Inspired by the future shape of Canary Wharf's Crossrail station and excited that the long and complicated process of cracking on with the building project is finally creaking into action, it was reassuring yesterday to see corporate airport beast BAA stump up £230 million towards the project which will massively improve rail access to Heathrow as well as east to west cross city travelling generally. Rumours that this long anticipated contribution are in any......

The Tories have something different in mind for the proposed third runway at Heathrow: scrapping it in favour of high speed trains. Transport spokeswoman Theresa Villiers confirmed this morning at the Conservative Party Conference "that a Conservative government would say no to a third runway at Heathrow." The theory is that trains are greener than planes and will thus help cut carbon emissions. We're quite fond of riding the rails at Londonist; it's definitely......

Things are virtually back to ‘normal’ at Heathrow after a glitch in the air traffic control system caused flight chaos. Al Gore and Gwynnie have indulged in a very expensive lunch in London to raise funds for Obama. Elsewhere in the capital, descendants of Shackleton prepared to follow in his footsteps by eating a very fattening dinner. The plague of teenage stabbing has spread west – a 19 year old youth has died in......

After his disrupted return from hols back in August, Mayor Johnson vowed to investigate alternatives to our existing London airport situation given the regular breakdowns the big 2 experience, strident opposition to Heathrow expansion and stalling on City Airport's expansion plans. As good as his word, he really is considering the pros and cons of a Thames Estuary airport. More productively, he's calling on government to commission a feasibility study into it as they're......

Parents, eh? They can be so embarrassing. If they're not getting pissed on the port at a family wedding and hokey-cokeying themselves into the nearest A&E, then they're threatening former Beatles or predicting a British 9/11. That's what Abdul Fostock has to deal with - his pappy is the ex-Tottenham Ayatollah, Omar Bakri Muhammad. Dad's latest outbursts aren't helping the 25-year old Mr Fostock, who lives in Britain, as he trys to reclaim some......

BA may have embarked on an advertising campaign to remind folk that T5 is "working", but what's a much better way of getting people to forget said terminal's troubled birth? Show them that it's by far the only problematic part of Heathrow. Last night some 3,000 people were embroiled in chaos at Terminal 3, as a computer glitch resulted in two cancelled flights, several more delayed, and disruption to thousands of travellers. People were......

It's no secret that the opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5 wasn't the greatest success in British aviation history. The words "pissup", "brewery" and "couldn't organise a" were very much to mind as the umpteen-billion pound Richard Rogers-designed structure conspired to lose thousands of bags and strand countless passengers (including that nice Naomi Campbell, no less) when the ribbon was officially cut in March. With things having settled into some semblance of order, top brass......

Despite being branded a "a white elephant" by former chief scientific adviser Sir David King, plans for the third Heathrow runway steam ahead. With efforts to raise their case proving less than effective, protesters are now getting tough. Like a bunch of latter-day Chuck Norris types, groups including Camp for Climate Action, Hacan and Greenpeace are planning a series of "militant technique" camps throughout September, teaching protesters the fine arts of wall-climbing, chaining oneself......

Time was that travellers driving to Heathrow were greeted with the sleekly moulded contours of a model Concorde as they drove past the airport's entrance roundabout, a sight rich with the promise of airborne dreams and the supersonic age. Sadly the 2000 crash-landing and post-9/11 penny pinching by joint operators British Airways and Air France meant the costly jet was soon sacrificed, with the remaining craft grounded in 2003 and sent to museums (including......

The ever-uncertain outlook for the aviation industry has prompted desperate actions by some airlines. BMI has been forced to deny the claim made by an employee that they will fly near-empty planes over the summer in order to preserve highly lucrative landing slots at Heathrow. Meanwhile, Ryanair has trimmed it's London services, grounding 15 flights from Stansted as passenger numbers drop and oil prices rise. Time to consider a different mode of transport - by......

Flight fashion: it’s such a minefield of tricky choices to be navigated with the utmost care. You want comfort, as it’s unlikely to be found on the plane itself. You want something non-restricting should you be required to brawl. You want something that bespeaks a certain sophistication so that those greeting you upon arrival will marvel at your transformation. You want something that says, “Mr DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” After much deliberation,......

Two aviation stories in one day? Reports reach us that a major protest is taking place this afternoon near Heathrow. Now then - the row over a third runway is well-developed. In one corner, pro-expansionists cite the economic benefits to the local area, to London and to the nation of improving an airport that is 98% full. The argument seems pretty water-tight to us (ignore the tourism deficit argument, it's fatuous). In the other......

Everyone's favourite and fabulous phone-throwing supermodel, Naomi Campbell, was "bitterly disappointed" to lean that she'll be called to court June 20 and charged with assaulting two police officers in T5. The supermodel learned of her charges his morning at the Heathrow police station, which include three counts of assaulting a constable, one count of disorderly conduct and two counts of threatening the cabin crew on her flight. She could potentially be facing six months in......

Entreaties from badly-barnetted glam-rock acts notwithstanding, residents living in Heathrow's flight path can't help but feel the "noize", every sodding morning as the first jet of the day - BA Flight 26 from Hong Kong - roars out of the dawn sky and touches down shortly after 5am. A week after a group of councils lost their case over halting night flights, campaigners are taking a more direct approach to ensure that the aural......

Slightly-odd Liza Minnelli was detained last night at Heathrow. No, not because of Class A's in her luggage. Nor was it because of some Diana Ross-style diva fit. This was simply due to sheer incompetence by her team. Apparently they had failed to arrange her a Work Permit. While the definition of 'Work' might normally mean 'Plumbing' or 'Banking', it also seems to cover 'Being Freakish But Kind-of Fascinating on Stage', as Liza has......

Of all the problems Heathrow's colicky baby T5 has been having in its first few months, we've mostly heard about masses of lost baggage and inconveniently cancelled flights. But now there's a whole new reason to be alarmed, or at least freshly disappointed, at the terminal's inefficiency -- security errors due to the the Fiver's confusing layout have allowed international travelers into the UK without any immigration or customs control by sending them to domestic......

The BBC have been busy analysing the Mayoral marketing campaigns, slogans and dress sense. S'pose tomorrow it will be diet and diction. St-Martins-in-the-Fields-in-the-middle-of-the-city has reopened following its refurbishment. Statue round-up: whilst plans are already afoot for a memorial to London’s wartime evacuees, the RAF are lobbying for a Trafalgar Square statue in honour of WWII hero Sir Keith Park. Tube drivers will be glad to know that bad-taste-film-of-the-year Three and Out has flopped at......

Not that this is any surprise to those following the T5 bungle, but plenty of passengers still don't have their bags back, despite all the sorting, dividing, shipping to Milan and magical voodoo that BA has been up to over the past two weeks. Now one passenger, Michael Birtles, managing director of European Rail, who has been missing his bag since T5's opening day, March 27, is trying to speed up the process by offering......

It's not often we sympathise with stroppy supermodels, but we actually feel some sympathy for Naomi Campbell today. She's been released on bail after being arrested yesterday at Heathrow after an alleged incident at Terminal 5. Apparently, she checked two bags in at Terminal 5 when she checked in for her flight to LA. Once she boarded the plane, she was told one of her bags had gone missing. According to her spokesperson, BA......

With T5 still a mess, British Airways is getting creative when it comes to trying to clear a backlog of 19,000 bags. The company is outsourcing some of its sorting work by having thousands of bags shipped to a Milan courier to be dispensed across mainland Europe. May as well let some professionals handle this. Some of the bags are traveling by lorry to Milan, and they'll also be going overground to their recipients. So......

With the situation showing little sign of improvement at the brand new T5, London's aviation bosses are keen to turn the public's attention to plans for dealing with the real elephant in the Heathrow departure lounge - the traffic congestion caused by still only having two runways. Yesterday saw the first test of a solution that could be in commercial use as early as next year. The bold plan seeks to double potential runway......

Honestly, did you really ever expect to see that headline? This is what London does better than anybody: ballsing up big civic projects. Think of the Dome, or the Millennium Bridge. It wouldn't be a proper London opening if chaos and confusion weren't part of the mix. Despite all the test runs, T5's first day of operational use quickly turned into a farce. Early teething troubles with the baggage system meant the entire system......

The first landing on T5's smooth, new runway must surely be a momentous occasion. After all, it's not only got a snappy 21st century moniker but a spanking new art work, controversial fingerprinting technology and purple halls and stripy seats. Special. But, with a complete lack of foresight, T5 missed out on the first London touch down of the infamous double decker jumbo the A380 last week. Dang. Instead, its chosen publicity stunt is......

Tell us something we didn’t know: London is the most expensive city to live in worldwide, according to UBS research. Pro-Tibet protesters target British Museum’s First Emperor exhibit. Heathrow to charge drivers £20 to drop off passengers if sixth terminal proposal is approved. In other Heathrow news, super jumbo jet completes inaugural flight to London, with 470 passengers aboard. Mohammed Fayed fails in his bid to make the Queen and Prince Philip testify at......

Her Maj has cut the ribbon on Heathrow's Terminal 5. The £4.3 billion node, designed by Richard Rogers, opens for non-Royal business on 27 March. The BBC has all the facts and figures you could ever need. Rather than repeat them, with added quips, we'll simply point you in the direction of our sneak preview and leave you with a few images of this immense addition to London's international transport network.......

Heathrow panic over rucksack man, running onto runway. He removed his shoes first though as per airport protocol. Woman charged over drug mule children with illegal leg loads. Environmentally aware, double-barrelled teen to ski to North Pole. The Royals are checking out their sugar suppliers in Silvertown And, newer, shinier, longer DLR trains are GO (thanks IanVisits!). Image courtesy of rodfdoyle via the Londonist flickr group.......

2012 "Friend-ship" scheme shelved before it sets sail. Is the sun setting on the Square Mile? Grape of wrath: Man slips on squashed fruit and sues M&S for "loss of confidence". We think he's got more chance of turning a profit by sending the video in to You've Been Framed. Stingy NHS won't cough up money for grandmother's sight-saving operation. Costs for parking a plane at Heathrow set to rise. Naturally, passengers will be......

And it worked. After months of news items devoted to Heathrow's T5, baggage mishaps, proposed terminal and runway expansions, and Greenpeace protests, the UK’s third busiest airport has finally said to hell with all that and made its own bid for a bit of attention. And what a bid it is. BAA’s plans to double the size of Stansted – second runway, second terminal, open for business by 2015 – would mean, according to......

Residents vs. architects: Those who live in Robin Hood Gardens want the estate demolished, whilst architects fight to save “seminal” modernist buildings. Your daily crime round-up: “Osama bin London” jailed indefinitely; cleaner who killed 94-year-old widow jailed for life; financial trader denies involvement in murder of wealthy writer. We’re sensing a pattern here: Man scales Japanese embassy in London to protest Japanese whaling. Met to build firearms training centre near Heathrow; increased security concerns......

Protesters have this morning scaled atop the roof of the Houses of Parliament in protest at the planned expansion of Heathrow Airport. Just days after a similar protest at the airport itself, the five activists, from airline campaign group Plane Stupid, gained access via a fire escape, having got into the building on visitor passes, and unfurled a series of banners, one of which read "No 3rd runway at Heathrow", another "BAA Headquarters". For......