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Recordings of the conversations between Air Force One and the White House communications office immediately after President John F. Kennedy assassination were made public this week.
One of the calls was between a White House radio operator who had to inform the Secretary of State that the President had been killed and that there was a new leader of the United States.
Another one was recorded between Vicepresident Lyndon Johnson and JFK’s mother was made by on board Air Force One just minutes after he was sworn in. The call reveals how he and his wife Lady Bird tried to console the Kennedy matriarch who was on the ground.
“I wish to God there was something that I could do and I wanted to tell you that we were grieving with you,” LBJ is recorded saying to Rose Kennedy.
“Thanks a mill- thank you very much, thank you very much. I know, I know you loved Jack, and he loved you,” Rose Kennedy responded.
All calls made on presidential plane are put through by a White House switchboard operator, which has a system in place to automatically tape the calls.
Mrs. Johnson is also recorded on the tapes, which captured the activity on the flight from Dallas, Texas to Washington on November 22, 1963, though part of her comments are cut off my an interjection by Rose Kennedy.
“Mrs. Kennedy, we feel like we just had-“Mrs. Johnson said.
“Yes, alright,” Mrs. Kennedy interjected.
“We are glad that the nation had your son as long as it did,” Mrs. Johnson continued.
“Yes, well thank you, Lady Bird. Thank you very much, goodbye!” Rose Kennedy said quickly.
Recordings of the conversations between Air Force One and the White House communications office immediately after President John F. Kennedy assassination were made public this week
The Johnsons called Rose Kennedy at home at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, about 30 minutes after they took off from Dallas’ Love Field Airport.
While the conversation was extremely brief, the plane ride was a busy one as President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in just minutes before the flight took off.
In the air, LBJ was preparing the speech he was going to give once the plane landed just over two hours later.
Conspiracy theorists have been known to obsess over every detail surrounding the assassination of JFK, and are likely going to find fault with the fact that the 42 minutes of tape are only just being released now.
The tapes were found after the death of JFK’s top military aide Army General Chester “Ted” Clifton Jr., when his family found the recordings.
They sold his copy to a historical documents dealer, who then gave a copy to the National Archives.
Also included in the tapes is the moment when a White House operator tell the news to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who was on a flight headed to Japan with several other cabinet members at the time.
“Kennedy apparently shot in the head,” said the unidentified radio operator.
“He fell face down in back seat of his car, blood was on his head, Mrs. Kennedy cried <<Oh no>> and tried to hold up his head.”
Another frantic notification call was included on the newly-released tape, this time of a military aide trying to look for his superior, General Curtis LeMay, who was often at odds with JFK.
General Curtis LeMay’s assistant called the White House call center and wanted desperately to be connected to his boss.
“General LeMay is in a C 140. … He’s inbound. His code name is Grandson. And I wanna talk to him. … If you can’t work him now, it’s gonna be too late, because he’ll be on the ground in a half-hour,” the aide said.
The urgency in the aide’s call will likely prompt some sinister speculation, though it is also easy to assume that he simply wanted to get the news of the assassination to his boss quickly.
The tapes confirm that, like Secretary of State Dean Rusk and several other cabinet members, Curtis LeMay was on various flights at the time.
The tapes of the calls from Air Force One come shortly after the Kennedy Library released some of the recordings from JFK’s last days in office.
While speaking to an aide three days before his death, then-President John F. Kennedy unknowingly refers to the day which would end up being his funeral as “a tough day”.
The conversation arises while his aides are attempting to sort out his schedule, which was expected to be very busy when he returned from his Dallas trip.
One of the meetings they were trying to schedule was with General Nasution of Indonesia.
“I will see him, when is here here? Monday?,” JFK says.
A staffer responds: “Monday and Tuesday.”
“Well that’s a tough day,” JFK remarks.
“It’s a hell of a day Mr. President. He’ll be coming back here though, I understand on Friday because I offered to entertain at dinner.”
The tapes also revealed JFK’s thoughts on the nearing 1964 election, a tender moment with his children, and conflicting reports about the ongoing operation in Vietnam.
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Two passengers almost came to blows at 40,000ft on board a 517-seat Airbus A380 being operated by Emirates from Dubai into Manchester Airport.
The argument started when an 18-year-old youth sitting in economy class moved his seat back to sleep.
The 38-year-old passenger sitting immediately behind him was about to eat his in-flight meal at the time.
When he asked the youth to put his seat back up while he ate a major row broke out.
They traded insults and leapt up from their seats in a head-to-head confrontation.
As the argument became more heated cabin crew were called and attempted to defuse the incident.
Stunned travelers watched on as the two men continued to shout abuse at each other while standing in the aisle before they were finally persuaded to calm down.
The pilot of flight EK17 flight was so concerned he radioed ahead and police were informed.
Officers went to the gate at Terminal 1 after the flight landed to meet the two passengers at around noon on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers “spoke to” two men aged 38 and 18.
No further action was taken as neither man wanted to make a formal complaint, and also admitted they had both been “in the wrong”, say police.
A spokesman for Emirates said: “Emirates does not tolerate this kind of behaviour from passengers and safety will not be compromised.”
They confirmed there had been an “altercation” on board the flight and, although no blow had been exchanged, cabin crew had been called to calm the passengers.
Two passengers almost came to blows at 40,000ft on board a 517-seat Airbus A380 being operated by Emirates from Dubai into Manchester Airport
One traveller, who uses the route, said: “I have recently flown with Emirates to the Far East. This trip was split up into 2 separate flights and lasted 20 hours.
“Like a lot of people on the second leg of the trip I wanted to sleep. There is a system in place where you can indicate that you do not want the meal and to be left alone to sleep, which is what I did. My seat was reclined to the limit allowed.
“When it came time for the meal I was woken up by the person behind asking me to sit up, so they could enjoy their meal. I was a little p***** off that I had been woken up.
“I hadn’t reclined it whilst he was eating, I was doing what I wanted to do, sleep, in a position that the seat was allowing me. I didn’t make a fuss and accepted it.
“This is only a problem in the <<cheap>> seats and perhaps the airlines can have an area in this class for passengers who want to sleep in the reclined position.
“No meals would be served to these passengers, so the problem will be removed. By sitting in this area you accept no meals and the seat in front may be reclined.”
The double-decker plane first started flying into Manchester Airport in September 2010 after around $15 million had been spent on changes to the airfield to accommodate it.
Its introduction was part of a huge boom in the number of people flying in and out of Dubai.
A couple and their four children, who attempted to fly on just three tickets, were kicked off the plane by US Airways flight attendants.
The parents had bought a ticket for their 3year-old son but not for their 20-month-old twins or 8-month-old baby. They planned to seat one infant in the same seat as their three-year-old and each hold a child in their lap.
Kathy and Jason Fickes and their children boarded a U.S Airways flight from Charlotte in North Carolina to Chicago to visit grandparents over Christmas.
The Fickes had purchased three tickets and managed to make their way passed the ticket desk and through security screening with their four children.
A couple and their four children, who attempted to fly on just three tickets, were kicked off the plane by US Airways flight attendants
However, once they got on the plane, a flight attendant told them it would not be possible to travel as they had planned because there were not enough oxygen masks to go around.
Kathy Fickes told ABC 7: “I felt we were discriminated against because we had too many children in their eyes.”
Jason Fickes added that they “held up the plane for 40 or 50 minutes” as the family moved seats and tried to accommodate the airline.
The family was finally asked to leave the plane despite one passenger offering to pay for another ticket.
On the U.S Airways website, it is only possible to buy tickets for children over the age of two.
However, in a sidebar it gives the option to add how many younger children will be travelling.
The company is clear that each child under the age of two must be accompanied by an over-18 if they are sharing a seat.
On domestic flights, a child under the age of two is allowed to travel in the lap of a paying adult free of charge.
The Federal Aviation Administration also states that there must be an oxygen mask for each flyer.
Michelle Mohr, a US Airways spokesman told ABC 7: “The safety regulations are such that you have to have one child per one adult.”
U.S. Airways refunded the family’s tickets.
The Fickes family would have been permitted to fly if they had bought a ticket for one of their children under two as long as the child travelled in a car seat.
The Russian Soyuz rocket system has been pressed back into service, five days after a failed launch.
The vehicle successfully put six spacecraft in orbit for US satellite phone and data company, Globalstar.
The Soyuz lifted away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 17:09 GMT, ejecting the last of the six Globalstar platforms an hour and 40 minutes later.
Last Friday, a Soyuz malfunctioned soon after launching from the Plesetsk spaceport in northern Russia.
Parts were reported to have crashed back down into the Novosibirsk region of central Siberia.
Last week’s Soyuz was a type 2.1b, compared with the 2.1a version used for the Globalstar mission.
The two variants share many design features but use different engines in their third segment, or stage – the part of the Soyuz said to have been responsible for the failure five days ago.
The Russian Soyuz rocket system has been pressed back into service, five days after a failed launch
Wednesday’s successful outing will come as a huge relief for Globalstar.
The company is the first of the major sat-phone concerns to start upgrading its systems. The six latest satellites follow 12 others launched in July this year and October last year.
The upgrade is a pressing concern for the company because its existing constellation is failing.
Rolled out in the late 1990s, many of these original satellites have suffered suspected radiation damage to their S-band transmitter equipment, which has limited their ability to handle two-way communications.
Globalstar is pinning its future on its second-generation constellation. It plans to put in orbit at least another six satellites to boost service reach and quality.
Following Wednesday’s flight, Tony Navarra, Globalstar’s president of global operations, was quick to thank the Soyuz team and Arianespace, the French company that markets commercial Soyuz launches through its Starsem subsidiary.
“These satellites were flawlessly placed exactly where we needed them so that our ground stations could find them on the very first pass,” he said.
“It’s amazing that we can find six satellites within 30 minutes of them being placed into space.”
Investigations continue into the cause of last Friday’s launch malfunction, which resulted in the loss of a Russian Meridian telecommunications satellite.
It was the latest in a recent run of flight failures for the national rocket industry.
In August, a Soyuz failure on an unmanned mission to resupply the space station led to a six-week suspension of flights.
On 18 August, the week before the loss of the space station mission, a Proton rocket failed to put a communications satellite in its proper orbit.
Back on 1 February, a Rokot launcher also underperformed with a similar outcome.
And on 5 December last year, a Proton carrying three navigation spacecraft fell into the Pacific Ocean. This particular failure is widely believed to have contributed to the decision of the Russian government to replace the then space agency chief, Anatoly Perminov.
Vladimir Popovkin took over as the head of Roscosmos in April.
The rocket failures come on top of the loss of Phobos-Grunt, Russia’s most ambitious planetary mission in decades. It became stuck in Earth orbit after its launch in November and will probably fall back to Earth next month.
A new aviation rules will allow carriers operating in the South Pacific to take a “short cut” over the North Pole for the first time.
Under the new relaxation of aviation rules, British air passengers will be able to cut the times of long-haul flights by as much as half and fly faster to exotic destinations.
It could also mean cheaper and cleaner flights for holidaymakers.
While pilots from Australia taking passengers to South America will be able to steer more direct courses making big savings in time, fuel and emissions.
Until now, Boeing’s 777 and the new 787 Dreamliner jets had for safety reasons to stay within a three hour range (180 minutes) of the nearest diversion airport.
Under the new rules, that has been nearly doubled to five and a half hours, (330 minutes) taking account of improvements in aircraft and engine technology.
It means, for example, that planes from the UK will be able to take a non-stop flight – dubbed “Santa’s short cut” – over the North Pole to destinations such as Hawaii, Alaska or French Polynesia.
It also means shorter journeys, cheaper flights, less fuel, and lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the so-called greenhouse gas, which is blamed for global warming.
The “extended operations” rules define the time that an aircraft is permitted to be from an emergency landing site in case of an engine failure and is applied to two-engine jets.
The new regulation follows a decision by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to allow up to 330-minutes “extended operations” for Boeings’ 777 fleet.
It allows airlines operating Boeing 777-300ER (extended range), 777-200LR (longer range), 777 Freighter and 777-200ER models equipped with General Electric engines to fly up to 330 minutes from a potential “diversion” airport.
Approval for the Boeing 777-200ER equipped with British Rolls-Royce and American Pratt & Whitney engines is expected to follow over the next few months.
The first airline to take advantage of the new longer “extended operations” option is Air New Zealand which earlier this month flew from Los Angeles to Auckland.
Last October The European Aviation Safety Agency granted a 207-minute rating after receiving an application from Air France to fly a 777-300ER from Los Angeles to Papeete, Tahiti. The European agency is also expected to adopt the 330-minute rule.
Planes once flew over the North Pole during the Cold War in the 1950s to avoid Communist Bloc airspace.
Unaccompanied Chloe Boyce, 9, spent five hours stranded in Baltimore after her Southwest flight was reroute, but her awaiting family was never told
Unaccompanied 9-year-old Chloe Boyce, from Clarksville Tennessee, spent five hours stranded in Baltimore after her Southwest flight was rerouted between Nashville and New York but her awaiting family was never told.
Chloe Boyce’s flight arrived without her on it and the Southwest attendants couldn’t say where she was.
“The flight arrived and my daughter didn’t get off,” Chloe Boyce’s mother Elena Kerr told MSNBC.
“Someone went on the plane to see if she was there and my sister called me and said, <<Where’s Chloe?>>” Elena Kerr recalled, leading her to question her sister who had been sent to retrieve her daughter in New York.
“The Southwest guys told her there were no unaccompanied minors on that flight,” she explained, to her full family’s horror.
Despite scheduled stops in Columbus and Baltimore, Chloe Boyce’s mother was neither told her daughter would have to get off the plane nor was her daughter authorized to according to the airline’s policy on unaccompanied minors.
But when fog hit Columbus, Chloe Boyce’s Southwest flight additionally landed in Cleveland, prompting the later delay in Baltimore.
Elena Kerr says she frantically called Southwest but it took them an hour to track her daughter’s location down and even longer than that to give her an explanation on what had happened.
“It was like the scariest moment of my life to think that they didn’t know where she was,” Elena Kerr told ABC news.
“We just don’t understand why we weren’t called, especially because the Southwest policy states that someone must be available to answer phone calls during the flight time in the event of a flight irregularity,” she told MSNBC.
In addition to apologizing to Chloe Boyce’s family, Southwest has refunded the cost of their ticket as well.
“Our unaccompanied minor policy aims to minimize these kinds of situations … by only ticketing them on itineraries that don’t require an aircraft change,” Southwest spokesperson Brad Hawkins wrote in an email to MSNBC.
“In this case, the unscheduled change of planes resulted in the connection, a delay and distress for the family which we certainly regret and have apologized for in our conversation with the family of our customer,” Brad Hawkins stated.
In addition, a pilot in Baltimore who was alerted to Chloe Boyce’s situation walked her to a nearby airport Chili’s for dinner, according to her mother, making the girl as comfortable as possible.
It wasn’t Chloe Boyce’s first unaccompanied flight, yet despite the company’s apologies, her mother says it may be her last.
”I’m going to be driving the 17 hours to New York to get her,” she told MSNBC.
Southwest’s rules on unaccompanied minors:
“Unaccompanied Minors are allowed to travel on only nonstop or same-plane service (makes one or two stops but does not require a change of planes or flight number).”
Chloe Boyce disembarking her flight in Baltimore to change planes was an admitted mistake by the airline.
Southwest says they “will not transport UMs on flights that may be diverted or cancelled due to inclement weather or other operational abnormalities”.
That policy on possible diversions and/or cancellations is in place to minimize situation is like Chloe Boyce’s.
Fred Zajonczloski is going to miss his father’s funeral because Continental Airlines was charging him almost $675 to change his flight – on top of the $1,200 he had already paid.
The grieving son Fred Zajonczloski flew from his home in San Antonio, Texas, to Rochester, New York, as soon as he found out his father Walter, 85, was dying.
Fred Zajonczloski was scheduled to return on Saturday December 17 but when he found out his father’s funeral was being changed to tomorrow, he tried to change his flight and his fiancee’s.
Continental Airlines informed him that the changes would cost a total of $675.
Fred Zajonczloski’s sister Julie Knapp told News10 they are “just a normal family” and could not afford that kind of money.
Julie Knapp said: “All we wanted was some compassion.”
Now, Fred Zajonczloski is going to miss his father’s burial tomorrow as he has already flown back on the original ticket.
Julie Knapp said: “I understand that people have jobs and people have things to do, but have a heart. Have a heart. I mean there’s somebody there that could have said yes, it’s okay to switch this flight.
“It’s frustrating and it’s very disappointing when I put my brother on that airplane and I said goodbye to him and knew he wasn’t going to be here.”
Julie Knapp also revealed that it was her father’s last wish to be buried beside his son Dale, who was just three when he died.
“That’s why it is so important that Freddie was here. To have that closure to be able to see his dad be buried with his son.
“He should be here with his family so he can say goodbye.”
Continental Airlines believe that a simple mistake has been made as their highest charge fee for changing flights is $200 – and that is for international flights.
A Continental Airlines spokesman said they are looking into the story.
He said: “Continental customer care will contact the customers directly. We certainly offer them our deepest condolences.”
More than 430 people have been killed and many more missing in recent flash floods triggered by typhoon Washi in the southern Philippines, officials say.
Many of the victims were asleep when it struck Mindanao island, hitting the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.
Tens of thousands of people have fled to higher ground, the authorities say.
Benito Ramos, head of the national disaster rescue agency, said reports were still coming in and the casualty figures could rise.
He said the floodwaters had risen alarmingly fast overnight as people slept.
“Massive flooding had been reported over the region, especially in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City,” Benito Ramos said.
Rivers burst their banks after 25 mm of rain fell in 24 hours.
More than 430 people have been killed and many more missing in recent flash floods triggered by typhoon Washi in the southern Philippines
The Philippine National Red Cross Secretary General Gwen Pang said at least 430 people had been killed.
Gwen Pang said 215 people had been killed in Cagayan de Oro and 144 in Iligan.
Large areas were left without power and some domestic flights were cancelled as winds of up to 90 km/h (55mph) swept across the island.
A landslide killed at least five people in the east of the island, the national disaster agency said.
A military spokesman, Colonel Leopoldo Galon, said an entire army division – some 10,000 soldiers – was involved in the rescue efforts around Cagayan de Oro.
Forecasters said the eye of Tropical Storm Washi had passed close to Dipolog City, west of Iligan City, early on Saturday and it was now heading out into the Sulu Sea.
Floods had swamped a quarter of Iligan and at least 10 villages on its outskirts, said the city’s mayor, Lawrence Cruz.
“It’s the worst flood in the history of our city,” Lawrence Cruz told GMA television.
“It happened so fast, at a time when people were fast asleep.”
The coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off the coastal city for survivors or bodies, he added.
GMA television broadcast dramatic footage of a family escaping their flood-hit home by climbing through a window.
Rescue workers were pictured helping survivors to safety in chest-deep floodwater.
Three people also drowned in Polanco town in Zamboanga del Norte province, said provincial disaster officer Dennis Tenorio. He said high winds had toppled trees.
The storm is set to hit the western island of Palawan later on Saturday, after crossing the Sulu Sea with winds of up to 75 km/h, according to state weather forecasters.
The Philippines are struck by about 20 major storms every year but most of them take a more northerly track, hitting Luzon island.
Benito Ramos said Washi’s toll may have been so high because Mindanao residents are unaccustomed to catching the full force of such storms.
He said officials had given four days of warnings that the storm was approaching but many people had chosen not to evacuate their homes.
Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae battered the country within days of each other in September, leaving more than 100 people dead. Both storms struck Luzon.
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What you should know if you experience an accident
It is possible to experience an accident or injury at virtually any time, or in any place, and personal injury law and lawyers cover most of these situations and experiences. One of the less common types of injury of this kind is that of airplane accidents. However, this term can refer to anything from a relatively minor accident which takes place during the course of a flight – such as a fall while standing in the plane, a spilt hot drink due to the motion of the plane or being hit by luggage falling from one of the overhead compartments – to something far more serious like injuries sustained in the wake of an aircraft crash. Therefore lawyers dealing with this particular area of the law need a significant degree of specialist knowledge and understanding.
Accidents on an airplane journey come under the heading of personal injury when it comes to compensation claims, but they represent a complex area of this type of aviation accident law compensation. Like many other forms of personal injury claim, a specialist aviation accident lawyer will take on cases on a no-win, no-fee basis – thus enabling people on lower incomes to make claims for compensation they are rightfully entitled to. Complicating the issue of compensation when it comes to airplane accidents is the fact that there are differences in making a claim depending on whether you were injured during an international flight or one within the UK – which is another major reason why it is best to seek the help of a qualified airplane accident lawyer if you wish to pursue a claim of this kind.
The Montreal Convention
Airplane accidents which happen on international flights are legally covered under the terms of the Montreal Convention, which ensures that people injured during the course of an international flight can pursue their compensation claim in the country where it will be most favourable to them – whether this happens to be the country that they were travelling to on their flight, or the country they primarily live in. This was incorporated into UK law in 2002, meaning you or your legal representative need to fully understand it in order to make such a claim.
David Gray, a very successful JP Morgan investment banker has thrown away his career by stalking his beautiful colleague Daniela Rausnitz.
David Gray, 28, is almost certain to be fired from his prestigious position at JP Morgan after a passionate affair became an uncontrolled obsession.
The young and wealthy American analyst was yesterday convicted of harassing Daniela Rausnitz, 25, after she transferred to the global finance giant’s London offices to escape him.
David Gray, a very successful JP Morgan investment banker has thrown away his career by stalking his beautiful colleague Daniela Rausnitz
David Gray deluged Daniela Rausnitz with hundreds of texts, emails and phone calls as he repeatedly flew across the Atlantic to pursue her when their one-year relationship turned sour.
He used his old key to get into her Chelsea flat, falsely said his sister had died and even claimed he was critically ill in a desperate effort to attract her attention.
Daniela Rausnitz told police David Gray planted a tracking device in her phone and hacked her email, leaving her afraid that his campaign would never end.
When officers confronted David Gray at a Park Lane Hotel where daniela Rausnitz was hiding with her family he told them he was an agent for the Israeli secret service.
Even on the eve of his trial David Gray was accused of breaching his bail by turning up at the same Notting Hill restaurant as his former lover.
David Gray deluged Daniela Rausnitz with hundreds of texts, emails and phone calls as he repeatedly flew across the Atlantic to pursue her when their one-year relationship turned sour
West London Magistrates’ Court heard the couple met while working in adjacent cubicles at JP Morgan’s investment banking division in New York. David Gray, a graduate of Ivy League Cornell University, had been working for the firm since 2004.
Daniela Rausnitz worked as an unpaid intern before completing her studies at Duke University, ranked as one of the best in the world, where she set up a high-profile organization dedicated to supporting women in business.
When she returned as an employee she began an affair with David Gray, despite the fact he was married. In a strange twist, their relationship was cemented after she confided that she was being sexually harassed by a senior banker at the firm.
The court heard they were at one point “very much in love with each other” as David Gray considered leaving his wife.
But his behaviour became stifling and when Daniela Rausnitz transferred to London to further her career and put distance between them, he followed her.
The tipping point came in August as David Gray flew to London four times and subjected his victim to a relentless barrage of visits and messages.
David Gray was extremely jealous after discovering she had a new boyfriend during one visit and caught them together at her Chelsea flat.
At one stage David Gray sent Daniela Rausnitz 176 text messages and 23 emails over just 16 hours. He even used his key to enter her Onslow Gardens home and take two candlesticks that belonged to his grandmother.
Daniela Rausnitz accused him of trying to change his flights so they were on the same aircraft, putting a tracking device in her bag and breaking in to her email account.
David Gray collapsed in front of her at Heathrow Airport –something she accused him of faking and which he said was brought on by stress.
And in a bizarre confrontation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane, David Gray was arrested after telling police he was an Israeli secret service agent.
Carrying two bottles of whisky and Cuban cigars, David Gray said he travelled to the hotel to apologize to Daniela Rausnitz and her father.
David Gray told a police officer that he had received tapes of conversations recorded by a hidden bug under the bed at her home and urgently needed to speak to her.
Speaking in his defense, David Gray admitted the story was a complete lie which he concocted in a desperate attempt to evade arrest.
David Gray also admitted claiming falsely that his sister had died and that he was seriously ill in a Paris hospital after an accident. He described himself as a “broken man”.
David Gray’ solicitor Dan O’Callaghan described him as a “pathetic lovelorn fool” who was sent “mixed signals” by the victim.
Daniela Rausnitz wept in court as she described how David Gray’s actions left her scared, unable to sleep and forced her to take a leave of absence from work.
In a statement, Daniela Rausnitz said: “His erratic and obsessive behaviour began to frighten me and I was hopeful that moving to London would put an end to it. Unfortunately it escalated.
“His unwarranted, unprovoked and unrelenting actions have caused me extreme distress.”
Sentencing David Gray to a conditional discharge at West London Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Andrew Sweet said Gray could face a serious penalty if the harassment continues.
The judge said David Gray will be arrested if he contacts Daniela Rausnitz by any means and then visits Britain.
The court has no powers to stop David Gray contacting his victim from America but can arrest him if he returns having done so. David Gray is free to come to Britain if he does not contact Daniela Rausnitz before or during the visit.
JP Morgan declined to comment.
A teenage British Airways stewardess got pregnant with a married pilot after the airline company launched “Hug A Pilot” programme.
British Airways launched a programme to boost morale among cabin crew by encouraging them to mix more.
The initiative – dubbed “Hug A Pilot” – was taken to extremes by the married man and the stewardess on a foreign stopover between flights.
The pilot’s wife is also believed to be a British Airways employee but is apparently standing by him, The Sun reported.
The stewardess, based at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, has now been moved to a regional engineering base. She is planning to keep the baby.
When the pilot, who earns £100,000 ($150,000) per year, discovered that the young employee was pregnant he apparently denied it was anything to do with him but later confessed.
A teenage British Airways stewardess got pregnant with a married pilot after the airline company launched “Hug A Pilot” programme
A spokesman for British Airways declined to comment.
The pilot and his wife are also apparently based at Terminal 5.
A source at the airline told The Sun: “The girl’s pregnancy and move to engineering is the talk of the airline. She was stunned to find she was expecting, but wants to keep the baby.
“She will be looked after financially because of the captain’s pay.”
British Airways employee 3,000 pilots and 13,500 cabin crew.
As part of the “Hug A Pilot” scheme, all staff are being urged to mix more to boost morale.
BA’s mandatory Safety and Emergency Procedures three-day training session for staff now has a new 90-minute team work discussion.
One crew member posted on an internet forum: “It transpires at SEP on the first day, BA have now introduced how to interact and socialize with the <<pilot community>>.
“The session includes pre, during and post flight interaction, you will now be advised it’s inappropriate and bad mannered not to include everyone on the crew and pilots while socializing in the bar or down route.”
Following the pregnancy the source, speaking to The Sun, added: “The Hug A Pilot edict was not supposed to lead to this.”
Arthur Berkowitz, an US Airways passenger had to stand during a seven-hour flight from Anchorage to Philadelphia because of a 400 lbs man sitting next to him.
Arthur Berkowitz said his morbidily obese neighbour on US Airways Flight 901 from Anchorage to Philadelphia made it impossible to get into his seat.
The 400 lbs man spilled over into Arthur Berkowitz’s personal space and he could not move because the plane was full so he was forced to stand up.
Arthur Berkowitz, 57, said the obese man was very sorry.
“The first thing he said to me was: <<I want to apologize – I’m your worst nightmare>>.”
Arthur Berkowitz added that his ordeal in July presented a safety risk because he could not use his seatbelt for take-off and landing.
“I didn’t fly from Alaska to Philadelphia on Flight 901,” he told consumer advocate Christopher Elliot’s blog.
“I stood. His size required both armrests to be raised up and allowed for his body to cover half of my seat,” he told the website, elliott.org.
Arthur Berkowitz, an US Airways passenger had to stand during a seven-hour flight from Anchorage to Philadelphia because of a 400 lbs man sitting next to him
The flight from Anchorage to Philadelphia is one of the longest non-stop U.S. domestic flights and Arthur Berkowitz thought he had a spare seat at first.
But before the door closed the airline asked a late-boarding passenger who weighed 400 lbs to sit down next to him in the last empty seat.
Arthur Berkowitz has been flying with US Airways for 50 years.
He added that there was a young exchange student from Eastern Europe on the same row as him who was “pinned up against the window” by the obese man because there was so little space.
Flight attendants whom he told about the problem said they could not help him as he was not allowed to sit in their jump seats.
“They were sympathetic, but could not do anything,” Arthur Berkowitz told elliott.org.
“No other seats existed on plane.”
Arthur Berkowitz claims flight attendants admitted their gate agent had made an error in allowing the passenger to board without having bought two seats.
US Airways has since apologized for the “regrettable” incident.
A statement said: “Our intention is to offer the best travel experience possible.
“The details you have provided indicate that we have failed to meet our intentions.”
US Airways offered Arthur Berkowitz a $200 voucher in compensation.
But he called this “inappropriate” after paying more than $800 for the ticket.
Arthur Berkowitz also complained the airline has not fixed the safety issue.
“I reviewed his case and agreed with him that US Airways might want to take another look at his complaint,” Christopher Elliott wrote on his blog.
“I mean, leaving a passenger with no alternative but to stand for almost seven hours – if that’s true, then this might be one of those rare cases when a full refund is in order.”
Arthur Berkowitz said he raised the issue primarily because he wants the airline and authorities “to develop a policy on safety”.
There is no legal weight limit for passengers on U.S. commercial flights but some airlines such as Southwest ask customers who cannot fit into one seat to book two.
It says if a passenger cannot lower the armrests on one set they must buy another – whatever they weigh.
The second seat’s price is refunded if the flight does not oversell, says consumer website Smarter Travel, which advises big passengers to travel off-peak.
42.5 million US people are expected to hit the road to visit family and friends for Thanksgiving – the highest number of holiday travellers since the start of the recession.
Thanksgiving travellers are at the mercy of the weather, because forecasters warned of rain and scattered thunderstorms in much of the north east, with a mixture of snow and freezing rain expected in upstate New York and northern New England. Mountainous areas could see 4 to 8 inches of snow.
Two forecasted storms are expected to make air travel rough across parts of the country, causing delays and cancellations at airports.
The first storm, which has already caused flash flooding across Arkansas, is forecast to move into the Southeast, bringing severe weather on Wednesday.
It will also bring rain showers and snow showers to the North east, with two inches of rain expected in Boston and New York and more than a foot of snow through New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
The worst of the severe weather was forecast to develop across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, even into North and South Carolinas.
Thanksgiving travellers are at the mercy of the weather, because forecasters warned of rain and scattered thunderstorms in much of the north east
The second storm moved into the North west Tuesday evening and continuing through Thanksgiving day, bringing with it up to five inches of rain and a foot of snow to higher elevations. Flooding and strong winds are expected to be a major concern.
According to travel tracker AAA, 4% more Americans than last year will journey at least 50 miles from home, with about 90% of them driving. Another 8% plan to fly, but AAA notes that higher airfares and less available seats have forced many would-be fliers to drive instead. The remaining travelers plan to take buses, trains or other forms of transport.
This is the third consecutive Thanksgiving that US people have taken to the road in higher numbers than in the past year, according to Associated Press.
The increase in holiday travel is welcome news for an industry that has been struggling to get Americans back on the road.
Memorial Day saw no increase in vacations and travel was down for both July 4th and Labor Day breaks.
AAA says that Americans are willing to spend now because they want to spend time with their family.
Bill Sutherland, vice president, AAA Travel Services, said in a statement:
“As consumers weigh the fear of economic uncertainty and the desire to create lasting family memories this holiday, more Americans are expected to choose family and friends over frugality.”
Those driving should expect to pay more at the pump. The average price of a gallon of gas so far this November is $3.42, up nearly 20% from last year’s $2.86, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That means for every 100 miles a family drives this holiday they should expect to spend about $2.50 more on gas.
Rates for mid-range hotels are expected to increase 6% from last year ago with travelers spending an average of $145 a night. Lower-priced motels are seeing a 7% increase to $103.
Weekend daily car rental rates will average $37, an 11% drop from last year.
According to AAA, Thanksgiving airfares are 20% higher than last year with an average lowest round-trip rate of $212 for the top 40 U.S. air routes.
That estimate is much higher than a 4% increase predicted by both Orbitz and Priceline.
Those companies said the average airfare was closer to $400. Airlines report quarterly airfares but don’t break out prices for specific holidays.
The findings are based on a survey of 1,357 people in the U.S., 543 who said they plan to travel.
On this the fourth Thanksgiving since the economy sank, prices for everything from airline flights to groceries are going up, and some Americans are scaling back.
Yet in many households, the occasion is too important to skimp on. Said one mother: “I don’t have much to give, but I’ll be cooking, and the door will be open.”
Bill Sutherland, vice president of AAA Travel Services, said: “This is the first significant increase in any holiday travel this year.”
Families who had foregone travel over the last three years are likely to reverse their decisions this year, the group said, leading to the uptick in the forecast.
The forecast, based on a monthly survey of 50,000 homes, said some 3.4 million – up 1.8% year-on-year – would fly over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Thanksgiving travel took a big hit in 2008 following the financial crisis and the economic uncertainty it caused.
Austrian airline Comtel Air is set to investigate reports that it asked passengers to pay £20,000 towards the cost of fuel to complete their journey to the UK.
According to passengers,they were asked for the money when a flight with Austrian airline Comtel Air from Amritsar in India stopped in Vienna to refuel.
Other airline passengers have been stuck in India after flights were cancelled.
Austrian airline Comtel Air is set to investigate reports that it asked passengers to pay £20,000 towards the cost of fuel to complete their journey to the UK
Comtel Air said it would investigate the claims and hoped to swiftly return people to the UK from India.
Bhunpinder Kandra, director of passenger services for Comtel Air, said:
“I have heard what happened, it shouldn’t have happened, and I will investigate why it happened.
“The people who had to pay the money will receive a refund.”
Reena Rindi, who was on the plane with her two-year-old daughter, told Channel 4 News:
“We wanted to go home. We’d been stranded for about three to four days. Who was going to take us home?”
She also said passengers agreed to pay in order to fly to Birmingham.
“If we didn’t have the money they were making us go one by one outside in Vienna to get the cash out,” Reena Rindi added.
Another woman who flew from Amritsar to Birmingham via Vienna told the BBC: “We had to pay 150 euros last night in Vienna to get back to Birmingham and then they wouldn’t fly us back to Birmingham so we had to pay ourselves to come back.”
Comtel Air introduced cheap flights from Birmingham to Amritsar in the Punjab, via Vienna, last month.
Birmingham Airport, which said Comtel Air had been operating successfully to Amritsar, expressed concern and added that it had started an investigation.
Bhunpinder Kandra said he hoped the situation would be resolved “within the week” and that a flight would be leaving Amritsar for the UK on Friday.
Some airline customers who booked through Takhar Travel, in Smethwick in the West Midlands, told BBC News that they were concerned as they did not know if their flights would go ahead.
About 30 of the passengers who experienced problems in Vienna along with relatives of people stranded in India, went to the travel agent on Wednesday but said they were told the manager was not available. Police were called after staff became overwhelmed by concerned customers.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware that a number of British nationals have been affected by difficulties with Comtel airlines flights from Amritsar to Birmingham via Vienna.
“We have been, and remain, in touch with the relevant authorities including the airline for clarification on how British nationals due to fly in the coming days will be affected.
“Our current advice to anyone affected is to contact their tour operator, travel agent or the airline for further information and about possible alternative arrangements. We would also advise that they monitor our travel advice for India for any updates.
“We took a number of calls from distressed British nationals in relation to this issue and we have provided consular assistance to those who have sought it.”
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A Boeing 767 flying from Newark operated by Polish LOT airlines made an emergency landing at Warsaw airport today.
The aircraft, which was flying from Newark, New Jersey, with around 230 people on board made a belly landing at Warsaw’s airport on Tuesday after reported trouble with landing gear.
Captain Tadeusz Wrona radioed ahead to let the control tower know there was a problem with deploying the landing gear. After several attempts, however, it was decided that the aircraft would have to come down without any wheels.
While the plane circled the Warsaw for an hour, dumping excess fuel and repeatedly trying to solve the problem, ground crews prepared for a crash landing, closing the airport to all other flights and clearing nearby streets. Fire crews also sprayed the runway with foam in a bid to prevent a fire from breaking out.
Captain Tadeusz Wrona lifted the nose of the aircraft slightly as it approached the tarmac. As it slid along the runway, smoke billowed from the undercarriage followed by bright flashes from under the engines.
When it came to a halt, fire engines that were waiting along the sides and at the end of the tarmac rush towards the plane, dowsing it with foam.
Meanwhile, passengers are quickly ushered off down the inflatable chutes on either side.
News channels and TV crews were on the scene soon after learning about the impending disaster and the incredible landing was beamed live around the world.
Nearby streets were cleared and a landing strip was especially prepared at the airport for the crash landing.
Staff worked hard to find a technical solution to the landing gear problems while in the air, but eventually had to try to land.
It was reported that nobody was injured, passengers or crew members.
Leszek Chorzewski, spokesman for the Polish national flag carrier LOT, the aircraft operator, said:
“All safety procedures worked perfectly fine and, thanks to this, nobody was injured.”
A Boeing 767 flying from New York operated by Polish LOT airlines made an emergency landing at Warsaw airport today
Polish television footage showed the plane landing on its belly, with a few sparks flying as the craft hit the runway which had been covered with flame retardant foam.
There was no blaze reported but firefighters hosed the plane with water and foam as a precautionary measure.
LOT aircraft passengers were evacuated from the plane, which had circled above Warsaw before the crash landing. Warsaw airport remained closed for all other flights.
Warsaw airport has been closed until 8:00 a.m. on tomorrow. Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski congratulated and thanked the pilot, Captain Tadeusz Wrona, and the rest of the crew for their successful landing.
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The unseasonable snowstorm, which brought up to 30 inches (76 cm) of snow in parts of the US East Coast over the weekend , has been blamed for as many as 19 deaths and millions of homes without power.
It was repoerted that power outages in two states exceeded damage wrought by Hurricane Irene.
Many schools are closed across the storm’s path, with children in the state of Connecticut warned to call off Halloween trick-or-treat plans.
The snowstorm fatalities, which include one death in Canada, were caused by traffic accidents, electrocutions and other causes as a result of the snowstorm.
Yesterday, about 750,000 households were still without power in Connecticut, where the storm damage was said to have surpassed that wreaked by Hurricane Irene in August
States of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York.
Some states have warned it could be days or even a week before residents have power again. Crews have been brought in from as far away as Michigan and Canada.
Trees, branches and power lines still littered roads and rail lines throughout the region, making it difficult for many to get to work on Monday.
Connecticut officials warned residents to cancel their Halloween trick-or-treat plans.
“With so many wires down… the sidewalks will not be safe for pedestrians [Monday] night,” said Mark Boughton, mayor of the city of Danbury.
“We have 200 streets with wires down… [we] would hate to have children hurt.”
Yesterday, about 750,000 households were still without power in Connecticut, where the storm damage was said to have surpassed that wreaked by Hurricane Irene in August.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, whose own house lost power, also declared the damage worse than that from Hurricane Irene.
Among the deaths blamed on the storm were an 84-year-old Pennsylvania man killed by a tree that fell on his home, a person who died in a traffic accident in Connecticut and a 20-year-old man who was electrocuted in Massachusetts.
In New York City, a new record for October snowfall was set on Saturday when 1.3 inches fell in Central Park.
Only three other snowy October days in the US have been recorded in the park in 135 years of record-keeping.
Most of the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York’s Zuccotti Park saw out the storm.
The storm brought chaos to flights schedules at New York airports, while Amtrak reported massive disruption to train services.
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The unseasonable snowstorm which hit the US East Coast, with some areas of Massachusetts seeing more than 27 inches (68 cm) of snow, killed at least nine people and left three million houses without power.
Tv footages show snow in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vermont while in New York, Occupy Wall Street protesters said they were not deterred by the weather.
According to authorities, at least nine people have died in snow-related accidents and more than three million homes have lost their electricity supply from Maryland to Massachusetts with some residents left without power for several days.
The snowfall had worsened as it moved north, with states of emergency declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York.
It was reported that communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit.
Nantucket in Massachusetts experienced wind speeds of 69mph (111km/h), a National Weather Service (NWS) statement said.
The unseasonable snowstorm which hit the US East Coast, with some areas of Massachusetts seeing more than 27 inches of snow, killed at least nine people and left three million houses without power
Four people were killed in two separate crashes on an icy road in Philadelphia, while falling snow killed an 84-year-old man in Temple, Pennsylvania.
Traffic accidents killed one person in Colchester, Connecticut, a 54-year-old New York woman, and a person in New Jersey.
In Springfield, Massachusetts, a man died when he touched a protective rail surrounding downed power lines.
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy said over 750,000 people were without electricity in his state and that the effects of the storm would still be felt after the snowfall stopped.
“If you are without power, you should expect to be without power for a prolonged period of time,” CBS News quoted Governor Dannel P. Malloy as saying.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s house was one of the 600,000 suffering power cuts in the state.
West Milford, New Jersey, about 45 miles (70km) north-west of New York, saw 19 inches of snowfall, and Hillsboro, New Hampshire, saw 21.5 inches.
In New York City, a new record for October snowfall was set when 1.3 inches fell in Central Park.
Most of the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York’s Zuccotti Park saw out the storm.
On Sunday, passengers were stranded for more than seven hours on one JetBlue flight in Hartford, Connecticut.
On Saturday, flights were delayed at Newark airport in New Jersey, which was being lashed by heavy rains and winds.
Amtrak reported massive disruption to train services, including a 13-hour delay for passengers on one train in central Massachusetts.
High pressure over south-eastern Canada had fed cold air south and into moisture from the North Carolina coast.
In New England it is usual for measurable snow to fall in early December.
National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson said temperatures could return to normal by the middle of next week.
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Qantas airline announced that 68,000 passengers were affected by its grounding of 108 aircraft in 22 cities worldwide due to the industrial action yesterday.
Australian airline also announced it would lock out staff involved in industrial action, after months of strikes.
As a result, the pilots union has threatened legal action against the move.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called for an end to industrial action which has seen Qantas ground all its international and domestic flights.
Prime Minister said the government had applied to regulator Fair Work Australia, “the industrial umpire”, to try to get planes back in the air.
Julia Gillard also said she was concerned about damage that could be caused to the national economy.
“I believe Australians want to see this dispute settled. I want to see this dispute settled and we have taken the appropriate action to bring this before the industrial umpire,” the prime minister told a news conference from the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (Chogm) being held in the western Australian city of Perth.
68,000 Qantas passengers were affected by airline grounding of 108 aircraft in 22 cities worldwide due to the industrial action yesterday
It was reported that among thousands of stranded passengers were 17 world leaders attending the Commonwealth summit in Perth, but PM Julia Gillard said they had found alternative flights.
Fair Work Australia reconvened an emergency panel at 14:00 (03:00 GMT) on Sunday, after an earlier hearing was adjourned in the early hours of the morning.
Fair Work Australia can decide whether to order an end to industrial action by both unions and Qantas airline management.
Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO said his planes could be in the air again by late Sunday if the panel ordered a termination of all industrial action, but he warned an order to simply suspend it – as the unions were seeking – would not be good enough.
Qantas airline – the world’s 10th largest – has been hit by a series of costly strikes and other industrial action, which the company said was costing A$15 million ($16 million) a week.
It was reported that pilots have been engaged in protracted talks with management over wages, conditions and outsourcing of jobs to Asia, but they have yet to walk off the job – unlike baggage handlers, engineers and ground staff.
Captain Richard Woodward, the Australian International Pilots Association (AIPA) vice-president said work stoppages were not in their plans.
“Pilots have made it clear from the start that we would not take industrial action that disrupts passengers. We have stuck to that to this day,” Richard Woodward said.
“Alan Joyce, on the other hand, has opted to disrupt passengers in the most devastating way possible.
“Pilots have not been on strike and we are not seeking anything that would damage profitability.”
Captain Richard Woodward described Qantas’s action as “a cynical act of insanity”.
A statement by the Australian airline said all employees involved in industrial action would be locked out from Monday evening and flights grounded from 06:00 GMT on Saturday with aircraft currently in the air would complete their flights, but there would be no further departures.
Qantas airline also issued a statement on its Facebook page saying customers booked on its flights should not go to the airport until further notice. Qantas said a full refund would be available to those affected.
Relations between the unions and Qantas airline management started deteriorating in August after the company announced plans for restructuring and moving some operations to Asia.
Qantas airline has a 65% share of the domestic Australian market, but has been making heavy losses on its international flights.
It was reported that restructuring is expected to mean the loss of 1,000 jobs from its 35,000-strong workforce.
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Three people died and more than 2.3 million homes have lost power as the US East Coast has been hit by an unusual early period snowstorm.
New York City has been hit by more than one inch of snowfall before Halloween for the first time ever – with experts predicting much more on the way.
It was reported that an 84-year-old man from Pennsylvania died when a tree crashed into his house in Temple on Saturday afternoon, while he was having a nap in his recliner chair. He was killed “instantly” according to police.
Another death was in Colchester Connecticut, according to Governor Dannel Malloy who warned that some parts of the state could expect as much as 18 inches of snow.
A third man in his 20s died in Springfield, Massachusetts, after he ignored police warnings and cross a barricade around a downed power line. The man was killed when he touched a metal guard rail that was charged.
October snowstorm killed 3 people and left 2.3 M houses without power on East Coast.
There are reports saying that some places in mid-Atlantic states saw more than half a foot of snow on Saturday and approximately 250,000 customers lost power in Pennsylvania and Maryland, requiring utility crews from Ohio and Kentucky to fix it.
More than 1,000 flights into or out of the United States were cancelled today, with New York particularly affected. JFK airport had around 230 called off by 5:00 p.m. local time.
New York City has been hit by more than one inch of snowfall before Halloween for the first time ever - with experts predicting much more on the way
According to meteorologists, about 60 million people will experience the rare October snowstorm, which should unleash heavy, wet snow and wind, causing fallen tree branches and potential travel chaos.
Halloween weekend looks set to see huge amounts of sleet and snow covering the North East, invariably causing power outages and travel chaos.
In New York City By, 1.3 inches of snow had fallen in Central Park by 2:00 p.m.; never before in October has an inch of snow fallen on a given day in New York City, AccuWeather reported.
AccuWather website reported 10 inches of snow in Ogletown, Pennsylvania, 9.5 inches in Frostburg, Maryland, and 8.5 inches in Lost River, West Virginia.
New York has received measurable snow before Halloween only three times since 1869 – and never more than one inch, as happened today.
Autumn Street in Lodi, New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie called a state of emergency after the October snowstorm
The heaviest snow is forecast for later in the day on Sunday in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut, southwestern New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains.
Chris Vaccaro, a NWS spokesman said:
“It’s going to be wet, sticky and gloppy. It’s not going to be a dry, fluffy snow.”
The snowstorm comes on a busy weekend for many along the Eastern Seaboard, with trick-or-treaters going door-to-door in search of Halloween booty, hunting season opening in some states and a full slate of college and pro football scheduled.
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy warned residents that they could lose power due to the anticipated wet, heavy snow.
The heaviest snows are expected between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. this evening, although the temperatures could bring light snow throughout the night.
According to meteorologists, the storm is expected to come hard and fast, with the heaviest snow set for the Virginia and West Virginia border through eastern Pennsylvania and southeastern New York state, northwestern New Jersey, northern Connecticut, Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.
Six inches of snow has already fallen in New England, where is also expected to be powerful winds which could be very dangerous – bringing down trees and power lines.
Temperatures in the 30s and 40s and wind chills in the 20s will make it feel like winter has truly arrived.
Forecasters at weather.com say the heaviest amounts of snow will fall in parts of Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, upstate New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
“Precipitation will start as rain in these locations, but may change over to snow. How quickly this occurs and how much snow falls is dependent on the availability of enough cold air, which is difficult to forecast early in the season.”
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An industrial dispute made the Australian airline Qantas to ground all international and domestic flights with immediate effect.
All employees involved in industrial action would be locked out from Monday evening and flights grounded from 06:00 GMT on Saturday.
With regard to the aircrafts currently in the air, they will complete their flights, but there will be no further departures.
Fair Work Australia, the national industrial tribunal, adjourned a hearing on the Qantas dispute on Saturday night. The tribunal – which has the power to suspend or terminate industrial action – is to reconvene later on Sunday.
It was reported that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned that the dispute could have “implications” for the national economy.
Qantas airline has been hit by a series of costly strikes. Baggage handlers, engineers and pilots have been involved in the action which the company says is costing A$15 million (US$16 million) a week.
Qantas airline issued a statement on its Facebook page saying customers booked on Qantas flights should not go to the airport until further notice. Qantas said a full refund would be available to those affected.
An industrial dispute made the Australian airline Qantas to ground all international and domestic flights with immediate effect
Relations between the unions and Qantas management started deteriorating in August after the airline announced plans for restructuring and moving some operations to Asia.
Qantas airline has a 65% share of the domestic Australian market, but has been making heavy losses on its international flights.
Qantas restructuring is expected to mean the loss of 1,000 jobs from its 35,000-strong workforce.
The disruption to Qantas flights has also affected a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in Perth, with reports that members from 17 delegations have been stranded in the city because of the dispute.
The dispute comes on a busy travel weekend, just days before the country’s biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup.
Anthony Albanese, Australian minister for transport said the government would take action to intervene in the dispute.
“We are very concerned about Qantas’ actions, of which we were notified only mid-afternoon, with no advance notice from Qantas at any stage,” Anthony Albanese said.
“The government is making an urgent application to Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action at Qantas. This will be aimed at both actions by unions and by Qantas management.”
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce announced the grounding of the airline on Saturday: “The airline will be grounded as long as it takes to reach a conclusion on this.”
Alan Joyce said that he would not take “the easy way out” and agree to union demands.
“That would destroy Qantas in the long term.
“I’m actually taking the bold decision, an unbelievable decision, a very hard decision, to ground this airline.”
Alan Joyce said he made the decision early Saturday and then gained the approval of the Qantas board.
“We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and reach an agreement with us,” he said.
“This is the fastest way to ensure the airline gets back in the air.
“They are trashing our strategy and our brand.
“They must decide just how badly they want to hurt Qantas, their members… and the travelling public.”
The Australian pilots association criticized the grounding.
“It’s unprecedented and really it has hijacked the nation. It really has put everyone on notice and… it’s forcing the government’s hand on this,” Barry Jackson of the Australian and International Pilots Association told Sky News.
“We really need to address this sooner rather than later and get the aircraft back in the air.”
Qantas said as of 04:00 GMT on Saturday, there were 64 aircraft in the air – 36 domestic and 28 international – carrying more than 7,000 passengers. In total, 108 aircraft will be grounded in 22 airports around the world.
Qantas also said 13,305 passengers were booked to travel on its planes from overseas airports to Australia in the next 24 hours. About 1,310 international passengers may be at international airports now waiting for their flights to depart.
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Passengers from two flights landed at Boston Logan Airport were taken to hospital with head, back and neck injuries and burns last night after the aircraft they were on suffered extreme turbulence.
The two commercial aircraft landed in Boston after 18 passengers sustained injuries while in the sky.
A Lufthansa flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Munich was diverted to Boston after it experienced problems when it flew through the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia.
Flight 429, which had 245 passengers and 18 crew on board, was greeted by emergency crews as it landed at 11:45 pm.
Passengers at Boston Logan Airport were taken to hospital with head, back and neck injuries
“I saw the plane go down, down, down and I said, <<Oh my God, oh my God>>,” one passenger told local station WCVB.
The other aircraft, a Jet Blue flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Boston also landed at the airport with seven people injured.
Seven people were injured on flight 852, which had 130 passengers and five crew members.
Six of the people injured had head, back and neck injuries. One people had been burned by coffee.
The 852 flight landed at its intended destination of Boston around 10:00 pm, about 20 minutes ahead of schedule, according to the airline’s website.
“I thought, <<Oh my God, this could be it>>. But it didn’t last that long. It was quite a surprise,” one female passenger told WCVB.
“I had the coffee jump everywhere. We started screaming. Oh my God, so scary,” another female passenger told the station.
Phil Orlandella, spokesman for the Boston Logan Airport, said he did not know the extent of the injuries on the Lufthansa flight.
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The powerful Typhoon Nesat has struck the Philippines this morning, triggering floods and cutting power in the capital Manila and throughout the main island, Luzon.
Typhoon Nesat also forced the closing of the Philippine Stock Exchange and the US embassy, and the ground floor of Manila’s main hospital was flooded.
At least seven people have been killed, including several children.
Typhoon Nesat path in South East Asia
As Typhoon Nesat approached, the authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 in central Albay province.
Nesat is expected to continue slowly across the country, before blowing across the South China Sea towards southern China on Thursday.
The typhoon made landfall just before dawn on Tuesday in the eastern Isabela and Aurora provinces on the Pacific coast.
The storm – with a diameter of 650km (400 miles) and wind gusts of up to 170km/h (105mph) – is now making its way across Luzon, the main island.
Many roads have been flooded and flights cancelled, and local media are urging people against non-essential travel.
An adult and three children were crushed to death as a building collapsed in a northern Manila suburb on Tuesday, AFP news agency quoted the Office of Civil Defence as saying.
Two men were said to have died north of the capital in a landslide and weather-induced accident.
There is waist-deep flooding in parts of the capital.
Reporters described huge waves crashing into Manila Bay’s seawall, with water overflowing into Roxas Boulevard and flooding streets and parks around the US embassy, which was evacuated.
The ground floor of Manila hospital was flooded, and staff was forced to move patients to the first floor.
“We’ve heard of Manila Hospital being flooded, but we’re struggling to reach the area even though we’ve co-ordinated with them already to help in an evacuation plan,” Philippine National Red Cross secretary general Gwen Pang told AFP.
It was reported that a five-star hotel was also evacuated.
Thousands of residents living inland along the Marikana river were evacuated as it threatened to overflow.
Government offices, schools and universities were closed.
In Isabela province, four coastal towns under threat from storm surges have been evacuated.
Four fishermen are missing, and more than 50 more have been rescued after their boats capsized in rough seas.
There are fears that the death toll may rise further.
Late on Monday, the first reported casualty of Typhoon Nesat was a baby who fell into a swollen river in the eastern province of Catanduanes.
Earlier, about 110,000 people in several towns of the Albay province were ordered to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere.
“We can’t manage typhoons, but we can manage their effects,” provincial Governor Joey Salceda was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
The Philippines suffers frequent typhoons, about 20 a year, but Nesat is thought to be the largest this year.
Typhoon Nesat comes almost exactly two years after Typhoon Ketsana killed more than 400 people.
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Boeing 787 Dreamliner has a range of 10,000 miles, is far quieter than ordinary jets, and is constructed using a “moulding” process that has eliminated 1,500 aluminum sheets and 50,000 fasteners.
The much-delayed Boeing 787 Dreamliner is also three years late and has cost a reported $32 billion.
Aluminium has been the standard material used in aircraft for more than a century – even the Wright brothers’ famous first flight in 1903 used an aircraft made partially from the metal.
Now the “aluminium age” could be about to end – with the delivery of the first large-scale commercial aircraft made using 50% “composite materials” including plastics and carbon fibre.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner has a range of 10,000 miles, is far quieter than ordinary jets, and is constructed using a “moulding” process that has eliminated 1,500 aluminum sheets and 50,000 fasteners
Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner programme, said:
“It took a lot of hard work to get to this day.”
Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been much delayed – its maiden flight was delayed for more than two years – and will cost up to $200 million. The delays are reported to have cost maker Boeing more than $32 billion.
The new aircraft offers hi-tech entertainment with Android touchscreens built into every seat – even in Economy. The “composite” design – using mixed materials such as titanium and carbon fibre – is believed to have been a spur for rival Airbus to incorporate carbon fibre in future aircraft.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner seats 250-290 and offers increased comfort - the air inside is less dry than comparable jets, and First Class passengers will enjoy entertainment on 17-inch touchscreens
Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a blue and white-painted long-range aircraft, which boasts a graceful new design with raked wingtips and will leave for Japan on Tuesday and enter service domestically on October 26.
Boeing has taken orders for 821 Dreamliners, which will compete with the future Airbus A350, due in 2013.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the first airline to take delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliner - the first large-scale commercial jetliner to be built from composite materials, not aluminium
“It is simpler than today’s aeroplanes and offers increased functionality and efficiency,” says Boeing’s official description of the plane.
“The team has incorporated airplane health-monitoring systems that allow the airplane to self-monitor and report systems maintenance requirements to ground-based computer systems by itself.”
“You can tell the Dreamliner is special the moment you see it coming in to land,” says Jonathan Margolis, a technology specialist who saw one of its first test flights.
“The near silence is almost spooky. But the thing which struck me most when I saw it at the Farnborough Air Show was the obvious suppleness of the composite structure. You can clearly see the wings flexing. It almost looks like an Airfix kit.”
“Speaking to the pilot later, he confirmed that as a result of its ultra-light airframe, the 787 is exceptionally manoeuvrable and easy to fly precisely.”
Boeing abandoned plans for a sound barrier-chasing “Sonic Cruiser” 10 years ago and worked on lighter long-range jets as cash-starved airlines valued efficiency over speed. The comapny expects 787 Dreamliner to become the standard for future passenger planes.
Mike Sinnett, the 787 Dreamliner program’s chief project engineer, said:
“Technology will only get more efficient and lighter.
“The plane’s lighter weight allows airlines to operate routes even when the demand is insufficient for larger aircraft like the Boeing 777 or 747, or the Airbus 380 superjumbo.”
Scott Fancher added: “For aviation we believe this is as important as the 707 was with the introduction of the jet age.”
Fancher moved to head off any fears over the new materials, stressing the tough moulded composites used to create the aircraft were nothing like ordinary plastic.
“Plastic is what you have on the dashboard of your car. This is not plastic,” he told reporters.
One of the components that gives Boeing 787 Dreamliner its extraordinary range and fuel economy - 20 per cent less than other equivalent aircraft - are its engines, hi-tech new models made by Rolls Royce
Boeing 787 Dreamliner development program has been delayed seven times due to challenges with engineering, supply chain glitches and a 58-day labor strike in 2008.
“We have been waiting for the 787 for over 3 years as we expected it in the summer of 2008,” said senior vice president Satoru Fujiki who took part in negotiations to buy the 787.
“I can’t say the delayed delivery didn’t have any impact but ANA and Boeing worked closely to mitigate it,” Fujiki said, adding Boeing had provided alternative jets to meet the shortfall.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has ordered a total of 55 Dreamliners worth $11 billion at current list prices, including 40 of the 260-passenger 787-8 variant being delivered this week.
ANA plans to take delivery of four planes in 2011 and an additional eight next year.
The Seattle Times reported on Sunday that Boeing 787 program costs had topped $32 billion due to delays. That estimate raised questions, the newspaper said, over whether the new jet would make money for Boeing before “well into the 2020s, if ever.” Boeing declined comment on the claims.
Analysts say new jets typically cost closer to $15 billion.
Boeing also faces Wall Street concerns over its ability to reach its target of lifting output to 10 planes a month by 2013.
The delivery comes as Boeing remains locked in a dispute with one of its top labor unions in Washington state, where it has traditionally built its aircraft.
The International Association of Machinists and the National Labor Relations Board accuse Boeing of building a non-union 787 plant in South Carolina to punish the IAM for past strikes.
Boeing denies that claim, saying the jobs in South Carolina represent new employment, not the relocation of existing work.
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BOEING 787 DREAMLINER SPEC
Seats: 210 to 250 passengers
Range: 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles
Wing span: 197 ft (60m)
Length: 186 ft (57m)
Height: 56 ft (17m)
Cruise speed: (Mach 0.85)
Total cargo volume: 4,400 cubic feet
Sleepbox is the first temporary bedroom which can be rented out for half-hour periods and was just introduced into Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.
Sleepbox will allow travellers to get a light kip if their planes are delayed.
The specially equipped boxes, which work as mobile bedrooms have been created by Russian architecture company the Arch Group.
Sleepbox is the first temporary bedroom which can be rented out for half-hour periods and was just introduced into Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow
The first Sleepbox, which can be rented out for half-hour periods, have been installed at the Aeroexpress terminal of Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.
Sleepbox represents the basic version made of MDF with a natural ash-wood veneer.
The mobile bedroom measures 2.5m by 1.6m with a height of between 2.5m and 3m.
In addition to general lighting, Sleepbox has built-in LED reading lamps while windows are equipped with electric-drive blinds for privacy
Sleepbox standard features include ventilation and sockets for notebook and mobile phone chargers.
The special container has also space for luggage under the beds which each come with a nightstand.
In addition to general lighting, Sleepbox has built-in LED reading lamps while windows are equipped with electric-drive blinds for privacy.
Sleepbox options include matted film on windows; mood lighting LED lamps with changing light colours; built-in TV and touch-screen monitor; wi-fi router; alarm; intercom and safe deposit box.
One of Sleepbox main advantages is its ability to be installed in the airport passenger areas where travellers have to spend hours waiting for their delayed flights or a transfer.
Sleepbox standard features include ventilation and sockets for notebook and mobile phone chargers
A spokesman for the architecture company Arch Group said:
“Imagine the situation where you are in a modern city, you are not a local resident, and you have not booked a hotel.
“It is not a comfortable situation because modern aggressive cities give you no opportunity to rest and relax. If you want to sleep while waiting for your plane or train, you face many security and hygiene problems.
“We believe that urban infrastructure should be more comfortable. For this purpose we have developed Sleepbox.
“It provides moments of quiet sleep and rest without wasting time in search for a hotel.”
Referring to the first Sleepbox installed in Moscow, the spokesman added:
“This Sleepbox has attracted such a great deal of interest from passengers and big companies that the chances are first commercially-operated boxes will be installed at airports and in the city by the end of this year.”
Other possible locations for Sleepbox would include railway stations, exhibition centres and shopping centres.
In countries with a warm climate, Sleepbox can be used outdoors.
Arch Group spokesman continued:
“It allows everybody in unforeseen circumstances to spend a night safely and inexpensively or simply to kill a few hours without leaving the luggage.
“Currently we offer one, two, or three-bed Sleepboxes, which can be made of MDF, metal, and glass-reinforced plastic.
“The price varies depending on the number of hours in use: the more the user pays for, the less it costs per hour.”
The powerful typhoon Roke has struck disaster-ravaged Japan, bringing heavy rains and floods that have killed four people.
Typhoon Roke is in progress to hit Fukushima, where engineers are still struggling to bring a nuclear plant under control after the March tsunami, with strong concerns that rain could force radioactive water into the sea.
More than a million people were urged to evacuate their homes across Japan; an advisory was later lifted in one area but 330,000 people remain at risk.
More than a million people were urged to evacuate their homes after typhoon Roke hit Japan
Typhoon Roke made landfall on Wednesday afternoon (05:00 GMT), scouring its way up the main island of Honshu, bringing high winds and torrential rain.
Typhoon is tracking a path across Tokyo towards Fukushima prefecture and is then expected to travel up along the north-east coast, which was battered by the 11 March earthquake and tsunami.
Four people have been found dead after heavy rain and flooding in central and western Japan due to the storm’s approach and another two are missing in the central prefecture of Gifu, including a nine-year-old boy.
Hundreds of flights are cancelled and several motorways have been closed.
Toyota, the car maker is suspending production at 11 of its 15 factories.
According to Japan’s Meteorological Agency, “the highest level of caution be used because of the heavy rain, strong wind, and high waves.”
The meteorological agency has also warned of downpours over a wide area of the country on Wednesday, saying some places could be deluged by as much as 50 mm of rain in an hour.
It is the second time in less than a month that Japan is being hit by a typhoon. Typhoon Talas ripped through the west of the country, leaving about 90 people dead or missing.
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