Airport News - Europe.

For more airport news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm Aug 21, 2006

Amsterdam Schiphol

Amsterdam Needs Time To Move On Airport Stake Sale. Amsterdam, which has veto power over the privatization of airport operator Schiphol Group, says it will not decide on the issue until late September, sharply curtailing the time the current government has to sell a stake in the firm. Aug 16, 2006

London airports

London airport operations near normalcy as Home Office, AEA weigh in. Traffic at the main London airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, suffered a sixth consecutive day of disruptions yesterday, although the number of cancellations declined.The majority of flights at LHR were delayed, with the situation improving in late afternoon. Aug 17, 2006

London airports operator BAA came under further attack for its handling of the security crisis--highlighted by reports that a 12-year-old boy boarded a Monarch Airlines flight Monday at LGW without a ticket, boarding pass or passport--Secretary of State for the Home Office John Reid stressed that although delays caused by restrictions on flights were to be regretted, the alternative could be loss of life. EU interior ministers discussed practical measures to combat the terrorist threat, among them how to tackle the threat of explosives, including liquids, and coordinating transport security. Aug 17, 2006

Operations at London airports recovering but problems persist. Airlines operating from London Heathrow and Gatwick airports faced fewer cancellations and improved punctuality Tuesday after BAA relaxed hand luggage restrictions one day later than at most other UK airports, but carriers still complained about delays and long security lines and faulted the airport operator's response to the crisis. Aug 16, 2006

IATA Says London[sup.1]s BAA Must Plan To Avoid Chaos. Airports operator BAA must ensure it has adequate contingency plans to deal with emergency security checks to avoid a repeat of the chaos at Heathrow, the International Air Transport Association said. Aug 16, 2006

London airport[sup.1]s BAA announced it would not be able to implement the policy changes at LHR and LGW until 4:30 a.m. local time today. They went into effect at midday yesterday at STN, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton. Aug 15, 2006

London airport[sup.1]s BAA[sup.1]s decision to make carriers reduce flying in light of security backups infuriated British Airways and Ryanair. "We are ready and able to operate a full schedule at London Heathrow," BA CEO Willie Walsh said. "However, BAA is unable to provide a robust security search process and baggage operation at [LHR] and as a result we are being forced to cancel flights and operate others from Heathrow without all the passengers onboard." Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary called on the UK government to its scale 100% body search requirement back to its normal 25% "immediately." Aug 15, 2006

London airports remain sticky as airlines fume at BAA flight restrictions. Expectations that air travel out of the UK was returning to normal over the past weekend proved premature as operations remained disjointed for a fifth consecutive day, particularly at London-area airports where BAA took the draconian step over the weekend of ordering airlines to slash their schedules by 30% to reduce crowding; it later reduced the figure to 20% for Monday and today. British Airways cancelled more than 80 Heathrow flights Sunday and a further 44 Monday, as well as 26 domestic flights from Gatwick. EasyJet separately said it cancelled a total of 34 flights at Stansted, Luton and Gatwick. Ryanair did not provide a figure for flight cancellations. Aug 15, 2006

London Stansted

Ground Handlers To Strike At London Stansted. Five hundred handling staff at London's Stansted Airport have voted to strike on the August public holiday weekend in a dispute over pay with their employer Swissport, the GMB union said on Friday. Aug 18, 2006

Vienna International Airport 

Consortium TwoOne, led by Vienna International Airport operator Flughafen Wien, said the Slovak government canceled its plans to acquire two-thirds of Bratislava Airport for a reported SKK10.5 billion ($356.5 million) following an announcement by competition authorities that they would delay their expected approval of the deal until October. Aug 17, 2006