At least 10 people were taken ill on an Emirates flight from Dubai to New York and hospitalised after the double-decker jet landed at John F. Kennedy International.. The incident unfolded after passengers and crew members among the 521 aboard the A380 superjumbo complained of symptoms including fever and a cough, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which initially estimated 100 were sick. A spokesman for New York mayor Bill de Blasio, later said on Twitter that a total 19 people were reported ill, with 10 taken to the hospital. The Port Authority isolated the plane after it touched down at 9:12 am local time. As of about 11:50 am, 432 people had been let off the jet to continue their journeys, <br/>
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Ryanair is set to scrap plans to reduce its fleet in Ireland after pilots there unanimously backed a deal negotiated by their trade union that provided a breakthrough in the airline's efforts to quell staff protests. The carrier suffered its worst ever strikes this summer, but reached agreement on issues including transfers and promotions with the Irish union 2 weeks ago and said it was hopeful it could secure deals in other markets soon. After the Forsa/IALPA union published the ballot result Wednesday, Ryanair welcomed the vote and said it would ask its board to reverse a plan to reduce its Dublin fleet by 6 aircraft. In July, Ryanair said it would reduce the winter fleet in its home base to 24 from 30, moving aircraft to its Polish airline, Ryanair Sun, which it said was enjoying rapid growth. <br/>
Kenya plans discussions with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet to begin flying to the East African nation famous for its beaches and safaris, its tourism minister said. Tourism is one of the country’s biggest generators of foreign exchange after remittances and agricultural exports, and earned the nation US$1.2b last year, according to the Kenya Tourism secretary Najib Balala. If Balala’s talks are successful, the coastal city will be the first sub-Saharan African destination for both carriers. Mombasa’s airport is the country’s second-biggest after Nairobi’s. The UK, a hub for both carriers, is Kenya’s biggest source of tourists so far this year after the US, Balala said, followed by India, China and Germany. As many as 16% of arrivals are now from other African countries, he said. <br/>
WestJet will exit Mexico City in October, becoming the latest among several North American airlines to retrench from Mexico's capital city. The move comes just 7 month after WestJet entered the Mexico City market with routes from Calgary and Vancouver. "It's just not performing up to the standards that we would like to see," WestJet CFO Harry Taylor said of Mexico City. "We don't want to be cost-subsidising at this point." Taylor adds that despite retrenching, WestJet still sees long-term opportunity to serve Mexico City and could return. WestJet's move mirrors cuts by other airlines. Alaska Airlines will stop serving Mexico City Nov 7 when it operates it last flight from Los Angeles. <br/>
Flydubai saw its first-half loss more than double compared to the same period in 2017, caused by a combination of sharply higher fuel prices and a “challenging” economic and geopolitical climate. The airline reported a loss of AED316.8m (US$86.3m) for the 6 months to June 30, widened from a loss of AED142m a year ago. Traditionally, flydubai does not specify whether this figure is net, pre-tax or EBITDA. The carrier said that oil prices—up 35% on a year ago—had resulted in increased costs of AED175m, which would account for more than half of its loss. As a result of the higher prices, fuel accounted for 29.2% of flydubai’s total operating costs, compared to 24.8% for the same period last year. The increased loss came despite revenue increasing by 10.4% to AED 2.8b over the year-ago figure. <br/>