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First Choice Holidays will operate the first winter charter flights between the UK and Aruba from November.

Sir Richard Branson is in talks with Brazilian partners to start an airline in Latin America's largest country, the Agencia Estado news service said today. The airline would be a kind of 'Virgin Brazil' and would start out with domestic flights, although it may later expand with international destinations, Sir Richard told reporters at the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva.

Ryanair wants to install an aircraft maintenance unit at Beja Airport, Portuguese newspaper 'Diario Economico' reports today.

The Police are carrying out a series of road checks on the main Edinburgh Airport approach road today. Between 11:00 and 14:00, officers from the airport, road policing and road safety will stop cars at random to check roadworthiness. As part of the road checks, drivers will also be asked to produce their driving documents.

Work will start next week on a £14 million office and hotel development at Ratho Park close to Edinburgh Airport. The office development by The EDI Group is expected to take around 12 months, with the 97-bed room hotel opening its doors to the first guests in September 2009.

GE Security Inc plans to submit its CommerceGuard container security solution for participation in the next phase of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)'s testing and evaluation of container security devices (CSD).

The contract signed between Peru's public investment promotion body Proinversi¨®n and the Halcrow-Ikons-Chemonics consortium, which has been asked to draw up concessions for the ports of Paita, Pisco and Ilo, is being challenged by some politicians, sector analysts and port unions

Kalmar Industries, part of Cargotec Corporation, states that its new ECF50-90 5t-9t electric FLT series with ac AC power technology has joined its list of environment-friendly equipment that qualifies for the company's Pro Future ("green label") status (WorldCargo News, May 2008, p2).

South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) has approved a US$160M budget, projecting more than US$100M in capital spending and a slight increase in container traffic for the coming fiscal year.

Germany-based Jost, a leading manufacturer of systems, modules and components for the truck industry, has been acquired by international private equity firm Cinven for an undisclosed price. Further investments for the geographical expansion, the product extension and the development of the market are planned, said Cinven.

Rotterdam port Authority (GHR) has released the port's container traffic modal split figures for 2007, net of sea-to-sea transhipment.

Polzug Intermodal GmbH, the equal shares joint venture of DB, PKP and HHLA, has opened a new rail terminal in Wroclaw, Poland's fifth largest city, to serve a burgeoning market in consumer electronics and the automotive industry.

TUI said the transaction will allow it to ¡®further increase the flexibility of its business model while securing access to modern and fuel-efficient aircraft¡¯. The deal proceeds will be used to pay down existing debt. A spokesman said the transaction will have no impact on its ongoing discussions with Lufthansa regarding a potential merger of Germanwings and TUIfly, on which it said it will update the market in due course.

Private Indian airline Kingfisher plans an early September start of flights between Heathrow Airport and India. The airline's chairman and CEO, Indian tycoon Virjay Mallya, revealed in a BBC interview that the airline had obtained slots at Heathrow to the allow flights to commence.

Ryanair announced nine new winter flights from Birmingham Airport last week, but an eagle eyed reader tells us that there is a tenth route on offer. According to the airport website, Ryanair will add a 10th destination from Birmingham to Prague this winter. The flight will operate 5 times per week and commence October 26.

SriLankan Airlines is to operate non-stop flights between the Heathrow Airport and the Maldives this winter, Travelmole reports. The four times a week service will take off on October 26 with a flying time of 11 hours and 15 minutes. Two of the four return flights will be direct.

Cardiff Airport managers have played down fears that a 40% rise in the cost of air fares will have an impact on passenger numbers this season. The increase, caused by the soaring price of oil, threatens to put foreign holidays out of reach for thousands of families, according to analysts. The research, by the investment bank Morgan Stanley, suggests the rising cost of oil will lead to a downturn in the airline industry even worse than that after 9/11.

Air Berlin has been badly hit by soaring fuel prices, and a series of austerity measures may not suffice to keep the German low-cost carrier in the air, banking analysts have said. One is predicting that the second-biggest German airline behind Lufthansa will 'die a slow death.'

Ageing temper tantrum prone supermodel Naomi Campbell will have to return to Heathrow Airport to serve her 200 hours community service - equivalent to four 40 hour weeks - The People newspaper reports. It says that she 'will be ordered to welcome new arrivals to Britain with a smile and a kind word.'

State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd's 740MW gas-based power project in India's north-eastern Tripura state is likely to be shelved due to difficulties in shipping equipment through Bangladesh.