Airlines cut more than half of their normal flight schedules at Paris's two main airports Orly and Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, with many flights in the southern city of Marseille also grounded. Short and medium-haul flights were the worst affected, while long-haul services faced the least disruption.
European aviation giant Airbus posted a 28 percent increase in first-quarter profit Thursday through rising deliveries and production, a day after arch-rival Boeing reported a loss. Airbus' rising profit contrasts with its American rival Boeing, which Wednesday reported a first-quarter loss of USD 343 million, reflecting recent safety troubles that have slowed production and deliveries.
Capital A, which is led by mogul Tony Fernandes and includes a logistics business and digital payment Bigpay, said in January it would sell its budget airline AirAsia to its medium-haul affiliate AirAsia X. The deal announced on Friday will include another affiliate, AirAsia Aviation Group, in that sale.
Construction of the mesh net -- 2.5 metres (8 feet) high and the length of a cricket pitch at 20 metres -- will begin as early as next week, an official from Fujikawaguchiko town said Friday. "It's regrettable we have to do this, because of some tourists who can't respect rules," leaving litter behind and ignoring traffic regulations, he told AFP.
Visitors entering the UNESCO World Heritage site for the day will have to buy a five-euro (USD 5.3) ticket, with inspectors carrying out spot checks at key entry points. Considered one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, Venice is one of the world's top tourist destinations -- but is drowning under the weight of the crowds.
In Paris around 75 percent of flights at Orly and 55 percent at Charles de Gaulle airport will be dropped Thursday, the DGAC civil aviation authority told airlines in a notification seen by AFP on Wednesday. Around 65 per cent of services at Marseille airport and 45 per cent elsewhere in France will also be cancelled, it added. The impact is expected to be similar to the cancellations expected when the strike was still going ahead.
A total of 18.5 million passengers travelled through one of the world's busiest hubs in the first three months of the year, Heathrow said in a statement. "Reflecting the strong performance, our 2024 passenger outlook has been bumped up to 82.4 million," it added. Heathrow last year hosted 79.2 million passengers.
Boeing said it tempered production in the 737 program following a January near-catastrophic incident on an Alaska Airlines jet that has sparked heavy scrutiny from Washington and among Boeing's airline customers. "Our first quarter results reflect the immediate actions we've taken to slow down 737 production to drive improvements in quality," said Chief Executive Dave Calhoun, who will step down at the end of 2024.
European tourist hotspots like Amsterdam and Venice, which introduces new measures on Thursday, are on a crusade to deal with surging visitor numbers. On Thursday, it will start charging day trippers for entry. Day visitors will have to buy a five-euro (USD 5.3) ticket, monitored by inspectors carrying out spot checks at key points across the UNESCO world heritage site.
The USD 150 million Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth Project (REGROW) was set up with the aim of improving the management of natural resources and tourism assets in southern Tanzania, according to the World Bank. But the Oakland Institute, a US-based think tank, raised allegations last year of forced evictions and rights abuses against communities living near Ruaha national park, which the government is planning to expand as part of the scheme.
Some 1,244 flights were cancelled and 41 diverted on Tuesday and Wednesday, after torrential rains flooded the Middle East financial centre including its runways and highways. Traffic congestion remained severe on Thursday, two days after the storms, with at least one major highway completely blocked by water and multiple other junctions and routes also cut off by flooding.
Get updates on your preferred social platform
Follow us for the latest news, insider access to events and more.
