Starting August 16th, American airports will no longer require that laptops are taken out of cases, bags etc. and scanned individually. HOWEVER to take advantage of the "checkpoint friendly" initiative, you must have a bag from Mobile Edge, Skooba Design eller Targus Inc., all of which are specially designed without metal parts, to pass through the security checks.
Starting with their winter schedule, Ryanair will not allow any baggage to be checked in on certain routes. A number of RyanAir departures will be so called "Zero Bag" departures. These will be departures that are typically used by business men, for example early morning or or late afternoon. Typically it will be introduced on routes that RyanAir serve several times per day, so that other flights on the same route will allow baggage to be checked in - at standard RyanAir rates.
Baggage handlers and check-in staff at Stansted and Gatwick are to take industrial action on Bank Holiday Monday (August 29th), with the strike set to spread to other airports. Results of a ballot at Manchester Airport will be announced early next week, while workers at Birmingham and Newcastle will also be balloted, and if workers support strike action a 24-hour stoppage will take place on August 24, with a second strike set for August 29.
EasyJet has been named the Best Low-Cost Airline in the world at the Skytrax World Airlines Awards, drawing from the feedback of more than 15 million passengers who have taken part in an 11-month-long survey. Virgin Blue came in second place, followed by Jetstar Airways. Singapore Airlines, which walked away with first-place awards in the Best Airline and Best Business-Class categories.