Français »
German "
Search
October 1th 2025

More articles from the category

October 1th 2025

Schiphol Airport considers waiving planned fee increase

Jan Gruber 1 October 2025 20:09

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport plans to suspend the five percent increase in airport charges planned for 2026. This measure is intended to help keep costs stable for airlines and passengers. The decision follows a significant 41 percent increase in charges in 2025. This substantial increase was originally introduced to finance quality improvements and modernization measures at the airport. The airport justifies the proposed waiver of the further increase with its strong financial performance and the decline in airlines. The management of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has proposed making a voluntary contribution from its own resources to offset the planned charge increase. This step is intended to strike a balance between the necessary investments in the airport's infrastructure and maintaining cost competitiveness. The Dutch government is the majority owner of the airport. The airport is currently consulting with the airlines to reach a final agreement. A final decision on airport charges for 2026 is expected by the end of October. Schiphol's charge structure is an important factor for the airlines operating at the airport, such as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which uses Amsterdam as its main hub. The 2025 increase had previously drawn criticism from airlines operating at Europe's third-largest cargo airport.

Continue reading "

British Airways significantly expands golf offerings from Great Britain

Stephen Steiner 1 October 2025 19:05

The British airline British Airways (BA) is significantly expanding its flight offerings between Great Britain and the Persian Gulf region. With the start of the 2025/26 winter flight schedule and the subsequent summer flight schedule, the airline is increasing frequencies to several key destinations to meet growing demand in this region. Connections to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are being strengthened in particular. The connection to the capital Abu Dhabi will be served daily from winter 2025. Flights to Bahrain will also be increased to a daily frequency from October 27, more than doubling the weekly number of flights. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, British Airways is increasing the frequency to the capital Riyadh to twelve weekly flights in winter 2025/26 and to fourteen in summer 2026. Jeddah will receive an additional weekly connection from summer 2026 and will be served five times a week. The additional capacity underscores the strategic importance of the Gulf region for British Airways. The airline is responding to the strong growth in business travel and tourism between Europe and the Persian Gulf by increasing frequencies. Arab states are investing heavily in their infrastructure and tourism offerings, leading to increased travel demand. The increased frequencies serve to consolidate BA's position in these lucrative long-haul markets.

Continue reading "

Cyberattack continues to disrupt flight operations at BER

Belinda Borg 1 October 2025 18:07

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) continues to suffer massively at the start of the new week from the aftermath of a cyberattack that occurred about a week and a half ago. The attack hit a central IT service provider, whose outage continues to impact handling processes at the capital's airport. Passengers at BER must continue to expect delays and delays. On Monday, September 29, 2025, the airport in Schönefeld was expecting around 86.000 passengers on just over 600 flights. As a result of the disruption, four scheduled departures and four arrivals had to be canceled that morning. The hacker attack paralyzed electronic systems belonging to the IT service provider Collins Aerospace, which are essential for passenger and baggage handling. Several other airports in Europe are reportedly also affected. Several measures have been taken at BER to cope with the disruption. Check-in is still manual for some airlines. However, some airlines are now using their own equipment, such as computers, tablets, or boarding pass printers, on-site. In addition, a temporary baggage sorting system has been installed, to which the first airlines are already connected. The airport is working hard to integrate additional airlines into this system to further stabilize operations.

Continue reading "

Geneva Airport appoints new Director General

Belinda Borg 1 October 2025 17:09

The Board of Directors of Geneva International Airport (Aéroport International de Genève) in western Switzerland has appointed Jean-François de Saussure as its new CEO. The 59-year-old will take over from his predecessor, Gilles Rufenacht, on November 1, 2025. By filling this top position, the airport management is relying on an experienced manager with broad leadership experience outside the aviation industry. Jean-François de Saussure brings with him many years of leadership expertise from various industries. He has held senior positions at SGS and Sicpa, among others. From 2012 to 2021, he also served as CEO of the well-known Swiss writing instrument manufacturer Caran d'Ache. He underscores his expertise in corporate management through his work as an independent consultant and as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The economist and certified governance expert takes on his new position at a time when Geneva Airport aims to consolidate its position as a key international hub in western Switzerland. Geneva is considered a key transport hub for business travelers and international organizations such as the United Nations. With Jean-François de Saussure at the helm, the airport's position as a multimodal mobility platform will be further developed, efficiently connecting various modes of transport.

Continue reading "

Air Arabia takes delivery of its first Airbus A320neo

Amely Mizzi 1 October 2025 16:02

Air Arabia has taken delivery of the first Airbus A320neo from its large order placed in 2019. This delivery marks the beginning of a total of 120 new aircraft from the Airbus A320 family. The order includes 73 A320neos, 27 A321neos, and 20 long-range A321XLRs, which are intended to support the long-term growth strategy of the low-cost airline from the United Arab Emirates. The new A320neo is equipped with CFM LEAP-1A engines, which are known for their fuel efficiency. The aircraft will make its first commercial flight on October 1, 2025, operating on the route from its home airport in Sharjah to Bangkok. The airline currently operates a fleet of 83 Airbus aircraft. With the delivery now commencing, Air Arabia's fleet will be modernized and support the growth of its multi-hub operations. With this fleet renewal, Air Arabia aims to increase operational efficiency in its markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. The company expects further aircraft deliveries by the end of the year. This consistent modernization will strengthen the low-cost carrier and expand its route network in the region. The Airbus A320neo family is currently one of the best-selling narrow-body aircraft in the world.

Continue reading "

Cyberattack on Canadian airline Westjet

Amely Mizzi 1 October 2025 14:07

The Canadian airline Westjet has confirmed a cyberattack in June 2025 in which unauthorized third parties gained access to internal company systems. Personal data of customers in the United States was stolen during the attack. Westjet clarified that internal security measures were successful, meaning that no credit card details or passwords were affected by the data theft. The stolen information contains different details depending on the individual. The data compromised includes names, contact details, information from travel documents, and details of existing customer relationships with the airline. Westjet assured in its statement that the cyberattack never compromised the security or operation of regular flight operations. The Canadian airline is working closely with investigative authorities, including the American FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and the Canadian Centre for Cyber ​​Security. Furthermore, additional security measures were immediately implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future. All affected customers are being offered assistance with identity protection and fraud prevention with the support of the service provider Cyberscout. The incident underscores the ongoing threat to large corporations from cybercrime.

Continue reading "

Planned KLM strike cancelled – negotiations continue

Jan Gruber 1 October 2025 13:06

The strike announced for Wednesday at the Dutch airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will not take place for the time being. The airline and the main unions FNV and CNV, which represent ground staff, have agreed to suspend the planned walkouts. The parties intend to press a so-called "pause button" in the collective bargaining negotiations to get the stalled talks back on track. KLM and the unions agreed to resume discussions under the guidance of an independent mediator, yet to be appointed, to explore possible solutions to the current deadlock. The negotiating partners set November 1 of this year as the deadline for achieving progress. The cancellation of the strike thus brings temporary relief for KLM's flight operations and for passengers who would have been affected by the impending disruptions at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The next phase of the negotiations will also include the three other ground staff unions with whom KLM had previously reached a preliminary agreement. The FNV and CNV are demanding higher wages and better working conditions for ground staff, while KLM is pushing for moderate wage adjustments in light of the economic challenges and competition in European air transport. KLM is the national airline of the Netherlands and a key member of the Air France-KLM Group.

Continue reading "

Helvetic Airways supports Austrian Airlines in times of bottlenecks

Amely Mizzi 1 October 2025 12:01

The Austrian airline Austrian Airlines (AUA) has received short-term support from the Swiss wet-lease specialist Helvetic Airways. This measure became necessary to offset an unexpected capacity shortage at AUA. This shortage was triggered by an unplanned technical maintenance event, which led to a short-term reduction in the Austrian airline's available aircraft fleet. Helvetic Airways already took over several flights on behalf of Austrian Airlines on Sunday and Monday, September 29, 2025. This particularly affected connections on the Vienna-Basel and Vienna-Düsseldorf routes, as well as a rotation to Zurich. The takeover of the flights by the Swiss partner ensures that AUA's flight schedule can be kept stable despite the shortage and that flight cancellations are avoided. The short-term provision of replacement capacity through a wet-lease agreement is common practice in the aviation industry to respond to unforeseen events such as technical defects or capacity peaks. With a wet lease, the lessor provides not only the aircraft but also the personnel (crew), maintenance, and insurance. This arrangement serves to maintain the punctuality and reliability of Austrian Airlines' flight operations.

Continue reading "

Deutsche Aircraft and Akkodis launch strategic cooperation

Amely Mizzi 1 October 2025 11:03

Deutsche Aircraft and the digital engineering consultancy Akkodis have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The goal of the partnership is the significant further development and production of innovative regional aircraft in Germany. By combining their respective expertise, Europe's technological leadership in the aviation industry is to be strengthened. Under the agreement, Akkodis will assume the role of a so-called first-tier supplier, thus becoming a central player in Deutsche Aircraft's supply chain. Akkodis' task is to manage the entire development process. This includes the definition of requirements, the integration of complex systems, testing on the ground and in the air, and the final certification of the new regional aircraft. In addition, Akkodis' Aerospace & Defence Division contributes expertise in digital modeling and simulation. Both sides view the partnership as a long-term commitment that goes beyond conventional project collaboration. Nico Neumann, CEO of Deutsche Aircraft, emphasized that the cooperation is a significant step in the development of the next generation of regional aircraft. Dr. Peter Mehrle, CEO of Akkodis Germany, emphasized that combining Akkodis' digital engineering know-how with Deutsche Aircraft's expertise demonstrates Europe's industrial strength and innovative capacity. The companies are leveraging digital development methods to accelerate development and make it more efficient.

Continue reading "

Launch of the Koralmbahn creates new economic area “Area South”

Belinda Borg 1 October 2025 10:00

Around two and a half months before the Koralmbahn opens, Styria and Carinthia are presenting themselves as a new, dynamic economic region, "Area South." The aim of this initiative, launched by the Chambers of Commerce of both federal states, is to internationally position the joint metropolitan area created by the new high-speed line. An event in Vienna, attended by leading representatives from business, politics, and administration, served to present this project of the century. The Koralmbahn will bring the two central areas of Graz and Klagenfurt closer together, with a travel time of just 45 minutes. According to WKO studies, this will provide a strong impetus for joint location development and create the second-largest metropolitan area in Austria. The Area South encompasses almost one-third of Austria's area, with 1,8 million people and over 150.000 companies with 770.000 employees generating an economic output of around 70 billion euros. A recent survey of 1.085 member companies conducted by the Styrian and Carinthian Chambers of Commerce shows that 90 percent of companies view the increased cooperation between the federal states positively. The greatest opportunities are seen as increased labor mobility (61 percent), improved accessibility to the respective districts, and increased economic importance. In a joint agenda of measures, the Chambers of Commerce are calling on politicians to expand infrastructure (such as the new Bosruck railway tunnel and the four-track expansion of the Graz-Bruck line), pursue a deregulation initiative, and standardize state laws. The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) also sees the Koralm Railway as a once-in-a-century opportunity, as it will significantly reduce travel time from Vienna to Klagenfurt.

Continue reading "