Week in brief 080410

Gold Coast Airport has joined the SmartGate set, with the passenger processing technology being unveiled at the airport this week. SmartGate, which enables eligible travellers to self-process through Customs, will assist the airport to cope with record growth in international passengers (up 92 per cent last year) making it the fifth busiest international airport in the country now. (Image shows Minister O'Connor opening SmartGate at GCA.)

Victorian businesses in the aviation sector that are already exporting, or are considering exporting, are invited to be part of the Victorian Government's presence at the China Civil Aviation Mission (overseas trade fair) in Beijing from 12 to 16 May this year.

There's also a general trade mission to South Africa and Botswana in May if anyone is interested.

More details at www.export.vic.gov.au

As it pushes the limits in the search for revenue sources, Ryanair is attracting some unfavourable criticism in the UK. The notorious LCC is proposing to charge 20 pounds per suitcase during the peak holiday period of July/August this year, claiming that it merely wants to encourage people to travel light. But a press report in the UK says that the move will penalise families most - those who are already up for considerable investment in holiday travel.   

Pilatus reports that, despite a challenging 2009, the manufacturer still managed to deliver a record number of PC-12 single-engine turboprops. However Pilatus warns that, "Although these figures reflect a successful performance overall, the volume of orders for business aircraft has fallen, and incoming orders remain sluggish... We have not yet seen the back of the global financial and economic crisis. Every possible effort is being made to win new orders, but the situation remains challenging."

Travel Daily and others have reported that two German women were arrested at Liverpool Airport in the UK after they attempted to smuggle a corpse onto a flight. Apparently the pair were detained “on suspicion of failing to give notification of death” of a 91-year-old relative. In a move reminiscent of the immortal movie Weekend at Bernie’s they apparently put the body into a wheelchair with sunglasses on and bought him a ticket in an attempt to get him to Berlin for burial.