Virgin America has been named the USA's top airline for the 10th consecutive year in the "World's Best Awards” for 2017, released last week by Travel + Leisure magazine. JetBlue finished second among US carriers in the annual rating of domestic airlines. Singapore Airlines was rated the top international airline, winning in that category for the 22nd consecutive year. In the 2017 T+L ratings, Virgin America has now taken the top spot among U.S. carriers every year going back to 2008. Virgin America made its first flight in 2007. Despite its long run atop the T+L awards, however, Virgin America’s days are numbered. Alaska Airlines closed on a deal to acquire Virgin America in late 2016 and has since said it will phase out the Virgin America brand, likely in 2019. Still, Alaska Airlines also was well-liked in the T+L rankings. The Seattle-based carrier placed No. 3 among U.S. carriers, ranking it between No. 2 JetBlue and No. 4 Hawaiian Airlines. Internationally, Singapore Airlines and Emirates were tabbed as the best in the world, holding down the same No. 1 and No. 2 positions they’ve occupied in the T+L ratings since 2013. Rounding out the top five were Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines (JAL). Cathay Pacific and JAL were new to the top five for 2017, replacing previous No. 4 Etihad Airways and previous No. 5 Virgin Atlantic.<br/>
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A high level security delegation affiliated to the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee will begin inspections of security measures practiced in Terminal 2 at Cairo International Airport on Wednesday. The delegation started its inspection tour of the airport by examining the travel halls. They will review procedures for the registration of passengers, luggage inspection and security procedures and passenger inspection procedures, security sources said. The delegation includes six aviation experts, the sources added. The delegation will also examine the security procedures at Gate 35, which is for the entry of trucks and goods to Cairo International airport. Earlier, a number of European airlines have banned flights to Egypt and Sharm El-Sheikh city over security concerns following an October 2015 crash of a Russian aircraft in the Sinai that resulted in the death of all 224 people on board. <br/>
Romanian airport authorities say planes from KLM and Scandinavian Airlines have made emergency landings at Bucharest's international airport. There were no reports of injuries. The National Company of Bucharest Airports said a KLM Airbus A330 traveling from Kuwait City to Amsterdam with 298 people on boards requested an emergency landing at the Henri Coanda Airport early Tuesday after one of its engines began consuming extra fuel. Airport authorities instituted standard emergency procedures. They said KLM would decide later whether to continue the flight. An Airbus A321 flying from Copenhagen to the Greek island of Rhodes requested an emergency landing after a passenger became ill. Romanian airport medical staff treated the passenger who was suffering from breathing problems and low blood pressure.<br/>
Major Japanese airlines Tuesday began implementing tighter airport security measures on US-bound passengers, checking for explosives planted in personal computers and other electronic devices. Passengers are randomly selected before they board aircraft for the new screening procedures launched in response to a U.S. request and covering carry-on electronic devices bigger than smartphones, including PCs, tablet computers, e-book readers and cameras, airport officials said. Normal-sized smartphones and cellphones are not subject to the tests, which are held behind closed doors. It was not immediately known how many airports are involved. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, seven airports — Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose, Sendai and Fukuoka — have direct flights to the United States. No incidents related to the enhanced security measures have been reported by JAL or ANA, the nation’s two largest airline companies. Passengers at both Narita and Haneda, the two major gateways to the Tokyo metropolitan area, seemed to have no knowledge of the tighter screening.<br/>
Every day, Emirates' airline catering facility prepares 180,000 meals to service its more than 400 daily flights around the globe. The Emirates facility is one of the world's biggest airline food factories, but there are similar operations across the world. The scale of inflight catering is astonishing -- as is its waste problem. Half-eaten meals, tossed beers, empty plastic water bottles, napkins, discarded packaging -- look around a cabin at the end of any flight and you can get a sense of the waste on a small scale.<br/>And the big picture? According to the IATA, airlines produced 5.2m tons of waste last year, and will produce over 10m tons annually by 2030. While the statistic includes a host of disposable products -- from wine bottles to plastic toothbrushes -- a large chunk is directly related to food service. From harnessing behavioral data and using cups that can be composted to donating nonperishable food items and on-board recycling, here's what airlines are doing to divert cabin waste from landfills.<br/>
An Australian man has threatened to commit suicide by jumping from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport’s third floor in Bali on Tuesday, after causing a flight cancellation the day before. The man, identified as Gregory Lee Butler, 46, shocked onlookers as he stood at the edge of the third floor and shouted “corrupt” and “rude” many times. For more than one hour, until 6.18 p.m., a negotiation was conducted by the police and airport aviation security. He was finally saved after an Austrian man became involved in the negotiation. Arie Ahsanurrohin, the communications and legal head of state airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, said that Butler allegedly had psychological problems and anti-depressant medicine was found in his bag. He had also caused a cancellation of an Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur on Monday. "He was one of the passengers on Air Asia flight AK 379. When the flight was going to take off, he suddenly knocked on the cockpit door, saying that someone wanted to kill him. For safety reasons, the pilot decided to return to the apron," Arie said. <br/>