US mobile networks AT&T and Verizon have agreed to postpone the rollout of their new 5G service at some airports. The C-band service, which offers faster speeds and broader coverage, was due to be turned on tomorrow. But airlines in the US have pushed to delay the start, warning that the signals could interfere with aero-plane navigation systems. The telecoms firms expressed frustration as they bowed to pressure to limit their rollout. AT&T said it was “temporarily” deferring the rollout at a “limited number of towers around certain airport runways”. Regulators had had “two years” to plan for the start … Continue reading #SafetyFirst: Mobile firms agree another 5G delay at US airports

  A passenger broke into the cockpit of an American Airlines jet at an airport in Honduras and damaged the plane as it was boarding for a flight to Miami before being taken into custody, the airline said on Tuesday. Crew members intervened and the man, who was not immediately identified, was arrested by local authorities, American Airlines said in a statement. There were no reports of injury. ABC News reported that the suspect ran down the jetway and into the cockpit, damaging flight controls and attempting to jump out an open window as a pilots tried to stop him. … Continue reading Man breaks into American Airlines cockpit at Honduras airport

A Canadian court has awarded C$107m (£62m; $84m), plus interest, to the families of six people who died when a plane was downed near Tehran in 2020. The family members awarded compensation by Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice lost spouses, siblings, children, nieces and nephews. Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was hit by two missiles after taking off. Iran has said it mistook the aircraft for a US missile. All 176 people on board died. They included 55 Canadians and 35 permanent residents of Canada. The relatives had filed a civil lawsuit against Iran and other officials who they say … Continue reading Canadian families win compensation over jet downed by Iran

A US schoolteacher says she spent five hours in voluntary self-isolation in a plane’s toilet after testing positive for Covid-19 mid-flight. Marisa Fotieo says she felt her throat hurt while travelling from Chicago to Reykjavik, in Iceland, on 20 December. Ms Fotieo says she performed a rapid test with a kit she had brought with her, which confirmed she was infected. She remained in the toilet for the rest of the trip, and a flight attendant provided food and drinks to her. It was not immediately clear whether she had had to present a Covid-19 test before boarding the flight. … Continue reading Woman isolates in toilet for five hours after positive mid-flight test

Indonesia has lifted a ban on the Boeing 737 Max, more than three years after the Lion Air disaster that saw the loss of all 189 people on board. The plane maker saw its best-selling aircraft grounded globally after a deadly crash in March 2019 involving an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max. On Monday, Ethiopian Airlines said it will resume such flights in February. The announcements come months after the aircraft returned to service in the US and Europe. More than 180 countries now allow the use of the 737 Max, with Australia, Japan, India, Malaysia and Singapore lifting their bans … Continue reading Indonesia lifts ban on Boeing 737 after 2018 Lion Air crash

Nine people have died in a plane crash at the Las Americas airport in the Dominican Republic capital Santo Domingo, the aircraft’s owner Helidosa Aviation Group said in a statement on Wednesday. Helidosa “regrets the tragic accident on one of its planes at Las Americas airport… in which tragically all of the crew and passengers died,” the company said. The Gulfstream GIVSP which crashed at the airport had departed for Miami with seven passengers and two crew members on board. Puerto Rican music producer known as Flow La Movie was also among those killed, the airline and local media said. … Continue reading Dominican Republic plane crash kills 9, airline says

India’s top military commander has been killed in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the country’s Air Force says. Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others died after the Mi-17V5 helicopter came down in hills near Coonoor city on Wednesday morning. One survivor is being treated for his injuries in hospital. Gen Rawat, 63, was appointed India’s first-ever Chief of Defence Staff in January 2019. This brought together the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and Gen Rawat had been in charge of a range of operations including in Indian-administered … Continue reading India’s top general dies in helicopter crash

Spanish authorities have arrested 12 people who were part of a group of 21 passengers that fled a plane after it was forced to make an emergency landing at Palma airport on the Balearic island of Mallorca, Spain, state news agency EFE reports.The AirArabia plane is pictured after making an emergency landing at Palma de Mallorca’s Airport on November 5, 2021. The incident took place on an AirArabia flight from Morocco to Turkey, which was re-routed to Palma on Friday, due to a medical emergency. According to EFE, one of the detained passengers faked a diabetic coma to facilitate the escape of … Continue reading Spanish police search for passengers who fled plane

South Africa’s embattled national airline on Thursday flew its first plane since March 2020 after emerging from bankruptcy proceedings.The SAA flight readies for takeoff at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo airport Passengers on the South African Airways (SAA) flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town were greeted on their departure by singing and dancing airline staff. Once Africa’s second-largest airline after Ethiopian Airlines, SAA had survived for decades on government bailouts and was shedding routes even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. The government agreed in June to sell a 51-percent stake to a group of investors called the Takatso Consortium, opening the way … Continue reading South African Airways resumes flights after bankruptcy

Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways JSC will outfit its new Boeing Co. 787-9 Dreamliners with engines made by a General Electric Co. venture in a deal valued at around $2 billion, according to Bamboo Airways Chief Executive Officer Dang Tat Thang.A GE Aviation Jet Engine Manufacturing Facility Ahead Of Earnings Figures The signing of the agreement will be witnessed by Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his trip to New York City this week to attend the United Nations General Assembly, Thang said in an interview. The official signing is expected Tuesday in the U.S. Bamboo Airways, which began flying in 2019 … Continue reading Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways to Ink $2 Billion GE Jet-Engine Deal

Federal prosecutors are preparing to indict a former Boeing test pilot suspected of misleading aviation regulators over the safety issues blamed for two fatal 737 MAX crashes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.  Mark Forkner was the lead contact between the aviation giant and the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration over how pilots should be trained to fly the planes, the Journal said. According to documents published in early 2020, Forkner withheld details about the planes’ faulty flight handling system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, later blamed for both crashes from regulators. The 737 MAX … Continue reading US to charge ex-Boeing pilot over 737 MAX crashes: report

Singapore’s aviation regulator said on Monday it would approve the return to service of the Boeing Co 737 MAX more than two years after the plane was grounded, becoming the latest country in the Asia Pacific region to do so.Two workers walk under the wing of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory The approval is based on operators including Singapore Airlines Ltd complying with airworthiness directives and additional flight crew training requirements, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement. Singapore grounded the 737 MAX in March 2019 following two fatal crashes. The approval for … Continue reading Singapore to allow Boeing 737 MAX to return to service