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Turkish Airlines has confirmed it will purchase ten Airbus A321s and three A330-200F freighter aircraft as it seeks to expand its international operations.

In total the airline – which was last year recognised by the World Travel Awards as offering Europe’s Leading Airline Business Class – has 40 aircraft on order with the manufacturer following deals in 2009 and 2010.

“To achieve our ambitious expansion plans in a sustainable and profitable manner, we require a reliable and efficient fleet,” said Temel Kotil, chief executive of Turkish Airlines.

“Our positive experience with our in service A320 fleet and the outstanding flexibility and efficiency demonstrated by our A330-200F since it entered service last year made these repeat orders the logical choice for our growth.”

The new aircraft will join Turkish Airlines’ existing fleet of 75 Airbus aircraft, including four A310 freighters, 50 A320 Family aircraft, 11 A330s, one A330-200F and nine A340s.

“Airbus offers the most modern and eco-efficient aircraft available on the market, and our unique operational commonality allows our customers to achieve maximum productivity from their fleets,” said John Leahy Airbus chief operating officer, customers.

“We are delighted that Turkish Airlines, the fastest growing airline in Europe, has again chosen Airbus as a partner for their growth.”

Airbus has sold over 10,000 aircraft and delivered over 6,500 since its first airliner entered service in 1974.

Airbus aircraft are in service with more than 430 customers and operators around the world.

Britain should experience spectacular Northern Lights displays from Thursday due to a large solar storm which could disrupt communication networks, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said. “Since February 13 three energetic solar flares have erupted on the sun and spewed clouds of charged plasma called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) out towards the earth,” a BGS geomagnetic storm warning said. “Already one CME arrived on the 14th sparking Valentine’s Day displays of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) further south than usual.
“Two CMEs are expected to arrive in the next 24-48 hours and further…displays are possible some time over the next two nights if skies are clear.”
The strongest storm in four years is expected to interfere with satellites and electrical networks, with astronomers in southern China already reporting disturbances to radio communications.
The BGS Wednesday published geomagnetic records dating back to the Victorian era which it hopes will help in planning for future storms.
“Life increasingly depends on technologies that didn’t exist when the magnetic recordings began,” Alan Thomson, BGS head of geomagnetism said. “Studying the records will tell us what we have to plan and prepare for to make sure systems can resist solar storms,” he added.

A Fairchild Metroliner operated by Flightline BCN on behalf of Manx2 which crashed at Cork airport this morning has been identified as bearing the registration number EC-ITP.

The aircraft was built in 1992 and powered by a pair of Garrett TPE331 turboprop engines.

The Irish Aviation Authority confirms that the aircraft had first carried out an instrument landing system approach to runway 17 at Cork, but the crew made the decision to go around.

The aircraft then attempted an approach to runway 35 but abandoned that also, and held off for “about 20min” before making its fatal ILS approach to runway 17.

Latest reports suggest that six of the 10 passengers and two crew members on board the aircraft lost their lives.

Manchester Airport Holographic Security Trials

Manchester Airport in the UK has unveiled the world’s first holographic, customer service-based security technology.

While making its airport debut, the same technology is well-known within other industries, such as entertainment.

As of 31 January 2011, Manchester Airport now has a pair of holographic customer services staff that brief passengers on security procedures, as they prepare to pass through airport security.

The new additions to Manchester Airport’s security network give passengers information on current airport liquid restrictions and ensure that their boarding cards are ready to be deployed.

Holographic Security Trials
Airport liquid restrictions have been enforced from 2006 onwards, as a result of a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. The recent Moscow Airport explosion incident has, once again, brought the issue of airport security back into the public eye, and these holographic security trials are a new concept that’s now being tested.

Both holograms are modelled on real-life staff working at the site – namely Julie Capper and John Walsh – and both are now active in Manchester Airport’s Terminal 1. The holograms are a product of entertainment organisation Musion and, said James Rock – the founder of the company – they have a variety of applications.

“We’ve developed this technology for many uses but it’s perfectly suited for an airport environment where the support of recorded messages can help with passenger information”, Rock was quoted as having said in a Manchester Airport press release issued at the end of January.

“It’s something we’ve worked on for a number of years at Musion and we’d like to see its widespread use for practical purposes, like the virtual assistants”, Rock added.

Manchester Airport Security Holograms
The Manchester Airport security holograms represent the latest innovation to be introduced at the UK’s fourth-busiest airport (based on 2010 passenger statistics).

In November 2010, biometric airport passenger eye scan trials were carried out while, at the end of 2009, Manchester Airport was the first in the country to host full-body image scanners.

As with these two technologies, these holograms are being trialled in the first instance.

“We are always looking for new ways to improve the experience of our airport for customers”, Manchester Airport’s Customer Services Director, Julie Armstrong, added in the same press release.

“But four years after the restrictions were introduced, passengers understandably forget about liquids. We don’t want anyone to have to throw their drink or make up away so we’ve tried lots of different ways to reinforce the liquid rules, from posters to people dressed up as giant deodorant cans! Maybe holograms are the answer?

“You certainly can’t miss them and with the real John and Julie already being popular with our customers, I’m hopeful that their virtual selves will be a big hit too.”

Hologram image copyright Ian Howarth photography and supplied by Manchester Airport

New Airport Scan Software Offers More Modesty

New airport security technology is aiming to overcome some of the concerns provoked by the controversial full body scanners now deployed at many hubs around the world, including 78 US airports.

In response to the American public reaction to these scanners – which provide an in-depth image of body shapes and, in particular, genitalia – the TSA has now introduced a different scanning technology that uses a template to represent the private parts of the passengers that pass through it.

This, essentially, gives the middle sections of all passengers the same profile, but the airport scanner reportedly performs as effectively as the older software, and highlights the presence of any suspicious-looking concealed objects by outlining them with red warning boxes.

“Snow far, so good” as Manchester Airport beats the big freeze during busiest week of the Christmas getaway

With air travellers severely affected by the wintry weather across Europe during the busiest week of the Christmas Getaway period, Manchester Airport has remained open thanks to a combination of forward-planning, new equipment and lessons learnt from last winter’s disruption.

So far a staggering 650,000 litres of de-icing fluid has been used to ensure aircraft can safely operate. With a total of 5cm of snow having fallen in sporadic bursts over the past few days, around 50,000 cubic metres of snow have been cleared from the airfield – enough to fill about 5000 large skips.

Over £2 million of investment in new equipment has also boosted the airport’s existing fleet of snow clearing equipment, helping to ensure that one-million square metres of airfield remained fully operational during the big freeze. To put the size of the operation into context, Manchester Airport’s Runway 1 is 3048 x 45 metres and Manchester United FC’s Old Trafford pitch is 105 x 68 metres so each time snow is removed from Runway 1 alone, is the equivalent to clearing 19 football pitches.

With the airfield fully operational, by Tuesday 21 December, Manchester Airport was able to offer to help get flights away that should have departed from Heathrow Airport with around 600 passengers leaving that day to Doha and Hong Kong. Today, Manchester Airport expects to welcome over 1,000 more passengers from Heathrow again travelling to Doha, the United States, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Since Friday, Manchester Airport has accepted 26 diversions which were unable to land at airports in southern England, with around 5000 passengers on-board – a further ten flights heading for Paris and Frankfurt were also accepted into Manchester. As a result, the Runway Visitor Park has also seen a boost in numbers, with aviation enthusiasts keen to see the diverted aircraft that wouldn’t usually land at Manchester.

Andrew Harrison, Managing Director of Manchester Airport, said: “It’s a real achievement to keep the airport moving – all of our staff deserve a big pat on the back. We’ve incorporated a number of changes in light of the experiences we gained during last winter, including new equipment that enables us to clear snow in a more efficient way, increased contingency staffing levels and improving capacity to store more anti-icing fluid on site, all of which have helped to keep operations running.

“It should however be recognised that there will always be certain times when conditions deteriorate to extent that airports have no option but to suspend operations for the safety of passengers and staff.”

Manchester has not totally escaped the conditions and last Friday night operations were temporarily suspended for around 180-minutes which resulted in ten flights being diverted to other airports. On Sunday evening, freezing fog meant that several smaller aircraft had to land at alternative airports due to poor visibility. Since Friday, over 100 flights out of around 1,600 have either been cancelled or delayed at Manchester, due to displaced aircraft and snow-closures at other airports.

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Secure Manchester Airport Car Parking

The Laurels Car Park was established in 1985 as an independent family business.

We offer off-airport car parking and long term secure storage for your cars whilst you are on holiday or away on business.

Customer service is of great importance to us.  We pride ourselves on our commitment and professionalism.  Our regular customers value our attention to detail, and the promptness of our service.  We are constantly receiving new clients via recommendations.