Air passengers could be subjected to a series of "shocking" incidents if security flaws in cabin entertainment systems were abused, say researchers. Security experts found flaws that let them take over cabin entertainment systems. The flaws could allow attackers to switch off lights, change altitude readings, display bogus maps and broadcast messages via the PA. Personal information and credit card data were also accessible via the bugs The weaknesses were found in the Panasonic Aero in-flight systems by Ruben Santamarta, a researcher at security firm IOActive. The Aero in-flight systems are used by many different airlines including Virgin, Emirates, Air France, American Airlines and KLM. "Security is not one of the system's main strengths," Santamarta said. <br/>
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An influential UK parliamentary committee has described as “a fiasco” the building of a $355m airport on the remote UK South Atlantic possession of St. Helena. The airport has been discovered to be unusable to commercial flights by wind shear on the approach. The tiny island, some 1,100 miles off the coast of southwest Africa, has hitherto had a mail boat that visits once every 3 weeks as its sole means of communication with the outside world. The island’s economy in recent years has been faltering and building an airport was deemed to be the best way to stimulate both the general economy and tourism to the island. However, early trial flights discovered wind shear problems on the northerly approach to Runway 20; aircraft landing from the southerly approach (Runway 02) have to cope with a habitual tailwind. <br/>
Threats of a 2-day strike by UK airport workers that would have potentially disrupted passengers heading off for Christmas holidays have been eased. A new pay offer for the 1,500 baggage handlers, check-in staff and cargo personnel, who work at 18 UK airports, is to be put to a vote in the next few days. The move follows talks with their employer Swissport Dec 20. The staff, members of the Unite union, had been due to strike for 48 hours Dec 23 and 24. Unite officials said the talks had resulted in a breakthrough on pay and conditions. They said many of their members were paid only fractionally above the UK’s national minimum wage of GBP7.20 (US$8.90) an hour. Unite officials said they hoped for similar progress in talks with British Airways, where Unite members who work as cabin crew are due to strike after Dec 21. <br/>
More than 2,100 domestic fliers were not allowed to board aircraft despite having valid boarding cards in November, the highest number this year, showed the aviation safety regulator’s data. This happened primarily because most flights were overbooked. The cases were also a few hundred more than those recorded during the same time last year, the data revealed. Airlines are permitted to sell seats up to 15% above a plane’s capacity. But the spike in the number of passengers denied boarding during vacations indicated gross wrong estimation by airlines. In August, the civil aviation ministry raised the compensation for fliers denied a seat by 5 times, but that has failed to discipline airlines ostensibly owing to gaps in the implementation of the policy. <br/>
Nigeria will close the airport in the capital Abuja for 6 weeks from February to repair its badly damaged runway, the govt said Tuesday, after airlines threatened to stop flying there. Flights to Abuja will be diverted to Kaduna, an airport used primarily for domestic flights and where airlines give out handwritten boarding passes. Kaduna lies about 160 km to the north of the capital and is linked by a pot-holed road where kidnappings have taken place. "The impact (on the economy) will be catastrophic," said Bismarck Rewane, a leading economist. "Kaduna airport does not have the facilities." Kaduna's international airport handled 12 flights in Dec 2015, the last month for which Nigeria's airports authority has figures, compared with 812 that used Abuja International. <br/>