Comments 301 to 311 of 311
Living in the South Terminal
An unemployed chef managed to live in Gatwick's South Terminal for almost four years before he was finally arrested:
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2008/02/grounded_at_gatwick.html
Filming location for Memphis Belle
In 1989, Binbrook -- a retired RAF field -- was used for the filming of "Memphis Belle".
Boeing 777 runway undershoot
On Thursday 17 January 2008, British Airways flight 38, a Boeing 777 inbound from Beijing, landed short of the runway at Heathrow with its gear not fully deployed -- there's some indication that the plane had a power loss. There were only minor injuries, and the airport continued operations using its other runway. Wikipedia is already on top of the story:
New terminal
In March 2008, Heathrow will be opening its new Terminal 5, with 112 stores and restaurants (designed to handle traffic at the 2012 Olympics). There's a virtual tour at the airport's web site:
http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/site/default/menuitem.d8b3e9cee80c57c1077c4e5d9328c1a0/
Compass anomalies
Metal buried under the runways at London City airport is causing serious anomalies for magnetic compasses:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080114/sc_nm/britain_airport_magnetism_dc_1
Vickers-Armstrong
This is where Vickers-Armstrong manufactured several of its planes, including the Vickers Viscount (I took my first flights as a baby in Viscounts and Vanguards).
Ryanair coming
Ryanair plans to base a Boeing 737 here and fly additional routes to Malaga, Murcia, Nantes, Palma and Wroclaw:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/bournemouth-airport-news-090108.htm
liverpool jla airport
best low cost airport in uk
Fond memories
Gatwick was the first airport I ever landed at outside of North America. It was my first time flying overseas, and we flew Wardair (a Canadian airline, sadly no longer in business). I remember the excitement of seeing the green fields of England after the long trans-Atlantic flight. When the plane landed, I started to clap, and all of the passengers joined me in spontaneous applause.
Almost 20 years ago, I remember the access to the tube to get into London was good, as was access to the south, where we were headed.
Avoid Heathrow
Tim Bray has a blog entry on why you should avoid Heathrow at all costs:
http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2007/07/03/Avoid-Heathrow
London Ashford Airport
🔗 Tue, 15 Apr 2008
— @david at Lydd London Ashford Airport, United Kingdom
This airport has been officially renamed to "London Ashford", which is a bit of a stretch, since it's 60 miles from Charing Cross. There are plans to expand it and bring in airline service, with lots of local opposition.