Author: Shawon Hannan

The aviation industry was severely affected on Wednesday of this week, following a call for industrial action by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in several European countries. Flights were delayed and cancelled as air traffic controllers staged walk outs as part of the coordinated strike action across Europe, with workers leaving their posts in Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy, while further protests were held in Belgium, Germany, and France. The strikes became violet in a number of locations in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy, the four countries with above average unemployment rates in Europe. Unions in Spain commenced their…

Network Rail, a company that operates the railway network in the UK, has commenced the transformation of the historic frontage of King’s Cross station in London into a public space, to be called King’s Cross Square. The company has commenced the removal of a canopy in front of the Victorian station façade, and the facade will then be deconstructed to create the new square, which has been designed by London-based architects, Stanton Williams. King’s Cross Square is expected to open to the public in 2013. Matt Tolan, the programme manager for Network Rail at King’s Cross, said, ‘We’re finally removing…

Turkish Airlines, a Turkey-based airline company, has topped the league table in terms of the number of countries that it serves. According to the Official Airline Guide, a UK based provider of aviation information and analytics, with the addition of new routes, Turkish Airline is currently flying to 90 countries worldwide, which is more than any other airline. In 2012, the airline has added around 30 new routes and currently flies to 205 destinations in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. The company has also added the 200th aircraft to its fleet.…

Tourist firms in Botswana are said to be abetting poachers in the nation. The finding has raised concerns as an industry that should have encouraged wildlife is expected to lead to the end of many species of plants and animals unique to Botswana. A spokesperson for the Botswana Defence Force said that the unit uses force only in self-defence and that it has been arresting suspected poachers who are then sent to jail. However, conservationists feel that law enforcement agencies are not having the necessary impact needed to curb poaching in the nation. Unlike nations such as South Africa, poaching…

Fastjet, a new airline offering low cost services to Africa, is offering airfares from its first base in Tanzania. The airline is expected to commence its operations from November 29, 2012, from Dar es Salaam, to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza. The airline has recently acquired three Airbus A319 aircraft, that will be operated by Rubicon Diversified Investments, a UK-based holding company, in consultation with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of Easyjet, a UK-based low cost airline. Fastjet chief executive officer, Ed Winter, said, ‘Air travel is no longer an exclusive option for a small minority in Tanzania. Fastjet will make flying an…

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the national airline of the Netherlands, will be offering services from Manston airport in eastern Kent, UK, to Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. The new services commence from April 2, 2013, with twice daily flights from Manston airport to Schiphol airport. With the new route, the airline will be operating to 17 airports in the UK. The airline will be flying up to 80 passengers on its Fokker 70 jets. Henri Hourcade, the UK general manager for KLM, said, ‘Demand for efficient and convenient schedules to long-haul destinations from the UK continues to grow to emerging markets…

Qatar Airways, a Qatar based airline company, has taken delivery of its initial Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at Seattle, US, the headquarters of the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing. The airline has flown the aircraft to Doha, Qatar, where it will be based and will be used to operate on long distance flights. The airline is expected to take delivery of around 60 such Dreamliners on order over the next few years. The new aircraft is the world’s earliest 787 aircraft offering wireless connectivity facilities for all passengers in both business and economy cabins to remain connected through Wi-Fi and GSM telephony…

Eastern Airways, a UK based airline operating in the UK out of Norwich, has pushed for a reassessment of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) reporting practices by the UK Government. Eastern Airways chairman, Bryan Huxford, said, ‘The Emissions Trading Scheme, implemented by Brussels earlier this year is good in theory but, for Europe’s smaller carriers, is a disaster in practice’ says. ‘I find it unbelievable that the scheme results in the cost of administration equalling or exceeding the cost of compliance for smaller airlines. Eastern Airways, together with every other European airline takes very seriously the need to minimise the…

easyJet, the UK based airline, has announced a warning for its passengers flying to various destinations in Europe of a possible industrial action. The airline is expecting hundreds of flights being cancelled and rescheduled across Europe, in view of a Europe-wide general strike called on Wednesday, November 14, 2012. The strike has been called by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and will take place at different times in different countries. The airline, in a statement, said, ‘easyJet has been advised of a General strike on 14th November organised by the European Trade Union Confederation with strikes and demonstrations across…

British Airways, the UK-based airline, will be using its previous Bmi slots at London Heathrow airport for long-distance flights to Asia and North America. In its new winter schedule, British Airways is continuing with its integration of British Midland International (bmi) airline with its main fleet, following completion of the merger procedures of the airlines earlier this year. The airline has acquired 56 extra slots at London Heathrow airport as a result of the merger. 14 of these slots will have to be transferred to other airlines, as part of a concession with European Commission’s competition authorities. The airline will…