Madrid  - The Spanair MD-82 jetliner that crashed in Madrid on August 20 was started by the co-pilot, press reports said Thursday.

The reports quoted a preliminary report by a commission investigating the accident, which has been leaked to the media.

The plane crashed at the airport after take-off, killing 154 and injuring 18 people.

The information transmitted to the plane's black box originated in the computer of the 31-year-old co-pilot, who had more than 1,050 hours of experience flying similar planes, according to the daily El Pais.

It was not unusual for the captain and co-pilot to take turns during flights, sources of the aviation sector were quoted as saying.

Helsinki - Finnish flag carrier Finnair is to slash 400 jobs after failing to agree on wage cuts with unions, the company said Wednesday.

Brussels - The European Commission on Wednesday approved Greek government plans for the privatization of Olympic Airlines, but told the carrier that it must pay back 850 million euros (1.2 billion dollars) in illegal state aid from the sale of its assets.

Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said an investigation had shown that Greece's ailing flagship carrier had receive financial help from the government since 2005.

"This aid is incompatible with the (European Union) treaty," Tajani said.

At the same time, the commissioner approved plans for a new, smaller carrier, which will be born from the ashes of Olympic and will likely be called Pantheon Airways.

Madrid - Spanair has instructed pilots to increase checks on takeoff warning systems of MD planes after the August 20 crash at Madrid airport that killed 154 people, press reports said Wednesday.

A commission investigating the accident has found that the wing flaps of the MD-82 which crashed were not correctly deployed, according to a preliminary draft report leaked to the media. Spanair confirmed that it had received a copy of the report.

The flaps are moveable panels on the rear edge of a plane's wings that help lift it on take-off.

The take-off warning system that should have alerted the pilots about the problem did not sound, the report was quoted as saying.

London - London's Gatwick airport, the second biggest in Britain, will be sold to a new owner following a ruling by the competition commission, its present owners BAA said Wednesday.

Several national and international firms are believed to be interested in buying Gatwick, south of London, which in terms of flight volume is the world's seventh-biggest airport.

Analysts said it could be sold for up to 2 billion pounds (3.6 billion dollars).

Around 35 million passengers passed through Gatwick in 2007.

The competition watchdog ruled last month that one of London's three main airports may have to be sold following complaints of a BAA monopoly.

Country’s premier international airline, Jet Airways, has disclosed that it has diversified its domestic network with the launch of three new daily services from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam, Goa and Pune.

According to the sources, the airline rolled out its inaugural services on these sectors with its innovative, high tech ATR 72-500 aircraft.