Hong Kong airport's passenger and cargo business has bounced back to levels seen before the global financial crisis hammered the aviation industry, the city's airport authority said Sunday. Crediting a surge in travel during last month's Lunar New Year holiday, the authority said Hong Kong International Airport's February passenger and cargo figures rose 17 percent and 30.

An Air France airliner was forced to take emergency evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision with a private plane earlier this week, the French civil aviation authority said Saturday. The near miss happened on Wednesday when a Swiss Cessna failed to follow the standard route after take-off from Nice airport in southern France, cutting into the path of an Air France Airbus 319.

The Pentagon on Friday dismissed suggestions of protectionism in a massive contract for aerial refueling tankers and said US officials "value the contribution" of the European defense industry. Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, spoke after French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and others made harsh comments about bidding rules for the tanker contract that prompted the withdrawal of Airbus maker EADS.

Air France's insurance company Axa on Friday said it will appeal a Brazilian court ruling ordering the French carrier to pay compensation to the family of a victim in a major jet crash in 2009. "We will appeal this decision. This ruling cannot constitute a precedent," French insurer Axa said in a statement, adding that the Brazilian judgment did not meet certain criteria for receiving compensation.

Ten people were injured when a Nigerian Air Force plane overshot the runway at Port Harcourt airport, a senior official said Saturday. "The plane with 47 passengers and five crew was carrying out an emergency response exercise flight from Abuja when it skidded off the runaway and rammed into the bush yesterday (Friday)," the official of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria told AFP.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy criticised the United States on Friday over bidding rules for a tanker jet contract, saying it was "not the way" for Washington to treat its European allies. British premier Gordon Brown added he was "disappointed" at the changing of rules in favour of US aerospace giant Boeing, expected to win a multi-billion dollar contract to build an aerial refueling tanker plane for the US air force.

The Danish cabin crew of Scandinavian airline SAS accepted on Friday an eight percent pay cut during negotiations held as part of the company's cost-cutting measures, the CAU union said. The agreement allows the airline to save 500 million Swedish kronor (51 million euros, 70. 8 million dollars) per year, SAS said in a separate statement.

Spectators roared late Friday as the Paralympic cauldron flared to light in this western Canadian city, marking the start of the the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. On Saturday more than 500 athletes with disabilities from 45 countries will start competing in alpine skiing, biathlon and cross-country skiing, wheelchair curling and ice sledge hockey.

British Airways cabin crew will strike for seven days later this month after failing to reach agreement in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions, union officials said on Friday. The Unite union said in a statement that staff would spread the stoppages between March 20 and March 30 and warned that further walkouts may occur after mid-April.

British Airways cabin crew will strike for seven days later this month after failing to reach agreement in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions, union officials said on Friday. The Unite trade union said staff would spread the stoppages over a ten-day period between March 20 and March 30 and warned that further walkouts may occur after mid-April.