Disabled passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport are being forced to wait up to two hours for assistance disembarking aircraft, the aviation regulator said.

The European Commission has moved to break the deadlock with US authorities over new low-fares flights to the US from Cork.

An independent inquiry will be established following an unprecedented systems failure at the UK’s national air traffic control centre, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said.

The chaos that hit UK airports was clearing last night - but 38 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow this morning.

Future Government rail plans were thrown completely off track today after ministers scrapped a deal which would have seen Richard Branson’s train company lose its West Coast franchise

The British government has restated its opposition to a third runway at Heathrow as a senior Tory challenged David Cameron to show if he was a “man or a mouse” by reversing the policy.

Richard Branson today offered to run the West Coast Main Line for free to allow Parliament time to scrutinise an “outrageous” decision to award the franchise to rival FirstGroup.

London mayor Boris Johnson admitted today that there would be “imperfections and things going wrong” as the capital coped with the Olympics.

Virgin boss Richard Branson has asked the Football Association to “look again” at the timing of next month’s FA Cup final in the light of travel problems faced by Liverpool fans.

The European Union’s highest court will rule today on a challenge by US airlines to an airport carbon pollution charge.

A TORY MP who attended a stag party where guests dressed as Nazis has been sacked as a Commons aide for “offensive” behaviour and placed under investigation by David Cameron.

A volcanic ash “supremo” was appointed today by the British Government.

High levels of volcanic ash could return to the UK on Friday just as the bank holiday weekend getaway begins, forecasters have warned.

Irish airspace should remain open until at least 7.30pm this evening.

Ryanair bosses are to meet air-safety officials today in a bid to have flight restrictions lifted, after the airline, as well as Aer Lingus and easyJet, were forced to cancel flights as a new ash cloud made its way towards the UK.

SNOW and freezing temperatures continued to cause holiday travel chaos for road, rail and air passengers throughout much of Europe yesterday, raising fears that many will not get home in time for Christmas.

Management and unions locked in a bitter airport workers’ pay dispute will meet at conciliation service Acas on Monday in a bid to stop a strike which could wreck travel plans for millions.

The UK's Unite union said there was little hope of a breakthrough in its bitter cabin crew dispute with British Airways, despite agreeing to postpone a strike ballot.

British Airways cabin crew staff went on strike today after hopes of a last-ditch deal collapsed.

Hopes of a last-ditch deal to avert the first of a series of strikes by British Airways cabin crew plunged today when the airline’s chief executive said he did not expect any progress to be made during peace talks.

The British Government is stepping into the row between BA and the Unite Trade union to try to stop more strikes by cabin crew.

Pilots' leaders urged the new British government today to intervene in the British Airways cabin crew dispute, warning that a wave of strikes from next week threatened jobs.

Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson today branded the blanket ban on flights because of the volcanic ash as an “overreaction”, saying there had been “no danger at all” to flying.

A new ash cloud dashed hopes that air travel could begin to return to normal today as the row over the grounding of planes intensified.

The airline crisis deepened today when the UK flight ban was extended to at least 1am tomorrow.

Objectors claimed the Britigh government’s policy over the expansion of London’s Heathrow Airport was “in tatters” today after a High Court judge ruled that plans for a third runway must be reconsidered.

THE use of full-body scanners at British airports may breach human rights laws, the country’s equality commission said yesterday, potentially undermining the latest weapon against terrorism.

THE US and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen yesterday in the face of al-Qaida threats, after both countries announced an increase in aid to the government to fight the terror group linked to the failed attempt to bomb a US airliner on Christmas.

The British government has flown in the face of strong opposition by backing a third runway at Heathrow airport.

The UK government is expected to give the go-ahead today to a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Personal details relating to thousands of criminals have been lost in the latest in a line of Government data blunders, it emerged tonight.

Airlines will tomorrow get more of an indication of what charges they face for using one of the UK’s busiest holiday airports for the period 2009-14.

AIRLINES across Europe have been given four months to stop misleading customers on their ticket sales websites or face closure.

Police are confident that all the main players in the alleged airliner bomb plot have been accounted for, the British Home Secretary said today.

Motorists in Belfast city centre could face a congestion charge in a bid to cut down road usage, it emerged today.

Labour today continued its attack on rebel MP George Galloway for taking part in Celebrity Big Brother.

A POLICE officer desperately tried in vain to avert the Berkshire train crash which claimed seven lives, it was revealed last night.

SEVENTY years of seafaring were linked yesterday as, amid fanfares and fireworks, Queen Elizabeth officially named the Queen Mary 2.

Seventy years of seafaring were linked today as, amid fanfares and fireworks, the Queen officially named the Queen Mary 2.

Air travellers can expect security alerts like the one which caused the cancellation of flights to the USA this week to continue for many years to come, British Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said today.

Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair Holdings has asked to meet UK government Transport Secretary Alistair Darling before the European Commission ruling on whether Ryanair received illegal state subsidies at Charleroi airport in Belgium.

British Airways today said it would not rule out taking legal action if the British government announced plans to expand Stansted Airport rather than Heathrow.