Latest news with #flightdisruption
New York Times
29-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Plane Is Diverted After Man Assaults Crew Member, U.S. Says
A Kansas man is facing federal charges after he grabbed a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight on Tuesday night, threw the person to the ground and tried to drag them up an aisle, federal prosecutors said. The man, Julius Jordan Priester, 24, of Wichita, Kan., was on a plane flying from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., to Chicago when he began acting erratically around 10 p.m. — some 30 minutes into the one-hour flight, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut. According to an affidavit filed by an F.B.I. special agent, Mr. Priester began taking off his shirt and ran toward the back of the plane while yelling, 'Help me.' He then grabbed a flight attendant, who was seated, by the shirt collar and forced the person to the ground, shouting, 'You're coming with me,' according to the affidavit. He then tried to drag the attendant up the aisle, ignoring flight crew members' calls for him to stop, it said. Passengers helped get Mr. Priester back into a seat, where he continued to be disruptive and speak incoherently, prosecutors said. The captain declared an emergency, and the flight was diverted back to Bradley Airport. Connecticut State Police removed Mr. Priester from the plane, and an ambulance took him to a hospital for evaluation, prosecutors said. He was arrested at the hospital, according to the affidavit. Mr. Priester was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, prosecutors said. Mr. Priester is being held pending a bond hearing scheduled for Friday, prosecutors said. Prosecutors filed a motion for pretrial detention in part because Mr. Priester has a criminal history in Kansas, including a conviction for aggravated assault and a parole violation charge. A public defender for Mr. Priester did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday night.
The National
28-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Heathrow chief's phone on silent mode as fire caused airport to close, inquiry finds
Attempts to tell Heathrow airport's sleeping chief executive that the airport had been closed because of a power outage failed because his bedside phone was on silent, an inquiry has found. Thomas Woldbye was in bed as senior Heathrow staff decided to suspend operations because of a fire at a nearby electrical substation. No flights operated at the west London airport until about 6pm on March 21 because of the blaze which started late the previous night. More than 270,000 air passenger journeys were disrupted by the incident. Heathrow commissioned an inquiry into what happened, led by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly, who is an independent member of the airport's board. The Kelly Review found that Mr Woldbye 'was not involved' in the decision taken by the airport's chief operating officer Javier Echave at 1.15am on March 21 to suspend operations until 11.59pm. Mr Woldbye's mobile was 'on his bedside table' but he was unaware of multiple attempts to alert him to the situation as the device was on silent mode, the Kelly Review said. Alerts known as F24 alarms were sent to Mr Woldbye's mobile at 12.21am and 1.52am to activate emergency procedures, and Mr Echave tried to call him several times. The report stated: 'Although his phone was on his bedside table, Mr Woldbye reported that it did not alert him to the F24 alarms or to Mr Echave's other calls because the phone had gone into a silent mode, without him being aware it had done so and he was asleep at the time.' It added: 'Mr Woldbye first became aware of the incident at approximately 6.45am on March 21, and received a debrief from Mr Echave.' Mr Woldbye expressed 'his deep regret at not being contactable during the night of the incident', the review said. The review recommended that Heathrow considers having a 'second means of contact' to notify key individuals about critical incidents. It concluded that the decision to suspend operations after the power outage was 'correctly made' as this was 'essential to protect the safety and security of people, as well as the integrity of the airport and the UK border'. The report stated that on March 21, Heathrow began accepting limited flight arrivals from 4pm and departures from 8pm, before fully reopening on March 22. The inquiry found there 'may have been opportunities to open parts of the airport slightly sooner' on March 21 but this 'likely would have been only by a maximum of a couple of hours or so'. Ms Kelly said: 'The evidence confirms that Heathrow made the right decisions in exceptionally difficult circumstances. 'Whilst the disruption was significant, alternative choices on the day would not have materially changed the outcome. 'The airport had contingency plans in place, and the report highlights that further planned investment in energy resilience will be key to reducing the impact of any similar events in the future.' Mr Woldbye said: "Heathrow exists to serve our passengers and airlines, which made the decision to close the airport in March because of the North Hyde substation fire tough, but necessary. 'We hope that all our stakeholders understand this was done to protect the safety of passengers and colleagues. 'We're truly sorry for the disrupted journeys, and we understand the impact this had on so many of our customers.' A spokesperson for the Heathrow Reimagined campaign, whose supporters include British Airways' owner International Airlines Group and Virgin Atlantic, said: 'Lessons must be learnt from the closure of Heathrow during March's power outage, but the internal Kelly Review allows Heathrow to set and judge by its own standards. 'It fails to properly tackle the poor contingency planning and years of inefficient spending that left Heathrow vulnerable.' The National Energy System Operator (Neso), which is also investigating what happened, published an interim report earlier this month which stated the cause of the fire remains unknown. It is expected to publish its full report by the end of June.
The Guardian
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Pigeon causes chaos on Delta Air Lines flight
A pigeon that managed to board a Delta Air Lines flight caused panic as the plane prepared for takeoff from Minneapolis–Saint Paul airport to Madison, Wisconsin. The footage was filmed by Tom Caw, a passenger on the flight, who said the plane was returned to its gate so the bird could be removed. Caw said in an Instagram post that the footage captured the second pigeon that disrupted the flight
Bloomberg
18-05-2025
- Bloomberg
French Regulator Tells Airlines to Cut Orly Flights After Glitch
France's civil aviation regulator asked airlines to reduce their flight schedules at Paris-Orly airport by 40% by the end of Sunday after air traffic control systems suffered a failure. Teams are working at speed to repair the affected systems and restore normal operations, the DGAC said in a statement.
Gulf Business
14-05-2025
- Gulf Business
Air India, IndiGo have cancelled operations at multiple airports
Image credit: Getty Images Flight operations in northern and western India faced major disruptions on Tuesday, with Air India and IndiGo cancelling services to and from several airports due to 'latest developments' in the region. Air India confirmed that it had suspended two-way flights at eight airports for the day: Jammu, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot. In view of the latest developments and keeping your safety in mind, flights to and from Jammu, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot are cancelled for Tuesday, 13th May. We are monitoring the situation and will keep you updated. For more… — Air India (@airindia) IndiGo also announced similar cancellations, halting operations to and from Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Leh, Srinagar, and Rajkot for the day. Neither airline specified the exact cause of the disruption, although the suspended routes point to heightened security precautions or airspace restrictions in India's northern belt. The move comes amid rising tensions in some parts of the country, though no official security alerts have been issued as of yet. Passengers travelling to or from the affected destinations have been advised to check with their respective airlines for updates and rebooking options. The disruption is likely to have a knock-on effect on connecting flights and regional tourism, especially as several of the impacted airports — such as Srinagar and Leh — are major summer gateways.
