17.08.05
Helios Airways, the airline at the centre of the Athens plane crash tragedy, is due to fly one of its planes into Manchester Airport today. A spokesman for Helios said rumours that it had grounded all flights after the accident were untrue, Manchester airport said operations were continuing 'as normal' with the airline, and the plane is expected today.
Helios, which is owned by British and Cyprus registered Libra Holidays Group, flies into a number of UK airports from Cyprus. Travellers on a Helios flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, are expected to arrive at Manchester airport this afternoon. The same aircraft will then be used to fly passengers out to Paphos, Greece an hour later.
The airline continued to fly yesterday, with Helios adamant that its planes were checked and maintained to international standards. However, Greek television has reported that the 737 that crashed on Sunday had a history of technical faults.
Simon Calder, travel expert for the BBC Departure Lounge and the Independent newspaper, filmed at manchester airport, said passengers worried about using low-cost carriers needed to keep things in perspective. Air travel was "fantastically safe", he said.
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