U.S. airlines and their unions have joined forces to push the Federal Aviation Administration to let pilots do what was once unthinkable: sleep on the job.
Though the practice of nodding off midflight in the cockpit is now strictly forbidden by the FAA, U.S. airlines and pilot unions say there is reputable research supporting the notion that so-called controlled napping can enhance safety by making crews more alert during critical, often hectic descents and landings.
A group of approximately 25 passengers deliberately disembarked a KLM Boeing 747-400 after it was in preparation for a second take-off attempt from the airport of Curaçao. According to a local newspaper the passengers felt unsafe and expressed their objections to the crew who in turn redirected the aircraft back to the gate. The aircraft, named "City of Lima" (PH-BFL), returned to the gate after a first attempt to take-off as the captain wanted to have additional technical checks being performed on the aircraft because of the defects encountered prior to gate departure. When the aircraft departed for the second time, some passengers felt uncomfortable about the technical condition of the aircraft and demanded disembarkation. The flight finally left with a five hour delay.
The aircraft already has a questionable reputation on the Island considering the techical difficulties it encountered during the last couple of months.
Lufthansa’s first Airbus A380 has taken off from Toulouse on a check flight over Southern France ahead of its delivery to the German carrier next March.
“A truly moving moment,” says Lufthansa executive board member and chief pilot Captain Juergen Raps. “I cannot wait for our first A380 flight next March from Finkenwerder to Frankfurt." Flight deck crew reported no abnormalities.
The ultra-large aircraft, which Lufthansa says will be configured with around 550 seats, will position to Airbus’ Hamburg-Finkenwerder site for outfitting in the next few days.
Ryanair (RYA.I) carried 6.12 million passengers in September, 17 percent more than a year ago, while the average flight was slightly fuller than last September, Europe's biggest budget carrier said on Monday.
Load factor, the number of passengers per number of seats available, increased one percentage point to 85 percent, Ryanair said.
Earlier on Monday, British Airways (BAY.L) said it had carried 0.8 percent fewer passengers in September year-on-year.
The Maharaja witnessed his first in-flight Mughal-e-Azam at 30,000 feet above sea level on Saturday, as two members of the cabin crew—one male and one female—slugged it out with the pilot and co-pilot.
Endangering the lives of 106 passengers and grossly violating safety norms, the airline staffers came to blows in the cockpit and galley of the Indian Airlines Airbus A320 as the aircraft cruised over Pakistan en route to Delhi via Lucknow from Sharjah.
