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Tag: flights

  • International airlines seek direct flights to Ghana – Deputy transport minister highlights expansion plans

    International airlines seek direct flights to Ghana – Deputy transport minister highlights expansion plans

    The Deputy Minister of Transport, Alhassan Tampuli, has revealed that several international airlines have submitted applications to establish direct flight routes to Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport.

    Speaking during the 90th-anniversary celebrations of Air France held at the French Ambassador’s residence in Ghana, the Deputy Minister of Transport stated, “We have received applications from Spain and Italy from airlines interested in establishing direct flights to Accra.”

    Additionally, when discussing the ongoing developments at the Kumasi International Airport, the minister indicated that the government has fast-tracked construction at the Kumasi International Airport to accommodate these airlines once their applications are granted.

    “The work on aviation infrastructure is only targeted at the Kumasi Airport, but all the regional facilities as well as Kotoka International Airport…We are also targeting work at Domestic terminals as well,” the Deputy Minister of Transport said.

    Hassan Tampuli also emphasized the government’s unwavering dedication to transforming Ghana into a central hub for regional and international airline operations, as well as a premier destination for passenger travel.

    Presently, Kotoka International Airport serves as the gateway for 23 international and regional flights.

    In the domestic aviation sector, Ghana boasts three domestic airlines, namely Africa World Airlines (AWA), PassionAir, and GIAN AIR.

  • Why Easyjet cancelled 1,700 of its flights

    Why Easyjet cancelled 1,700 of its flights

    EasyJet has confirmed the cancellation of 1,700 flights, affecting travel plans for passengers during the summer holiday season.

    The cancellations, which apply to flights to and from Gatwick airport, can be attributed to constrained airspace over Europe and ongoing air traffic control difficulties that result in frequent flight disruptions.

    The airline reported that approximately 95% of the affected passengers have been rebooked onto alternative flights, aiming to minimize the impact on their travel arrangements.

    The announcement comes as many schools in England and Wales are preparing for summer break.

    July is projected to witness the highest number of UK flight departures since October 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The firm anticipates an 11% increase in flights departing from the UK compared to July of the previous year.

    EasyJet clarified that the cancellations account for approximately one day’s worth of flights and that it will still operate around 90,000 journeys over the affected period, aiming to provide travel options for passengers during the busy summer travel season.

    A spokesperson for EasyJet said the whole airline industry was seeing “challenging conditions this summer” as the closure of Ukrainian airspace due to Russia’s war caused congestion in the skies and disrupted flights.

    They also said planned strikes by air traffic controllers in Europe could have an impact.

    “We have therefore made some pre-emptive adjustments to our programme consolidating a small number of flights at Gatwick, where we have multiple daily frequencies, in order to help mitigate these external challenges on the day of travel for our customers,” the spokesperson said.

    “Customers whose flights are affected are being informed, with 95% of customers being rebooked onto an alternative flight and all customers provided with the option to rebook or receive a refund.”

  • Passenger arrested for opening plane door during South Korea flight

    Passenger arrested for opening plane door during South Korea flight

    A man is in police grips after opening a door on an Asiana Airlines jet as it landed in South Korea.

    The flight’s 194 passengers all survived after it landed safely but with the door remained open at Daegu International Airport on Friday.

    According to local media, some passengers fainted, while others suffered breathing problems and were brought to the hospital.

    The man in his 30s said he was feeling suffocated and wanted to get off quickly, Yonhap news agency reported.

    Police said the man claimed during questioning that he was stressed after losing his job, according to the report.

    “He is mentally struggling right now and losing his footing. We could not investigate him properly due to his state,” a local police officer told reporters, adding that the man could not be asked any questions as he was not “in a normal state”.

    Flight OZ8124, an Airbus A321-200 jet, had taken off from Jeju Island on Friday about 11:45 local time (03:45 GMT).

    As it was landing about an hour later, a male passenger opened the emergency door while the plane was still 250m from ground.

    A passenger’s video shared on social media shows the gap in the left hand side of the plane and winds buffeting rows of seated passengers.

    Flight attendants had not been able to stop him because the plane was about to land, witnesses recounted to local media.

    They said the man had also tried to jump out of the plane after opening the door.

    Passengers have described the panic on board.

    “It was chaos with people close to the door appearing to faint one by one and flight attendants calling out for doctors on board through broadcasting,” one 44-year-old passenger told Yonhap.

    “I thought the plane was blowing up. I thought I was going to die like this,” he added.

    The Asiana Airlines plane landed safely in South Korea after a passenger forced open an emergency door.
    Image caption,The Asiana Airlines plane landed at Daegu with its door open

    Several school age children had also been on board, on their way to a weekend sporting event.

    The mother of one of the students told Yonhap: “The children were shaking, crying, and frightened.”

  • Taiwan allows more flights to China, says it is a ‘goodwill gesture’

    Taiwan allows more flights to China, says it is a ‘goodwill gesture’

    In an effort to strengthen ties, Taipei has agreed to resume flights to several cities throughout China. The situation will become more comparable to the pre-coronavirus norm once the flights are resumed.

    On Thursday, the Taiwanese government announced that it had agreed to start operating more direct flights to China, which had been suspended following the coronavirus pandemic. It stated that this was done in an effort to promote “healthy and orderly exchanges” with Beijing in light of the ongoing tension in the area.

    At the moment, Taiwan only permits air travel to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Xiamen in China.

    However, there were more nonstop flights from Taiwan to numerous Chinese cities prior to the pandemic.

    Lights to improve ‘cooperative interactions’

    Taipei’s Mainland Affairs Council has approved regular flights for 10 more cities, including the economic hubs of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Nanjing. Charter flights are also to be resumed for 13 Chinese cities.

    The latest plan will incorporate 209 flights per week between the two countries. Of those, 99 flights will originate from China, and 110 from Taiwan.

    Taiwanese health officials also said that covid testing would not be required at present for passengers arriving in Taiwan from China. 

    Chan Chih-hung, an official from the Council, told reporters that the move demonstrated Taiwan’s “most sincere goodwill.”

    “We also hope to build on the foundation of these resumed flights to gradually increase the exchange of goodwill gestures and cooperative interactions by both sides,” he said.

    ‘Strained relations’

    From 1949 to 2002, no direct flights were in place between Taiwan and China. Passengers had to transit through Hong Kong or Macau.

    In 2003, the two began charter flights, after which regular direct flights were introduced in 2009.

    When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world in 2020, flights were again disrupted.

    Taipei’s government has been attempting to resume its interactions with Beijing after they lifted the strict quarantine regulations last year. The island’s president Tsai Ing-wen said she hoped that the efforts would help improve China-Taiwan relations.

    However, since China considers Taiwan as part of its own territory, Beijing does not hold formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.

  • Google change reduces airline emissions calculations

    The way Google calculates the climate impact of your flights has changed.

    Your flights now appear to have much less impact on the environment than they did before.

    That’s because the world’s biggest search engine has taken a key driver of global warming out of its online carbon flight calculator.

    “Google has airbrushed a huge chunk of the aviation industry’s climate impacts from its pages” says Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist of Greenpeace.

    With Google hosting nine out of every 10 online searches, this could have wide repercussions for people’s travel decisions.

    The company said it made the change following consultations with its “industry partners”.

    It affects the carbon calculator embedded in the company’s “Google Flights” search tool.

    If you have ever tried to find a flight on Google, you will have come across Google Flights.

    It appears towards the top of search results and allows you to scour the web for flights and fares.

    It also offers to calculate the emissions generated by your journey.

    Google says this feature is designed “to help you make more sustainable travel choices”.

    Yet in July, Google decided to exclude all the global warming impacts of flying except CO2.

     

    Some experts say Google’s calculations now represent just over half of the real impact on the climate of flights.

    “It now significantly understates the global impact of aviation on the climate”, says Professor David Lee of Manchester Metropolitan University, the author of the most comprehensive scientific assessment of the contribution of air travel to global warming.

    Flying affects the climate in lots of ways in addition to the CO2 produced by burning aviation fuel.

    These include the creation of long thin clouds high up in the atmosphere – known as contrails – which trap heat radiated by the Earth, leading to a net warming effect on our planet.

    These additional warming impacts mean that although aviation is only responsible for around 2% of global CO2 emissions, the sector is actually responsible for around 3.5% of the warming caused by human activity.

    And it is a sector that is only going to get bigger.

    Since 2000 emissions have risen by 50%, and the industry is expected to grow by more than 4% every year for the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

    Google told the BBC it “strongly believes” that non-CO2 effects of aviation should be included in its calculations.

    It says it recognises that at the global scale they are a significant additional impact of flying.

    But it argues the company’s priority is the “accuracy of the individual flight estimates” it provides to its consumers.

    It says it is working with academics to better understand how contrails and other warming impacts affect specific flights.

    Source: BBC

  • Emirates airline suspends all flights to Nigeria as it struggles to repatriate funds

    Nigeria’s aviation ministry says it is “working hard” to release trapped funds to the Emirates airline after the carrier suspended flights to Nigeria beginning from next month.

    Emirates announced in a statement Thursday that it has put a hold on flight operations in and out of Nigeria due to its inability to repatriate funds from the West African country.
    The airline said there has been “no progress” in reaching Nigerian authorities for a solution.

    “Emirates has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria and have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution. Regrettable there has been no progress,” Emirates said in a statement.
    The decision comes after Emirates announced last month of flights it would reduce flights to Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, the carrier said it could not access its funds amounting to $85 million withheld in the country. The stuck funds had been rising by over $10 million every month, the airline said in a letter addressed to Nigeria’s Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika.