Tag Archives: London

Last week: Spain’s ghost airport is becoming alive

Yes, we’re a bit late this week and even had to change the title of our regular news review as a result of it. Oh well, let’s then get straight into the main story from last week as everything else really just seemed chatter compared to it.

Continue reading Last week: Spain’s ghost airport is becoming alive

This week: New York airport closed after accident, Kathmandu’s headache & more

It’s Sunday again here in Australia and with that it’s time for our weekly airport news round-up. Here’s what we have for you this week:

Let’s get going. First up is our coverage from New York. There NJ.com wrote on Thursday that LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is closed today after a plane skidded off a snow-covered runway and came to rest after its nose punched through an airport fence. Officials said none of the 125 people on board was hurt. Port Authorities confirmed that Delta Flight 1086 from Atlanta to LaGuardia landing on Runway 13 skidded into a fence at approximately 11:05 that morning.

One of the runways remained closed until Friday. Fox News reported that [the] airport reopened its second runway Friday after removing a Delta jetliner that skidded and smashed through a fence a day earlier. Cranes were used overnight to remove the plane.

Another accident at the other side of the planet resulted in more airport headaches this week. We’re talking about the Turkish Airline near-miss at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM). NPR.com reported that at about 7:15 a.m. [on Wednesday], the Airbus A330 with 224 passengers attempted a landing but had to abort. The plane circled and then came in again. This time, passengers say the plane hit the ground hard, its nose bouncing up and down as it veered off the runway. The front landing gear collapsed and the plane came to a stop, its nose resting on the rain-soaked, grassy earth. The plane was evacuated safely. The news service then went on by writing the airport was immediately closed to all but helicopter traffic. Flight TK726 has been sitting all day — nose down, tail up — right near the arrival terminal, with one wing just close enough to the runway to block the safe landing or takeoff of any other large aircraft. Thousands of passengers have either had their flights canceled or, if already in the air, been rerouted for an undetermined period that could last days.

Thankfully today we read that the airport reopened when The International Business Times reported that Nepal’s only international airport in Kathmandu reopened late Saturday, after officials finally removed a Turkish Airlines flight that had skidded off the tarmac.

Moving on and back to the United States where a familiar story repeated itself again this week. Yes, it’s like Groundhog day; sadly. The Star Telegram reported that Hundreds of flights were canceled at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) on Thursday as airport crews worked to clear runways of several inches of snow and ice. According to Flightstats.com, 317 arrivals and 264 departures have been canceled at DFW Airport with delays expected to mount as carriers have to de-ice aircraft before take-off in the freezing temperatures.

An entirely different topic reached us via the British Mirror this week. They reported that air passengers in the UK pay the most expensive airport car parking in the world. London City (LCY) tops the table with a fee of £315 (US$475) a week, while seven of the top 10 most expensive airports for parking are in Britain. Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, ­Stansted, Edinburgh and Manchester all make the list and Birmingham comes 11th. Other international airports making it into the list were Sydney at 3rd place, Dubai (5th) or Singapore (6th).

After this, you probably need a little nap, right? Well, you’re in luck if you’re currently at Helsinki Airport (HEL). According to the Daily Mail  Helsinki Airport has become the first in Europe to offer sleeping pods for worn-out travellers who are looking to catch a little shut-eye between flights. Already billed as one of the most sleep-friendly airports in the world, Finland’s largest airport has installed 19 GoSleep pods which offer privacy and peace for weary passengers. It costs €9 per hour (approximately US$9.70) and pillows and blankets are available for the pods, which are located at two gates inside the terminal.

That’s all for this week – safe sleeping – err – travelling!

[Title Photo from Twitter via New York Post Metro]

This week: Beijing’s new airport, cancellations at SFO and BOS & more

Wow, we’re back in business as this week has been a super busy one with lots of interesting airport news. So here’s our selection for this week in the overview:

Continue reading This week: Beijing’s new airport, cancellations at SFO and BOS & more

This week: Dubai becomes world’s busiest airport & more

Happy New Year, dear readers – we’re back! Let’s get straight into it – here are our topics from this week:

Continue reading This week: Dubai becomes world’s busiest airport & more

This week: Qantas black Monday, UK’s air traffic chaos & more

It’s our last news update for 2014 before we go on our Xmas break. And what a week it was:

Continue reading This week: Qantas black Monday, UK’s air traffic chaos & more

This week: Evacuations at JFK and Edinburgh, Flash mob in Manila & more

Things seem to be heating up in the lead up to Christmas. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence, anyway, it has been a busy airport related news week this one:

Continue reading This week: Evacuations at JFK and Edinburgh, Flash mob in Manila & more

This week: Thanksgiving congestions predicted, Heathrow’s globe of sent & more

From a travellers perspective this week has been a near perfect one. Hardly any major delays were reported from any of the large international airports. So for once, we’re only focusing on non-delay news this week:

Continue reading This week: Thanksgiving congestions predicted, Heathrow’s globe of sent & more

This week: Fighter jet escorts plane to Stansted, dubious Wi-Fi & more

It’s been a rather slow week here at our LateDeparture news desk. Nonetheless, we did manage to find a few interesting airport related news articles:

Continue reading This week: Fighter jet escorts plane to Stansted, dubious Wi-Fi & more

This week: New York pledges to improve its airports & more

The weeks seem to just fly by, pardon the pun. So, here are our airport related news from this week in our headline overview:

Continue reading This week: New York pledges to improve its airports & more

This week: Explosive device forgotten at Sydney Airport, Google Airport & more

Another week is coming to and end and with that it’s time for our weekly airport news recap. Here’s what we found this week:

Continue reading This week: Explosive device forgotten at Sydney Airport, Google Airport & more