France warned Yemenia Airways on Friday it must make "very big efforts" to avoid being blacklisted in Europe following the Airbus crash off the Comoros. Facing protests from France's large Comoran community, President Nicolas Sarkozy named a former ambassador to Sudan to personally handle requests from grieving families. Sixty-six French nationals were among the 153 people on board the Yemenia Airbus that crashed in the Indian Ocean Tuesday. A 12-year-old girl is the only survivor. "This company is under strict surveillance," said French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau. "If it ...

Comorans began 30 days of national mourning on Friday for the victims of the Yemenia Airbus crash as France threatened to blacklist the airline and appointed an ambassador for victims' families. "From today, our country is in a period of mourning for 30 days," President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi announced on state television late Thursday. Sambi urged former colonial power France to help establish the cause of the crash -- the second affecting the France-based plane-maker in a month. A 12-year-old girl was the sole survivor among the 153 people on board ...

British Airways PLC announced Friday it will ground aircraft, slash seat numbers and postpone taking delivery of a dozen new Airbus A380 superjumbos as it faces a recession-driven decline in passengers. The airline said it carried 2.93 million passengers in June, 5 percent fewer than in June 2008. BA said that in response to the "challenging economic conditions" it was cutting its summer capacity by 3.5 percent, rather than the originally forecast 2.5 ...