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A selection of this month's aviation news, sorted newest articles first.

• Ryanair places firm order for 27 737-800's
• KLM flight hits severe turbulence; 15 injured
• Qatar Airways signs for 80 A350's
• Avianca orders 38 Airbus airliners
• Air traveller with tuberculosis quarantined
• S7 orders 15 Dreamliners
• Pilots want Concorde to fly again
• Chinese company buys German airport
• Twin Otter crash in Peru; 8 survivors rescued
• Air France to replace 747's by 777's; order 30 A320's
• Cebu Pacific orders six ATR 72's
• Vueling opens base at Paris CDG
• AirTran orders 15 Boeing 737-700's
• Boeing sells 787 VIP to Hong Kong magnate
• Austrian Airlines offers business jet service
• Petters Group orders 5 A318 CJ's
• Alitalia cancels 400 flights due to strike
• NWA set to leave Chapter 11 protection
• SAA cabin crew refuse to fly
• Royal Jordanian orders 787's
• Air Canada Jazz CRJ nose gear collapses
• Iberworld sets up Portuguese branch
• UK International to launch flights in July
• Virgin America operations approved
• Canadian Snowbirds pilot dies in crash
• BA orders eight A320's
• Schiphol introduces new passenger scanners
• Tokyo Haneda asked to expand by government
• Woman with two kids arrested for hijack threat
• Boeing about to begin final assembly of 787
• TUI Group orders 61 Boeing aircraft
• Airbus starts construction of Chinese assembly line
• Aeroflot buys two MD-11's from Finnair
• AerCap orders ten A330-200's
• Boeing 777's accumulate 1 million ETOPS flights
• Turkey buys 30 F-16's
• Tatarstan Airlines orders six CRJ900's
• RAF jets intercept Russian aircraft
• Icelandair to buy Travel Service
• Italian arrested in Philippines for making terror joke
• Ryanair to add eight destinations from Weeze Airport
• Air One converts 50 A320 options into firm orders
• Flybe orders 15+15 Q400's
• Emirates orders four more A380's
• Kenya Airways 737 crash site found
• Nine peacekeepers die in Twin Otter crash
• Gulf Air becomes 100% Bahraini
• Kenya Airways 737 crashes in Cameroon
• Failed hijack attempt at Havana Airport
• Tiger Airways Australia to be based in Melbourne
• Copa Airlines orders four 737-700's
• NWA's Compass Airlines makes first flight
• ABX Air enters deal with ANA
• KLM accused of helping Nazis after WWII
• Jet Airways receives first 777-300ER

31/5: A KLM flight from Amsterdam to Osaka encountered severe turbulence while overflying St. Petersburg. The aircraft, a Boeing 777, was caught in an airpocket. While all passengers were seated at this time, the cabin crew had started the meal service and the drop caused bottles and trays to fly through the cabin. 14 passengers and crew members were slighty injured by flying objects, while one flight attendant suffered burns after getting hot coffee over her. The flight continued to Osaka, where the injured were taken to hospital for treatment.

30/5: Avianca Colombia has placed an order for 38 Airbus airliners, including 33 A319's and A320's and five A330's. It has also taken an option on another 27 A319's/A320's and five A330's. The Colombian carrier will also lease three aircraft.

29/5: Russian carrier S7 Airlines has ordered 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and taken an option on another 10 aircraft. S7 is Boeing's first Russian customer for the 787. Last month, the airline also placed an order for 10 Boeing 737-800's.

25/5: Chinese company LinkGlobal Logistics has signed a preliminary contract to buy the German airport of Parchim, located between Hamburg and Berlin. The former Soviet air base, which was converted into a civil airport in the 1990's, is reportedly being sold for 130 million euros. LinkGlobal plans to operate cargo flights linking Parchim with Zhengzhou in China. Its 3000 metre long runway allows operations with the Boeing 747 and Antonov An-124.

25/5: A DeHavilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by the Peruvian Air Force crashed during a domestic flight in Peru. Reportedly eight of the 20 people on board survived and were rescued after they managed to make a fire to attract attention. The plane, used to link isolated communities in the jungle, had taken off from the town of Orellana.

24/5: Air France plans to replace its entire fleet of Boeing 747's by 777's by the year 2012. The Jumbo Jets will be replaced by 18 new 777-200 Freighters and 777-300ER passenger aircraft. The French flag carrier will also order 30 new Airbus A320's, 19 of which will replace the oldest A320's in the fleet.

24/5: Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific has ordered six ATR 72-500 turboprops and taken an option on another eight aircraft. The planes are scheduled for delivery between 2008 and 2013. Cebu Pacific currently operates ten Airbus A319's and four A320's.

24/5: Spanish LCC Vueling has opened a new base at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. It is Vueling's third base, after Barcelona and Madrid, and the carrier's first base outside of Spain. With this move, the airline increases the number of routes from Paris from 3 to 12, flying to Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Ibiza, Madrid, Malaga, Milan, Rome, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Valencia and Venice.

23/5: AirTran has placed an order for 15 Boeing 737-700's, to be delivered in 2011 and 2012. The American LCC currently operates 87 Boeing 717's and 45 737-700's.

22/5: Hong Kong real estate magnate Joseph Lau has ordered a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in VIP configuration. This is the seventh VIP 787 sold by Boeing Business Jets, its catalogue price being USD 153 million. This year, the division has also sold seven BBJ versions of the 737.

22/5: Austrian Airlines has teamed up with business jet operator JetAlliance to offer business class passengers the option of flying to Vienna by bizjet to connect to an intercontinental flight on the Austrian flag carrier. This exclusive service includes separate passport control and security checks to minimise waiting times at Vienna. Star Alliance partner Lufthansa offers a similar service in collaboration with NetJets.

21/5: Investment company Petters Group Worldwide has ordered five Airbus A318 Elite Corporate Jetliners. The order follows a previous one for one such aircraft. The Elite can carry up to 18 passengers in a very luxurious configuration on routes such as London to New York.

21/5: Alitalia has announced it will cancel almost 400 flights due to a strike of Italian air trafic controllers on Tuesday, 22 May. The majority of cancellations affect international flights.

21/5: Northwest Airlines (NWA) is set to leave Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of this month. The company will issue new shares to raise funds for paying off its debts. Previously Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways also left Chapter 11.

20/5: The cabin crew of a South African Airlines flight from Washington D.C. to Johannesburg refused to fly after the flight was delayed for departure at Dulles Airport. The aircraft was taxiing to the runway when a delay was announced due to bad weather. After an hour, the captain was informed by the purser that the flight attendants would exceed their normal duty hours and did not want to fly. The captain however decided to operate the flight, as its was still within maximum crew duty limits - duty time can be extended up to three hours in such circumstances - but the flight attendants still refused. The aircraft then taxied back to the gate, and the airline had to find accommodation for all 244 passengers and the crew. Not all passengers could be accommodated and some had to spend the night in the airport terminal. The 14 cabin crew members face a suspension pending an investigation into their actions.

20/5: Royal Jordanian has joined the long list of customers for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. The Jordanian flag carrier has ordered two aircraft and taken an option on another two. It also stated that it itends to lease another eight 787's.

20/5: The nose gear of an Air Canada Jazz Canadair CRJ-100 collapsed after landing at Toronto Pearson Airport. The plane, with 37 passengers and 3 crew on board, had arrived from Moncton and its nose gear failed as the jet taxied off the active runway onto the taxiway. None of the occupants were injured.

19/5: Spanish carrier Iberworld will launch a Portuguese branch in June 2007 named Orbest. The airline will use an Airbus A330-200 from Iberworld to operate from Lisbon to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

19/5: Virgin America has been approved to start operations by federal regulators now that the airline has made several concessions, such as replacing its CEO and limiting foreign shareholders. The company had been trying to get an approval since December 2006, but the strict US laws which limit foreign ownership meant that the business plan needed to be revised. Reportedly some major American carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United tried to block the launch of Virgin America as well. The airline now plans to launch a San Francisco-New York JFK service this coming summer and also plans to operate to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and Washington D.C. within 12 months.

18/5: British Airways has ordered eight Airbus A320's. The aircraft will be delivered between 2008 and 2010. BA is replacing its Boeing 737 fleet wth aircraft from the A320-family to eventually reach fleet commonality.

18/5: Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport introduced a new type of scanner that basically allows screeners to 'see' below passengers' clothing. The new scanners use the so-called millimetre wave technology, which emits low-energy radio waves. The system shows a dim outline of a passenger's body and allows the screeners to detect any concealed weapons. Although airport authorities had initial concerns about complaints regarding privacy, passengers generally have no problem with the new system as it improves safety and speeds up security checks.

18/5: A panel of the Japanese government has requested Tokyo Haneda's airport authorities to handle more flights in order to increase tourism to Japan and improve links with other Asian countries. Haneda handles mostly domestic flights and currently is the fourth largest airport in the world in terms of passengers. The panel asked the airport to expand operating hours in the early morning and late evening, allow more charter flights from other countries and also accommodate a series of charter flights to Beijing during the Olympic Games in 2008.

16/5: An Indian woman travelling with her two children was arrested for threatening to hijack a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. The woman reportedly walked towards the cockpit during the flight and demanded to be let in, threatening to take over the plane. The cabin crew persuaded her to return to her seat. Upon arrival in Penang, the 35-year old woman, whose children are three and one, was arrested by the police and taken in for questioning.

16/5: Boeing received the last major structure of the 787 Dreamliner at its Everett plant and will soon begin the final assembly of the first aircraft. The manufacturer plans to roll-out the first 787 on 8 July (7-8-7). Boeing uses Dreamlifters, modified Boeing 747's, for transporting 787 structures between manufacturing and assembly plants worldwide.

16/5: The European travel concern TUI Group has placed an order for 61 Boeing aircraft, including 11 787 Dreamliners and 50 Next Generation 737's. The aircraft will be operated by Arkefly, Jetairfly, Thomsonfly, TUIfly and TUIfly Nordic.

15/5: Airbus has initiated the construction of an assembly line for A320's in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The plant is scheduled to deliver the first A320 to a Chinese airline by mid-2009, and the production rate should be four aircraft per month by 2011. The plant will be Airbus's third A320-family assembly facility, next to Hamburg and Toulouse. Airbus expects China to require 1900 single-aisle aircraft over the next 20 years.

14/5: Aeroflot Cargo has purchased two McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) MD-11's from Finnair. The aircraft will be converted from passenger to freight configuration and delivered to the Russian airline in 2009. They will replace DC-10's Aeroflot Cargo is currently using.

14/5: Dutch aircraft leasing company AerCap has placed an order for ten Airbus A330-200's. This follows a previous order for 20 of these aircraft in December 2006.

14/5: According to Boeing, the worldwide fleet of 777's has accumulated one million flights under Extended Twin Operations (ETOPS) rules. The Triple Seven was the first commercial airliner to be certified for ETOPS before entering service in 1995, launch customer United Airlines operating the first trans-atlantic flight. Boeing now aims at getting some versions of the 777 and new 787 certified for 330-minute ETOPS.

12/5: The Turkish and US governments have signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the purchase of 30 Advanced F-16 Block 50 jets. The final assembly of the aircraft will be done at TUSAS Aerospace Industries in Ankara, which has already delivered more than 200 F-16's to the Turkish Air Force.

12/5: Tatarstan Airlines has ordered six Bombardier CRJ900's and taken an option on another four of these regional airliners. The carrier is based in the Russian city of Kazan. The CRJ900 will have to be certified by the Russian aviation authorities before Tatarstan Airlines can operate the aircraft.

12/5: The Royal Air Force has revealed that two Tornado F3 jets from RAF Leuchars air base intercepted two Russian Tupolev Tu-142 Bear Foxtrot reconaissance aircraft off the Scottish coast. The Royal Navy was holding military exercises in the area with 13 other countries during 22 April and 3 May. The Russian planes left the area without further incident. Soviet aircraft were regularly intercepted by NATO planes during the Cold War, mainly over Northern Europe.

11/5: The Icelandair Group has signed a letter of intent to take over the Czech carrier Travel Service Airlines, which also owns the low cost carrier Smartwings. The combined fleet consists of ten Boeing 737-800's, two 737-500's and one Cessna Citation. Travel Service has ordered two Boeing 737-900ER's and one 787 Dreamliner. Icelandair hopes to get a larger market share in Eastern Europe through this move.

10/5: An Italian national was arrested at Manila Airport for allegedly making a joke about carrying nuclear bombs and being a follower of Osama Bin Laden. He is said to have made the joke while checking in for his flight to Hong Kong. The Italian can post a bail of US$ 210 for his temporary release, while he could face up to seven years imprisonment. He was the seventh person this year to be arrested onsuch charges in the Philippines.

10/5: Ryanair will add eight destinations to its route network from the German airport Weeze. As from the coming winter schedule, the carrier will fly to Milan-Bergamo, Trapani, Fuerteventura, Malaga, Seville, Valencia, Marrakesh, and Vaxjo. Ryanair will base two additional Boeing 737-800's at Weeze Airport.

8/5: Italian carrier Air One has converted an option for 50 Airbus A320's into firm orders, bringing the total of firm orders for this aircraft type to 90. The new aircraft will both replace the airline's Boeing 737's and significantly expand Air One's fleet.

8/5: British low cost carrier Flybe has ordered 15 Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turbopops and taken an option on another 15 of these aircraft. The new aircraft will replace the Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets which Flybe acquired as part of the take-over of BA Connect from British Airways.

7/5: Emirates Airline has ordered four additional Airbus A380's, bringing the total of orders for the double-deck aircraft to 47. The carrier will be the largest user of the A380 and expects to receive the first plane in the third quarter of 2008.

6/5: Cameroonian search and rescue personnel have found the crash site of the Kenya Airways Boeing 737 that went down the previous day after take-off from Douala. The plane crashed in a mangrove forest southeast of Douala, more than 100 kilometres from the site where the aircraft initially was believed to have gone down. There are no survivors among the 115 people on board.

6/5: Nine peacekeepers were killed when their De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter crashed in the Sinai desert. The aircraft, belonging to the multinational peacekeeping force in the Sinai peninsula, had taken off from El Gorah air base and was flying to St Catherine's airport on a training mission. Eyewitnesses said that the plane was burning as it went down.

5/5: Bahrain has taken full ownership of the airline Gulf Air, after Oman pulled out of the company. Gulf Air was initially started as a multinational enterprise with the UAE emirate of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar as its shareholders. Over the years, Abu Dhabi and Qatar have started their own succesful airlines. Gulf Air is in a deep financial crisis and has announced a reduction of 25% of its personnel to cut costs.

5/5: A Kenya Airways Boeing 737-800 which had taken off from Douala for a flight to Nairobi crashed near the town of Niete in southern Cameroon. The aircraft had originated in Abidjan and made a stopover in the Cameroonian capital. There were 106 passengers and nine crew members on board. There are no reports yet on the fate of the plane's occupants.

3/5: A Cuban military officer was killed in a gunfight during a failed hijack attempt by two military deserters who were trying to escape to the USA. The two boarded a Boeing 737 at Havana's Airport after the aircraft arrived from Santiago de Cuba. The passengers had already left the plane, and as the hijackers entered the aircraft the pilots managed to escape. The deserters are said to have killed another soldier when fleeing their base the Sunday before the incident.

3/5: Tiger Airways Australia has chosen Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport as its base. The budget airline is expected to base five Airbus A320's there to operate domestic flights in Australia.

2/5: Panama flag carrier Copa Airlines has ordered an additional four Boeing 737-700's. The airline now operates 24 Next Generation 737's and has an outstanding order for ten more of these aircraft. Copa operates four of the longest 737 routes in the world, from Panama City to Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo.

2/5: Compass Airlines, Northwest Airlines' new regional carrier, has made its inaugural revenue flight between Minneapolis/St Paul and Washington DC. The airline started with just one Canadair CRJ200 and expects to incorporate its first of 36 ordered Embraer E-175's soon.

1/5: A Dutch television programme has made allegations against KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, claiming that the carrier helped German war criminals to escape to Argentina after World War II. The airline supposedly did not follow up on information about fugitive Nazis on KLM's passenger lists who were banned from travelling, and it is said that airline staff actively helped them with their passage.

1/5: Indian carrier Jet Airways has received the first out of ten ordered Boeing 777-300ER's. The carrier will use the aircraft on its routes to London and to the USA and Canada. Jet Airways has chosen Brussels Airport as its en-route stop for services to and from North America.

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Aviation news from January, February, March and April 2007