Civil aviation

Low-cost company Wizz Air, the leading carrier operating from Sofia Airport, has announced as a precedent that all passengers who have bought a ticket to its destination have asked to fly. Yesterday, the company commented in an official statement about the problem involving dozens of passengers who were taken off their plane or not even boarded.

A United Nations agency has launched an effort to craft global guidance for the use of laptops and other portable electronics in passenger aircraft cabins after selective bans by the United States and Britain upset airline passengers as well as Middle Eastern carriers.

Turkish Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines have agreed to expand their codeshare cooperation, including new routes, as of Feb. 1, Turkey's national flag carrier said in a statement on Jan. 26.

Airline passengers in Turkey will be entitled to compensation when their flight is canceled or delayed by more than three hours, according to a newly launched website, ucakgecikmeleri.com. On average, it is estimated that airline passengers in Turkey are able to claim over 7 million Turkish Liras on a daily basis, equaling more than 2.5 billion liras a year, it said.

Air-traffic controllers were to begin rolling 24-hour strikes on Sunday, with the action expected to ground flights on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Passengers scheduled to travel should contact their airlines.

Air-traffic controllers are to begin four 24-hour rolling strikes on Sunday to protest the draft law regarding changes to the Civil Aviation Authority. The strike is expected to mean no flights in or out of Greece for four days.

Olympic Air on Monday announced the cancellation of eight domestic flights scheduled for Tuesday due to a walkout by Civil Aviation Authority Staff.

The affected flights are between Athens and the islands of Paros, Rhodes, Kastellorizo and Karpathos.

For further details, travelers should telephone 801 801 0101.

Ombudsman says police are registering young refugees with adults they do not know to skirt ban on detaining unaccompanied minors.
 

A Virgin Atlantic flight bound for New York has returned to London's Heathrow Airport after a laser was beamed into the cockpit.
     
The airline said in a statement Monday that flight VS025 decided to return to Heathrow rather than making the trans-Atlantic crossing. Passengers were offered overnight accommodation and the airline apologized for any inconvenience.
     

The aviation industry is still struggling to gain better access to information on conflict zones, more than a year after the downing of a passenger plane over eastern Ukraine last year.