Much talk is currently spreading about Emirates sending an Airbus A380 to Birmingham on 9th September as a one-off to celebrate the airport’s 75th anniversary and the opening of the new revised International Pier.

Whilst this information comes on good authority, and it seems there is a good chance it’ll happen, people are also saying they’re poised to switch it back to the usual Boeing 777-300 at last minute. There’s also the fact that the new international pier is well behind schedule and not likely to open until December.

Any updates would be appreciated if you are ‘in the know’

With Manchester United in the final of the Champions League against Barcelona, which is being held in Rome on Wednesday 27th May, Manchester Airport is expecting a whole host of extra charter flights.

TAS Manchester‘s website has the full list of what’s due, and a schedule. Be warned, most will operate early in the morning and late at night!

The Aviation Viewing Park at Manchester Airport will open at 5am on 27th and 28th May. Normal prices apply.

Click here for the list of flights.

A large number of flights will also operate on 26th May.

Those of you in Barcelona or Rome will also be treated to a large number of extra flights on those days.

Sorry for the late warning. Dutch Spotters are hosting another Rotterdam Aviation Fair inside the terminal building on Saturday 18 April.

Parking and entrance is free. Inside you’ll find many booths and tables selling all kinds of books, DVDs, models, slides etc.

You can also take part in ramp tours of Rotterdam Airport (I did one of these a couple of years ago and it proved very fruitful!). There’s also the chance to take a sightseeing flight to Amsterdam.

The event is open from 10am to 4pm. See this link for more information.

Upstairs, Rotterdam has a great viewing gallery overlooking the apron.

Qantas will begin flying their Airbus A380 into London Heathrow five days per week from 8 June 2009. This is an increase on the present schedule.

The days of operation are: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

The aircraft arrives from Sydney – Singapore on QF30/31

US cargo carrier ABX Air has started flying its Boeing 767-200 freighters into Europe in conjunction with TNT.

Currently a 5x weekly service is operating from New York JFK (sometimes via Halifax) to Liege in Belgium. This operates Tuesday-Saturday mornings.

Rumours are that more links with TNT will be flown by ABX Air in the near future. This is a great chance to see some rarer aircraft to our skies and airports.

From the winter timetables in October, the top 100 busiest airports in the USA are expected the number of flights operating through them to drop by 10%.

This comes after announcements from many of the major carriers that they are reducing their schedules, parking planes, and laying off staff.

In the US, American Airlines will cut 62 flights from Chicago O’Hare across its mainline and Eagle routes.

A full story can be read at http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-06-29-route-cutbacks_N.htm

Will this resonate around the world, with echoes across European and Asian airports?

For the spotter, will it mean aircraft are parked up and easier to catch, or will it make a trip to the airport less exciting?

For those of you in the North East of England, or planning on visiting the area, there’s an excellent website for Durham Tees Valley (formerly Teesside) Airport, run by Dave Anderson.

It lists all planned movements and automatically updates them in real time with registrations, types, and other information. It’s a unique tool for the local spotters and perfect if you’re planning a trip.

The site also has a lot of trip reports, photographs and other information on there.

Take a look at www.dtvmovements.co.uk