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New Service Offers Assistance for Disabled Flight Passengers

August 17, 2017
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EuTravel Project | Services for Disables TravellersThe EuTravel Project has been launched in a collaboration between Accomable and EuTravel, designed to provide additional assistance for disabled passengers on flights to and from EU countries.

Passengers with disabilities will be able to book the door-to-door service, covering the use of multiple forms of transport, such as flights, trains, ferries or buses, and find hotels and holiday rental accommodation to suit their disability.

In its infant stages, and operating a pilot program, the system is realising further challenges faced by people with all types of disability, and is placing its focus on accessibility.

Project Support Director, Yash Chadha said, ‘Accessibility is at the heart of the EuTravel Project. Our technology will make it easy for citizens of the EU and international visitors to travel across the single market, and to plan journeys which suit their individual needs. Key to this is ensuring the service is open to everyone, including disabled users and anyone with a mobility issue which is why we’re thrilled to have Accomable on board as consultants on accessibility.’

CEO of Accomable, Srin Madipalli said, ‘Our mission has always been to enable anyone to go anywhere, so we are delighted to be working with EuTravel Project to ensure disabled people worldwide can research and book accessible transport across the EU with ease. Our disabled customers are extremely aware of how difficult it is to plan accessible transport routes when travelling at home and abroad, as online information is often incorrect or out of date. Our role will be to consult EuTravel Project towards delivering a solution that contains full accessibility information you can trust.’

Britain’s Tardiest Airline and Airport Named for 2015/6

August 11, 2017
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Tardiest Airline and Airport Announced | UK Airports NewsCivil Aviation Authority data on arriving and departing British and Irish aircraft for the past two years has been examined by the BBC Data Unit, and the results are in.

It has been noticed that during the traditionally busy months of June, July and August in 2015 and 2016, passengers using easyJet and Gatwick airport have experienced the most delays, with an average ‘tardy time’ rate of 24 and 27 minutes late (respectively) for both offenders.

Luton Airport only just escaped the award, at 24-minute average delay time, while British Airways managed to come in third place with 18 minutes.

Which airports and airlines performed best?

Aer Lingus were noted to have given the best performance of all the British and Irish airlines, with an average delay time of 12 minutes, rivalling Ryanair, coming in just three minutes later. Of the UK airlines, Flybe performed most efficiently, with just a 13-minute delay record, and Monarch airlines tied with the Irish Ryanair at 15 minutes.

Among the best performing airports were Leeds Bradford, who tied with the George Best Belfast City airport at just 10 minutes average delay. Birmingham International and Edinburgh did not fare too badly, sharing an average delay time of 18 minutes, but were narrowly beaten by Manchester, Glasgow and Stansted airports with 17 minutes.

French ATC strikes during the summers of 2015 and 2016 did not help easyJet or Gatwick airport’s position, as its location does attract French visitors and tourists moving in both directions.

easyJet released a statement in its defence, saying [of the air strikes], ‘Despite a number of adverse external factors like increasingly congested airspace, particularly in the London area, and record numbers of Air Traffic Control strikes, over the last year easyJet has actually reduced the proportion of flights delayed by more than 3 hours. We work hard to minimise disruption and fully comply with all relevant regulations.’

A Gatwick airport representative also spoke to the BBC, and said, ‘Gatwick has made it a priority to address punctuality and, in partnership with our airlines and ground handlers, we are already seeing the benefits of a new wide range of measures that have been implemented to improve punctuality.’

Heathrow Airport Experiences Record Passenger Numbers

July 25, 2017
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LHR Breaks Traffic Records | Airport NewsLondon’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) is delighted to announce it has broken its own records for monthly, daily and annual passenger numbers passing through its terminals.

For the first time in its long history, LHR experienced record passenger numbers in June – 259,917 passengers flew through LHR on June 30th, making it the busiest day it has ever had. 6.76 million travellers flew during the month of June, which in turn broke LHR’s annual record, taking that figure to 77 million.

Heathrow released further increases as follows:

  • Long haul passenger growth increased by 10%
  • Middle East and East Asia travellers increased by more 5%

It is not only passenger numbers that increased last month for LHR. Cargo also increased in June by 13% compared to the same period last year, and freight exchanges between the airport and the Latin American region grew by 38% on last years’ figures. The biggest cargo market for the airport is in North America, and this is still the largest market, with volume increasing by 15.8%, which prompted American Airlines to open a new facility for the transportation of pharmaceutical cargo.

LHR has also announced that airlines on the Middle East and East Asian routes are taking advantage of their slots to increase their loads on larger aircraft. This may spell further increases for Heathrow’s traffic for both passengers and freight cargo.

Stansted Airport Plans Community Consultation Events

July 5, 2017
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Stansted Airport Community Events | Airports NewsAs a part of Stansted Airport’s bid to extend flight and passenger limits, it has announced plans to hold a series of community consultation events to gain valuable insights into the views of local residents.

A new website will also be launched to support and share information about the project, and for residents who cannot attend the live events to remain involved.

Further consultations between residents, community leaders and local businesses and Uttlesford District Council will follow the eight events, planned throughout the month of July in local towns and villages, and subsequent planning application submission by the airport.

Stansted is amongst the fastest-growing airports in the UK, and handles almost 25 million passengers annually. It has a current ‘cap’ on the annual number of passengers at 35 million, but the runway has capacity to deliver services for more than 44 million.

The CEO of Stansted Airport, Mr Andrew Cowan said, ‘By lifting the current planning caps, Stansted will be able to serve around 44 million passengers a year on its existing runway by 2030.  Making use of Stansted’s spare capacity will benefit not only the dynamic and fast growing east of England region, but also London and the UK.  It will support the creation of thousands of new jobs and billions of pounds in additional economic activity, and will ensure the UK succeeds as an outward-facing trading nation as we leave the EU.’

Understanding that the issues surrounding airport environments cause concern for local residents has prompted the airport to bring the community closer. It is important to the airport that information-sharing and listening to local concerns remains a high priority throughout the planning processes.

Mr Cowan continued, ‘We know that growth is a sensitive and important issue for people living close to airports and we are committed to engaging, listening and sharing as much information as possible as we develop our plans.” He went on to say: “We take our responsibilities to the communities around the airport seriously, and as part of our growth plan we will focus on operating in cleaner, quieter and smarter ways.  Our airlines have invested heavily in quieter and cleaner fleets helping to reduce our noise footprint and we are committed to going further to minimise the impact of noise disturbance. We will remain focused on providing employment opportunities for local people, building on the fantastic education, jobs and training schemes we have in place.  The hugely successful Aerozone education centre and our commitment together with Harlow College to invest in a new technical college at the airport demonstrates our ambition to go further in this area. Last year alone, we helped 800 local people access jobs.’

U.S. Further Tightens Airport Security

June 29, 2017
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US Tightens Airport Security | Additional Passenger Screening and Mobile DevicesThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced further measures to tighten airport security across the country, with plans for additional screening of passengers and their personal devices.

Proposals have not included an expansion of the laptop ban, as expected, but will require the additional security measures to be carried out at 280 global airports in 105 countries carrying passengers bound for the US.

John Kelly, the secretary of DHS, said, ‘Our enemies are adaptive and we have to adapt as well.’

The additional measures will be applied to more than 180 airlines, including those of US origin, and will be phased in over the next few months. Airlines face a blanket ban on electronic devices carried on direct, non-stop flights, if they do not comply with the new standards. Currently, the laptop ban is in place for travellers from just 10 cities operating direct flights to the US.

It was suggested by the US government, that the laptop ban be extended to include European city airports, but according to Mr Kelly, the government are ‘looking at alternatives.’

Although the details of the additional measures have not yet been officially clarified, officials have said that precise requirements will vary from airline to airline, with some only needing to make small changes according to their current security levels, and that a range of new systems, including new passenger screening technology installation, may be needed.

Lufthansa to Add Five A380 Airbus Aircraft to Munich Airport

June 21, 2017
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Lufthansa to Add Five A380s at Munich Airport | Airlines and Airports NewsMunich Airport has welcomed Lufthansa’s decision to base five Airbus A380s at the airport, which it says will boost capacity for long-haul routes and is a ‘future-defining move.’

Dr Michael Kerkloh, CEO at Munich Airport said, ‘This is a big day for Munich’s competitiveness in the aviation industry. This now firmly anchors our status as one of the major hubs in Europe.’ Speaking about the collaborative benefits of working with Lufthansa, he added, ‘We are now reaping the rewards of the very successful partnership of Lufthansa and Munich Airport in the joint operation of Terminal 2 and the new satellite facility.’

The move, which expands on the previous announcement from Lufthansa to station 15 Airbus A350s at the airport, is expected to improve premium services for passengers using the European hub, and will begin during the 2nd quarter of 2018.

Finavia Calls for 200 ‘Test Passengers’ at Helsinki Airport

June 16, 2017
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Finavia Recruit 200 Test Passengers at Helsinki Airport | Airports NewsIt has been announced that as a part of Finavia’s opening of the new south wing at Helsinki Airport, it will be recruiting 200 volunteer test passengers to test operations and facilities before opening.

The development program, estimated to be costing in the region of one billion euros, will create additional operational and passenger-oriented facilities within the new terminal.

The test day, scheduled currently for the first week of July, will be open for the test passengers to experience the new facilities, such as disabled access, new doors, moving walkways and departure gates access. The test group may also be offered the chance to look behind-the-scenes in a unique day, designed to offer insights to Finavia about passenger experience.

The director of Finavia, Ville Haapasaari, said, ‘The test day is arranged to ensure a smooth, pleasant travel experience, which is the cornerstone of all of our services. Test passengers will have a unique day at the airport and have the possibility to look behind the scenes. The feedback we will receive from the test passengers is valuable, because we can then take passengers’ wishes and needs into consideration in finishing off the south wing.’

NZ and Australian Airports in Chaos After Failure of Passenger Security System

May 22, 2017
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Airport Security News | Passenger Processing and SecurityPassengers flying internationally from airports all over Australia and New Zealand, today faced hours of delays after a global passenger processing system experienced a failure.

In some of Australia’s biggest airports, personnel had to perform passenger check-in manually for three hours before the system came back online.

The Advance Passenger Processing System, known as APP, handles mandatory reporting of passenger data for all international flights, according to Australia’s Dept. of Immigration and Border Protection.

Similar systems are in use in other global regions, such as the U.S.’s Advance Passenger Information System, also widely in use in Europe, according to provider.

The systems are designed to meet mandatory regulations for the secure collection, storage and electronic transfer of international passenger information. Such information is sent in advance of flight departure to government and border agencies for security screening.

It has been confirmed that all systems were back up and running after three hours of outage, and appears to have been a global issue.

New Airport Certification Specifications Proposed by EASA

May 12, 2017
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cabin-services-worldwideThe European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has released a Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) to offer new certification specifications for airport design, in a bid to make operations for large aircraft simpler at existing airports.

The new proposals are centred around the improvements and technological advancements in modern aircraft guidance systems.

EASA aims to increase airport capacity across the region without compromising safety and security aspects, with a particular focus on currently congested airports and aerodromes, and in a bid to reduce operational and infrastructure costs.

EASA also hopes that the proposed amendments to CS will deliver environmental benefits via an increased efficiency of land use and fewer construction materials being used.

The Notice of Proposed Amendment will be open to the public for comment until the end of May 2017.

Prague Airport Introduces Stepped Up Security for Bag Checks

April 29, 2017
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Prague Airport Steps Up Security | Airports NewsThis week, Prague Vaclav Havel Airport announced its intention to introduce enhanced explosive checks for all checked-in baggage. The airport plans to use swab tests for explosive trace elements, and has created a CCTV-monitored area, and a trained team to carry out testing.

The airport promises that passengers will not be affected by the additional checks, which it says is not a new procedure, but used during current security controls at Prague Airport and across the globe.

Milan Spacek, a member of the airports board of Directors, says, ‘To keep up with the safest airports in Europe, it is necessary to continue improving the safety measures and react to situations at hand. The number of serviced passengers at Václav Havel Airport Prague continues to grow and it is thus also necessary to react to these operational changes with the implementation of more efficient safety procedures.’

The team at Prague Airport security will perform the ten-minute checks on baggage by opening the luggage and taking a swab of the contents. Passengers will be informed if their bag is examined, and the entire process will be carried out under CCTV surveillance.

The airport team is also encouraging passengers to use TSA-approved locks, which can be opened using a master key, to avoid damage to padlocks or other luggage fasteners.