgh Airport - for around 1.27 billion GBP, the company disclosed in a statement.
LONDON - London Gatwick airport has completed an infrastructure project to help reduce delays and go-arounds. The new Rapid Exit Taxiway (RET) enables arriving aircraft to leave the main runway "at a more optimal location" after landing. The project has been completed after being put on hold through the pandemic.
LONDON - "Really strong start to the year": London Stansted shrugged off the cold and damp of a leap-year February to toast another record-breaking month for passengers. More than 1.92 million passengers passed through the terminal during February, beating a previous record set in February 2020 by almost 50,000.
LONDON - An interim report into the air traffic control meltdown on 28 August 2023 has been published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Heavily impacted Ryanair calls for management changes at NATS as a consequence of the broad ATC collapse over the busy bank holiday weekend.
LONDON - London Gatwick Airport increases its connectivity to mainland China: Air China will begin operating daily flights from London Gatwick to Beijing Capital Airport on A330-300 aircraft on 1 June , before China Southern launches its three-per-week service to Guangzhou on 20 June, on Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
LONDON - British Airways operates Airbus A350-1000 aircraft in its international network since 2019. The airline just received its 18th A350-1000 from Airbus marking the final delivery from the original order. The fleet renewal at British Airways will continue with additional Boeing 787-10 aircraft.
LONDON - British Airways has announced the launch of various long-haul and short-haul routes from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Edinburgh airport for the 2024 schedule. In addition, the national flag carrier is returning to London Stansted for the first time since the pandemic.
LONDON - "High volume of complaints": Wizz Air UK stalled passenger refund requests. Eventual enforcement action against Wizz Air has now led to 1.24 million GBP being refunded to passengers, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Wizz Air will also review its refund processes.
LONDON - The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has finalised a package of improvements designed to clarify the airspace change process for airports, air navigation service providers and those affected by airspace change.
LONDON - The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued a permit to Virgin Atlantic to fly a world-first transatlantic 100 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) flight. Virgin Atlantic plans to fly across the Atlantic from London Heathrow to New York JFK on 28 November 2023 to test and showcase the feasibility of flying on all SAF.
LONDON - Heathrow airport raised its passenger forecast for the remainder of 2023. The British Airways hub expects 79.3 million passengers by year-end now, compared to an earlier forecast within an 70 to 78 million passengers range. The airport also curbed its losses in the first nine months of 2023.
LONDON - Summer holidays spur passenger demand across the UK. Heathrow Airport reports a 38.1 percent increase in passenger numbers for July. Holiday and intercontinental travel is showing robust signs of improvement - with one particular destination in the US proving extremely popular among Brits this summer.
LONDON - Heathrow Airport has confirmed the appointment of Thomas Woldbye, currently the boss of Copenhagen Airport, as the person to replace John Holland-Kaye when he steps down as CEO of the British Airways hub later this year after nearly 10 years in post. 
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 - Holiday Swap sources Airbus A380 aircraft from Doric Aviation to venture into aviation: Global Airlines, a Holiday Swap company, is working towards transatlantic flights from spring 2024 with a fleet that will eventually include four pre-owned A380s in the 471 seat configuration of a previous operator.
LONDON - For the first time since before the pandemic, people can apply to join the NATS student controller scheme, with basic training based at one of their two training facilities in Hampshire and Gloucester. The British air navigation service provider is looking to attract more female talent to it control facilities.
LONDON - The UK Civil Aviation Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Israel have signed a working arrangement, which will lead to closer collaboration and boosts international trade. The framework will lead to less complexity in validation and acceptance of aviation certificates.
LONDON - Union unite unleashed ten days of strikes involving over 1,400 security officers at Heathrow Airport as "last-ditch talks failed to resolve the current pay dispute". The airport is trying to mitigate the fallout of labor action on passengers as London-Heathrow braces for Easter traffic.
LONDON - "Bounce-back in passenger numbers": UK air travel increased significantly in 2022, with over 224 million passengers travelling to and from UK airports, reaching 75 per cent of 2019 levels, UK Civil Aviation Authority data reveals. One British airport came quite close to pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
LONDON - Following two years impacted by the pandemic, 2022 heralded a return to growth with 3 million passengers choosing to fly to and from the central London hub. The airport expects to attract more first-time passengers in 2023 after investments in its terminal infrastructure and security lanes. 
BIRMINGHAM - British regional airline Flybe finds itself under administration less than one year after its relaunch. All flights to and from the UK are cancelled, Flybe confirmed in a statement Saturday. The airline does not expect to resume services any time soon. Passengers were urged to not to go to the airports.
KEMBLE - Zero-emission flight took a giant step forward with ZeroAvia flying the largest aircraft yet to be powered by a hydrogen-electric engine. The 19-seat Dorniert 228 testbed took to the skies for the maiden flight retrofitted with a full-size prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain on the left wing of the aircraft. 
LONDON - The UK will work with Italy and Japan to adapt and respond to the security threats of the future through an "unprecedented international aerospace coalition" announced by the Prime Minister Friday. The three nations join forces and share ressources to develop a new fighter jet by 2035.Discussions on current events and developments in the aviation industry
