Aviation

Inexperienced BA boss who oversaw cost-cutting drive is blamed for IT meltdown that could cost 150M.

According to Daily mail British Airways boss Alex Cruz has been blamed for causing the computer meltdown that saw thousands of passengers stranded on Saturday after outsourcing hundreds of IT job to India.
Mr Cruz, who founded low-cost carrier Clickair and headed budget airline Vueling before being appointed BA chief last year, was accused of replacing highly-skilled British IT professionals with low-cost overseas workers.

GMB union chiefs said the IT outage, which experts believed could cost the airline £150million in compensation, would have been avoided if those jobs had been allowed to remain in the UK.
The accusation came as people stuck at Heathrow, where dozens more flights were cancelled on Sunday, vented their fury – describing the situation there as ‘leaderless’ and ‘chaotic’.

Flights were taking off from Gatwick on Sunday, though some were running with an hour of delays.
Since being appointed in April last year, Mr Cruz has overseen a cost-cutting drive that removed free food from short-haul flights and has seen customer satisfaction plunge.

A Which? report in December last year found that average customer satisfaction with BA had fallen to 67 per cent for short-haul and 60 per cent for long-haul flights, putting it 10th in a table of 23 British carriers.

The airline’s value for money rating dropped from three stars last year to two, while its food rating also fell from four stars down to two.

Aviation

Flames on the Runway: Russian Jet Sparks Emergency in Turkey

A dramatic incident unfolded at Turkey’s Antalya Airport on Sunday night when a Russian passenger plane caught fire shortly after landing.

The Azimuth Airlines Sukhoi Superjet 100, arriving from Sochi International Airport in Russia, was carrying 89 passengers and six crew members. Thankfully, all onboard were safely evacuated without any injuries reported.

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The fire broke out after the aircraft landed at 9:34 p.m. local time, prompting the pilot to issue an emergency call. Evacuation footage shared by Russian media site ЧП Сочи captured the tense moments as passengers slid down emergency slides, with some seen carrying large pieces of luggage despite the urgency of the situation.

The Russian Sukhoi Superjet in Turkey tonight, which crashed upon landing.

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Investigators at the time highlighted the critical impact of passengers retrieving their belongings, which obstructed others from escaping the burning aircraft.

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Although no injuries were reported this time, the episode serves as a stark reminder of the importance of prioritizing life over possessions during emergencies. Seconds can mean the difference between survival and tragedy in such situations.

In response to the incident, Turkey’s transportation ministry confirmed that efforts were underway to remove the damaged aircraft from the runway. While arrivals at Antalya Airport were temporarily suspended, departures continued from a nearby military-operated runway to minimize disruptions.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, but the swift evacuation ensured a safe outcome for everyone on board.