The BBC has a really neat series called Britain from above.

Using GPS, data streams, and other modes of tracking, and then super-imposing some really neat visualisations on to maps of the United Kingdom, they have created these superb videos of the 4 modes of traffic. Air, sea, road, and the information superhighway.

I especially enjoy the way the cross-channel ferries dart and dodge through the main traffic flowing up and down the English Channel.



I hope you enjoy the videos. Please do let a comment expressing your thoughts.

Air Traffic over Britain


Ship traffic in the English Channel


Taxi traffic in London


Data traffic to/from the United Kingdom

A passenger on Qantas flight QF032 from London to Singapore, went berserk, on Wednesday, after being caught smoking in the toilet as per news reports from Australia and Singapore.

Believed to be in his 40s, the man set off a smoke alarm in the toilet of the plane. When the Qantas cabin crew tried to restrain him, he ran amok, yelling and kicking walls.

Cabin crew had to bind the burly passenger's hands and tie him to the chair after he managed to break free of their restraints.

He continued to yell and kick the walls during the rest of the QF32 flight to Singapore.

The man was placed in the custody of Singapore police when the flight arrived at Changi Airport earlier this morning.

Qatar Airways has launched an innovative Economy Class in-flight service on all flights operating to and from the UK, which sees all onboard meals served in a new presentation style using recyclable materials, with see through trays, bright meal cartons and cutlery packs, as well as a personal table mat in a variety of different colours. which are 99% recyclable.

For the main meals of lunch and dinner each tray will offer a flavour of Arabia with a regional dressing or dip, such as humus, to serve with the fresh salad starter accompanied by Arabic bread.

Passengers will be given a choice of three delicious main courses, including a lighter option for the more health conscious.

Malaysian chicken curry, fish and fennel pot pie and Indian style kadi pakora are among the selection main meals.

For breakfast service, it is fresh fruit, a healthy yoghurt and croissant with preserves, and a choice from two hot dishes such as Zucchini and Majoran Fritatta with Cherry tomatoes or Apple and Cinnamon crepe with maple syrup and berry garnish.

Following the introduction of this new tray service on flights between Doha and London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester, Qatar Airways plans to roll out the concept across the remainder of its international network over the next few months.

This has not been a very pleasant 24 hours.

The crash of Continental 3407 in Buffalo, derailment of the Coromandel Express at Jajpur, Orissa, India which killed 15 persons, and now a British Airways Cityflyer British Aerospace Avro RJ-100, registration G-BXAR performing flight CJ-8456 from Amsterdam, Netherlands to London City, UK with 67 passengers and 4 crew, experienced the collapse of the nose gear while landing on runway 28 at London City around 19:40 local (19:40 GMT).

The airplane came to a stop on the runway centerline. All people were evacuated from the the airplane using slides, one passenger is reported to have been brought to hospital with minor injuries.

The airport was closed, 11 incoming flights were diverted to other London airports - Stansted, Heathrow, and Luton and Southend.

London Ambulance Services said, they dispatched 6 ambulances and several single responders to the airport and treated 4 passengers on scene, but nobody was brought to a hospital.

The Air Accident Investigations Board have launched an investigation into the accident.

Thanks to Simon at The Aviation Herald for the details.

BBC News and Aviation Herald are reporting a Cyprus Airways plane has slipped off a taxiway at Heathrow Airport, lodging its front wheel in a grassy area.

The Cyprus Airways Airbus A330-200, registration 5B-DBS, was performing flight CY-332 from Larnaca, Cyprus to London Heathrow, United Kingdom, had landed at Heathrow and already turned off the runway onto the taxiways, when the nose gear skidded off the taxiway and got stuck in a grassy area.

No injuries occurred, no damages are being reported.

Snow and ice are being blamed for the incident which happened when the Cyprus Airways flight landed at 0820 GMT and was moving to Terminal 1.

Cyprus Airways was the last flight to land before both the runways at the airport were closed due to snow earlier on today, however the southern runway has since reopened.

British Airways cancelled all its flights until 1700 GMT.

All London airports -- Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stanstead, and City have been closed due to the snow.

London has seen the heaviest snowfall in 18 years with up to 6cm (0.2ft) of snow reported at Heathrow Airport, weather experts said.

Singapore Airlines is making further adjustments to its route network, primarily cutting back flights to various destinations in India, Thailand, Europe, and USA, while increasing capacities to the middle east.

The changes, will take place progressively from now and will apply for the rest of the Northern Winter schedule (i.e. till end-March 2009), and will most likely continue in to the Summer schedule.

India
Hyderabad-Singapore services SQ439 and SQ438 will be reduced from four to three times weekly, with the suspension of the Saturday service from 21 February. Service will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

New Delhi-Singapore services SQ405 and SQ406 will be reduced from a six times weekly service, to five times weekly service, from 10 March to 24 March 2009, as flights on Tuesdays during this period will be suspended.

Mumbai-Singapore services SQ421 and SQ422 will be progressively reduced from five to four times weekly services, starting 27 February 2009. Flights on Fridays will be suspended.

Thailand
Bangkok-Singapore services SQ972 and SQ975 will be suspended from 2 February until the end of the Northern Winter Schedule bringing Singapore Airlines capacity to 25 flights weekly.

USA
Newark-Singapore and Los Angeles-Singapore non-stop services performed by the Airbus A340-500; frequency will reduce by two flights to five weekly flights on each route. The Tuesday and Wednesday services, will be suspended.

Ironically, Thai Airways, who has been unable to find a buyer for its suspended A340-500 aircraft, is resuming Bangkok-USA non-stop services.

Europe
United Kingdom
London Heathrow-Singapore services SQ308 and SQ319 will be suspended on Mondays and Thursdays between 9 and 23 March 2009. Total frequency on the Singapore-London route will reduce from 21 to 19 flights per week.

Switzerland
Zurich-Singapore services SQ342 and SQ341 will be reduced from daily to five times weekly, from 9 March 2009. Total frequency on the Singapore-Zurich route will reduce from 14 to 12 flights per week.

Middle East
Kuwait and Abu Dhabi
Singapore Airlines will commence four times weekly services to Kuwait, via Abu Dhabi, from 15 March 2009, with the introduction of SQ458 and SQ457 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Singapore Airlines will continue its existing three times weekly service to Abu Dhabi. With the addition of the Kuwait service, Abu Dhabi will become a daily service.

Egypt
Cairo-Singapore services SQ492 and SQ493 will increase from thrice weekly to four times a week from 12 March. The Cairo flights will operate via Dubai, thus increasing frequency between Singapore and Dubai to 16 per week.

Agence France-Presse is reporting, the entire crew of a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to London Heathrow, were arrested Tuesday after about $450,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine were found in their suitcases, by British customs officials.

As per officials, British customs agents found 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of cannabis, worth about $210,000, and 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of cocaine, worth about $240,000, in three suitcases, when the crew was passing a customs clearance point at London Heathrow airport, around 8AM.

The agents first found the cannabis in the suitcases, and additional searches revealed a white powder that tested positive for cocaine. All 15 members of the plane’s flight and cabin crew, 10 women and five men, were arrested.

Customs spokesperson Mr. Gaiger said

“Interviews will be taking place and will probably go into tomorrow, and then we will decide whether we are going to charge anyone,”

Jet Airways procured ten ultra-luxuriously appointed Boeing 777-300ERs for its ambitious international expansion. It even won awards for its international first class, featuring private suites.

Now those plans are in tatters, and Jet has abandoned its international ambitions, at least for the foreseeable future. Recently TravelBizMonitor reported

Jet Airways, has dropped its expansion plan, especially plans of expanding overseas informed a top official source of the airline. “We have dropped plans for overseas expansion for the time being. Now our focus will be on consolidation. In the domestic markets also, we are reducing capacity. We are also going slow on the acquisition of new aircraft,” said the source. As part of their cost-cutting plan, Jet Airways may also resort to leasing out their fleet.

Jet Airways/Turkish THY/Gulf Air
Boeing 777-300ER seat map.
The "may lease out its fleet" is already an "is leasing out its fleet". Turkish Airlines THY is already reaping the benefit of the three 777s it has leased from Jet. THY has been enjoying unprecedented success with its 777, and a possible fourth Jet 777 is rumoured expected to join THY soon.

Now, Business Traveller and Air Transport Intelligence are reporting, Bahrain based, Gulf Air is expected to lease four Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ERs, which it will introduce on routes including London Heathrow from March.

Gulf Air chief executive Bjorn Naf has said the carrier would take all four 312-seat 777s this year, and lease them for around three years. While Naf declined to identify the source of the aircraft, it is certainly Jet Airways. Gulf Air has already leased two Airbus A330s from Jet Airways, which has also been actively seeking to lease out its 777-300ERs to generate desperately needed cash.

The 777s would potentially serve as a replacement for a few of Gulf Air's current A340-300s.

It is unclear whether the aircraft will be "wet leased" i.e. along with the crew, as in the case of Turkish THY, or a "dry" aircraft only lease.

Jet Airways has seven Boeing 777-300ERs and nine Airbus A330-200s left in its fleet after the first round of leases to Gulf and THY. After this Gulf Air deal, it will have only three 777s left in its fleet. That will surely require some more route and capacity rationalisation by Jet on its existing international operations. Talks with Oman Air for lease of Jet Airways aircraft, are also expected to fructify very soon, and passengers in India can expect to bid adieu to Jet Airways from the international skies.

In a repeat of THY, Gulf Air’s premium passengers are in for a treat, as Jet’s product includes fully flat beds in business class and private suites in first. (View a photo gallery of the premium classes)

After years of watching its rivals Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, expand their fleets with superior cabin aircraft, which forced a further contraction at Gulf Air, the airline will now be able to mount a serious challenge.

In addition to the Bahrain - London Heathrow route, Gulf Air is considering using the 777s on Bahrain - Bangkok and Bahrain - Kuala Lumpur routes. The 777s will also afford Gulf Air the possibility of serving the US east coast.

Incidentally, today is Makar Sankranti, a festival that signifies the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of Indian Sub-Continent, and the only Hindu festival celebrated by the solar calendar. All other festivals are by the lunar calendar. Happy Sankranti to all Bangalore Aviation readers.

Update - January 6. It never struck me, when posting the original article, but based on the timings, Kingfisher can offer passengers, connection between Singapore and London via Mumbai. Further, if Kingfisher can streamline its current Bangalore London operations with better slots at Heathrow, it need only one Airbus A330 instead of the current two. It can deploy that aircraft on a Mumbai-Singapore-Sydney route, since Qantas is reportedly withdrawing its Mumbai - Sydney service. An added benefit for Kingfisher will be to offer a complete Kangaroo route.

Original Article - January 4.
Kingfisher Airlines will launch a slew of international services to London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Colombo, through the month of January, starting tomorrow.

Mumbai, India - London Heathrow, United Kingdom
On 5th January, Kingfisher will commence its second international flight, on the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - London Heathrow sector. Kingfisher's only existing international service is also to London Heathrow, from Bangalore, launched in September 2008.

Kingfisher will deploy its new VT-VJx series Airbus A330-200 aircraft on this route, in a two class configuration. The Kingfisher First features full flat seats with massage, touch-screen controls, full size pillows and merino wool blankets. Both classes features an in-flight entertainment system.

IT7 will depart Mumbai 13:50 and arrive London Heathrow Terminal 4 at 17:55.
IT8 will depart London Heathrow 20:30 and arrive Mumbai at 11:00 the next day.

Mumbai, India - Hong Kong, SAR
Kingfisher has scheduled operations, on the Mumbai - Hong Kong sector, to commence from January 12, 2009, using the Airbus A330-200 VT-VJx series.

IT31 will depart Mumbai 00:15 and arrive Hong Kong at 08:45.
IT32 will depart Hong Kong at 14:00 and arrive Mumbai at 17:30.

Mumbai, India - Singapore
Kingfisher has scheduled operations, on the Mumbai - Singapore sector, to commence from January 16, 2009, using the same Airbus A330-200 VT-VJx series.

IT21 will depart Mumbai 23:40 and arrive Singapore at 07:40 the next day.
IT22 will depart Singapore 09:20 and arrive Mumbai at 12:10.

Bangalore and Chennai, India - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Kingfisher has scheduled operations, on the Bangalore - Colombo and Chennai - Colombo sectors, to commence from January 19, 2009, using the narrow body Airbus A320 aircraft.

IT61 will depart Chennai 07:15 and arrive Colombo at 08:15.
IT62 will depart Colombo 17:30 and arrive Chennai at 18:30.

IT63 will depart Bangalore 15:00 and arrive Colombo at 16:20.
IT64 will depart Colombo 09:15 and arrive Bangalore at 10:30.

With the exception of the Singapore flights, I am concerned at the amount of time, the aircraft are spending at the destinations. Airplanes on the ground, only cost, not earn, money,

For more details visit the Kingfisher Airlines' website. Click here to download the schedules in Excel format.

Congrats to Kingfisher for finally ramping up the international show.

Jet Airways has announced a basket of special deals on its international flights. Remember all fares mentioned herein are exclusive of surcharge and taxes.

Mumbai/Delhi/Chennai/Kolkata – Singapore/Hong Kong/Bangkok

Companion Free Offer on Premiére (business class)
Jet Airways’ international Premiére customers travelling to Singapore and Hong Kong can now avail of exciting Companion Free travel offers.

A Mumbai – Singapore Premiére return fare is available for two persons travelling together for a sum of INR 1,01,250. Hong Kong is INR 94,500, Bangkok is INR 57,065.

Jet also has Delhi – Bangkok, Delhi - Singapore, Chennai - Singapore, Chennai – Kuala Lumpur, and Kolkata – Bangkok sectors.

Special offers for individual travel
Premiére class return fare of INR 54,000 for Mumbai - Hong Kong.

Economy class return fare of INR 7,480 for travel between Mumbai – Singapore, INR 12,635 for Mumbai – Singapore, INR 9,750 Mumbai - Bangkok.

Mumbai/Delhi – London Heathrow

Special offers for individual travel
India and London Heathrow, a special return Premiére fare of INR 85,000 for a 14 day Advance Purchase or APEX. Economy class fares start at INR 15,990.

Double JPMiles
Jet Airways JetPrivilege members travelling on Mumbai/Delhi - London return sectors can earn Double JPMiles until January 15, 2009. This is applicable on First Class, Premiére and Economy class travel.

Mumbai – New York (Newark / JFK)

Special offer for individual travel
Mumbai - New York (Newark / JFK) Economy class return fare of INR 32,600.

For further information and sales and travel validity, customers may visit www.jetairways.com, or contact their nearest travel agent, or call the reservations number (city code) 3989-3333, or call Toll free on 1800-22-55-22.

London's Heathrow airport has put up special illumination at it's Terminal 5 (T5). I hope you enjoy the video below.

For more information visit terminal5.ba.com

Oman Air will switch its Airbus A310 Muscat London flights from Gatwick to Heathrow from January 15, 2009.

The flight schedule will also change from January 15 once the flights switch to Heathrow.

Muscat departure at 12:55 arrival London Heathrow 17:40, London Heathrow departure 21:30 arrival Muscat 09:00+1 (the next day)

For more information visit www.omanair.aero.

Kingfisher Airlines will start operations to its second international destination with the launch of daily direct flights from Mumbai to London from January 5, 2009.

A330 image is my copyright
According to the release issued by the airline, a brand new Airbus A330-200 will be deployed for the route. Kingfisher Airlines commenced its international operations on September 3, 2008 with its Bangalore-London service.

The launch of the Mumbai-London is a result of Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) granting the airline permission on Tuesday to operate on eight international routes namely: Mumbai-London, Mumbai-Hong Kong, Mumbai-Singapore, Chennai-Colombo, Kolkata-Dhaka, Kolkata-Chittagong, Bangalore-Bangkok and Mumbai-Bangkok.

The service will compete head-on with the daily service of Jet Airways, Kingfisher's recent alliance partner. The impact of this service remains to be seen. Will it result in the recently formed alliance crumbling ?

I urge Dr. Mallya and his team to offer more services ex-Bangalore, which is, after all, the home of the airline.

I was shocked by Jet Airways' sudden withdrawal of its recently launched Bangalore Brussels flight. Read related article.

It is a well known in the industry, that any international flight route, takes up to three years to stabilise. On the four flights a week, Jet is averaging about 150 passengers on the two weekend flights, and 60~70 passengers on the two weekday flights. Very respectable figures, especially considering, Jet commenced the flights only three weeks ago, and, is competing against global goliaths like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, and Emirates.

Yet, Jet Airways announced withdrawal of the Bangalore Brussels route within 3 weeks of commencement!!!!

Surely, Bangalore cannot be the reason, and we need to look elsewhere for indicators.

Historically, Bangalore, has never been on the strategic radar screen of Jet Airways for international flights, which owes its corporate loyalty to Mumbai and New Delhi. Even during the super high growth period of 2005-2008, Jet Airways chose to build its international routes from Hyderabad and Chennai, instead of Bangalore, a market begging for flights. Even today, while the poor international route performance of these stations is tolerated in the name of "corporate prestige and brand building", Bangalore appears to receive step-child treatment from the Jet corporate office.

Jet Airways is facing terrible cost reduction pressures. They do not have the deep pockets, required to establish and sustain an international route. The first station to get the axe is Bangalore.

In a bid to earn income from its excess fleet capacity, Jet Airways is leasing 6 of its 10 Boeing 777-300ERs to Turkish Airlines. The existing fleet of Airbus 330-200 will be used in replacement. There are not enough A330s to go around, so the A330 on BLR-BRU route is needed elsewhere.

Jet Airways flights from Mumbai to Newark via Brussels are facing low loads on the Brussels Newark sector. So downgrading the B777-300ER with a less fuel consuming A330-200 will lessen the losses. Again, Bangalore is the looser.

The recent alliance between Jet and Kingfisher could also be a reason. The Bangalore London Heathrow flight of Kingfisher is performing miserably; On average the flight is reported to carry only about 20~30 passengers daily. Jet could be withdrawing to leave the market to Kingfisher. However, this is a move that will not help Kingfisher. The Kingfisher flight timing slots along with their lack of alliances with any other airlines, do not allow for any onward connections; and there is just not enough traffic, between London and Bangalore. Also, as per a first hand report by my brother, an lifetime Executive Platinum on OneWorld, who flew Kingfisher recently, at my recommendation, the onboard service leaves much to be desired.

A better solution will be for Jet to lease the spare A330s of its partner, Kingfisher, lying parked at HAL airport, and continue to operate the Bangalore Brussels flight. It will help Jet establish its international operations from Bangalore, and give some revenue to Kingfisher also.

Having started the flight, I exhort Jet -- stick with Bangalore, and Bangaloreans will reward you in times to come. Credibility is a crucial corporate asset, very tough to obtain, and once lost, next to impossible to regain.

Dismembering BAA should make it possible to develop a second hub airport for the capital and its region

AFTER years of being shamed by ever shabbier and more overcrowded airports, Britain is at last getting around to doing the right thing. On August 20th the Competition Commission, which investigates whether markets are working properly, released the damning findings of a 17-month study into the country’s airports. The report envisages the dismembering of BAA, the country’s dominant airports operator, as well as other proposals that amount to a wholesale rewrite of the government’s cherished aviation policy.

The commission blamed long delays, overcrowding and a shortage of capacity that has long bedevilled Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, on a flawed regulatory regime, poor policy and, most important of all, BAA’s ownership of the three main London airports—Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It plans to force BAA to sell two of the three as well as another airport in Scotland.

The prescription may seem harsh, but so too were the findings that since BAA’s privatisation in 1987 the company has dragged its heels in building new terminals and runways. Last year for instance, Heathrow crammed some 68m hot and bothered passengers through terminals designed to accommodate 45m. Long queues, scruffy lounges and overpriced snack shops do little to endear it to passengers, who rate it far below international rivals, according to Skytrax, a research firm.

So overstretched are Heathrow’s runways, which operate at 99% of capacity compared with about 70% at most other large airports, that even the slightest hitch—a spot of fog, say, or a plane having to turn back with engine trouble—causes a cascade of delays to ripple through its flight schedules. Because of this a third of all flights at Heathrow are delayed by at least 15 minutes, a poor record compared with other large European hubs such as Amsterdam, where 21% of flights are delayed, and Frankfurt, where 24% are.

The hope is that once BAA’s monopoly around London is broken up, competition will force improvements at all three airports. Christopher Clarke, the commission’s deputy chairman, reckons that under separate owners each airport would press hard to get planning permission to build new runways and terminals. They would pay more attention to the needs of airlines and travellers, he thinks. The expectation is plausible. A queue of buyers has already lined up hoping to bid for Gatwick and Stansted, the two airports most likely to be sold. They are understood to be drawing up creative plans ranging from cheap and basic warehouses for low-cost carriers such as easyJet to luxurious lounges aimed at winning the hearts of frequent-flying businessmen.

The biggest loser from a shake-up will be BAA’s current owner, Ferrovial. The Spanish firm bought BAA for £10.1 billion ($18.8 billion) two years ago in a deal that seemed expensive at the time, although cunningly financed, since it spent barely £580m of its own money for BAA. But crunching credit markets have meant that BAA has struggled to refinance £13.3 billion of loans. It won support from its bondholders only when it agreed to ring-fence its London airports and to use their assets and income to back new bonds.

Air travellers will have to wait a while to see the benefits of BAA’s break-up. New facilities take time to build and London is unlikely to have any new runways before 2015, limiting the scope for competition between the three airports. Meanwhile some quick fixes could help. Paradoxically, one would be to reduce the number of flights at Heathrow. A study for London First, a group representing big businesses in the capital, found that cutting about 5% of Heathrow’s flights could lead to a 15% reduction in delayed flights.

Over the longer term, the real impediment to competition between London’s airports is Heathrow’s power as a hub. Because of its size, it benefits from “network effects” in that it can match incoming passengers with outgoing flights to hundreds of different cities. This makes it by far the most profitable of London’s three airports for airlines and explains why peak-time take-off and landing slots are traded for some £25m-30m a pair.

Given the huge demand for flights at Heathrow, it is tempting to think that it is the most sensible place to add new runways. This is precisely the case made by BAA, which along with the airlines like British Airways that have the biggest stake at the airport because of the slots they control, has been lobbying fiercely to add a third runway. But the argument is flawed.

There is little reason to think that an economy as large as London and its surrounding region cannot support two competing hub airports. If allowed to build a second runway, Gatwick could well become a second hub, and another runway there would bother fewer residents than at Heathrow. A decision to favour expansion at Gatwick would permit real competition, whereas at Heathrow it would entrench the airport’s dominance further.

Price regulators could play their part too by gradually easing their grip. Allowing Heathrow to raise its prices could well be the spur needed to encourage a group of airlines to move to Gatwick. Then Heathrow could concentrate on serving the business market, which prizes frequency and convenience over price. After the failure of two decades’ worth of government tinkering and ham-fisted regulation, it is time to see if markets can do a better job.

From The Economist print edition
Copyright © 2008 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.

Qantas jumbo makes emergency landing after mid-air drama

Image from BBC News

MANILA (AFP) — A Qantas Boeing 747 flying to Melbourne made an emergency landing in Manila on Friday after a dramatic mid-air rupture that left a "gaping hole" in its fuselage, officials and passengers said.

Stunned passengers reported how the jumbo, which originated in London and made a stop in Hong Kong, plunged 20,000 feet (6,000) metres in an "absolutely terrifying" ordeal.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the plane, carrying 346 passengers and 19 crew, diverted to Manila where it was now undergoing inspection on the ground.

"There was a terrific boom, and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down," June Kane, a passenger from Melbourne, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"We were told that one of the rear doors, a hole had blown into it, but I've since looked at the plane and there's a gigantic gaping hole in the plane. "It was absolutely terrifying, but I have to say everyone was very calm," she added, speaking from the Philippine capital.

Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon said initial inspections showed the aircraft had sustained a hole in its fuselage, and it was currently being inspected by engineers. He said the flight crew performed emergency procedures after oxygen masks were deployed and there were no reports of any injuries. Dixon said the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau and Civil Aviation Safety Authority had been notified.

Manila airport operations officer Ding Lima said the aircraft lost cabin pressure shortly after leaving Hong Kong bound for Melbourne. "The captain of the aircraft immediately called the (Manila) control tower for an immediate landing," Lima told local radio. "There is a big hole in the belly of the aircraft near the right wing about three metres in diameter," he added.

Flight QF30, which took off from Hong Kong at 9:00am (0100 GMT), had been due to arrive in Melbourne at 1145 GMT, according to the Qantas website. Lorena Dimaya, a Qantas assistant supervisor in Manila, said the aircraft had landed safely just after 11:00am local time and the incident had not been "life threatening." She said the plane had taken off from Hong Kong when it "encountered some technical problems and requested to be diverted to Manila, where it made an emergency landing."

Passenger June Kane said the problem seemed to centre on the baggage compartment of the plane. "I'm looking at the plane now and on the left-hand side, just forward of the wing, there's a gaping hole from the wing to the underbody," she said. "It's about two metres by four metres and there's baggage hanging out so you assume that there's a few bags that may have gone missing.

Passengers praised the crew for landing the plane safely. "We heard a very large bang, the oxygen masks came out. But the crew was very calm and everything was fine," said Phil Rescall, a 40-year-old man from England travelling to Australia for work. "I think we were all very lucky."

"The crew were terrific, they did a great job," another passenger, Brendan McClements, said. "Everyone gave them a round of applause as we landed."

Source : AFP