Vienna - Flughafen Wien Group, Vienna's international airport, reported on Thursday that its net profit before taxes increased by 19.2 per cent to 50.5 million euros (74.5 million dollars), as passenger traffic to North America and Eastern Europe grew.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to 69.9 million euros, up 14.8 per cent from 60.9 million euros in the first six months of 2007.

The airport collected revenues of 272.2 million euros, 13.7 per cent more than last year.

Madrid  - The identification of bodies of victims from Wednesday's plane crash in Madrid will take time, a Red Cross spokeswoman said Thursday.

More bodies were recovered from the wreck by rescue workers overnight. At least 153 people died in the crash, and 19 people remain critically injured.

A temporary morgue has been set up in an exhibition hall in the capital as the process of identifying bodies begins.

Frankfurt - A German Lufthansa AG airline collided with a bus on a Frankfurt airport runway, officials said Thursday.

Infrastructure giant GMR Infrastructure Limited has informed that GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has finally received approval from union ministry to levy UDF (User Development Fee) from all outbound passengers at the rate of Rs 375/- per head.

The levy will be in addition to the passenger service fee (PSF) of Rs 225 that passengers pay for security and airport infrastructure.

GHIAL is a subsidiary of the GMR Infrastructure and developer and operator of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA)

Brussels - The European Commission is investigating whether Ryanair's decision to cancel thousands of tickets bought through third-party websites breaches EU rules on air passenger rights.

"I can confirm that we have sent a letter" asking Ryanair to provide additional information, Fabio Pirotta, the EU's transport commission spokesman, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Wednesday.

The Irish low-cost carrier recently announced that all bookings made on non-Ryanair websites after August 11 would not be honoured, and that passengers would be refunded.

London - Passengers on a flight from Britain to Crete were given the choice of either arriving at their destination without their bags or getting off the plane, British media reported Wednesday.

Already seated aboard the flight, the passengers of a Viking airlines flight were told the aircraft needed to reduce its weight before the journey and that either half the passengers would have to disembark, or they could all go, but without their luggage.