Air New Zealand has begun hiring new cabin crew - but is not offering jobs to any of the flight attendants made redundant in last year's downturn.

Air NZ has taken an unusual approach as it defends itself from claims an alliance with Virgin will mean an inevitable downgrade of its services.

Ruben van Assouw joins a list of more than a dozen known examples of sole survivors from air disasters.

The Netherlands has gone into mourning over the deaths of at least 61 Dutch citizens among the 104 people on a plane that crashed in Libya.

The ash cloud from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano is still causing havoc for flights across the Atlantic.

Iceland's volcano has produced a 1,600km ash cloud off the west coast of Ireland that will force western Irish airports to shut down again.

Iceland's clouds of volcanic ash are menacing European air traffic again.

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand explains the rules for safely and legally operating a drone. Video / CAA