bmi press release:

bmi, British Midland International, is flying its full international schedule today (Thursday 22 April) – the first British airline to achieve this, just one day after UK airspace reopened.

The airline, the second largest carrier at London Heathrow, is also operating additional flights to and from key Middle East destinations to help repatriate stranded customers.

The majority of bmi’s UK and Ireland flight programme will operate today. Flights between London Heathrow and all bmi’s UK and Ireland destinations (Aberdeen, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester) will help UK customers and businesses get back to business as usual. bmi was the first airline to restore flights between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and UK mainland yesterday.

The airline will be operating its normal schedule tomorrow (Friday 23 April) and over the weekend.

bmi restarted its flights yesterday morning, with the departure of a flight from London Heathrow to Cairo. More than 60 flights were operated yesterday, bringing a substantial number of customers home.

Safety is, and continues to be, bmi’s number one priority and the planned schedules may be subject to change. Customers are advised to check their individual flight status at www.flybmi.com before leaving for the airport.

Customers whose flights were cancelled in the last seven days should contact bmi’s call centre to rebook their flights on 0844 8484 888 (UK) or (01) 4073036 (Ireland). Customers whose flights were cancelled are entitled to a full refund or can rebook within three weeks of original departure date, for travel within two months. Normal refund conditions apply.

In addition any customers travelling between London Heathrow and Middle East, African and Russia/CIS destinations in the next seven days can defer their flights at no extra charge to free up seats for stranded customers. Customers on these routes wishing to change their flights can rebook to the same destination, with outbound travel to commence by Friday 21 May 2010. Normal refund conditions apply.

Finally bmi, British Midland International, would like to thank all its customers for their patience over the last eight days and looks forward to welcoming them back onboard.

Following the lifting of airspace restrictions over UK airspace at 10pm on Tuesday, Manx2.com recommenced full operations at 07:20 yesterday with its scheduled Blackpool departure.

Since the restrictions on flying over much of the UK were imposed last Thursday, Manx2.com has maintained the Island’s essential airlinks flying a total of 77 flights between the Isle of Man and the two adjacent Islands, with at least two flights a day to Belfast and a high frequency shuttle service to Blackpool.

The UK CAA has imposed new restrictions on operating into potential ash cloud areas but Chairman of Manx2.com, Noel Hayes, explains that Manx2.com is already meeting the new CAA requirements.

He said: “When the shutters came down on Sunday and prevented all flying from the Isle of Man, we realised we had to do something to keep lifeline airlinks open for the Island. So, in consultation with Brian Johnson and Hartley Elder at the IOM CAA, we put in place a protocol to enable low level flights to continue safely. This involved us conducting detailed risk assessments before flight, an enhanced maintenance and check programme on our aircraft and a strict reporting procedure. I’m reassured that nearly 72 hours after we implemented this procedure at Manx2.com.com, the UK CAA has required all UK airlines to do the same.

“I’m also pleased to report that having conducted 77 flights since the ash threat started, our detailed checks and examinations, including borescope engine inspections, have shown no evidence of any low-level ash contamination in our operational area around the Island. We will be passing all our findings to NATS and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre to help their future analysis of the situation.

“I’d like to particularly thank our airport partners at Ronaldsway, Blackpool and Belfast who remained open for our flights over the last five days, the IOM CAA for their 24/7 help and advice and my team at Manx2.com, who have been working incredibly hard to maintain connectivity with England and Ireland. I’m sure over the coming months many lessons will be learnt from the enormous disruption of the last five days. I hope that amongst that analysis, the Isle of Man Government will stop and reassess whether its ‘open skies’ competition policy is the best way to protect its lifeline airlinks to deal with such occurrences in the future.”

To book Belfast airport parking and Belfast hotels click on the links.

Jet2.com has temporarily suspended online check-in until 1 May 2010 for all UK bound flights.

Any passengers who have already checked-in online, will need to go to the check-in desk at the airport to receive new boarding cards.

All passengers who have not yet checked-in online shouldn’t, instead they need to check-in at the airport.

bmi, British Midland International, is increasing its flights out of London Heathrow today (Thursday 22 April), with more than 90 per cent of international flights and 50 per cent of domestic flights due to operate.

bmi resumed its services out of London Heathrow yesterday morning when the BD771 departed at 0947 for Cairo. This was the first flight since the cloud of volcanic ash started to affect UK airspace a week ago. A phased reintroduction of international and domestic flights has followed throughout today, with 60 per cent of the usual number of flights operating.

Safety is, and continues to be, bmi’s number one priority and the planned schedule for Thursday 22 April may be subject to change throughout the day so customers are advised to check their individual flight status on our website, flybmi.com, before leaving for the airport.

Customers should only travel to the airport if they have a confirmed flight booking. Customers whose flights were cancelled in the last seven days should contact bmi’s call centre to rebook their flights on 0844 8484 888 (UK) or (01) 4073036 (Ireland). Customers whose flights were cancelled are entitled to a full refund or can rebook within three weeks of original departure date, for travel within two months. Normal refund conditions apply.

In addition any customers travelling between London Heathrow and Middle East, African and Russia/CIS destinations in the next seven days can defer their flights at no extra charge to free up seats for stranded customers. Customers on these routes wishing to change their flights can rebook to the same destination, with outbound travel to commence by Friday 21 May 2010. Normal refund conditions apply.

Finally bmi, British Midland International, would like to thank all its customers for their patience over the last seven days and looks forward to welcoming them back onboard.

Statement received from bmi

Statement 13 21 April 2010 0100 BST UPDATE

bmi plans to operate flights from 09:00 (UK time) on Wednesday 21 April

bmi, British Midland International, plans a phased reintroduction of its international and domestic flights to and from London Heathrow, following the reopening of UK airspace by the aviation authorities last night. Safety is, and continues to be, bmi’s number one priority and the planned schedule for Wednesday 21 April may be subject to change throughout the day so customers are advised to check their individual flight status on our website, flybmi.com, before leaving for the airport.

bmi plans to operate flights between London Heathrow and all its UK and Ireland destinations (Aberdeen, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester) to help UK customers and businesses get back to business as usual. A reduced schedule will operate on Wednesday 21 April, while additional aircraft are sent to international destinations to rescue stranded customers.

bmi regional plans to operate regional services between Edinburgh-Aberdeen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Leeds Bradford and Manchester; as well as services between Aberdeen-Birmingham, Manchester and Norwich; and Brussels-East Midlands and Leeds Bradford; and Glasgow-Leeds.

Internationally bmi plans to operate flights between London Heathrow and Addis Ababa, Amman, Baku, Beirut, Berlin, Cairo, Damascus, Freetown, Hannover, Jeddah, Moscow, Riyadh, Tbilisi, Tehran, Vienna and Yerevan. While some flights will operate outside the usual schedule, bmi hopes to operate 75% of its international flights to normal schedule.

Customers should only travel to the airport if they have a confirmed flight booking. Customers whose flights were cancelled in the last six days should contact bmi’s call centre to rebook their flights on 0844 8484 888 (UK) or (01) 4073036 (Ireland). Customers whose flights were cancelled are entitled to a full refund or can rebook within three weeks of original departure date, for travel within two months. Normal refund conditions apply.

In addition any customers travelling between London Heathrow and Middle East, African and Russia/CIS destinations in the next seven days can defer their flights at no extra charge to free up seats for stranded customers. Customers on these routes wishing to change their flights can rebook to the same destination, with outbound travel to commence by Friday 21 May 2010. Normal refund conditions apply.

Finally bmi, British Midland International, would like to thank all its customers for their patience over the last six days and looks forward to welcoming them back onboard.

To search for and compare Heathrow airport parking and Heathrow airport hotels click on the links.

Manx2.com has announced it is to operate flights to Blackpool and Belfast from 13:00 hours today.

Due to the size of their planes Manx2.com planes are able to fly at much lower altitudes .

To book Belfast airport parking and Belfast hotels click on the links.

Due to the volcanic ash cloud UK controlled airspace is to remain closed until at least 01:00 hours on Tuesday 20 April (local time).

The next update on restrictions is expected around 15:00 hours today.

The UK Border Agency is warning that travellers passing through UK ports could face possible delays and disruption due to strike action by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).

The strike action is taking place on Monday 8 March and Tuesday 9 March.

Lin Homer, the Border Agency’s Chief Executive, said: ‘We are disappointed that PCS members have voted in favour of industrial action. It means that the travelling public are likely to suffer disruption and delays at border control as a result of this two-day action.

‘We have robust plans in place to ensure that the essential work of the UK Border Agency is maintained and the border remains secure. UK border security will not be compromised by this industrial action.

‘We expect that people travelling into the country may experience some delays at border control, but we will work hard to keep these to a minimum and hope that passengers will welcome the commitment of those staff who will be working despite the strike action to ensure they are seen as quickly as possible.

BAA is advising passengers to have their travel documents, including passports, ready and to use automatic e-passport gates where available.

Belfast International Airport is advising passengers of the forthcoming road closure of the A57 at Templepatrick.

The road will be closed on A57 Ballyrobin Road at the Railway Level Crossing near Templepatrick between the hours of 18:00 on Saturday 20th February and 06:00 on Monday 22nd February 2010.

Diversions for vehicles travelling to and from the airport will be in place:

Large vehicles
To avoid the low bridge on the Oldstone Road at Muckamore, large vehicles will be diverted along the Dublin Road into Antrim for the duration of the closure in order to

Cars / smaller vehicles
Diverted from the A26 roundabout towards Antrim on the Oldstone Road, then along the A6 Belfast Road towards Templepatrick.

To book Belfast airport parking and Belfast hotels click on the links.

Thomas Cook has become the first charter airline to introduce online check-in at Belfast International Airport.

Passengers flying with Thomas Cook Airlines can also check-in online for flights departing from Gatwick, Stansted, Bristol, Leeds and Newcastle airports – more UK airports are expected to be added shortly.

Passengers can opt to use airport check-in if they prefer.

To book Belfast airport parking and Belfast hotels click on the links.