2007 Articles

Stansted Airport eyes increased arrivals

Stansted Airport expects to complete a £40 million project to extend its arrivals capacity by 2008, an airport BAA spokesperson announced shortly after the hub overtook Manchester Airport as the UK's third largest airport.

The investment is focused on creating more belt space and more baggage space, with the aim of speeding up the process of luggage reclaim after passengers touch down on the runway.

Passenger flow is set to increase by up to ten million people passing through the airport annually if airport authorities' ambitions are realised, processing 35 million passengers a year instead of the 23.7 million the airport recorded this July.
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MEPs vote to ditch liquids in hand luggage ban

The European Parliament has passed a resolution to review restrictions on liquids being taken on board aircraft cross-cutting the continent.

The prohibition on liquids and gels above 100ml in volume being taken in hand luggage was introduced after last year's plot, discovered by British security services, to detonate explosives on transatlantic jets.

Current regulations could be "disproportionate" to the level of security threat, charged the MPs who brought forward the resolution to scrap the ban.
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Some day my prince will come?

Prince Harry's long-term girlfriend Chelsy Davy waited for an hour for her boyfriend the prince to arrive at Heathrow Airport after landing in the UK to begin a new university course, according to press reports.

The 21-year-old Zimbabwean, who has been dating the prince for more than three years, was studying for her undergraduate degree at Cape Town university but is reported to have decided to transfer permanently to the UK.

She flew in from Johannesburg in time for the start of term at Leeds University, where she will take a two-year Masters' degree in politics.
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Fresh wind power plans for East Midlands Airport

East Midlands Airport is considering a move towards greener on-site electricity generation by installing four 31.5-metre wind turbines at the heart of the airport's land, site, authorities have revealed.

If adopted, the plans just submitted to North West Leicestershire District Council would make the hub the UK's first airport to house wind turbines, with this set of four capable of generating around ten per cent of the energy the airport needs.

It is estimated that 850 tonnes of carbon a year would be saved by the scheme, which could get underway by spring 2008.
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Regional airports allow passengers easy airport access

Regional airports in the UK boost the economy of the surrounding area, the British Air Transport Association (Bata) has said, generating income which is often "very good" for local growth.

But for the customer, too, the convenience of flying from a destination near their home or place of work makes the proliferation of UK regional hubs, " allowing people to fly directly from point A in this country to point A in another country", a major benefit, commented Bata spokesperson Neal Weston.

With 72 per cent of the population flying at least once a year and 21 per cent flying over four times yearly, according to a YouGov survey carried out last October, the demand for both cheap and premium flights is high.
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Dubai-based airline brands Newcastle control tower

Emirates airline has built and branded a colossal new air traffic control tower at Newcastle Airport, marking the start of flights between the northern travel hub and Dubai, capital of United Arab Emirates.

Towering above the northern city at double the stature of sculptor Antony Gormley's famous Angel of the North statue, the newest air traffic control centre in the UK cost £8.2 million to create.

The older, 40-year-old tower was demolished and replaced with this new landmark, equipped with high-tech technologies for plane orientation.
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Britons battle holiday blues

Britons are battling the 'just-home holiday blues' as summer ends and holidaymakers return to the workaday world, a survey from Birmingham International Airport has found.

More than two-thirds of holidaymakers from the Midlands feel down after they touch down on British soil, the airport's research revealed.

One in eight people were so appalled by the thought of returning to work the very next day that they stayed in bed instead, while one in16 recaptured that lazy holiday feeling by 'pulling a sickie' one day within the following fortnight.
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NRI takes development of Terminal 5 airport hotel in hand

Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 building will have a direct bridge link to a new airport hotel, the Sofitel London Heathrow, whose opening is timed to coincide with that of the fifth terminal.

The Sofitel is being built by Surinder Arora, an Indian property developer worth an estimated £225 million whose remarkable rise from rags to riches has been hailed in Indian press as an exemplar of a NRI (non-resident Indian) making waves in overseas industry.

The 600-room Sofitel is poised to open in conjunction with new Terminal next spring.
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Stansted's 'dramatic' growth fired by low-cost flights

Despite becoming the UK's third-largest airport over the last decade, Stansted still has room to grow, according to the Airport Operators Association (AOA).

Fuelled by the growing popularity of "low-cost, short haul travel", the travel hub has "grown dramatically over the last ten years", commented an AOA spokesperson, but it is still restricted to just one runway to service travellers' needs.

A planning enquiry is currently under way to determine whether the airport will be permitted to add an extra runway or terminal, as recommended in a government white paper, in light of an environmental limit "imposed … when it was originally constructed", the spokesperson explained.
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Glasgow Airport's saviour to visit Ground Zero

The man who 'saved' Glasgow Airport from an attempted terrorist attack on June 30th is to join US firefighters and dignitaries at Ground Zero for the sixth anniversary of 9/11.

Baggage handler John Smeaton will visit the site of the September 11th attack where the World Trade Center used to stand, symbolically linking his heroism with the achievements of the men and women who battled to save lives after the attack six years ago.

Mr Smeaton was invited by the American Scottish Foundation, whose president Alan Bain commented that "our members are thrilled at the opportunity of meeting a modern Scottish hero".
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Rugby fans 'still need travel insurance'

Sports fans jetting off to France to cheer on their team during the Rugby World Cup are being urged to ensure they have adequate travel insurance before they fly.

Thousands of rugby lovers are expected to leave the UK from one of the country's numerous airports this weekend but all the excitement can make some passengers forget to buy cover.

Halifax Travel Insurance claims that many people who are flying abroad for a short period of time do not bother with travel insurance as they are unconvinced that something will go wrong over such a short span of time.
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