2008 Articles

New Star Alliance lounge opened at Heathrow

The range of airport lounges available at London Heathrow has been extended with the opening of a new Star Alliance facility.

Star Alliance's lounge will be open to first and business class passengers with its member airlines – including bmi, US Airways, Lufthansa and others – as well as invited guests and some Gold Card holders.

The facility covers a total of 1,650 square metres and is located in the international departures zone near pier three at Heathrow Airport.
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Forecourt project begins at Aberdeen

Construction is underway on a new £2 million terminal forecourt at Aberdeen Airport.

Airport operator BAA claimed that the development will provide heightened security and more convenient access for people flying to and from the Scottish gateway.

The new facilities will include a drop-off area for passengers and a dedicated access lane for taxis and buses.
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EMA reaches 500,000 passenger milestone

Nottingham/East Midlands Airport (EMA) has announced that it handled 534,690 passengers in May – the first time in its history that it has seen more than half a million customers in one month.

The fifth month of 2008 was the airport's 26th consecutive month of passenger growth and brought a 10.7 per cent year-on-year increase in traffic.

May's bank holiday weekend was a particularly strong period, with a 14 per cent year-on-year traffic increase bringing 65,000 travellers through the airport, while spring bank holiday figures increased by four per cent to hit 77,000.
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New CEO looks forward to future at Birmingham

Birmingham Airport has appointed a new chief executive officer (CEO), who spoke of his plans for the future of the expanding West Midlands hub.

Paul Kehoe joined Birmingham Airport from Bristol Airport, where he has served as CEO since 2007.

Mr Kehoe said that now is a good time to take over at Birmingham as the airport looks forward to a number of exciting developments in the future.
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New flight links Gatwick to Biarritz

Budget airline easyJet has launched a new flight connecting Gatwick Airport to Biarritz in south-west France.

The service will operate four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Biarritz is located on the Bay of Biscay on France's Atlantic coast and is known for its warm summers, luxurious beaches and 18th century architecture.
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BA celebrates 100 days of T5

British Airways (BA) has celebrated 100 days since it opened Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, during which time the facility has hosted more than 38,000 flights and almost five million passengers.

When the terminal first opened at the end of March it was handling around 40,000 customers a day. This has increased to around 57,000 a day at present and is set to rise to more than 65,000 a day at the height of the summer holiday season.

While the launch of Terminal 5 did not go as BA had hoped, with widespread scheduling and luggage-handling problems, airline chief executive Willie Walsh said that the Heathrow facility is now living up to expectations.
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Gatwick improves punctuality in first quarter

The Association of European Airlines (AEA) has released figures covering its members' punctuality in the first quarter of 2008, showing improving performance at Gatwick Airport.

Some 19.5 per cent of departures from Gatwick suffered delays of 15 minutes or more, according to the figures, meaning that the London airport was not far behind the best performer, Munich airport, which saw 17.6 per cent of its flights delayed.

Gatwick was one of the top ten airports of 28 surveyed by the AEA.
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Belfast connected to Jersey, Menorca

Travellers in Northern Ireland have been offered more holiday options from today with the announcement of new flights from Belfast International Airport.

Low-cost airline Jet2.com has confirmed that new services will launch next year from Belfast to the Channel Island of Jersey and the Balearic island of Menorca.

The carrier said that the new flights represent its "continued commitment" to its northern airports.
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Plans unveiled for more flights from Leeds/Bradford

Plans have been unveiled for new and ambitious flights from Leeds/Bradford Airport, according to reports.

Major new connections to America and destinations in the Middle East are in the pipeline and could form an important part of plans to boost passenger numbers.

The Yorkshire airport hopes to increase its number of destinations from 75 to 100 over the next five years, the Bradford Telegraph and Argus reports.
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UK's most punctual airlines revealed

The most punctual scheduled and low-cost airlines operating at the UK's major airports have been revealed by flightontime.info, using information from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

In the scheduled airlines section, Eastern Airways was named the best performer in the first quarter of 2008, followed by Air Berlin and bmi regional.

The most punctual low-cost airline in the first three months of the year was bmibaby, according to the statistics, followed by Ryanair and Flybe, all of which had average delays of between ten and 11 minutes.
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Stansted opens first phase of terminal extension

The first phase of the new terminal extension at Stansted Airport was opened this week, a development that was described as "an important statement" of BAA's confidence in the airport's future growth.

Unveiled on July 1st, the extension is part of a £50 million investment in new passenger facilities at Stansted.

It provides a number of new features designed to improve the airport experience, including nearly 6,000 square metres of additional space for arriving passengers, a sixth baggage reclaim belt and extra desk space for immigration control.
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