Hungarian national airline, Málev, has ceased all operations at 6am today (Friday, 3rd February).
Despite the Hungarian Government declaring Málev Hungarian Airlines "an economic entity of exceptional strategic importance", a precautionary measure designed to protect Málev, the airline ceased all operations and grounded all flights after 66 years of operations.
In January this year, the European Union ordered Málev to repay 88 billion florints (€285 million) in state subsidies received by the airline between 2007 and 2010. However, with a debt of 60 billion florints, the airline was unable to repay the amount and the European Commission barred Hungarian Government from bailing it out. Reuters reports: "Malev said its suppliers had lost confidence in the airline and started to demand payment, while the government could no longer provide cash injections for the company."
Passengers with booked Málev flights, should visit WhichBudget's flights from Budapest page and contact an alternative airline operating their flight.
According to the government regulation which entered into force on 31st January 2012, assistance can be provided to those passengers who purchased their valid tickets before Malév cease and whose travel dates are on the suspension day or on the following three calendar days. In addition, to those who already travelled to their destination on the suspension day or before and posses valid return tickets on Malév flights on a date not later than 29th Februray 2012. Those who are entitled are going to have assistance from Malév by rerouting their tickets to other flights or other modes of transportation.
Hungarian low cost airline, Wizzair, offered a special rescue package to passengers impacted by the suspension of Málev’s operations: passengers who hold a valid Málev electronic ticket for travel between February 3rd, 2012 and March 24th, 2012 can call the Wizz Air call centre at +36 1 358 6565 to benefit from the 9900 HUF fares (all inclusive, one way). Seats are subject to availability and flights must be rebooked by 6pm February 13th, 2012. Additional charges apply for optional services such as checked baggage, pre-boarding, etc.
Brussels Airlines issued the following statement for the attention of Málev passengers (these solutions only apply to tickets issued before/on 3 February 2012):
Passengers holding a holding a Brussels Airlines ticket for a Malev operated flight, will be rebooked on a Brussels Airlines operated flight free of charge.
Passengers holding a Malev ticket on a Brussels Airlines operated flight do not need to take action. Their tickets will still be accepted.
Passengers holding a Malev ticket on a Malev operated flight, are offered a rebooking to a Brussels Airlines flight, against payment of a supplement.
China is one of South Africa's largest trade partners. Also, the new route to the capital of the People's Republic of China is expected to contribute significantly in establishing South Africa as an aviation hub between South America and China, linking three of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
"We believe that the route will play a strategic role in the growing economic relationships and dependencies between the continents. Commercially, SAA is able to deliver seamless travel from Sao Paolo via Johannesburg to Beijing, servicing all three continents" said SAA CEO Siza Mzimela.
Flights will be operated by Airbus A340-600 aircraft, with the non-stop flying time of approximately 15-hours.
If you are going to "destroy America", don't tell Twitter! This is the lesson two young Brits learned when they took a flight to Los Angeles.
As Leigh Van Bryan, 26, from Coventry and his friend Emily Banting, 24, from Birmingham landed in Los Angeles, they were greeted by the U.S. special agents who handcuffed them and confiscated their passports.
Department of Homeland Security, which rutinely monitors the public postings of users on Twitter and Facebook, spotted the tweet by @LeighBryan to his friend @MelissaxWalton in which he asks "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America". Mr Bryan tried to explain to the agents that the word "destroy" is a British slang word for "party" ("destroyed" is also used by Brits to mean "very drunk"), but they ignored him and threw him into jail with Mexican drugdealers.
Ms Banting told the Daily Mail: "The officials told us we were not allowed in to the country because of Leigh's tweet. They wanted to know what we were going to do. They asked why we wanted to destroy America and we tried to explain it meant to get trashed and party."
After 12 hours in a prison cell, the couple were refused entry into the US and put on the plane back to the UK. They will need to apply for a visa if they intend to return to the US in the future.
To celebrate India's Republic Day, celebrated on 26th January, Finnair cabin crew did a surprise Bollywood-style dance on the Finnair AY021 flight from Helsinki to Delhi.
Helena Kaartinen, Finnair Cabin Attendant, writes on Finnair blog how she suspected that "reserved Finns might well find it easier to master Hindi and Marathi than to get our hips moving." However, as the video below demonstrates, the "reserved Finns" did seem to have a great laugh.
In India, Republic Day commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on 26 January 1950.
A woman managed to pass security at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport yesterday with a .38 caliber revolver in her purse.
The 65-year-old lawyer, Judith Kenney, who was on the American Airlines flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Houston George Bush Airport already boarded the plane when TSA agents noticed the gun on security images. They took her off the aircraft and charged her with carrying a gun into a place where weapons are prohibited, a third-degree felony in Texas and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Her flight was delayed by over an hour and 10 more flights were delayed due to the security breach.
If this story sounds too familiar, you are right. On Christmas Day in 2010, an elderly woman passed through a body scan at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport when TSA agents saw "something suspicious". But, by the time they attempted to pull her aside for additional screening, she already moved into a terminal. The airport mobilised its command post and delayed more than 100 flights as the security agents were searching for the woman. See the video:
The flights will commence on 30th March 2012 and one way fares will start from £79.
Brest is best known for its Pont de Recouvrance (Recouvrance Bridge, a massive drawbridge 64 m/210 ft high), the military arsenal and the rue de Siam (Siam Street). The castle (Château de Brest, the oldest castle in the world still in use) and the mediaeval Tanguy tower are the oldest monuments of Brest.
A few kilometres out of town, there are more impressive landscapes, from sandy beaches to grottos to tall granite cliffs. Sunbathing, windsurfing, yachting and fishing are enjoyed in the area. Brest was an important warship-producing port during the Napoleonic wars. The naval port, which is in great part excavated in the rock, extends along both banks of the Penfeld river.
With the addition of Brest, Brittany to the network, CityJet now serves eight destinations between Lodnon City and France including Paris, Nantes, Avignon and Toulon.
Christine Ourmières, CityJet CEO, said: "We’re very pleased to announce this exciting new route to Brest, giving Londoner’s direct access to the city and surrounding region, one of France’s best-loved destinations. The CityJet services to Brest will offer a convenient schedule for those looking to take a relaxing weekend break or visiting their second home in Brittany, as well as allowing passengers to start their getaway with the tranquillity of travelling with us."
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Thank you Erinna from Chillout Spots for your suggestions of what to do in Brittany.
As the British Airways flight from Miami to London Heathrow was cruising over the Atlantic Ocean at 35,000 feet, a recorded message went off telling passengers: "This is an emergency announcement. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water."
One passenger told The Telegraph: "It was about 3am. An alarm sounded and we were told we were about to land in the sea. I thought we were going to die. My wife was crying and passengers were screaming. Then they played an announcement telling us to just ignore the warnings."
The cabin crew reacted quickly and reassured the passengers that the message was played in error. British Airways commented: "The cabin crew cancelled the announcement immediately and sought to reassure customers that the flight was operating normally. We apologise to customers for causing them undue concern."
This is not the first time such error occured. Back in 2010, a British Airways flight from London to Hong Kong with 275 passengers on board mistakingly played an automated announcement telling passengers to brace themselves and prepare for a crash landing. See the video:
Flybe has announced the addition of 6 new routes from Birmingham, Newcastle, Belfast City, Leeds Bradford and Southampton with the start of the summer schedule.
Starting 25th March 2012, flybe will be adding up to 34 additional flights per week:
The six additional new routes have been chosen so that both leisure and business travellers have a wide variety of travel options available to them and, in the case of the Newcastle- Bergen route, re-instates a much-awaited link between the two twinned cities. They follow hot on the heels of the announcement of Flybe’s new route between Newquay and Norwich and its franchise partner Loganair’s four new flights out of Norwich (to Exeter, the Isle of Man, Manchester and Southampton).
Flybe’s Managing Director, Andrew Strong, comments: "Flybe is committed to developing our route network throughout the regions and to keeping business and leisure travellers moving during these continued economically challenging times. The introduction of these six attractive destinations to our already extensive schedule for summer gives our passengers a large choice of affordable travel options and we look forward to operating our first flights to these new destinations."
Three nights at the lovely centrally located, 3* King's Budapest City Hotel on bed and breakfast basis, based on two people sharing, including 10kg hand luggage. All rooms at King's Hotel are on suite and are conveniently equipped with LCD TV, complimentary high speed internet access, phone, safe box, air conditioning and mini fridge.
The new destination is Jet2's 15th city destination from Leeds Bradford and has been added following strong demand from the airline’s local customer base. The announcement follows the success of Jet2's flights to Budapest from both Manchester and Edinburgh.
Tony Hallwood, Leeds Bradford Airport Commercial Director, said: "We are delighted Jet2 has introduced a twice weekly service from LBA to Budapest. This beautiful European city is a perfect destination for a cultural break or relaxing long weekend away. I'm sure it will prove popular with both leisure and business passengers."
The Castle District, the River Danube embankments and the whole of Andrássy út (Andrassy Street) have been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Make sure you also read The Travel Magazine's Budapest Top Ten for the top 10 sights to fit in on a short break.
Ryanair will be introducing three 'same-day' return flights from Dublin to Poland for the Euro 2012 soccer matches against Croatia, Spain and Italy in Gdansk and Poznan.
2012 European Football Championship flights will start from €398 return. Same day flights means Irish supporters will save on the price of hotels in Poland.
Ryanair's same-day soccer specials (which must be booked as a return package) will depart Dublin 8:30 am and the return flights will depart for Dublin, at approx 2 am local time, just three hours after each match ends:
These same day return flights are ideal for the three matches as the stadium in Poznan is just 5km from the airport and in Gdansk it is less than 20km from the airport.
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: "Ryanair is delighted to add three same-day return flights to Poznan and Gdansk which will allow even more Irish football fans to get behind the boys in green as they take-on Croatia, Spain and Italy in Euro 2012, without having to fork out for rip-off hotels, restaurants and holiday packages as in all cases the return flight will depart Poland three hours after the final whistle."
Hungarian national airline, Málev, has ceased all operations at 6am today (Friday, 3rd February).
This morning at 00h20, South African Airways (SAA) debuted its first-ever non-stop 
If you are going to "destroy America", don't tell Twitter! This is the lesson two young Brits learned when they took a 
To celebrate India's Republic Day, celebrated on 26th January, Finnair cabin crew did a surprise Bollywood-style dance on the Finnair AY021 
A woman managed to pass security at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport yesterday with a .38 caliber revolver in her purse.
Air France subsidiary CityJet is launching twice weekly direct 
As the British Airways 
Flybe has announced the addition of 6 new routes from Birmingham, Newcastle, Belfast City, Leeds Bradford and Southampton with the start of the summer schedule.
Ryanair announced on Tuesday 14 new routes from Paphos, Cyprus, 19 new routes from Girona and 7 new routes from Malta.
UK budget airline Jet2 will be commencing 
Ryanair will be introducing three 'same-day' return