A man accused of fatally shooting a Southwest Airlines worker before killing himself with a gun might have been retaliating after resigning from the carrier last year, police said Wednesday. Lloyd Buie, 45, is accused of killing Michael Winchester, 52, while the victim walked from work to his vehicle in a parking lot at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport on Tuesday afternoon, police said. Winchester was the father of professional football player James Winchester, a long snapper for the Kansas City Chiefs. "It is believed the crime was premeditated and that the suspect armed himself and went to the airport with intention of shooting someone," Oklahoma City Police Captain Paco Balderrama said. Buie, whom authorities found dead inside his truck in an airport parking garage with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, resigned from Southwest in April 2015, Balderrama said. "While detectives do not know whether Winchester was the target, it is possible that the suspect acted in retaliation against the circumstances leading up to his resignation," Balderrama said. Southwest Airlines said in a statement that Buie was hired as a ramp agent in Kansas City in November 1999 and resigned in April of last year. Neither the airport nor authorities said why he left the job.<br/>
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Japan’s bar association said Wednesday it has urged a Malaysian low-cost carrier to offer an apology to a disabled Japanese man over its refusal to check in his electric wheelchair on a flight, eventually causing the man to miss his flight at Kansai airport. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations said it also demanded that the airline, AirAsia X, correct such treatment of handicapped people, which the association calls an “abuse of human rights,” and not to repeat such actions in the future. The airline has not responded to the letter. According to the association, AirAsia X in March 2014 refused to check the man’s wheelchair at Kansai International Airport as luggage on the basis of weight, although it was below the 85-kg limit designated by the airline. The wheelchair was about 80 kg and he had also informed the airline of its size and weight beforehand. The man was to fly to Kuala Lumpur. “The weight of the wheelchair was not as much as it would have troubled the plane in flying, and the denial of his boarding is a discriminatory action that violated the freedom to move,” the association said.<br/>
Alaska Air, awaiting approval for its $2.6b acquisition of Virgin America, is adding nonstop service from BWI Marshall Airport to San Diego next spring. It is the fourth East Coast destination the company has added from San Diego since 2012. On Monday, service begins in Newark, New Jersey, Orlando and Boston. Alaska Airlines’ BWI Marshall to San Diego service will start March 15 with a 6:15 a.m. daily departure on Boeing 737 aircraft. The San Diego to Baltimore flight departs daily at 10:55 p.m. “Our San Diego customers will soon enjoy nonstop flights to this historic seaport city, as well as easy access to the nation’s capital nearby,” said Alaska Airlines VP of capacity planning.<br/>
Nigeria’s largest airline Arik Air was forced to cut back operations Nov. 16 because of a fuel shortage. The carrier said aviation fuel rationing began during the week beginning Nov. 7, causing delays and cancellations. Arik Air, which operates around 100 daily flights, requires about 500,000 litres of fuel a day. As a local operator, it has been badly affected by the fuel shortage, which it said is the fourth this year. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), warning about the fuel shortage at Lagos, was issued Nov. 12. Supplies are also limited at Abuja and Port Harcourt. “As a result of the worsening aviation fuel supply situation, Arik Air has announced a further reduction in flights from Wednesday, Nov. 16, to cope with the fresh scarcity, and reduce the unpleasant delays and cancellations which passengers have experienced in recent times,” Arik Air said. “One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.”<br/>
Nok Air is decelerating its expansion into China, apparently due to the impact of the crackdown on "zero dollar" inbound tours. The SET-listed budget carrier has put the debut of scheduled flights to Kunming and Guangzhou from its Don Mueang airport base, previously planned for next month, on the backburner. But the airline, 39% owned by Thai Airways International, hopes to be able to announce the inauguration dates of the two Chinese routes in February. The launch will form part of a campaign in which Nok Air and its long-haul low-cost affiliate NokScoot, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, intend to stage in the northern port city of Qingdao primarily to lure Chinese visitors to Thailand. Nok Air CE Patee Sarasin said that the trade fair-style campaign is geared towards drawing "quality" Chinese tourists to Thailand. <br/>