Flights resume as US recovers from Hurricane Sandy

As the US Northeast recovers from Hurricane Sandy, the following is a list of service updates for New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia:

More than 18,100 flights have been cancelled and that number is expected to rise, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said JFK and Newark airports would open at 7 am on Wednesday with limited service, while LaGuardia remains closed.

Dulles and Reagan airports near Washington, DC, resumed a limited number of flights on Tuesday and many airlines were likely to resume operations on Wednesday. Some flights were operating at Philadelphia Airport and Boston's Logan Airport.

Air France-KLM Posts Higher Quarterly Profit

Air France-KLM on Wednesday posted quarterly profit up almost six percent, helped by a weak euro and strong passenger traffic over the summer.

Operating income was EUR€506 million (USD$657 million) in the quarter to September 30 on sales of EUR€7.18 billion, up 5.8 percent from a year ago.

"The group realised a satisfactory third quarter across all its businesses with the exception of cargo," Air France-KLM said in a statement on Wednesday.

Air France-KLM said it had a "good summer season" at its passenger business, with passenger revenue up 7.9 percent. Its cargo business, however, was "further impacted by the economic slowdown and the situation of overcapacity in the industry."

US Airlines Cancel Flights As Sandy Approaches

Hurricane Sandy will likely cause financial headaches for US airlines that cancelled more than 7,000 flights to and from the Northeast corridor on Sunday.

Hotels in the region were busy handling cancellations for guests who could not get to destinations in the Northeast, extending stays for those who could not leave town, and booking rooms for people who left their homes.

Airlines started cancelling flights in the US Northeast region on Sunday evening as cities from Washington DC to Boston braced for floods and high winds from the hurricane, which was expected to make landfall in the next few days.

According to Flightaware, more than 7,100 flights had been cancelled by 9 pm on Sunday due to Sandy. Airlines waived fees for people who have to change travel plans because of the grounded flights.

Plane Crash: Families Want Overseas Treatment for Suntai’s Aides

FAMILIES of the injured aides of Taraba State Governor Dambaba Suntai, on Sunday, asked the government to extend same overseas treatment to their loved ones as their injured boss.

The governor and the aides were the occupants of the Cessna 208, 5N-BMJ Jet that crashed at the Yola airport last Thursday.

Some members of the families who craved anonymity told journalists in Abuja that if the governor could be flown to Germany, it showed that the government lacked confidence in the local hospitals.

They spoke their minds when the injured aides were transferred from Yola to the National Hospital, Abuja, 30 hours after Suntai was flown abroad.

Plane crash: Taraba Gov to be flown to Germany

There are indications that Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba state who was involved in a plane crash on Thursday will be flown to Germany for further intensive treatment.

on Friday morning, an air ambulance chartered by Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State had arrived Yola and flew the injured governor to Abuja several hours later.

However, the rest of the crash victims including the governor’s aide de camp are still being treated at the Federal Medical Centre Yola.  

It will be recalled that Suntai was flying to Yola before the aircraft, a Cessna 208 plane, crashed on approach for landing behind the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation depot in Yola about 18 nautical miles to Yola Airport.

Gov Suntai and five others were onboard at the time of the incident but all the passengers survived, though with varying degrees of injuries.