Transport

Survivors, including a seriously injured child, taken to hospital as state governor declares three days of mourning.

A bus returning from a religious festival in northeast Brazil has veered off the road on a curve and overturned, killing at least 16 people, including four children, officials said.

The bus had been carrying about 60 people when it tipped over in the rural interior of Alagoas state on Tuesday, ejecting some passengers while others were trapped beneath the wreckage.

The Alagoas regional government said in a statement that seven women, five men and four children were among those killed. The accident remains under investigation and was described as “highly complex”.

Brazilian media reported that the bus had been returning from celebrations for Our Lady of Candelaria, a religious festival in the state of Ceara that attracts thousands of devotees every February 2.

“The bus went off the road on a curve, overturned, and some people were thrown out,” said Colonel Andre Madeiro, director of the Alagoas Aviation Department, which took part in the rescue operation.

“Some were trapped under the vehicle. It was a very bad accident, even atypical,” he told a news conference.

Images posted on the X social media platform of the reported crash site featured a severely-mangled bus lying on its side as injured passengers sat nearby waiting for help.

Survivors of the crash, including a seriously injured child, were taken to hospital, where they remain under medical care.

“I express my solidarity with the families and friends at this time of such great pain,” Governor Paulo Dantas wrote on social media. Three days of mourning will be observed in the state, he said.

Deadly road accidents are common in Brazil.

In October, 17 people died in the northeastern state of Pernambuco when a driver lost control of a bus.

More than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil in 2024, according to the Ministry of Transportation, including in December 2024, when at least 32 people were killed when a passenger bus and a truck collided on a highway in southeastern Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais.

Also in 2024, a bus carrying a football team flipped on a road, killing three people.

A CANNY businesswoman faced with a nightmare train journey from London to Newcastle costing more than £100 flew instead for £30 cheaper — via Italy.

Victoria Williams, 42, had visited friends in the capital.

But what should have been a three-hour rail trip home on Sunday was hit by engineering works.

The £110 trek from Kings Cross to Newcastle involved two changes, including a bus replacement, and would take five hours.

Victoria spotted a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Milan, and then Milan to Newcastle, for a total of just £74 — despite travelling 1,400 miles instead of 240.

She took off at 2pm and arrived at Milan Bergamo two-and-a-half hours later.

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After some duty free shopping, she caught her return flight and landed at Newcastle at 8.10pm.

Mum-of-one Victoria said: “It’s ridiculous and shows the country is creaking at the seams.

“The Government needs to sort this out as London to Newcastle is a major route, connecting businesses and communities.

“Sunday is a major day of travel with people returning home to work after a weekend away.

“The situation is terrible for the economy and for people simply going about their everyday lives.”

“I was shocked when I saw how expensive the train was.

“My heart sank at the prospect of paying that much with the hassle of two changes with a replacement bus.

“I went on Skyscanner but direct flights to Newcastle were hundreds of pounds.

“I kept looking and finally found one via Milan for just £74.

“I felt guilty about the environmental aspect and embarrassed to tell my friends how I was getting home, but it seemed like the best option.

“I had a great time. I got gifts for my little boy in Italy, duty free cigarettes for my partner’s mum and had some lovely food.

“I waited for the connection in a warm, comfortable airport, with multiple shops and restaurants, rather than shivering on a freezing platform.

“I was able to sit quietly while charging my devices, and all in all had a very comfortable, relaxing time.

“I don’t regret it at all but it’s absolutely mad that flying from London to Newcastle via Milan can be cheaper and easier than getting the train.”

Israel says it will reopen the Rafah crossing on Sunday after nearly two years — but only for restricted, tightly controlled movement of people. Humanitarian aid remains barred. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reports from Rafah as Israel retains full security control.

Airports use technology for passenger flow, baggage tracking and predictive maintenance to enhance efficiency and experience.

As global air passenger traffic is forecast to hit 10.2 billion in 2026, a 3.9 percent year-on-year increase, investments have been pouring in to improve airport infrastructure and operational efficiency and use artificial intelligence to achieve it.

Working with data released by Airport Council International, airports are relying on the increasing use of AI to embrace the rise in demand.

AI is now being embedded in airports’ workflows to reshape everything from passenger flow management to airside maintenance, cybersecurity, lost luggage and enhancing on-site and virtual customer experiences, according to analysts and experts at the Airport AI Exchange event this month during discussions of the technology’s existing use and its potential.  

The use of AI-powered analytics to anticipate congestion at security, immigration and boarding points is also helping to prevent delays. Resources are being allocated to shift from reactive crowd management to predictive operations.

AI-powered baggage optimisation tools and biometric processing – which would allow passengers to walk through immigration without the need to present a physical passport – are also gaining traction as airports seek to improve passenger experience while maintaining operational efficiency.

“AI started changing very rapidly in 2017 and initiated this entire AI race and enabled us to really use AI, the neural network that we talked about and heard about since the 1940s,” Amad Malik, chief AI officer at Airport AI Exchange, said.

“Since then, the progressions have been very, very steep. If you look at the curve from the first day to now, AI is able to do so much more. In only the last two years, the ability has grown exponentially.”

What are airports using AI for?

In addition to quicker immigration controls, analysts said AI is aiding automated check-ins and boardings, baggage handling and tracking, and predictive maintenance. It is also enhancing passenger experience, providing security screening, and offering personalised services and assistance, they said.

AI-powered analytics can enable airports to tailor services and experiences to individual passenger preferences, fostering a more personalised and efficient journey from check-in to boarding, according to Mahmood AlSeddiqi, former vice president of IT for the Bahrain Airport Company.

While insights shared at the Airport AI Exchange suggested AI has advanced at an exponential pace over the past few years, some argue that aviation’s adoption of the technology has remained comparatively limited.

“AI has progressed exponentially over the past few years, but compared to that curve, aviation’s use of AI is still negligible,” said Malik, adding that that gap is partly explained by the sector’s reliance on legacy systems and its inherently cautious operating model.

Much of the technology still underpinning aviation operations dates back decades and innovation is often slowed by the industry’s safety-critical nature, he said.

“When you’re dealing with people’s lives, safety and regulation outweigh speed of innovation,” Malik noted.

A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region has killed at least five people. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the attack as an act of terrorism.