A passenger’s cellphone caught fire just after an Alaska Airlines flight landed at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport leading to the crew using the evacuation slides to get all the passengers off. The passenger’s cellphone “overheated and began sparking,” Alaska Airlines spokesperson Ray Lane said. Flight 751 had just landed after flying to Seattle from New Orleans and was waiting to be assigned a gate at the airport at around 8.30pm on Monday when the phone overheated. The flight crew used fire extinguishers and a battery containment bag to stop smoke from spreading in the cabin. Lane said the crew decided to use the evacuation slides to get passengers off the plane because of the “hazy” conditions in the cabin. There were 128 passengers on the flight as well as six crew members. The passengers were transported by bus to the terminal and two individuals later received treatment at a hospital. “Only minor scrapes and bruises were reported,” the airport said. The containment bags were added to Alaska Airlines planes in 2016 “to reduce the danger of mid-flight lithium-ion battery fires,” the company said. “The aircraft was towed to a gate and there were no impacts to airport operations,” the airport added.<br/>
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US authorities have disclosed that an Envoy Air Embraer 175 appeared to collide with an unmanned aerial vehicle while departing from Chicago O’Hare. The US FAA states, in a preliminary notification, that the aircraft “struck a UAS” – an unmanned aircraft system – during a climbing left turn, as it took off from runway 09C for Detroit on 22 August. Air-ground communications show the crew of a JetBlue Embraer 190, departing the same runway for Boston about 1min before the Envoy service, notified Chicago tower controllers of a “drone” in the area. The JetBlue crew told the controller that they saw a drone “right over that pond” to their left at about 1,000ft as the aircraft crossed a highway after take-off. This pond is likely to be either Peterson or Axehead lake, which both lie adjacent to interstate 294, off the end of runway 09C. After the Envoy E175 took off, the controller asked its pilots whether they had also seen a drone on departure. Story has details.<br/>
Icelandic start-up carrier Play has filed for authority to begin services from Reykjavik to the US east coast next summer as it plots the next steps of its development. Play launched services in June linking Iceland with London Stansted, and has since expanded to operate seven European services. While initially launching operations using three Airbus A321neos this summer, the airline has previously outlined its intent to launch transatlantic flights next year. It has now filed an application with the US Department of Transportation seeking authority to begin scheduled passenger flights to the US east coast in summer 2022. The routes will be served using A321neos in a single-class configuration. Play does not specify the destinations it has planned, but the airline is building on many of the routes formerly served by Icelandic budget operation Wow before its collapse in 2019. Wow’s east coast US destinations from Reykjavik included Baltimore, Boston, Newark and New York JFK.<br/>
Ryanair is on track to hit upgraded guidance on passenger numbers, carrying more than 10 million people this month as a post-pandemic recovery continues with strong bookings to year-end, Group CE Michael O'Leary said. The Irish airline last month said it expected to fly between 90m and 100 million people in the 12 months to the end of March 2022, against a peak of 149m before the COVID-19 pandemic. "Ryanair is recovering strongly, much faster than other any airline in Europe ... Bookings are increasing very rapidly," O'Leary told a news conference in Lisbon on Tuesday. After flying 5m passengers in June, representing a third of 2019 levels, numbers soared to 9.3m in July and are expected to reach about 10.5m in August, he added. Ryanair shares rose 2.5% to 16.49 euros in early trading. "Bookings for the remainder of this year, through September, October, November are looking very strong, but pricing is weak ... We are selling a lot of cheap seats to recover the market very quickly," O'Leary said. The airline also said it will cease operations at Belfast's two airports from the end of the summer schedule in October, citing the British government's refusal to suspend or reduce air passenger duty and a lack of post-pandemic recovery incentives from both airports. "These aircraft will be reallocated to lower-cost airports elsewhere in the UK and Europe for the winter schedule, which starts in November," the company said.<br/>
Emirates airline said on Tuesday that it will resume flights to Newcastle, England from October 15. There will be four flights weekly, it said in a tweet. Emirates, one of the United Arab Emirates' flag carriers along with Etihad, also said it would increase flights across its European network in response to easing travel restrictions and increasing passenger demand.<br/>
The Ministry of Finance will extend loans to El Al, Arkia and Israir that can be converted to shares for purchase by the state in a public offering. Israel's Ministry of Finance has agreed in principle an assistance package for Israel's airlines. The state will extend a balloon loan over two years while the controlling shareholders will commit to inject more capital into their companies. The ratio between the amount injected by the state and by the owners has yet to be decided. The Ministry of Finance estimates that El Al will need a loan of $150-200m and Arkia Israeli, and Israir Airlines will need $20m each. A source in the Ministry of Finance said, "The airlines have taken a big hit in the third quarter, which is supposed to be the most profitable quarter for the companies. We sat with all the companies to understand their cash flow situation and we're forming a plan on the basis of this. The aim is to see, on the assumption that Covid will be staying with us on the current format that the companies can survive in cash flow terms in the near future and streamlining will also be subject to this." The Ministry of Finance has not defined what it means by streamlining at the three airlines. <br/>
El Al has prolonged, at least until the end of September, the furlough programme for personnel, as the country’s trade union centre formally declares a dispute with the aviation industry over concerns of mass lay-offs. El Al says it has 1,165 employees affected, adding that workers will be brought back “in line” with the activity of its flight schedule. But the trade union centre Histadrut states that it is in conflict with El Al, as well as the other main carriers Arkia and Israir, over the “severe employment crisis” facing the industry since the onset of the pandemic. The organisation is looking to the Israeli government for assistance. It believes the companies are planning further mass redundancies, and extend the furlough period of others, as well as changing terms of employment.<br/>
AirAsia Group chief Tony Fernandes says “a split” between the group’s core airline business and its digital ventures is inevitable “at some point”. He was speaking at a 24 August virtual launch of AirAsia Ride, a ride-hailing provider that marks the group’s latest foray beyond its airline business. The group has in recent months doubled down on its digital offerings amid the coronavirus crisis, which has pummelled its airline business. It first launched AirAsia Digital in September 2020, comprising five portfolio companies in areas such as payment services, logistics, food and travel. Since then, the group has consolidated its non-aviation offerings into what Fernandes calls “a very tight ecosystem”. Asked if there was a possibility that the digital products could be divested from the airline business, Fernandes says: “If you look at the way we are positioning ourselves, there will be a split at some point for sure. The stock market isn’t giving us any value for [our] digital products. So we – the board of directors, [AirAsia Digital president] Aireen Omar, and I – will have to look at this.”<br/>