Thick fog brought by warm weather from the South would continue to cause poor visibility Friday, the Meteorological Department warned Thursday.
Passengers were urged to check their flights and motorists and transport operators to proceed with caution.
Thursday morning 11 flights had to be diverted from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as visibility sank to only 800 metres.
In its 26th statement, the weather bureau said the high-pressure area covering Thailand had weakened, allowing the southern wind to bring humidity from the Gulf of Thailand to upper Thailand.
The collision of cold and warm, humid air masses would produce more thick fog from 1am to 8am in many areas in the North, Northeast and Central region including greater Bangkok. Visibility would drop to less than 500 meters.
FURTHER arrests are likely in coming days after 15 South African Airways (SAA) crew were arrested at London’s Heathrow airport when the UK Border Agency found 50kg of marijuana in luggage on a flight this week.
Three pilots and 12 cabin attendants were arrested on Wednesday after the discovery. The agency said the marijuana, with a street value of about R2,1m, was found in three pieces of baggage on SAA flight SA234 from Johannesburg on arrival at 8am. It is believed 4kg of cocaine was also found.
The 15 were freed and allowed to return home pending further investigation. Sen Supt Tummi Golding, national spokeswoman for crime intelligence and Interpol, said yesterday the cabin attendants were questioned on returning to Johannesburg early yesterday morning. One attendant was arrested on drug-trafficking charges, and would be appearing in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court this morning. A woman security officer, suspected of allowing the smuggled contraband to slip through security undetected, was taken into custody at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday night. She would also appear in court this morning.
The three pilots are due to arrive back in SA later this week.
Golding said the investigation had broadened and more arrests were expected in the next few days. UK authorities were also likely to make further arrests.
Neither SAA spokeswoman Robyn Chalmers nor Golding could confirm whether previous SAA flights had been used to smuggle drugs out of the country.
UK revenue and customs media relations manager Bob Gaiger also was unwillingly to comment. “Because of the continuing investigation I am unable to give you the answers you are looking for.”
This is not the first time SAA crew members have been held for drug smuggling. Syndicates wanting to smuggle drugs and other contraband from country to country often target airline crews.
In April 2006, an SAA cabin attendant was arrested after trying to smuggle marijuana and cocaine into the UK.
Three other crew members were held on similar charges in the preceding seven months. Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported recently that police in Switzerland had arrested an SAA flight attendant in connection with the sale of 5,2kg of cocaine in April 2007.
DESPITE the fact that up to 10,000 people could be affected by night-time aircraft noise, Luton Airport is refusing to discuss the problem.
John Davis of the watchdog group LADACAN (Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise), lives in Harpenden and is furious that the two-yearly review of its night-noise policy has been postponed.
The airport’s managing director Glyn Jones wrote to LADACAN and other members of the Noise and Track Sub-Committee (NATS) announcing its intention to postpone the review date until March 2010.
Mr Davis said: “We have been told the airport’s Master Plan won’t be ready by March this year so they wouldn’t be in a position to discuss its night-noise policy. But this is irrelevant and is just a flimsy excuse to duck the issue for another year.
“The night-noise policy has been getting steadily worse over the last five years, the area and number of people badly affected both increasing with almost twice the number of night flights since 2000.”
That has so angered NATS members that they have decided to go ahead and hold their own meeting on Tuesday, January 27, to produce some recommendations on how the problems of night noise could be addressed.
But Jo-Ann Lloyd of Luton Airport said only seven per cent of their passengers flew between 11pm and 6am and most of those were arrivals. She said low-cost airlines preferred full planes which were easier to fill during the day.
She added: “In 2000 there were just over 10,500 night flights whereas in 2007 there were just 9,900 aircraft movements – a reduction of six per cent.”
The figures she used to claim the night-noise footprint was down since 2000 were disputed by Mr Davis who claimed the footprint was up by 66 per cent in the last five years. He said certain noisy aircraft types – banned from use five years ago – made it seem as though there was a reduction in figures from 2000.
Ms Lloyd concurred that around 10,000 people could potentially be affected by night-time noise from aircraft but added that LLA has the lowest night-noise violation limit of all of the major London airports.
Blob/A full meeting of St Albans District Council last night was due to ask the airport to review their current night-noise policy from April 1, 2010, to include an amendment restricting the number of aircraft movements at night. The proposal has come from Sandridge councillor Beric Read.
Blob/ Passenger numbers at Luton Airport have reached an all-time high with a record 10.2 million passing through the terminal in 2008.
This figure represents a 2.5 increase on 2007 while many of its competitors report declining traffic levels.
The additional 250,000 passengers in 2008 are believed to have been attracted by the offer of more flights to existing destinations and the launch of 13 new routes.
An airport spokesperson said: “With a constantly expanding choice of routes we now offer flights to over 90 destinations.
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It will be the airline’s first flights from a U.S. city to a destination outside of Ireland.
The airlines may also expand their partnership for flights to other cities in the future.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of extensive discussions between the partners since 2007,” said Aer Lingus CEO Dermot Mannion. “This partnership…will enable Aer Lingus to maximize the opportunities provided by Open Skies.”
Aer Lingus, currently target of hostile takeover bid by discount European carrier Ryanair, announced in December plans to start flights at London’s Gatwick airport with flights throughout Europe. It currently operates U.S. flights to Ireland from Washington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Orlando.
Aer Lingus started serving Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in September 2000, with three direct flights to Dublin, Ireland, weekly. It would eventually expand to seven flights per week out of BWI. But under financial strain and in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Aer Lingus pulled out of BWI completely in November 2001, cutting its four employees there. It later returned before again pulling the plug on service, in November 2004.
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