Heathrow Airport may not be able to cope with the extra number of passengers during the Olympic Games, warn MPs. A letter seen by the BBC from Culture Select Committee chairman John Whittingdale sent to Culture, Media and Sport secretary Jeremy Hunt, outlines Mr Whittingdale’s concern over Heathrow’s ability to cope with the arrival of ordinary passengers during the Games.

It said: “While visiting tourists will understand that the Olympics is a busy time, if the wait (at immigration) is in excess of an hour it may deter tourists from returning.

“The second impact may be that planes cannot unload their passengers into the terminal due to capacity being exceeded. This would lead to circling in the air, planes being left on runways or planes blocking gates.”

Airport operator, BAA, said waiting times at Border Control were “frequently unacceptable” at peak periods and has asked Border Force to address the problem before it’s too late.

The sentiment is echoed by warnings made by four airlines earlier this year (British Airways, BMI, Easyjet and Virgin Atlantic), and also by Shadow Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, who said failure to act could harm tourism “for years to come”.

Border Force says it is now working with BAA to ensure it will be ready to cope with the extra passengers.

There have been several surveys into travellers’ gripes on flights, one of which was children on flights. A Business Meetings & Travel show survey found that 74% of business travellers were annoyed by children on flights, suggesting sections for adults only. A similar survey by Skyscanner in 2010 found similar results with 59% wanting a ‘families only section’.

These results have not gone unheeded, with Malaysia Airlines confirming that it is to ban children from the top deck of its A380 aircraft on its London to Kuala Lumpur route. It also plans to implement the adult only sections on flights to Sydney from September.

The top deck of the aircraft holds 70 economy and 66 business class seats, passengers must now be 12 years and over to sit in this section. The airline said the decision follows many complaints from passengers regarding noisy children on flights.

What do you think to this change? Is it welcome? Or are you a parent that feels this is segregation too far? Comments below please.

Industrial action by pilots in SEPLA union is to cause much travel disruption on flights to Spain and Portugal. Strikes will be held every Monday and Friday until 20th July in protest against Iberia parent IAG‘s decision to launch a new low-cost airline Iberia Express.

Iberia were forced to ground 150 flights on Monday. British Airways is giving passengers booked to travel to Spain on these dates the option of cancelling or switching dates to fly.

Tomorrow there will be a strike by air traffic controllers in Portugal between 7:00hrs and 9:00hrs, further strikes will be held between these times on 19th, 20th,26th April.

Check the status of your flights with your airline  if they are during these times.

The ‘little piggy’ bank advert which claimed up to 30% off every seat, every route, every day by Easyjet has been withdrawn after an order from the Advertising Standards Authority.

Customers complained to the ASA that some of the available fares were the same price as before the promotion started. Easyjet argued that the seats were still discounted, but they were in a more expensive price bracket as the cheaper flights had sold out.

The advertising watchdog also found that the discount was not as high as 30% on more expensive peak time flights and banned the use of the advert and told the company to in future ensure at least 10% of seats be available at the advertised discount. The ASA also insisted that the airline had to include information about its pricing structure.

As part of Etihad Airways‘ global expansion and 28% rise in revenue of the first quarter of 2012, the United Arab Emirates airline is to increase capacity to London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur, as well as starting services to Basra and Lagos.

The airline now has a global network spanning 84 cities in 54 countries with passenger numbers increasing by 500,000 to 2.4 million since the same time last year.

Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, commented on Etihad’s strategy for growth in passenger numbers: ”We are flying with fuller planes across the network and our codeshare partnerships played a major role in this growth, accounting for 18 per cent of our revenues in the quarter.”

As one Easter weekend travel disruption is called off, another looms. A return to 100% passport checks at the borders when staff numbers have been cut will cause gridlock over the weekend claim some airlines.

The British Air Transport Association (BATA) has written to Home Secretary Theresa May on behalf of eleven major airlines including Virgin, BMI, Easyjet and British Airways to express concern over the situation.

According the the Daily Mail, Virgin has sent a separate memo saying airport operation will be at risk as delayed passengers fill airport terminals.

The memo said: “At peak travel periods, such as the Easter holidays, there is a very real chance of gridlock at UK airports.

“The UK Border Force has been streamlined in recent years with 25 per cent fewer border officers and an increasing emphasis on technology such as passenger e-gates. We fear that this level of resource is incompatible with a return to 100 per cent checks and if left unaddressed will cause congestion at UK airports.”

A UK Border Force spokesman said: “We’re working with airlines to ensure security is maintained and disruption is minimised. There is no evidence that there is going to be disruption.”

Hundreds of thousands of people were allowed to enter the UK last month without being checked against a Home Office watch list.

A US pilot appeared to suffer a mental breakdown during a JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas earlier in the week.

Captain Clayton Osbon reportedly ran through the isles of the plane ranting about a bomb threat, Iraq, Afghanistan and al-Qaida before being taken to the back of the plane to be calmed down by cabin crew. When he attempted to re-enter the locked cockpit, he was pinned down by four passengers until the plane was safely landed in Texas.

An off-duty pilot who happened to be a passenger on board helped the co-pilot to land the plane safely.

One news report said Mr Osbon shouted: “They’re going to take us down. They’re taking us down. They’re going to take us down. Say the Lord’s prayer.”

The airline issued a statement to say that there had been a “medical situation” involving the captain, who has since been taken to hospital.

Chief executive of JetBlue, David Barger, told NBC News that there was nothing in Mr Osbon’s records that suggested he could be a risk. He told reporters: ”I’ve known the captain personally for a long period of time and there’s been no indication of this at all.”

The pilot has now been charged with interfering with cabin crew, while the FBI coordinates an investigation with the airport police, Amarillo police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Safety Administration.

Easyjet is to begin charging passengers to reserve specific seats for the first time from April this year. The charges are £8 for rows two to eight, £12 for extra legroom seats and £3 for the rest. The airline insists that this is not to make more money, but to take the stress out of boarding.

Chief Executive Carolyn McCall told The Times that the airline has spent £5m on the new seat reservation computer system to “take the stress out of boarding.”

She admitted that she didn’t expect the majority of passengers to take up the new option, and that most of those who did not pay the extra will still be able to sit with their travelling companions.

The first destinations to offer the service include Sharm-el-Sheikh, Istanbul, Malaga and Alicante. The airline will email passengers booked on flights to these destinations to give them to option of paying for reserved seating.

You would think that you would feel safe from robbery on a plane, but unfortunately this is untrue for a flight from Jakarta to Singapore on Sunday.

According to the Straits Times, two Chinese nationals are alleged to have attempted to steal from sleeping passengers carry-on luggage. The pair rifled through bags stowed in overhead cabins, in one case they found US$5,000 in a laptop bag.

They were caught in the act by a crew member on the Singapore Airlines flight, and once they landed in Changi Airport, police were there to make the arrests.

According to the newspaper, there have been several incidents such as this in the last month. Police, airlines and crew have been alerted.

The run up to the Easter holidays are going to be problematic for travellers going abroad to Europe. Strikes at airports in Germany, Italy and Spain are likely to cause severe disruption all this week.

Lufthansa had to cancel dozens of flights today, including services between London and Frankfurt as ground handlers at German airports went on strike this morning.

Easyjet were also affected as it cancelled a flight between Luton and Schonefeld and warned passengers travelling from Berlin to London to travel with carry-on luggage only, if possible. British Airways advised passengers to check their flight’s status before going to the airport. BA also advised passengers travelling to Milan to do the same as there are also strikes at Milan airports.

There is a general strike in Spain on Thursday which is likely to lead to widespread delays and cancellations.  BA is giving passengers the option of re-booking to travel today, tomorrow or on 3rd-6th April inclusive. Easyjet and Ryanair have advised passengers to get the latest information on their websites  as the situation develops.