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Volcano Spews More Ash, Spawns Wider Flight Chaos Associated Press Writer Paisley Dodds4-17-2010 LONDON – A lingering volcanic ash plume forced extended no-fly restrictions over much of Europe on Saturday, as Icelandic scientists warned that volcanic activity had increased and showed no sign of abating — a portent of more travel chaos to come. Scientists say that because the volcano is situated below a glacial ice cap, the magma is being cooled quickly, causing explosions and plumes of grit that can be catastrophic to plane engines if prevailing winds are right. "The activity has been quite vigorous overnight, causing the...

SANFORD -- The U.S. government has ordered flights bringing injured earthquake victims into Florida from Haiti to stop after officials said Florida hospitals have stopped accepting patients. Gov. Charlie Crist, however, had a different story.

CAMP TAJI – More than 3,000 U.S. Soldiers here took advantage of a new program offering fixed-wing flights off this Camp, Jan. 27, significantly decreasing their travel time back home to the States. Traditionally, Soldiers are transported via helicopter to Joint Base Balad or Baghdad International Airport before they departed to Ali Al Salim Air Base in Kuwait, said Staff Sgt. Rufus Brumfield, senior enlisted adviser with the 384th Movement Control Team, 49th Transportation Battalion (Movement Control), 15th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). "We are able to move numerous [passengers] straight from here and they don't have to stop...

DEVELOPING: An FAA computer glitch is causing flights to be delayed and canceled nationwide Thursday. The Federal Aviation Administration's computer systems are experiencing problems retrieving flight plans, a spokeswoman said. "We are having a problem processing flight plan information," the FAA's Kathleen Bergen explained in a prepared statement. "We are investigating the cause of the problem. We are processing flight plans manually and expect some delays."

Something strange happening in the skys over Phoenix. Pairs of Jets (not commercial) are flying in traffic patterns not used for commercial flights (to my knowledge). They sound like fighter jets (at 18000 feet - or so) going toward S. Calif. Many sets of two flying in alternate flight paths (north and south of Phoenix) and two jets flying pattern (probably out of Luke AFG). The two local jets are flying a search pattern and go dark from time to time. Making hard right and left hand turns. Started at or before 9:45 Arizona Std time. That is when I...

happens every time a president leaves town to make an Earth Day speech. Reporters scramble to point out how much fuel was expended so the President could talk about conserving energy and using alternative fuels. In flying to and from Iowa today, President Obama took two flights on Air Force One and four on Marine One.

SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 8, 2008 – A flight engineer with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing’s 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron surpassed 10,000 flight hours during a KC-10 Extender mission March 29. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Robert Fisher, 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron flight engineer, steps off a KC-10 Extender after his landmark flight surpassing 10,000 flight hours for his career, March 29, 2008. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Senior Master Sgt. Robert Fisher, a St. Petersburg, Fla., native home-stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., ended his landmark flight with 10,003 hours. “The most difficult...

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 20, 2007 – A deployed airman recently joined an elite group of aviators after flying his 200th combat mission and reaching 1,500 combat hours. Air Force Master Sgt. Anthony Roy conducts a preflight inspection on an EC-130H Compass Call aircraft Dec. 8, 2007, at a forward-deployed location. Roy is an instructor flight engineer with 43rd Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron and is deployed from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Photo by Staff Sgt. Tia Schroeder, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Master Sgt. Anthony Roy, a 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron instructor flight engineer deployed from Davis-Monthan...

As my taxi pulled up at Changi airport, I knew this was going to be a special day - the day of the first A380 commercial flight was finally here. The airport had long been adorned with banners and posters declaring Singapore "A380 ready" and anticipating the flight.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Commercial airliner flights within a 250-mile radius of Memphis were interrupted Tuesday by a failure of communications equipment at a regional air-traffic control center, the Federal Aviation Administration said. High-altitude flights through the region were discontinued while the equipment was being fixed, leaving planes grounded at an undetermined number of airports around the country. "What we did is put a ground stop in place for any flight that would transition through that airspace. We held them on the ground wherever they were, whether it was Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, Boston," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. "Other adjoining...

A Ukranian pilot who was due to fly 157 passengers from Stockholm to Tenerife on Tuesday was replaced at the last minute after ground crew smelled alcohol on his breath, Swedish media reported. "The airline flew in a new pilot and the plane is expected to take off in the evening," Stockholm-Arlanda airport spokesman Jan Lindqvist told news agency TT. The Ukraine International Airlines airplane had stopped over in Stockholm for reloading and was due to fly on to Tenerife -- one of Spain's Canary Islands -- when the incident occurred, TT said. A blood test was taken from the...

ATLANTA -- A man with a form of tuberculosis so dangerous he is under the first U.S. government-ordered quarantine since 1963 had health officials around the world scrambling Wednesday to find about 80 passengers who sat within five rows of him on two trans-Atlantic flights. The man told a newspaper he took the first flight from Atlanta to Europe for his wedding, then the second flight home because he feared he might die without treatment in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Julie Gerberding said Wednesday that the CDC is working closely with airlines to find passengers...

By Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES February 1, 2007 The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing the Bush administration for routine access to military aircraft for domestic flights, such as trips back to her San Francisco district, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The sources, who include those in Congress and in the administration, said the Democrat is seeking regular military flights not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation. A knowledgeable source called the request "carte blanche for an aircraft any time." "They are pressing...

AIRLINE passengers would pay up to £27 extra for a return ticket to cover the environmental damage caused by their flights, under European Commission proposals to address climate change.Draft legislation, to be published next month, would require all flights arriving or departing from European Union airports to buy permits to cover their carbon dioxide emissions. The document, a copy of which has been obtained by The Times, says that airlines would join Europe’s emissions trading scheme by 2011 and predicts that they would pass on the costs to their passengers. The report estimates that passengers on flights within Europe would...

A marathon is under way in Brussels. European officials have until 30 September to reach an agreement with their US counterparts on the personal data of passengers flying from Europe to the United States that airlines must supply. Otherwise airlines will find themselves caught between two stools. Either they continue to submit to US demands, in which case they will be breaking European law. Or they do not convey the disputed information, in which case they could be banned from landing in the United States or fined several thousand dollars... Since March 2003 the US administration has required, 15 minutes...

Spain puts migrants on flights to Africa By Fiona Govan in Madrid (Filed: 14/09/2006) Spain has begun to send home thousands of illegal immigrants who reached the Canary Islands. The repatriations are part of the government's attempt to stop Africans getting to its shores. The first in a series of flights was expected to leave the islands last night for Dakar, Senegal. The would-be immigrants will then be taken to a police station for processing before release. Illegal immigrants after arriving in Gran Canaria Senegalese form the majority of the 23,000 migrants who this year have made the journey in...

U.S. and Argentine authorities were investigating how a stick of dynamite in a college student’s checked luggage ended up on a Houston-bound flight, one of seven security incidents that disrupted U.S. flights in a day. There was no indication terrorism was involved in any of the incidents, which caused two flights to be diverted, others to be delayed and passengers to be questioned. The dynamite was discovered during a baggage search in an inspection station at Bush Intercontinental Airport shortly after Continental Airlines Flight 52 from Argentina landed early Friday. Argentina’s chief of airport security police, Marcelo Sain, said in...

Ryanair today issued the Government with a seven-day ultimatum to relax airport security measures or risk being sued for compensation. The request for a return to usual security was made by the Irish no-frills airline to Douglas Alexander, the Transport Secretary. Security at airports was heightened after an alleged bomb plot was uncovered to blow up passenger jets bound from Britain to the United States using liquid chemical explosives smuggled aboard in hand luggage. Ryanair said that if security was restored to "normal" International Air Transport Association (IATA) levels within the next seven days then the airline would "not make...

News blackout imposed on American arms flights refuelling at British bases By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 02/08/2006) The Government refused last night to give details of the flights entering Britain containing American arms destined for Israel. There was also a suggestion that all arms flights via Prestwick airport, near Glasgow, were suspended following pressure from Scottish Labour MPs afraid of the political impact in their constituencies. An Atlas Air Boeing 747 cargo jet at Prestwick Airport Although Government officials have admitted that two flights, carrying GBU28 bunker-busting bombs, arrived at Prestwick the weekend before last and several others came...

While US airlines cut and slash service -- care and feeding -- of their travelers, the Asian airlines have been buying new planes, installing elaborate entertainment systems, and allowing passengers in-flight e-mail and web surfing options. Add to that plush seats and meals created by celebrity chefs, and the result is that America doesn't know service. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines services beat all American carriers, hands down. On the long-haul flights, choices of movies, frequent meals (America doesn't need this) -- Western or Asian style -- and friendly service are the standard. Not only are the US airlines behind,...