A man in his 60s has been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence after traces of uranium were found at Heathrow Airport in December, Scotland Yard said. It comes after counter-terrorism officers searched an address in Cheshire on Saturday. The man was arrested under Section 9 of the Terrorism Act 2006, which covers the making and possession of radioactive devices and materials. He was released on bail until April. Commander Richard Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said that “based on what we currently know”, the incident “still does not appear to be linked to any … Continue reading Man arrested over Uranium at Heathrow airport

Normal air traffic operations are slowly resuming in the US after flights were halted on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. The disruption was due to a “damaged database file”, the FAA said, adding that “at this time, there is no evidence of a cyber attack”. Flights began taking off again around 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT), though airlines have warned of further delays. Airports nationwide were affected, from Denver to Atlanta to New York City. As of Wednesday night east coast time, nearly 10,000 flights in and out of the US had been delayed and more than 1,300 were … Continue reading Update: Further delays to US flights expected after FAA outage

India’s aviation regulator has pulled up an airline for leaving behind passengers on the tarmac in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. A flight by Go First, previously known as Go Air, took off from the airport in Bengaluru city, leaving more than 50 passengers forgotten in a bus. Reports said the travellers had checked in their baggage and had boarding passes in hand. The airline said it was investigating the incident. Go First apologised to passengers who complained on Twitter but has yet to explain what caused the confusion. The Bengaluru-Delhi flight took off at 06:20 local time on … Continue reading Go First flight under fire for leaving over 50 passengers behind on tarmac

British Airways has apologised after flights due to depart from the US were grounded for several hours. The airline said it was urgently investigating a technical issue with its third-party flight planning supplier. BA passengers have reported waiting for hours in airports. The airline said it aimed to get planes departing as quickly as possible, adding it was sorry for any disruption to its customers’ plans. Passengers have taken to Twitter to report waiting at John F. Kennedy International Airport for more than three hours. Others said they had been sitting on planes parked on runways for hours, before being … Continue reading British Airways flights leaving US grounded over technical issue

All flights have been suspended at Stansted Airport after it was forced to close its runway due to bad weather. Heathrow and Gatwick also cancelled or delayed flights after snow, ice and freezing fog swept the UK. A yellow weather warning remains place for Scotland, London and south-west England until Monday morning, with the disruption set to continue. Trains have also been delayed and drivers warned to take care after several motorway accidents. Stansted said on Sunday night its only runway was closed to allow for snow clearance due to weather conditions and all flights were suspended. “Delays to flights … Continue reading All flights suspended at Stansted Airport in UK

An EasyJet flight travelling from Poland to the UK was diverted to the Czech Republic after a “possible bomb” was reported on board. The flight from Krakow to Bristol landed safely after being diverted to Prague Airport on Sunday evening. Czech police said its pyrotechnicians attended the scene to investigate. Prague Airport later tweeted: “No dangerous object was found on the plane after the pyrotechnic inspection.” The flight – EZY6276 – was an hour into its two-and-a-half hour journey when the Airbus A320 aircraft landed at Vaclav Havel Airport Prague. Officials for Prague airport tweeted: “At 22:50 a diverted aircraft landed … Continue reading EasyJet flight safely diverts to Prague after bomb threat

US transport officials have roasted a passenger online after they were caught trying to smuggle a gun on to a plane by hiding it inside a raw chicken. The fowl plot was cracked by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport. The traveller’s weapon was spotted before boarding stuffed inside the bird and wrapped in paper packaging. TSA officers joked on Instagram that the scheme “wasn’t even half-baked”. Officials didn’t reveal who had hatched the plan, but photos posted to Instagram by the TSA showed officers examining the bird inside an airport screening area, before removing the … Continue reading US airport finds gun stuffed in chicken by traveller

A Tanzanian passenger plane has crashed into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba, killing at least 19 people. Of the 43 people on board there were 24 survivors, according to operator Precision Air. The two pilots initially survived and managed to speak to local officials from the cockpit but the prime minister says they may have since died. The plane crashed near the shore at the end of the Bukoba airport runway. Rescuers were able to wade through the water to bring some of those still inside the plane to safety. Abdul Nuri … Continue reading Tanzanian Precision Air plane crashes into Lake Victoria

Three people have been arrested over a security alert on board an EasyJet flight at Stansted airport. Police were called to reports of a security concern on board a plane bound for Amsterdam at 7.40pm on Wednesday. The airport’s runway was closed and flights were grounded while officers investigated and the plane was moved to a secure area. Specialist officers boarded and arrested three men on suspicion of making a bomb hoax. They remain in custody. A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Following a search of the plane we are satisfied there is nothing of concern on board. “We want to thank the … Continue reading Three arrested after security alert on EasyJet plane at Stansted

The bosses of Airbus and Air France have been greeted with cries of “shame” at the opening of a long-awaited trial in Paris connected with a deadly 2009 plane crash off Brazil. The firms deny involuntary manslaughter in the loss of the Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Investigators found the pilots had lost control when air-speed sensors froze, and all 228 people on board died. Families of the deceased have campaigned for years for a trial. Relatives shouted protests as Air France Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anne Rigail and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury expressed their condolences … Continue reading Air France bosses heckled as trial begins over 2009 crash

A private Cessna plane has crashed into the Baltic Sea off Latvia’s coast in mysterious circumstances. Nato jets were scrambled to follow the plane on its erratic flight which began in southern Spain. Officials say the plane – believed to have had four people on board – had been due to land in Cologne, Germany, but instead headed out into the Baltic. Nato pilots and Swedish officials tracking the plane could see no-one in the cockpit. “The aircraft was flying from Spain to Cologne, but during the flight the aircraft changed its flight route,” the Latvian Civil Aviation Authority said … Continue reading Mystery as private plane crashes into Baltic Sea

Five passengers had to be taken to hospital after a Turkish Airlines plane was hit by severe turbulence over west Africa. The incident happened aboard a plane that departed from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and was bound for Guinea’s capital Conakry. A total of 134 passengers were on board when the turbulence hit the Airbus A330-200 as it was approaching Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport in Conakry. The airport deployed a crisis team of medics, firefighters and security staff after the cabin crew alerted the control tower staff to the turbulence. Upon landing, medics took five people to hospital after they assessed the … Continue reading Passengers injured after Turkish Airlines plane hits severe turbulence