The story of the season: flight cancelled for safety reasons - shock, horror

So that’s the Festive Season over with, snow is on its way, and it’s time to think of holidays. Happy New Year!

The big aviation story over the Christmas period was all about a group of children on their way to see Santa at Rovaniemi in northern Finland just before Christmas. Rovaniemi is in that part of northern Finland that forms part of Lapland, though any self-respecting Sami will tell you that the word Lapp is pejorative and that the area, that spans northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and part of Russia, is in fact Sameland. But I digress.

The big story of the day was that these children, their families, parents, grandparents, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all, had gone to Manchester Airport at the crack of dawn in a state of excitement to see Father Christmas, who purportedly resides in Sameland, despite the fact of his origins being those of St Nicholas of Myra in Turkey. Well anyway, after some waiting around it turned out that the flight was cancelled, as the pilot was concerned that the weather conditions at Rovaniemi would not be conducive to a safe landing.

When the story the was taken up by the media you could not turn on the TV, go to a newspaper’s website, or turn on the radio without being regaled with a tale of woe about how cruelly disappointed these dear children were, with the newsreel being repeatedly re-played, with airport scenes of distraught parents - so distraught in fact that the police had to be called in before they attacked staff members. Oddly, it was the parents that appeared to be terribly upset, while the children appeared stoic.

In all the drama, it didn’t seem to occur to any of the journos, parents and the like, that it is better to be disappointed and alive, than on your way to see Santa and risking a tricky landing.

Pilots have to make loads of decisions about safety, and it is important that airlines put safety above all else, something that the grown-ups who were weeping and wailing at the airport, and the media frenzy that followed them, might remember.

The Great Escape at Christmas

For those living in northern Europe, it is becoming an increasingly popular trend to escape the winter cold and the Christmas excesses, by heading instead to warmer climes for Christmas. What better way to enjoy the winter break than by relaxing in the sun, leaving behind the manic shopping, cooking, endless guests, and the snow and ice that you almost break your leg on as you try to get round all the Christmas parties?

Although the resorts of some popular holiday locations such as Greece and Turkey tend to shut down over the winter period, locations such as the Costa del Sol, the Canaries, or North Africa are ideal at this time of year, and a look through the search engines of the main holiday sites can turn up some very good deals. You could even head for the warmth of Goa, or the Caribbean.

You might think that Christmas Day itself would be the one of the days of the year that you would not consider flying, but booking a flight on this day does turn up some rather good bargains. Flights for the 23rd and 24th of December get booked up well in advance, and because of the demand, air tickets and holidays leaving on these days tend to sell at pretty steep prices. So if you want to get a real holiday or flight bargain, take a look at flights departing on Christmas Day itself.

In terms of holidays, I once bagged a magnificent two-week half-board holiday at a beautiful four star hotel on the Costa del Sol at an utterly knockdown price because the departure flight was on Christmas Day. Not only that, but the travel agent phoned us back with a further discount when it was realised that we would get in just too late for the Christmas Day Gala Dinner in the evening. In actual fact, when we arrived, a lovely welcoming dinner for just the two of us was laid out and waiting for us in the dining room. And we didn't miss out on the experience of a great Gala Dinner either, as included in the holiday cost was the superb celebratory of many courses for New Year’s Eve, along with preprandial drinks, champagne and goody bags.

So if the endless Christmas preparations along with the cold are wearing you out this year, think about a great escape for Christmas 2009.

Airport Focus: London City Airport

Situated in the former East London dockland area, London City Airport is a single runway airport which enjoys the status of being the only airport that is actually within London, and is the closest private jet centre to central London. Not only that, but London City Airport is a mere two miles from the site of the 2012 Olympic Games, which will give it great importance around the time of the next Summer Olympics. The airport is but three miles from Canary Wharf, six miles from the bustling financial City of London, and passengers travelling to and from the airport can enjoy fast transfers on the Docklands Light Railway, with a journey time of just 22 minutes to Bank Tube Station in the heart of the City.

With neat credentials such as these, it’s not surprising that London City Airport experienced record growth last year, with over 2.9 million passengers travelling through the terminal.

With its proximity to the financial district, and obvious convenience for those involved in finance, the airport gets considerable support from the business community. The ease of use of the airport is made even more so with faster check-in times than any other London airport.

Next year British Airways will launch from here its first business-class only transatlantic service to New York on the Airbus A318, which will be the first ever transatlantic scheduled flight from the airport.



London City Airport has recently made available throughout the whole of the terminal area free WiFi for all its passengers, and is the first airport in the UK to offer this service.

So from former dockland area to well-located airport, London City Airport is continuing the tradition of international links to East London.

Thai protest closes Bangkok airports

If you are on holiday in Thailand at the moment, you have probably realised that you are going to have some difficulty leaving the country. Yesterday the Thai riot police were on the run from their checkpoint outside Bangkok’s international airport when they were seen off by several hundred anti-government protesters.

On Friday 2,000 riot police had been deployed all around the airport, and it was suggested that they were going to evict the members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who have occupied the terminal since Tuesday. The occupation has forced the cancellation of all flights, leading to turmoil and uncertainty for travellers in and out of Thailand.

An estimated 2,000 protesters have barricaded themselves into Suvarnabhumi airport and Bangkok's second airport, Don Muang, singing songs, waving flags, young and old, highly critical of the Thai government, but filled with loyalty for the Thai Royal Family.

Meanwhile, thousands of stranded passengers have been put up in hotels, waiting for the standoff to end.

Some travellers have been taken on buses from the resort town of Pattaya to the Vietnamese naval airbase of U-Tapao, which is south of Bangkok, and more than 60 flights have taken off from there.

In the light of the fact that the police have not been able to evict the demonstrators, the Thai prime minister has now sacked the police chief, Pacharawat Wongsuwan.

The PAD protesters, wearing hard hats and goggles, and armed with iron bars, are manning the barricade that they have built on the approach road to the airport.

Indicative of the popular nature of this uprising, the prime minister tried to reassure people in a national address on Friday that the airports would be cleared peacefully. “Don't worry,” he said. “Officials will use gentle measures to deal with them.”

Interestingly, cheap flights are still being offered to Bangkok - but probably by the time you have booked, all this will have blown over. Meanwhile, if you are stuck in Thailand, drop us a comment and let us know how things are.

Alitalia strike to save jobs and routes stops flights

It has been a tough week so far for people booked to fly with Alitalia, as Monday’s strike led to interminable queues, delays, and cancellations at Italian airports, because the strike had forced the carrier to cancel dozens of flights. The strike is in opposition to management’s plan to cut routes and jobs.

The long lines at Alitalia check-in counters at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport stretched almost to 100 metres as the terminal struggled with a backlog of hundreds of passengers who had spent the night sleeping on the floor or in chairs after their flights were cancelled due to the strike on Monday.

Some angry travelers even had to be calmed down by police as tempers grew, and ground staff started to feel unsafe.

Alitalia said that a total of 124 flights had been cancelled on Tuesday as a result of the Monday strike itself, and also because of work-to-rule action afterwards.

Some 200 Alitalia flight attendants and pilots staged a wildcat strike on Monday, blocking the crew entrance at Leonardo da Vinci and preventing staff wanting to fly from entering the terminal.

About forty flights in and out of Rome and Milan were cancelled on Saturday and further delays are expected next week.

The airline, which is 49.9 percent state-owned, is currently losing some three million euros (3.8 million dollars) a day.

Skiing in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a perfect place for skiing and snowboarding, it is well suited for beginners and there are some cheap skiing holidays to be found. The ski resorts in Bulgaria are some of the most modern in Europe and are very well equipped with good ski schools and facilities.

Basically, there are three main ski resorts in Bulgaria known as Borovets, Pamporovo and Bansko. Borovets is the largest and also the most developed, making it ideal for beginners and mixed ability groups. Pamporovo is a sunny ski resort situated at the foot of the Snezhanka Mountain with an outstanding ski school and a great lift system, whilst Bansko is situated in the Pirin mountain region and is growing in popularity having previously been championed by Bulgarians skiers for years.

For affordable ski holidays and summer breaks in the mountain resorts of Borovets and Bansko, why not visit Spirit holiday rentals which specialise in Innovative skiing holiday experiences including ski packages in Borovets and ski packages in Bansko. They have apartments situated very close to resort centres, and only a short walk from gondolas, bars, restaurants and shops.

Embraer use London City for trials

It seems that Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer has scheduled a number of flight trials for its new E-190 aircraft at bustling gateway London City Airport, which is right next to the Canary Wharf business district. The reason for this choice is that London City is regarded as an ideal place for Embraer to secure the steep approach certification, because all inbound flights to the airport must perform a 5.5 degree approach, and manufacturers legally have to demonstrate up to 7.5 degree capability.

London City Airport is the UK’s leading business airport with ten airlines serving 32 destinations across the UK and Europe, and connections to the rest of the world through the major European hubs.

Embraer is seeking to have two of its four-member E-Jet family certified for use at London City, and one of its models, the E-170, received approval from the gateway last summer.

With its versatile cabin layout and “big jet” feel, the Embraer 190 is the ideal model for replacing older 100-seat aircraft, and offers lower operating costs and an impressive mission performance.

Embraer spokesman Luiz Fuchs says, “The Embraer 190 will be certified [for London City operations] by the end of next year, in the last quarter of 2009.” The Embraer 190 will be put through intensive trials including take-offs, landings and manoeuvring.

When it comes to proving that your new aircraft can handle those steep angles, London City Airport offers aircraft manufacturers the right environment to show what a plane can do.