More than 160 passengers on a JetBlue flight were evacuated from the plane at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after a fire was reported on board on Saturday. The New York City Fire Department said in a statement that it received a report of a plane fire, causing minor injuries to five people. It said 167 people were evacuated from the plane via a slide, and Emergency Medical Services was treating those injured. Explanations of the incident varied somewhat by the agency involved. The FAA said that smoke was observed coming from a phone charger after Flight 662 landed safely at around 8:40 p.m. local time on Saturday night. The FAA said it will investigate the situation. JetBlue said that the flight, which departed from Bridgetown, Bahamas and landed at JFK, was evacuated shortly after landing. It said it received reports of a customer’s electronic device or battery malfunctioning. “Safety is always our number one priority, and we are investigating this incident in coordination with the FAA and [National Transportation Safety Board],” it said.<br/>
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An Aer Lingus flight from New York to Dublin was cancelled following a “technical issue” with the aircraft, with most passengers now having to spend much of Christmas Day in the United States until they can get another flight home. The airline confirmed that flight EI106 from JFK airport to Dublin on Friday evening was cancelled due to a “technical issue with the aircraft”. “The safety of all customers is the first priority at Aer Lingus and the cancellation had to be implemented for that reason,” the statement said. “Aer Lingus teams are currently working to reaccommodate all passengers with alternative flight arrangements and are endeavouring to ensure all customers depart New York by the evening of December 25th.” Aer Lingus said “the majority of passengers” have had their alternative flight arrangements confirmed to them and they are “working through the remainder to ensure everyone has certainty on re-accommodation arrangements”. “We are also working to book hotel accommodation for those customers who need to stay overnight before they depart,” the statement said. “We sincerely apologise for this disruption to customers’ Christmas travel plans and we aim to have them arrive at their destination as soon as possible.” Affected passengers on social media spoke about conflicting information about whether there would be a rescue flight to get them home in time for Christmas, before it later emerged that the airline confirmed they would instead be accommodated on alternative flights.<br/>
Flights from Teesside International Airport to Belfast and Dublin are to be scrapped from next year. Loganair will end its four flights to each destination per week from March and blamed the move on "low levels of customer demand this summer". They are the latest routes to be axed after the Glasgow-based airline pulled its Teesside to Newquay route earlier this year. Teesside Airport said it was "disappointed" the flights were ending. It said the airport would "continue to work with a range of airlines" to find other routes. "We appreciate the inconvenience this causes to passengers," a spokesperson said. "Loganair will be fully refunding any passengers booked on the affected flights and has confirmed its commitment to its Aberdeen service. We're continuing to work with a range of airlines to expand our routes." A Loganair spokesperson said it "regretted to announce" the scrapping of the services to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It added that it is "fully committed to its Aberdeen service" and is looking forward to "continuing to work with the team at Teesside International Airport."<br/>
Airbus says cracks in the wing spars of some of Emirates' older A380-800s are not a safety issue, and the ongoing safe operation of the A380 is not compromised. The OEM was responding to a report by Aviation Week in which Emirates President Tim Clark said Airbus was attending to the issue that delayed the A380s return to service but agreed that it was not presenting a safety issue so far. Clark said the airline currently has four A380s awaiting repairs which are taking weeks to complete. "They started seeing cracks appearing, so [the European Union Aviation Safety Agency] EASA got involved," Clark said. "As usual, some [aircraft] are worse than others. It is not a safety issue at the moment; we are nowhere near that. But we will have to have a regular inspection programme going forward." The affected areas are the top and bottom flanges of the outer rear spar (ORS) between ribs 33 and 49; the outer inner front spar (OIFS) between ribs 8 and 14; and the outer front spar between ribs 38 and 49. With 116 of the type, Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, of which it has 83 currently in service, according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module.<br/>
The newest Australian low-cost airline Bonza had hoped to be off the ground by mid-year, but are still awaiting CASA approvals to commence operations as the year steadily draws to a close. The carrier is reportedly still negotiating the approvals process with the Australian regulatory body, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, for its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). The start-up airline had hoped to begin shaking up Australia’s regional air travel market by mid-2022; offering some of the cheapest air ticket prices in Australia. Tim Jordan, CEO of Bonza in his statement promised that “With destinations ranging from Albury to the Whitsundays, travelers will now be able to fly, instead of impossibly long road trips as well as fly direct without a stopover in a major city.” Operating a fleet of new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, the new start-up airline has the potential to unlock regional travel opportunities for Aussies. With the proposed launch schedule already announced, Bonza will ultimately spread their network across 17 regional locations through the Australian east coast states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Planned destinations include Albury, Avalon, Bundaberg, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Gladstone, Mackay, Melbourne, Mildura, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Wellcamp, Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast.<br/>