Aviation associations representing airlines, pilots and airports across Europe called Monday for mandatory registration and training of drone users following a number of near-misses between the unmanned devices and aircraft. Drones are increasingly being used in areas such as agriculture, filming, for recreational use and for monitoring power plants and oil facilities. That has led to a rise in the number of near-misses with aircraft as reported by pilots, especially on approach to landing, one of the most critical phases of flight. Britain's Civil Aviation Authority, for example, issued a warning last year after seven incidents in less than 12 months in which drones had flown near planes at different British airports. There have been more incidents this year. There are currently no harmonised regulations across Europe for drones, although Europe's aviation safety agency is working on a set of rules. In a joint statement on Monday, European aviation associations called for the registration of all drones at the point of purchase and resale, mandatory training for drone users and the installation of technology to stop them from going too high, too far or into restricted areas near airports. "Drones are such an appealing technology that many of the drone users are tempted to use them to the limits - or even beyond," Dirk Polloczek, president of the European Cockpit Association said, adding more users were employing modifications to extend drones' flight distance. The joint statement also calls for more to be done to educate users on the risks of flying too high or close to aircraft and for research into what would happen should a drone collide with a plane. Modern aircraft are tested to ensure they can withstand bird strikes for example, but little is known about what would happen were a drone to be sucked into an aircraft engine.<br/>
general
Measles is spreading fast among workers at Kansai International Airport, with 32 men and women in their 20s and 30s found to have contracted the viral disease since mid-August, officials said. The 32 include three doctors who treated measles patients at the airport. The doctors were confirmed Sunday to have been infected. Kansai Airports, the company that operates the major airport in the southern part of Osaka Prefecture, said Monday that 25 of those who contracted the disease are recovering. Nonetheless, the operator is stepping up vigilance as measles is highly contagious and some of the workers are believed not to be vaccinated against it.<br/>
Flight operations returned to normal on Monday at London Gatwick after the airport’s main runway was closed on Sunday evening. During a routine runway inspection it was reported that a hole was found in the runway. Flights were switched to a backup runway and the main runway closed. Large aircraft cannot use the shorter backup runway and had to be diverted to other airports. Later in the evening Gatwick announced on its Twitter feed that “Our main runway is now open and operating fully and we are working hard to get you on your way. “We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this evening. Your safety is our number 1 priority.”<br/>
A fare war between airlines on international routes has led to Australian travellers paying just over $1000 for flights on the so-called kangaroo route to London. The record low fares to the UK and other top overseas destinations for Australians are the result of airlines boosting capacity on international routes more than 9% over the past year, outpacing the level of demand from travellers. In turn, an increase in the number of empty seats on planes has forced airlines to lower fares in the hope of stimulating demand. The largest fall in prices over the past year has been to popular destinations such as London, Los Angeles, Phuket and New York. The cheapest tickets for return flights to London have slumped 23% over the past year to A$1043, while for Los Angeles and New York they are down more than 11% to A$939 and A$1199 respectively. The prices are based on return fares sold in early September. Fares for flights to the Thai tourist destination of Phuket have more than halved to A$373, the figures from Australia's largest travel company. Flight Centre, show.<br/>
Passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport rose to a record high in July, with strong growth from Eastern Europe and Asia. July’s figure of 7.62m was up 14% on the previous year period. In the seven months to end July, Dubai handled over 48m passengers in total. “This summer was the busiest in DXB’s history with daily traffic averaging a quarter of a million passengers across the three terminals,” said Paul Griffiths, CE of Dubai Airports. London, Doha, Mumbai, Kuwait and Bangkok were the most popular destinations served from Dubai.<br/>