Storm Ciara battered the UK and northern Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains Sunday, halting flights and trains and producing heaving seas that closed down ports. The storm brought gales across the country and delivered gusts of 97 miles per hour to the Isle of White and 93 mph to the village of Aberdaron in northern Wales. Dozens of flights were cancelled at London airports due to heavy wind. Heathrow and several airlines consolidated flights Sunday to reduce the number of cancellations. BA offered to rebook customers for domestic and European flights out of Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports. Virgin Airlines cancelled some flights. Lufthansa airlines said there would be numerous cancellations and delays beginning Sunday afternoon and running until at least Tuesday. The airline planned to keep operating long-haul flights at its main Frankfurt hub. Eurowings, a budget subsidiary of Lufthansa, cancelled most flights for the duration of the storm. Brussels Airport also saw delays or cancellations.<br/>
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Around 180 flights to and from Frankfurt airport were cancelled on Sunday, a spokeswoman for airport operator Fraport said, and severe disruptions were expected on the railway as storm Sabine hit Germany. The Fraport spokeswoman said the number of cancelled flights represented about 15% of the around 1,200 planned flights in and out of Frankfurt, Germany’s main hub. She said that around 140 of Monday’s scheduled flights had already been cancelled, more than a tenth of the total. Travel was also disrupted in the Netherlands and Britain, where the storm has been named Ciara. Lufthansa, Germany’s largest carrier, said it would cancel short- and long-haul flights from Munich airport on Monday until 1200 GMT and 1300 GMT, respectively. Long-haul flights to Frankfurt so far were not expected to be affected, the airline said.<br/>
Italy on Friday denied it was ready to resume direct flights with China, frozen over the coronavirus outbreak. China’s Foreign Ministry said Luca Ferrari, Italy’s ambassador to China, had said Italy was willing to approve some applications from Chinese airlines to resume some flights. “We clarify that the news reported by the Chinese agency Xinhua about a reopening of flights it is groundless,” an Italian foreign ministry source said.<br/>
Canadian lawyers, who previously successfully sued Iran, are seeking class action status in a lawsuit on behalf of victims aboard a Ukrainian plane shot down over Tehran last month, looking for at least C$1.5b in compensation. The suit names Iran, its supreme leader, the elite Revolutionary Guards and others as defendants. Iran admitted its missiles downed the Ukrainian airliner by mistake on Jan. 8, killing all 176 people aboard, including 57 Canadians. The lead plaintiff in the case is anonymous, preliminarily identified as John Doe, and described as immediate family to a victim identified as Jack Doe. The suit alleges that the downing of the plane was “an intentional and deliberate act of terrorism.” It was not clear whether Iran has any assets remaining in Canada. Arnold said the case would likely unfold over years, and any judgment could be renewed and enforced in the future.<br/>
The airline industry is among the most heavily unionized in the US economy, and union members are seeking a bigger share of the airlines' multibillion profits. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, says too many employees — especially at the smaller regional airlines — struggle to get by. She says there could be wildcat strikes despite a federal law that makes it nearly impossible for airline unions to conduct legal walkouts. Story is edited version of interview with Nelson.<br/>
UK airports were on Friday told to stop using millions of plastic bags at security and find sustainable alternatives. Plastic bags are handed out at all major airports in the UK, with more than 13m used a year at just London City and London Stansted airport. On Friday, the DoT told airports they must “do their bit” to help curb the plastic waste. A spokesperson said: "This government is determined to cut single use plastic and the use of eco-friendly plastic bags at airports would be a welcome step in the right direction. We would encourage airlines and airports to do their bit." <br/>
London’s Gatwick Airport is offering incentives to attract Indian carriers at a time when airlines such as Vistara and IndiGo are planning to launch flights to the British capital and slots at the main Heathrow Airport are scarce. “Particularly with Jet (Airways shutting its operations) last year, we think it is a good opportunity to establish routes from Delhi to start with and Mumbai later,” Gatwick Airport CEO Stewart Wingate said. “We have met Air India, Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet.” Wingate said Vistara has applied for slots at Gatwick but it is also pursuing Heathrow. “So, if they were to come to Gatwick… there is a competition between us and Heathrow to secure the slots,” he said.<br/>
Canada’s CAE Inc, the world’s largest civil aviation training company, on Friday reported a better-than-expected profit, driven by strength in its commercial pilot training and simulators business. CAE is inking deals to train pilots for airlines like easyjet, as air traffic rises. Both CAE and US-based Textron’s TRU training division are also seeing an increase in demand for flight simulators after Boeing earlier this year recommended that airline pilots retrain before flying the grounded 737 MAX plane, which is being fixed by the planemaker for a software problem. Revenue in CAE’s civil aviation training business jumped about 22% to C$558.1m in Q3 ended Dec. 31. CAE reaffirmed its full-year outlook for 30% growth in operating income in the civil aviation training business.<br/>
Organizers scrambled Sunday to shore up the Singapore Airshow, which is going ahead under a cloud of health and economic concerns after dozens of exhibitors pulled out of Asia’s largest aerospace gathering due to coronavirus fears. Few deals are expected at the biennial event, where health warnings have triggered new safety measures and cast a shadow over airline profits and demand for airplanes. After years in which the airline industry has become used to weathering external shocks from epidemics to security threats, one of the industry’s leading showcases has itself been thrust into the spotlight as the number of deaths in mainland China, where the virus first erupted, rose above 800. More than 70 exhibitors have pulled out of the Feb. 11-16 show, usually a magnet for planemakers, suppliers and arms buyers due to strong demand for civil jetliners coupled with weapons demand fed by regional power rivalries. “Based on our assessment of the situation today...we have decided to proceed with the trade and public days,” said Tan Kong Hwee, assistant managing director of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. The number of public tickets available will be halved.<br/>