Aviation

British Airways will have to face a record fine - £183m because of a breakthrough in security systems that led to the leak of personal data.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers at LaGuardia Airport stopped a Kansas resident from bringing the trigger and body of a 3D imprinted handgun past the security checkpoint on Wednesday, July 3.

Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC), inaugurated its direct flight between Kuala Lumpur and Sharjah. The seven-hour flight between the two cities is the first direct flight by a low-cost carrier connecting Malaysia with the UAE and GCC.

Recently, Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited has received 5-star ratings as the most punctual airline from OAG, a leading global travel data provider. Bangkok Airways is the only Thai carrier in the 5-star ratings based on its On-Time Performance (OTP) of 87.4 percent measured between June 2018 - May 2019.

Norwegian, the World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline, will move two existing routes from Oakland International Airport to San Francisco International Airport: the two nonstop services to Barcelona-El Prat Airport and to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, starting this winter season.

Air Canada started its new non-stop seasonal service from Montreal to Bordeaux; its fifth destination in France. The service to the popular wine region runs between July 3 and September 8, 2019 three days a week.

American Airlines has launched a codeshare agreement with Cathay Dragon, adding service to four new destinations and increased service to three existing markets in Southeast Asia. American will place its code on select Cathay Dragon flights from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), providing American’s customers seamless connecting service to seven cities beyond Hong Kong.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for May showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose 4.5% compared to the same month in 2018. This was in line with the revised April traffic growth of 4.4% and above the recent trough of 3.1% year-on-year growth recorded in March.

Corsair, the long-haul French carrier, kicked off non-stop flights between Miami and Paris-Orly beginning June 2019. Miami is the first US destination where Corsair will begin operations, offering South Florida residents a competitive option when traveling to France for business or pleasure.

Bangkok Airways announced that its Passenger Service System (PSS) including Reservations, Ticketing, Inventory, and Departure Control System, will be unavailable between 13 July 2019 at 7 p.m. – 14 July 2019 at 6 a.m. Bangkok Time (GMT+7) as the airline will migrate their Passenger Service System to the Amadeus Altéa Suite.

Salam Air, the low-cost Omani carrier, commenced three weekly flights between Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Salalah, Oman. Salalah is a popular holiday destination on the south coast of Oman.

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa commenced thrice weekly flights to Marseille, France on 2 July 2019. Marseille, France’s second largest city, is the second destination in France and 20th destination in Europe.

If you’ve been flying during the past few weeks and it feels busier in the airport, you’re not imagining it. The upcoming July fourth holiday is expected to continue the trend with an estimated 12.1 million people traveling through checkpoints from July 3-7 with the peak travel day on Sunday, July 7.