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Politicians decry ‘shameful’ incident on domestic flight in which Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak’s headdress was taken by airline staffCanada’s largest airline has apologized to a prominent First Nations chief after her ceremonial headdress was removed from the plane’s cabin, wrapped in a plastic bag and moved to the baggage hold.Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, national chief of the assembly of First Nations, was flying domestically on Wednesday...

Passengers numbers this year predicted to hit 82.4m but airport’s future uncertain, with proposed £6bn sale in doubtHeathrow is expecting its busiest ever summer holiday season but faces uncertainty over its long-term future as the proposed £6bn sale of the UK’s biggest airport remains in doubt.The airport said on Wednesday that the summer getaway this year was expected to be “the busiest on record”...

Passengers report being stranded in the desert city as the international hub struggles in the wake of unusually heavy rainDon’t blame cloud seeding for the Dubai floodsDubai is wrestling with the aftermath of extraordinary torrential rains that flooded the desert city, with residents describing harrowing stories of spending the night in their cars, and air passengers enduring chaotic scenes at airports.Up to 259.5mm (10.2in)...

Carrier says three-week grounding of 737 Max 9 planes after Alaska Airlines blowout cost it profitUnited Airlines has blamed a $200m (£161m) hit to its earnings in the first three months of the year on the mid-flight blowout that forced it to ground many of its Boeing planes.The US carrier said the three-week grounding of 737 Max 9 jets after a cabin panel blew...

Federal court dismisses case against airline but judge says five women can refile claims for damages against subsidiary MatarFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastQatar Airways has successfully dodged an Australian lawsuit over an incident at Doha airport in which women were forcibly removed from planes by armed guards and...

Incident involving Southwest flight will add to pressure on plane maker as it shakes up leadershipUS airline regulators have launched an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing plane fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap, the latest in a series of safety problems facing the aircraft manufacturer.The Southwest Airlines flight 3695 rose to about 10,300 ft (3,140 metres) before returning...

The airline is adding more than 20m rewards seats on international and domestic flightsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastQantas has unveiled long-awaited changes to its frequent flyer program, boosting the number of reward seats available and changing the way those seats are priced. What does Monday’s announcement mean for...

FAA investigating loss of panel before Boeing 737-800 landed safely in OregonThe US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel before landing safely in Oregon.United flight 433 landed at Medford airport at about 1.45pm on Friday carrying 139 passengers and six crew after departing from San Francisco, the FAA and airline said. Continue reading...

Seven people who allegedly suffered injuries after a door-sized panel blew off mid-air file suit against airline and manufacturerSeven passengers of the harrowing Alaska Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing after a door-sized panel blew off the plane are suing the airline and the aircraft’s manufacturer Boeing.One of the plaintiffs is Cuong Tran, a passenger who was seated in a window...

RAF jet was taking defence secretary back to UK from Poland, and flying near Russian exclave of KaliningradRussia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an RAF aircraft carrying Grant Shapps back from Poland, according to government sources.Defence sources said there was no danger to Shapps, who was travelling back to the UK, though they called it a “wildly irresponsible” act of...

Nearly 750,000 passengers were caught up in widespread grounding of flights last August bank holidayAn independent review into the August bank holiday air traffic control meltdown, which affected nearly 750,000 passengers, has highlighted a “significant lack of pre-planning”.Flights were grounded across UK airports on 28 August after the ATC provider National Air Traffic Services (Nats) experienced a technical glitch while processing a flight plan....

Pilot and co-pilot unresponsive for nearly 30 minutes, prompting review of country’s night flight operationTwo Indonesian pilots fell asleep for almost 30 minutes mid-flight, an investigation has revealed.A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for about 28 minutes. The Batik Air flight was travelling from South East Sulawesi to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on 25 January, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety...

Chopper in federal government’s border security mission went down near Rio Grande City, leaving two national guard soldiers and a border patrol agent deadA helicopter flying over the US-Mexico border in Texas has crashed, killing two national guard soldiers and a border patrol agent, the US military has said.Another soldier on board was injured.The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was assigned to the federal government’s border...

City council approves year-long contract with Knightscope to rent a K5 robot to respond to door alarms at the airportAn autonomous robot is due to become the latest addition to San Antonio International Airport’s security apparatus.Following a 7 to 3 vote on Thursday by the San Antonio city council, city officials approved a year-long contract with Knightscope, a California-based developer of autonomous security robots,...

NT WorkSafe has charged the celebrity croc-wrangler and his aviation company Helibrook with ‘reckless conduct for operating unsafe aircraft’Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastOutback Wrangler star Matt Wright and his aviation company have been hit with a slew of new charges over a fatal chopper crash that killed his co-star.Chris Wilson plunged to his death in a...

All three people on board, including the pilot, a flight nurse and a paramedic, were killed on 20 January in western OklahomaA dead goose was found in part of the flight control system of a medical helicopter that crashed in western Oklahoma, killing all three people on board, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).While it highlights the goose’s...

Aircraft damaged when it struck something during takeoff, with nearby boats rushing to evacuate those onboard after crash, witnesses sayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA pilot and seven passengers have avoided serious injuries after a seaplane ended up on Shark Island after being forced to abort its takeoff from...

Rescue teams find charter ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow after it disappeared from radar screens Four people are reported to have survived after a private jet carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia disappeared from radar screens and crashed in a remote and mountainous area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.Russian aviation authorities said two passengers and four crew members were onboard...

Planes await inspection by aviation regulators after panel blowout on Alaska Airlines flight amid heightened safety concernsBoeing must acknowledge “our mistake”, its CEO has said, after the cabin panel of a 737 Max 9 jet blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight last week.Dozens of Max 9 planes have been grounded following the incident, awaiting inspection amid heightened concerns around safety. Alaska and United...

Aircraft model has been grounded after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated plane mid-flight on SaturdayUnited Airlines has found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on multiple 737 Max 9 aircraft, it said on Monday, referring to the Boeing model that has been grounded after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated plane mid-flight over the weekend.The industry publication Air Current reported that...