A Virgin Atlantic flight out of New York City was forced to make an emergency landing in Boston following a cabin fire that authorities suspect was sparked by a phone charger. The London-bound plane was rerouted to Boston Logan International Airport, where all 217 passengers and crew were safely evacuated, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement. One passenger refused emergency medical treatment for a smoke-related complaint. The preliminary investigation has homed in on a phone charger, according to Massachusetts State Police, after wires were found protruding between passenger seat cushions where the fire originated. The blaze was extinguished by the flight crew.
When asked about the Virgin Atlantic incident, the FAA said in a statement, “Incident response and investigation is the top priority for the Hazardous Materials Safety Program and the FAA takes all incidents seriously.”

Source: World Airline News

British Airways is facing a fine of more than £183 million over several data breaches last year during which customer information was stolen. The UK Information Commissioner's Office has informed the carrier that it intends to penalise the operator with a fine equivalent to 1.5% of its global turnover for the 2017 financial year. British Airways disclosed last year that a theft of data from its website had taken place over the course of two weeks in August-September 2018. But it subsequently found that additional data may have been stolen from customers a few months earlier, in April-July. BA's turnover in 2017 reached £12.226 billion which means the overall fine amounts to just under £183.4 million.

Source: FlightGlobal

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has given Regional Express (Rex) the all-clear, after an audit found no issues with its safety record. The statement, published on 6 July, details a two-day safety audit at Rex’s Wagga maintenance facility, focusing on error reporting rates and the management of these error reports. The audit is part of a wider safety assurance review. CASA found “no current issues with the safety of Rex aircraft”. “CASA will carefully assess the information obtained in the course of the audit against the requirements of the applicable civil aviation legislation,” the authority adds. The authority will also take action against Rex, if there was "any evidence of serious safety issues...or with any unaddressed airworthiness concerns in relation to a particular aircraft".

Source: FlightGlobal