Seville and Malaga flights from Brussels Airlines

Book by midnight on Sunday, November 29: Brussels Airlines' weekend sale is on now, with return flights to the Southern Spanish cities of Seville and Malaga from £248 return.

Travel between December 1 and March 31, 2010, from several points around the UK including London Gatwick, Manchester and Bristol. The line-up of flights - that go via Brussels - is as follows:

Manchester to Malaga from £248
Manchester to Seville from £248

British Airways 'in shock return to Zimbabwe'

British Airways will resume direct flights to Zimbabwe next spring after an absence of two years, a senior government official has claimed.

The UK flag carrier severed historic ties with the African country in September 2007 amid a deteriorating political and economic climate under President Robert Mugabe.

But according to David Chaota, chief executive officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, BA has now agreed with Harare to resume operations.

Overweight baggage? That'll be £1,200 please

A customer on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Panama was left gobsmacked after being charged a whopping £1,200 for having overweight bags.

Time magazine reports that passenger Bob Wolfe was told to hand over 66,000 Thai baht when check-in staff discovered that his luggage exceeded the weight allowance.

Incredibly, the hapless traveller was in such a rush that he agreed to pay the surcharge, and is now fighting to get an explanation for the exorbitant fee.

Cathay Pacific left red-faced by mass toilet blockages

Engineers at Cathay Pacific are working round the clock to find the source of a spate of mysterious toilet blockages that have hit several planes in its fleet.

Over the past fortnight, washroom facilities on the carrier's Airbus A330 and A340 jets have repeatedly been put out of action by an unknown technical problem.

One flight from Hong Kong to the Saudi capital Riyadh even had to make an emergency landing in Mumbai after all ten of the plane's toilets were hit by blockages.

US government lays down the law over tarmac delays

In a move that sets a precedent for airlines around the world, the US government has slapped three carriers with fines for leaving passengers stranded on tarmac.

The Department of Transportation fined Continental Airlines, its ExpressJet Airlines affiliate and Mesaba Airlines – a unit of Delta Air Lines – a total of $175,000 (£106,000).

It meted out the punishment after 47 passengers were left stuck on the tarmac for six hours when their Continental Express flight was diverted to an unmanned airport.

Threat of bankruptcies 'not a big deal', say airlines

An industry body representing major European airlines has said there is no need to extend financial protection to passengers who book direct with their carrier.

The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) insisted that creating an insolvency fund to protect all customers would be an overreaction to an "infinitesimally small" problem.

It was responding to attempts by the European Commission to address a recent spate of airline bankruptcies in which passengers have been left out of pocket.

Ailing bmi scraps 600 jobs, loss-making routes

Bmi has announced plans to lay off 600 employees and axe five routes as part of a restructuring effort aimed at returning the company to profit.

Most of the job losses at the British airline – now fully owned by German flag carrier Lufthansa – will affect cabin crew and other front-line "operational" staff.

Bmi will also cease to operate outbound services to Tel Aviv, Brussels, Kiev and Aleppo as of next January, with flights to Amsterdam being axed in March.

Manchester Airport control tower to become trendy bar

Manchester Airport has unveiled plans to turn one of its defunct control towers into a trendy bar that will rival even the city's more-established venues.

With space for 100 patrons and a panoramic view of the airfield and Cheshire countryside, planners say the bar would be an "iconic" addition to the airport.

Renewed APD fears as London airports lose routes

Fears are growing that increases to the government's much-criticised Air Passenger Duty (APD) has already begun driving passengers away from UK airports.

New research shows that London lost a total of 76 air routes between March 25 and October 25 – making it the European capital worst affected by the economic downturn.

The figures follow repeated warnings that Whitehall's controversial increase to APD will prompt international passengers to bypass the UK in favour of continental hubs.

Heathrow passengers pucker up for giant mistletoe

Heathrow Airport is wishing its passengers a 'Merry Kiss-Mas' by unveiling the world's largest sprig of mistletoe at Terminal 5.

The massive 10ft x 8ft steel structure, which weighs in at 43kg, will greet an estimated one million travellers who are due to pass through the terminal over the festive period.

Airport chiefs hope the giant mistletoe will lead to more than two million kisses being planted on passengers, bringing Christmas cheer to business and leisure travellers alike.

KLM operates historic biofuel passenger flight

KLM is claiming to have made aviation history by operating the world's first passenger flight powered by a mixture of sustainable biofuel and regular jet fuel.

The airline chartered a Boeing 747 for a short flight circling the Netherlands, with 40 passengers on-board including senior politicians and business executives.

Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Maria van der Hoeven and KLM chief executive Peter Hartman were among those taking to the skies on the one-hour flight.

New Foreign Office advice for World Cup 2010 fans

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has launched a new campaign for football fans heading to South Africa in support of England's 2010 World Cup bid.

Under the banner 'Be on the Ball', the initiative features a website that offers practical advice and aims to ensure UK travellers have a safe and enjoyable stay in the country.

EasyJet expands route network at three UK bases

EasyJet has unveiled three new routes from Liverpool, Manchester and Stansted airports in anticipation of the addition of six Airbus 319 jets to its fleet.

Liverpool will benefit from a new service to Malta next summer, while Manchester is being connected to Helsinki and Stansted will gain new Sardinia flights.

The low-cost carrier will launch its new services from Manchester and London on March 28, while the Liverpool connection will be added on June 13.

Ryanair dubbed Britain's 'worst family brand'

Ryanair is the least family-friendly brand in the country, according to a poll by marketing specialists FamilyBrands.

The Irish low-cost carrier came last in a list of 100 well-known firms, with fellow airline bmi and its no-frills offshoot bmibaby rounding off the bottom three spots.

Some 1,500 Brits took part in the poll, which canvassed views about whether brands were socially responsible, good listeners, caring and had family values.

Heathrow Terminal 2 closes for £1bn makeover

Heathrow Airport's historic Terminal 2 has closed to the public after 54 years of operations, paving the way for a brand new £1 billion replacement at the hub.

Terminal 2, christened the Europa Building when it opened in 1955, has routinely handled eight million passengers a year despite being designed for just 1.2 million.

It has seen the likes of The Beatles and Marilyn Monroe pass through its doors, but will now be torn down to make way for the new home of the Star Alliance airlines.

Could British Airways merge with Qantas next?

© British Airways

Could British Airways, which announced its agreement to merge with Iberia just ten days ago, now be considering an alliance with Qantas, the Australian airline?

According to a report in today's Financial Times, the recent deal with Iberia clears the way for such a tie-up.

Talks between BA and Qantas foundered last year, after the airlines failed to come to an agreement, but Willie Walsh, BA's CEO, has now said that the structure of its deal with Iberia - a parent company, TopCo, and the airlines maintaining their separate brands - could be a template for other mergers.

Save £30 on Monarch flights

Monarch's Christmas Seat Sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, November 24. Book by then to save £30 on return flights and travel until February 8, 2010.

When we searched for a getaway from Manchester to Alicante after Christmas, we found outbound flights on Tuesday, January 5, for £18.99, and a return flight on Tuesday, January 12, for £18.99, a reduction of £15 each way. With taxes and charges, no bags or booking fees, the flight price is £82.

New Gatwick Airport owners promise to focus on customer service

Travellers are promised a London Gatwick Airport with a "relentless" focus on customer service.

That's the message from Global Infrastructure Partners who bought the West Sussex airport from BAA for £1.51 billion in late October.

Sir David Rowlands, Chairman of the group, said: “An independent Gatwick has a tremendous opportunity to inject real competition into the London airports market.”

SWISS: 6 new daily flights to Geneva, from Heathrow

From January 10, 2010, Geneva-bound travellers will have more options from Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is to offer six new daily flights to Geneva from LHR.

The Swiss national airline will also increase the number of seats from the UK to Switzerland by up to 30 per cent as a result of a closer partnership with bmi, its sister airline in the Lufthansa Group.

Flyers may receive more compensation for delayed flights

Thanks to last week's ruling by the European Court of Justice, passengers whose flights have been delayed may now receive the same amount of compensation as travellers whose flights have been cancelled - up to €600 (about £530).

The judgement was made following the hearing of cases against Condor and Air France that were referred by courts in Germany and Austria.

Passengers of the airlines had claimed compensation after their flights were delayed by almost 24 hours.