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.

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.

Scottish airspace reopened at 7:00 this morning, however, this is expected to be a small window of opportunity for flights as the volcano eruption in Iceland has strengthened and a new ash cloud is spreading south and east towards the UK.

A limited number of Scottish flights are operating and passengers are being advised to check the status of their flights with their airlines before travelling to the airport.

NATS is advising that the restrictions on UK controlled airspace will remain in place until 07:00 tomorrow, 20 April 2010.

However, based on current ash levels, and no further ‘significant ash emissions’, NATS is predicting that from 07:00 20 April, Scottish airspace and South to a line between Teesside and Blackpool will reopen.

A further announcement is expected at 21:00 today.

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.

British Airways has announced it is to increase its flight schedules for the second period of strike action that is scheduled to take place from 27 – 30 March.

Gatwick
The airline now plans to run a full service from Gatwick using its own aircraft.

Heathrow
BA aims to operate up to 55 % of its shorthaul and 70% of its longhaul flights. BA will be hiring in up to 11 aircraft each day with their own pilots and cabin crew to supplement services

London City Airport
Flights to and from London City Airport will be unaffected by strike action

Subsidiary, franchise, alliance and codeshare flights
All flights operated by subsidiary, franchise, alliance and codeshare partners will operate.

For more information on BA’s flight schedule and to check the status of your flight go to www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot/public/en_gb?refevent=HOME_URGENT_CENTRE

Edinburgh Airport passengers will once again be able to fly to Barcelona after Spanair announced it is to launch a new service in May.

Flights between Edinburgh and Barcelona ceased with the collapse of Flyglobespan last year, however, Spanair has now stepped in to resume the service and increase frequency on the previous service.

Edinburgh flights to Barcelona will commence on 21 May 2010 and operate five times per week – Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

British Airways has published contingency plans which will enable it to operate around 60% of its flights should the planed strike action of 20, 21, 22 March go ahead.

Announced details for the first period of strike action:

Gatwick
The airline plans to operate all long-haul flights to and from Gatwick and more than 50% of its Gatwick short-haul flights.

London City Airport
All flights operating to and from London City Airport will be unaffected by any strike action.

Heathrow
The airline expects to operate more than 60% of its long-haul flights to and from the airport and some of its short-haul flights – around 30% will operate by the airline supplemented by the leasing of aircraft and crew from other airlines.

For up-to-date information on BA’s plans, BA’s customer helpline and rebooking advice check out the following link: www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot-faq/public/en_gb

Following prolonged discussions between the Unite Union, which represents most of BA’s cabin crew, and British Airways the union has announced it intends to strike on the following dates:

20, 21 and 22 March 2010
27, 28, 29 and 30 March 2010

In response to the announcement, British Airways has stated that it “will do everything we can to protect our customers’ travel plans as far as possible” in the event that the union representing its flight attendants goes ahead with strikes it has called for. The airline plans to operate a range of services and not all its flights will be cancelled.

Flights operated by British Airway’s franchise, codeshare or alliance partners are unaffected.

An announcement of flight schedules during the industrial action is expected shortly, in the meantime further information of the current situation can be found here: www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot/public/en_gb

The airline has stopped selling tickets on all flights operating during the proposed strike dates.