Tag: British Airways Flight

Salif Keita steps down from Mali’s interim parliament

Numerous airlines have experienced longer and more fuel-intensive flights as a result of the shutdown of Niger‘s airspace since Sunday.

For most trips from Europe to the south of the continent, it adds at least two hours to the travel time or up to 1,000 kilometres (600 miles).

Following a threat of military action from the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, if President Mohamed Bazoum was not restored, Niger’s junta shut down the airspace.

While some flights were already in the air and required rerouting, others had to fly back to their departure points as a result of the announcement.

On Sunday night, Harriet Sergeant took a British Airways flight out of Nairobi.

“We had retired to bed… The captain awakened us up about four hours later and informed us that we had to return since Niger had closed its airspace. Simply put, there wasn’t enough fuel for everyone. Therefore, we were forced to return, which was a pretty awful sensation, she stated.

Airspace over Libya and the Sudan had previously been avoided by aircraft.

Flights were prohibited from Sudan after the country’s turmoil.

In addition to the US and Canada, other European nations, notably Germany, France, and the UK, forbid their civilian planes from flying in Libyan airspace.

Airlines will now need to modify their procedures to account for the additional miles added to their flights. which will result in each flight requiring more fuel, leading to the cost.

The former colonial power France is being accused of attempting to undermine Niger by the country’s military dictatorship.

It claimed that a French aircraft had violated the country’s closed airspace.

Additionally, it claimed that in order to assault military targets, French soldiers had released detained jihadists.

The French government has not yet responded.

Mohamed Bazoum, the legitimately elected president of Niger, was deposed at the end of last month, and since then, the coup leaders have resisted diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had claimed to have spoken with Mr. Bazoum and given him assurances of continued support.

On Thursday, the regional bloc Ecowas, which has threatened military involvement, is expected to convene to discuss its next course of action.

August 9, 2023
Man stabbed with shattered glass bottle on British Airways flight

On a British Airways flight, a passenger severely stabbed a man with a shattered glass bottle.

Just over an hour before the jet was scheduled to depart London Gatwick on Monday for the Caribbean, chaotic mayhem erupted at 30,000 feet.

On board flight BA2159 to St. Lucia, disturbing footage captured two males fighting as passengers and personnel attempted to mediate.

According to reports, the altercation started when a passenger, who had been arguing with another man, walked to the Boeing 777’s kitchen and destroyed a bottle.

After glass shattered across the galley in the food prep area, the aggressor, seen wearing a bucket hat, stormed back into the cabin and plunged the jagged-edged bottle into a man’s body.

Blood splattered across the cabin when he also ploughed the bottle into an overhead locker after the melee.

Brave British Airways staff heroically managed to wrestle him to the floor to bring the fracas to an end, reports The Sun.

The attack was described as ‘horrifying’ (Picture: Getty Images)

They were both warned and forced back to their seats, while the pilot was left with no choice but to continue until the plane could land at the island’s Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort.

One source told The Sun: ‘It was horrifying when the passenger broke the bottle then used the shards as a weapon.

‘Suddenly there was blood in the cabin. No-one knew how gruesome it was going to get.

‘Witnessing that in such a confined space, and not knowing if or how the bloodshed was going to end, was horrific.

‘Some very brave individuals separated the two men and got them back in their seats. It could have been so much worse.’

British Airways cabin crew staff were praised for their brave actions to stop the violent attack (Picture: PA)

Passenger Nichola Pierre told MailOnline: ‘I was on board this flight and these guys were drinking and giving jokes with each other before this occurred.

‘One man got stabbed in the torso and the other guy in the back of the head before another gentleman and myself were able to calm down this guy who purchased a duty free wine bottle which he used to commit the act.’

The attacker, who is said to be from St Lucia, was reportedly arrested by police when the aircraft touched down.

One bystander who tried to help, also from St Lucia, was badly cut and treated by a nurse on the flight, while all those injured were taken to hospital upon arrival.

A St Lucia Police spokesman said: ‘We are looking into this with immediate effect. This is a very serious matter which occurred on a plane. This is very serious indeed.’

The identities of those involved in the incident have not been released at this stage.

A British Airways spokesperson said: ‘We’re shocked that anyone would act in this way and are grateful to our highly trained cabin crew and the customers who supported them in handling this difficult incident.

‘We want to assure customers that this behaviour will never be tolerated and we will always take the appropriate action.’

Last week, a 29-year-old British man died after falling unconscious on a flight to the Caribbean with his mum.

July 6, 2023
World’s biggest passenger plane makes technical stopover in Kotoka

British Airways Flight A380 touched down at the Kotoka International Airport on Thursday September 29, 2022 for a technical stopover.

The British Airways ferry flight (A380) from Johannesburg enroute to London Heathrow made a technical stop at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), making this the second time an A380 aircraft has operated or landed in Accra.

The A380 is a large wide-body airliner developed and produced by Airbus.

It is the world’s largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.

The A380 has a standard seating layout for 555 passengers on two decks in a three-class configuration and needs about 3,000 m (9,800 ft) of runway to take off fully loaded.

The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) announcing the technical stopover in a statement said “British Airways could not have made a better decision of choosing KIA as the preferred Airport within the sub-region for this vital technical stop.”

“KIA is centrally located in the world, on the Greenwich Meridian and close to the Equator, making it easily accessible from any part of the world.

“The Airport’s runway length of 3,400m, taxiways, and other infrastructure meets and, in some cases, exceed the standards and recommended practices of the aviation industry and is suited for the maneuverability, accessibility to the passenger boarding bridge and remote parking for the A-380.

“Indeed, the Airport has a high reputation for regulatory, safety and operational compliance in the industry,” it added.

Commercial airports are classified into 10 categories based on the largest type of aircraft they regulate.

KIA has a firefighting category of 10 and well-trained staff capable of handling the A380 aircraft.

KIA remains one of the most attractive airports in the West African region with the capacity to accommodate the largest commercial aircraft in the world.

Our long-standing experience in facilitation and cooperation between all airport stakeholders; the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Service Providers and airlines, ensures KIA’s readiness to accommodate A380 commercial operations

Source:graphic.com

September 30, 2022