"Heathrow has been voted the worst airport in the world for the second year running.

London's main airport came bottom in a poll of frequent flyers from more than 160 countries"

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"French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been invited to inaugurate the 656-million-euro new terminal building at Larnaca airport on November 7, built by French construction giant Bouyges.

Nicos Shacolas, chairman of the operator Hermes Airports, said that Cyprus president Demetris Christofias invited his French counterpart to attend the ceremony, but that it all depended on Sarkozy’s busy schedule. “If Mr. Sarkozy decides to visit Cyprus, we will welcome him and with great honour and enthusiasm”, Shacolas added.

Shacolas added that the construction of both Larnaca and Paphos airports, the biggest public projects in Cyprus, were delivered ahead of time, with the Larnaca terminal completed in just three years and 39 days, instead of three years and six months, as part of the 25-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession.

Currently there are more installations under construction, he said, including transit cargo, additional parking areas, four new gas stations and more, with an extra cost of 52,9 mln euros.

There is also a provision and a commitment in the agreement with the government that if the passenger traffic increases, then both Cyprus’ airports can be expanded for Larnaca to increase its capacity from 7.5 mln to 9 mln passengers and for Paphos to serve 2.7 mln, up from the present 1.8 mln. These developments, he added, will raise the cost of both projects to 804,5 mln euros.

Shacolas added that “we have already submitted to the government specific plans and designs for the creation of a modern five storey airport hotel, including restaurants and conference areas, as well as a leisure centre, all totalling 200 mln euros.”

Shacolas said he believed the government’s response will be positive and construction of the new hotel will begin three months upon approval."

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"BAA has agreed to sell Gatwick, the UK's second busiest airport, to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for a fee of £1.51bn."

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"The new Larnaka International Airport will give the island’s economy a new impetus, amidst the economic crisis and will significantly help the economic and tourist development in general, Androulla Christodoulou, head of Services of Civil Aviation at Larnaka International Airport told CNA.

In an interview ahead of the opening of the new airport, the opening ceremony of which is scheduled for November 7 and the first flights will take place on November 10, Christodoulou said that after the administration of the airports was undertaken by a private company, the Civil Aviation Department, which is the regulatory and supervisory authority, has a responsibility to monitor and control all authorities which are active within the airport."

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"A human X-ray machine that produces "naked" images of passengers has started a trial at Manchester Airport."

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Time to go and grab a great deal?

"The number of non-Cypriots buying property on the island has gone into freefall. The latest figures released on Friday by the Land Registry indicate that the message issued by the Interior Minister in July has failed to reassure foreign real estate investors."

"The districts of Cyprus suffering most from the drop in foreign demand are Larnaca, where property sales are down 83%, and Limassol, where sales have fallen by 79%. The area least hit by the fall is Nicosia, but even there sales to non-Cypriots have dropped by 54%."

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"Pilots and cabin crew have come to blows on an international flight bound for India, media reports say."

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"Most transatlantic flights leaving the UK were grounded today by a break-down in air traffic control systems.

The fault happened at Prestwick airport's air traffic control hub at 8am, causing delays at airports across the country, a spokewoman for NATS, which is responsible for the UK's air traffic management, said.

She said: "We have put restrictions on aircraft entering oceanic airspace over the north Atlantic."

All airborne aircraft arriving in the UK have been safely landed using manual systems, she added.

Nats said that London's Heathrow was the worst affected by the delays, with flights to the United States delayed by more than two hours. "

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