Three people have been arrested by Sussex Police after directing lasers at two aircraft this weekend.

The first aircraft to be attacked by the lasers was a Flybe plane as it came into land at 9.30pm on Saturday evening. The second was the Police helicopter that was called in to assist after the original attack.

The helicopter used its thermal imaging cameras to assist ground police in citing the location of the laser attacks.

Police were lead to Gerard Crescent in Bitterne, where two youths, aged 17, were arrested for the Flybe incident.

On the same evening a further man, aged 20, was arrested in Old Farm Drive, also in Bitterne, for shinning a laser gun at the police helicopter.

All three were arrested with recklessly endangering aircraft contrary to the Aviation Act 2005 – the two 17 year olds were referred to the Youth Offending Team and the 20 year old received a caution.

Eastern Airways is extending its summer service from Southampton Airport to Dijon until the end of October to meet demand.

The three-times-a-week Dijon service was introduced in June and was scheduled to end on 30 September. However, due to the popularity of the flights, flights have been extended until 28 October 2011.

Kay Ryan, Eastern Airways’ commercial director, said: “We introduced the new seasonal service from Southampton as part of our wider development plans in Dijon providing an international link to the south of England. Flights have proved popular over the summer season and we’ve taken a decision to extend the service with it now running until the end of October. These services will then be reintroduced in April 2012.”

Flight times:

Mondays: flights depart Southampton at 12.50pm, arriving in Dijon at 3.40pm. Services leave Dijon at 11.30am and arrive in Southampton at 12.20pm.

Fridays: flights depart Southampton at 1.50pm, landing in Dijon at 4.40pm. Services leave Dijon at 12.30pm and arrive in Southampton at 1.20pm.

Sunday: flights depar Southampton at 1.40pm, arriving at 4.30pm local time. Flights leave Dijon at 12.10pm and land in Southampton at 1.10pm.

All local times.

Eastern Airways is set to increase services between Southampton and Aberdeen.

From 5 September 2011, an additional weekday service will be introduced offering up to three daily flights each weekday. The Sunday service will also continue.

Weekday flight times:

From Southampton
Monday: flights will depart at 6:50, 11:20, 18:45
Tuesday – Thursday: 9:05, 14:10, 18:45
Friday: 9:05, 16:35

From Aberdeen
Monday: 9:05, 16:30
Tuesday – Thursday: 6:50, 11:50, 16:30
Friday: 6:50, 14:15, 18:55

Flights between Southampton Airport and Durham Tees Valley Airport are set to end in September, the Northern Echo reports.

The Southampton flights, operated by Eastern Airways, will cease on Friday 2 September, nearly two years after the service began.

Eastern Airways will still maintain a presence at the airport with its four-flights-a-day service to Aberdeen.

The Air Travel Advisory Bureau (ATAB) is teaming up with law firm Barker Gillette to launch a coordinated legal claim against UK airlines that have not refunded Air Passenger Duty (APD) to passengers who have booked flights and not flown.

Since the tax was introduced in 1994, ATAB estimates that consumers have lost out on millions of pounds in un-refunded APD. In fact, Which? Estimated that in 2003 alone Ryanair retained more than £5 million in un-refunded taxes.

ATAB Chairman, Tony White said, “It is a scandal that some airlines hang on to this money. It never belonged to them. It’s a tax collected on the behalf of the Government. With a couple of exceptions, most of the UK airlines make it as difficult as possible to get your money back. If you don’t actually fly, for whatever reason, you are entitled to get the APD refunded. The airlines already have your credit card details, they should refund your card immediately. They make it difficult or expensive in the hope that you’ll go away – and most people do just that”.

“It is truly shocking, we’ve found some airlines that will charge an “administration fee” greater than the value of the refund. This is a complete rip-off and it’s our intention to put an end to it. If you have booked an airline ticket out of the UK anytime since 1994, and not flown, then we want to hear from you” said White.

For more information in reclaiming APD on unused flights visit www.atab.org.uk/action-now/reclaim-your-taxes/

Southampton Airport has unveiled two brand new fire service vehicles, putting the Hampshire airport at the cutting-edge of fire safety technology across UK airports.

The two Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 vehicles are specialist fire engines specifically designed for airport use, and were built in Austria. The Panthers have a lifespan of around 20 years, and represent an investment of over 1million Euros by Southampton Airport.

The vehicles weigh 35 tonnes each carrying a combination of water (capacity 12,791 litres), specialist foam (capacity 1,583 litres) and a whole variety of vital safety equipment. The Panthers are capable of travelling up to 50mph, which is crucial in enabling the highly-trained crew to be at any airport location within three minutes of an emergency call. The vehicles use Euro three Caterpillar C18 diesel engines, which meet strict European environmental standards, and are more efficient than the 20 year old vehicles they replace. Other new technological benefits include; infrared to help with locating objects in reduced visibility (i.e. fog), 80m hose reels, cab operated foam monitors which can be used whilst in motion, as well as better acceleration and top speeds.

It’s official, BAA must sell two of its UK airports: Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow, after the Competition Commission (CC) today announced its final ruling after its provisional view was published in March.

BAA, which sold Gatwick Airport in 2009, will now have three months before the Stansted sales process begins, or sooner if it accepts the ruling – Stansted is to be sold first as it handles more passengers than either of Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports.

Today’s announcement marks the possible end of a long-running battle between the CC and BAA, which started in March 2009 when the CC ordered the sale of three BAA airports. BAA appealed, and in December 2009 the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) found that BAA’s application for review was successful on one ground. The CC then appealed against the CAT’s decision and the Court of Appeal upheld the CC’s Appeal and the original findings of the CC’s report were restored. In February 2011, the Supreme Court refused to grant BAA permission to another appeal.

Chairman of the BAA Remedies Implementation Group, Peter Freeman, said: “We hope that the sales can now proceed without delay so that passengers and airlines can start to enjoy the benefits of greater competition.

“Our report has been challenged, reviewed and upheld and it is clear that the original decision to require BAA to divest three airports remains the right one for customers. “It has been a long process whilst BAA has challenged the decision—quite understandably given its significance. However, both we and the courts have now exhaustively re-examined the case for the sales and found it to be sound so there are no grounds for delaying further.”

In response to the ruling, BAA Chief Executive Colin Matthews said: “We are dismayed that the Competition Commission’s final decision still requires BAA to sell Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport. The Competition Commission has not recognised that the world and BAA have changed. This decision would damage our company which is investing strongly in UK jobs and growth. We have a responsibility to protect our shareholders’ investment and we will now consider a judicial review of the Competition Commission’s decision.”

A campaign to persuade the Chancellor to drop planned hikes in the tax levied on all flights leaving the UK was launched last Monday at airports across the country as a new poll is released showing 3 out of 4 people think that Air Passenger Duty (APD) should not go up in the next Budget. Of those saying APD should not go up 49 per cent said APD should be reduced. Only 6 per cent said APD should be increased.

The Chancellor announced in this year’s Budget that APD will rise by double inflation in 2012.

The ‘Hands off our Holiday’ campaign, backed by the Airport Operators Association (AOA), Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR-UK), and the British Air Transport Association (BATA) is urging people to email their MP via the website www.handsoffourholiday.com and to tweet their support for the hikes to be abandoned using the hashtag #handsoffourhols.

The poll, carried out by Opinium Research for the Hands off our Holiday campaign also shows that nearly 4 out of 5 people were unaware of the plans to further increase the tax by double inflation.

Commenting on the campaign, Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the AOA, said: “Our message to the Chancellor is that enough is enough. Air Passenger Duty has already gone up by 325% on long haul flights and 140% on short haul flights in the last five years. Family finances are under great pressure at the moment and most people save hard all year for their holiday. Working families deserve a break.”

Mike Carrivick, Chief Executive of BAR-UK, added: “The UK already has the highest rate of flight tax in the world. Why should families be discriminated against for wanting to fly off on a hard-earned break once a year?”

Simon Buck, Chief Executive of BATA said: “The government already takes nearly £3bn in tax from passengers. This is more than the tax on the banking industry. Most people simply aren’t aware how much flight tax they pay. The government should come clean about this stealth tax and drop the hikes planned for next year.”

Southampton Airport has armed its dedicated team of Airport Ambassadors with iPads to take customer service to the next level.

The Airport Ambassadors assist passengers with hundreds of enquiries each day and are now able to use the iPad to answer almost any questions put to them: from the time of the next train, the weather at their destination, cruise ship information, and even translating brochures into foreign languages.

Neil Garwood, Head of Customer Service for Southampton Airport, said: “Our team of Airport Ambassadors are specially trained to help with passenger enquiries right across the airport, rather than from behind a desk. We wanted to continue to develop the friendly service that the airport is well known for, and so we needed to be able to provide the latest up-to-date information, whilst on the move. The iPad is the ideal tool for this, and the larger screen means the information can be shared more easily too.”

Business leaders from across Hampshire have joined together at Southampton Airport to unveil a series of new ‘Breeze Priority’ services, ideal for the time-conscious business traveller before they fly across Europe.

The new services are optional upgrades available to all passengers to pre-book online, and aim to make their airport experience even easier and faster. The services were trialled by guests from the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Business Southampton, Hampshire Fare and Amity World Business Travel and include;

Breeze Priority Parking
Passengers can now opt to upgrade their Southampton airport parking by pre-booking a space in the new Breeze Priority Parking area. The special wider parking bays are on the ground floor of the short stay car park, located as close to the terminal as possible. By pre-booking, passengers can gain access to the car park automatically and arrive for check-in from as little as 60 seconds later. The service costs from £28.70 per day. As part of the service passengers will also receive access for up to two people to the Breeze Priority Security service.

Breeze Priority Security
Breeze Priority Security allows passengers to proceed to the security search area through a dedicated entrance to complete security screening that bit more swiftly. This is available when airport car parking is purchased for just an additional £5 (for up to two people).

Breeze Priority Lounge
The newly-opened ‘Breeze Priority Executive Lounge’ is available to all departing passengers. The facility costs £17.50 per person and includes: Breeze Priority Security access, comfortable seating, laptop and mobile phone charge points, complementary WiFi, flight information screens, as well as a selection of high quality locally produced refreshments.

Spitfire Meeting facilities
Southampton Airport’s new meeting room, the Spitfire Meeting Room, can be used pre or post flight, or for day to day meetings from £30. The room holds around 20 people and includes the latest technology such as a SMART Board and free WiFi access. Complimentary parking is also provided for all delegates.

Dave Lees, Southampton Airport’s Managing Director said: “The new services unveiled at Southampton Airport are available to all passengers as an optional upgrade. These will be of particular interest to business passengers where time is of the essence and where a quiet space to work on those all important deadlines or hold meetings can really make a difference. Around 40% of our passengers use the airport for business journeys and so we wanted business leaders from across the Hampshire region to be among the first the sample the complete set of services now available.”