July’s top stories: $4bn LaGuardia Airport terminal, Aden Airport reopens

$4bn first half construction of LaGuardia Airport to begin in 2016

New York’s LaGuardia Airport will have a unified main terminal, with work on its $4bn first half likely to begin in 2016.

According to the plans revealed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and US Vice-President Joe Biden, the New Unified Terminal Structure will provide expanded transportation access and taxiway space, and better passenger amenities.

Cuomo said: "We are transforming LaGuardia into a globally renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state of New York."

Thailand plans Chiang Rai Airport expansion to attract tourists from China

Thailand’s Chiang Rai Airport will receive an upgrade over the next two years to make it a possible alternative to the Chiang Mai Airport.

The THB300m ($8.59m) expansion includes the construction of two new taxiways. The existing airport is equipped to handle around 50 aircraft movements a day, with the aircraft taxiing to the terminal, reported the TTR Weekly.

Aircraft parking lots, gates and departure halls will be built, along with a new international terminal area on the second floor of the terminal building.

These changes will provide additional space on the ground floor for the future expansion of domestic gates and passenger space.

Yemen’s Aden Airport reopens as Saudi military plane arrives

Yemen’s Aden Airport reopened with the arrival of a Saudi military plane loaded with arms for pro-government forces.

This marks the airport’s first arrival ever since the fighting escalated in March, forcing a temporary closure.

The arrival is in line with the military campaign that has been initiated to bring the city back under the control of the government.

30% Britons prefer construction of a new airport: Poll

Around 30% of Britons are in support of a new airport over the expansion of either the Heathrow or Gatwick airports, a new poll revealed.

Conducted by Ipsos MORI, a survey for the Standard revealed that while 24% of the people surveyed supported the construction of a second runway at Gatwick, around 22% voted for Heathrow airport.

Almost 14% suggested that an airport other than Heathrow or Gatwick, including Birmingham, Manchester or Stansted, should be expanded.

Airbus gets EASA certification to use runway-overrun prevention technology on A330 aircraft

France-based aircraft maker Airbus received EASA certification for its Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) technology that the company created several years ago.

The on-board cockpit technology is an alerting system, which significantly reduces runway-overrun and excursion risk. Runway excursion occurs, when an aircraft veers off the side of the runway or overshoots the runway.

The problem is said to be the main cause of hull losses, Airbus said.

US to collect biometric details of foreigners at ten airports

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will collect biometric and biographic information of foreign travellers departing from the country on selected flights.

The Biometric Exit Mobile (BE-Mobile) Air Test will be implemented at ten airports, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Newark Liberty , John F Kennedy, Dallas Fort Worth, George Bush Intercontinental and Washington Dulles.

Slated to be carried out over a year, the test will evaluate both a new biometric exit concept of operations at selected airports and CBP’s outbound enforcement policies and workforce distribution procedures.

EU’s PassMe project to reduce passenger waiting time at airports

The European Union (EU) launched a new project, called Personalised Airport Systems for Seamless Mobility and Experience (PassMe), to reduce passenger waiting time at airports by an hour.

Experts from varied fields, including aviation, transport, academia, design and communications will work on the three-year project that has received €4.9m from the EU.

A part of the Horizon 2020 project funded by the EU, PassMe seeks to bring down the passenger travel and navigation time ‘from the entrance of the airport of departure to leaving the arrival airport’ by one hour.

Ebola screening relaxed at Birmingham and Manchester airports

The Public Health England (PHE) relaxed screening for Ebola at West Africa to Birmingham and Manchester airports.

The agency cited that the risk of outbreak of Ebola lowered leading to scaling back of screening.

As per the new arrangement, on-site screening teams will continue to monitor Heathrow and Gatwick airports where 90% of people from the affected countries arrive, but it will be removing specialist staff based from Birmingham and Manchester airports.

Saudi Arabia opens new $1.2bn Medinah airport

Saudi Arabia opened its SAR4.6bn ($1.2bn) international airport at Medinah weeks before the commencement of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

With an annual capacity of eight million passengers, the Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz International airport is the country’s first to be constructed and operated by the private sector.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) that currently oversees the operations of the country’s 27 existing airports also owns the new airport. It has been operating the airport on a trial basis to check the efficiency of its systems.

Spain’s Ciudad Real Central Airport sold for €10,000 in bankruptcy auction

Ciudad Real Central Airport, an abandoned airport in Spain that cost €1bn to build, was sold for €10,000 at a bankruptcy auction.

Tzaneen International, a Chinese-led consortium of investors, won the airport in the auction and it was the only bidder in the auction.

In 2013, the airport was put up for auction for a price of €100m. The price was later reduced as the airport failed to attract any investor.