A Los Angeles couple narrowly escaped “devastating physical injury” when a watermelon-size chunk of ice plummeted from a commercial airliner passing overhead and smashed through the roof of their home, landing inches from their bed and leaving the pair in ongoing fear for their lives. The ice fell from a JetBlue Airbus A321-231 traveling from New York City’s JFK International Airport to LAX, doing six-figures worth of physical damage and forcing the pair to move for fear of a repeat incident, according to a million-dollar lawsuit obtained by The Independent. Following the terrifying near-miss, Michael Reese and Leah Ferrarini would “cringe in fear with each plane that passed over their home which is approximately one every five minutes,” the complaint states. It says they can “no longer sleep comfortably… without thinking of the incident,” causing persistent insomnia that has had a real-world effect on their lives. “The insomnia has forced… Reese to turn down work as a commercial driver in the TV and Film Industry,” the complaint goes on. “The incident has overall made them anxious and depressed, feeling unsafe in what was their dream home.” In an email on Monday, a JetBlue spokesperson said, “At JetBlue, safety is our number one priority and guides everything we do. Due to ongoing litigation, we will not be commenting on this matter.”<br/>
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Calgarians will soon have a new destination to fly to in Mexico without having to make any stops, starting this spring. WestJet just announced a direct route between Calgary and Mexico City, starting in May 2025. As well as being a new option for Calgarians to enjoy Mexico's vibrant culture and history, the route is being welcomed by the provincial government and Tourism Calgary as a way to bring Mexican tourists and visitors to Alberta. "We love the inbound aspect of this new route. Alberta and Calgary are fly-to destinations and we're delighted that this route will open up a gateway for arts and culture and all sorts of exploration," said Alisha Reynolds, president and CEO of Tourism Calgary. Reynolds says the route will also help Calgary's push to become a centre for international conventions. "Our goal is to become Canada's leading convention destination. With the expanded BMO Convention Centre and the Telus Convention Centre, we're a hot spot for meetings, and it takes international travellers to pull that off," she said. Reynolds says the new flight also taps into the trend of people from warm places seeking out cold weather vacations, called "co-locations." "We think there's going to be strong visitation from Mexico," she said.<br/>
Flight disruption caused by unruly passengers has surged since the end of the pandemic, leading Ryanair to demand airports impose restrictions on how much flyers are allowed to drink before boarding a plane. The number of incidents caused by disruptive passengers has more than doubled since 2019, from about 100 per quarter to 200-250 in the first two quarters of 2024, according to data reported to the UK aviation regulator seen by the Financial Times. As disturbances mount, Ryanair said governments across Europe should force airports to limit passengers to a maximum of two alcoholic drinks per flight. Europe’s leading low-cost airline added that passengers were consuming “excess” alcohol without any limits during flight delays in particular, and called on aviation authorities to take action to limit the sale of drinks at airports. “Airlines, like Ryanair, already restrict and limit the sale of alcohol on board our aircraft, particularly in disruptive passenger cases,” the Dublin-based airline said. The carrier said it “failed to understand” why passengers were not limited to two drinks using their boarding passes, “as this would result in safer and better passenger behaviour on board aircraft”. It also disclosed further details of a legal claim it is making against an Irish passenger to recover €15,000 of costs it said were incurred “wholly and exclusively” as a result of the individual’s behaviour on a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote in April last year. “As a direct result of this disruptive passenger behaviour, over 160 passengers and six crew were forced to divert to, and overnight in Porto airport, and then flew onwards to Lanzarote on the following day 10th April 2024,” the airline said. The UK industry data, compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority, showed that incident levels had eased since reaching a peak of more than 300 per quarter in 2022 and 2023. However, the average number of diversions per flight also nearly doubled between 2019 and 2023, the figures showed.<br/>
Play Airlines is pulling out of Canada less than two years after entering the market. The discount carrier's schedule shows that starting in late April it will stop its four flights per week from Hamilton, Ont., to its home base in Reykjavik, Iceland, which it uses as a stopover for trips to Europe. Hamilton-based Tripcentral.ca founder Richard Vanderlubbe says the updated schedule means Play is making its exit from the Canadian market. The halt also comes amid a narrowing of the low-cost carrier field after Lynx Air filed for creditor protection last February and WestJet folded Swoop into its mainline operation in 2023. Play did not respond immediately to questions on why it is leaving or whether customers with bookings beyond April are being refunded.<br/>
Budget airline Norwegian Air cut its operating profit outlook for 2024 on Monday, citing a negative impact from the weakening of the Norwegian crown currency against the dollar. The airline now expects its full-year operating profit to be around 1.85b Norwegian Crowns ($161.04m), compared to its previous outlook from October of between 2.1b and 2.4b. Shares fell around 7% in early trade on Oslo's stock exchange. "The deterioration is predominately the result of balance sheet adjustments relating the weakening of the NOK against the USD during the fourth quarter," it said in a statement. Norwegian Air will publish its full-year earnings on Feb. 13.<br/>
AirBaltic's initial public offering (IPO) could be pushed back to early 2026, the Latvian airline's chief executive said on Monday, adding that ongoing issues with engine deliveries were hampering the airline's growth prospects. The airline, whose IPO was initially planned for last year, said this month that it would have to cancel a number of summer flight routes as a result of delays on engine deliveries. "They just really don't get it," CEO Martin Gauss told Reuters on the sidelines of an aviation finance conference in Dublin, referring to RTX-owned engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney. Pratt and Whitney did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Gauss added that, with delays set to continue for at least three years to come, talks with the engine maker were ongoing to address compensation to the airline for the delays.<br/>
Issues with Pratt & Whitney engines that have grounded some Wizz Air planes could last four or five years, the low cost carrier's chief executive said on Monday. "I think they are trying their best, but this is going to be a long process. At the beginning, we felt maybe 18 months, maybe two years. This is clear it's more like a four- to five-year issue," Jozsef Varad told the Airline Economics conference in Dublin. Wizz Air said last month that it expects 40 of its planes to stay grounded through fiscal year 2026. The head of fellow Eastern European carrier AirBaltic said the Pratt & Whitney issues were hampering its growth prospects.<br/>
Emirates has announced plans to become the world's first autism-certified airline. The Middle Eastern carrier has revealed more than 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff were to undergo training to help equip them with the skills to interact with customers with autism and sensory sensitivities. The airline has highlighted a survey on AutismTravel.com which showed 78% of families were hesitant to travel or visit new locations, and 94% of respondents would take more holidays if they had access to places where staff were autism-trained and certified. Emirates said it has worked with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) on a training programme for staff. The organisation surveyed more than 14,000 people with a variety of disabilities, including people with autism, as well as those with sensory sensitivities and their families and caregivers.<br/>
Akasa Air (QP, Mumbai International) has had to ground some pilots because of ongoing B737 MAX delivery delays, The Hindu newspaper reported. The low-cost carrier recruited enough cockpit crew to operate 42 aircraft as of March 31, 2025, but it will close the financial year with only 26 aircraft, leaving it with hundreds of surplus personnel. Citing pilot sources, the newspaper says that 400 of Akasa's approximately 850 pilots are yet to start flying with the carrier. The airline told the newspaper that around 60% of its pilots had started to accumulate flying hours and that the vast majority of pilots would be flying by the end of the year. Meanwhile, grounded pilots are receiving around 50% of their base pay. Launched in December 2021, Akasa's business plan had it growing to seventy-two B737-8s after five years of operations. The airline presently flies twenty-three of them, plus three B737-8-200s. It has 101 B737-8-200s and ninety-nine B737-10s on order.<br/>