Syria

Syrian Air was established in autumn 1946 with 2 propeller aircraft and started to fly between Damascus, Aleppo, Deir-ez-Zor and Qamishli. Operations began in 1947. Financial difficulties caused the suspension of services in 1948, but after receiving government support operations were resumed in 1951. The airline expanded during the next years to include Beirut, Jerusalem, Cairo, Kuwait and Doha, in addition to flights during the hajj. The airline started its operations in 1947 using 2 Beech D-18s and 3 Douglas DC-3's. The Dakotas had been acquired from Pan American World Airways which provided technical assistance to Syrian Air during the very first years of operation. The airline's domestic network linked Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Qamishli, and Palmyra. Syrian Air also operated a regional network, with flights to Beirut and Doha. In 1948, the war in Palestine and financial difficulties led to the withdrawal of PAA and to the suspension of service until the summer of 1952. The following year, one of the airline's Douglas aircraft crashed near Damascus killing all 9 onboard. The airline's operating permit was cancelled following the crash. The D-18s had been returned to the Syrian Arab Air Force in 1949 while 4 additional Dakotas were acquired between 1952 and 1956. In 1952, the airline was provided with 3 Douglas DC-3's and with 4 DC-4's in 1954, while in 1957 it received 4 Douglas DC-6s. 1 of the older Dakotas crashed during its climb out of Aleppo's Nejrab Airport during a heavy storm in 1956. The 19 people on board died in the airline's worst accident to date. 2 Douglas DC-4/C-54 Skymasters were followed by a Douglas DC-4-1009 acquired from Swissair in 1958, complementing a active fleet of 4 Douglas C47-Dakotas. The network was expanded to Dhahran in the Persian Gulf while frequencies were reinforced elsewhere. Egypt and Syria decided to unite under the Gamal Abdel Nasser leadership and the countries became the United Arab Republic in 1958. The merger between Syrian Air and Misrair, the state-owned airlines of Syria and Egypt, came as a consequence of this political union. The airlines merged on Christmas Day 1958 to form United Arab Airlines. At the time of the merger, Syrian Air was still only a small regional airline, while Misrair was the largest and oldest airline in the Arab world, operating a extensive network out of Cairo, the region's metropolis. During the interlude, only regional and domestic routes were operated in Syria while flights further afield connected at the Cairo hub. 2 planes inherited from Syrian Air were written off between 1959 and 1961: the DC-4-1009 which was ditched in the Congo River as it was carrying cargo from Accra to Leopoldville in 1960, and a Dakota which crashed on its final approach of Kamishly on a domestic flight from Aleppo in 1961. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in either accident. The union between Egypt and Syria ended later that year because of tensions between the leaderships of the 2 provinces of the U A R. The Syrian Arab Republic was declared in Syria while Egypt chose to continue to carry the title of U A R for a few more years. In parallel to that divorce, Syria withdrew from UAA. All airliners previously owned by Syrian Air were given up to the Syrian authorities. Syrian Arab Airlines was founded in October to take over UAA's operations in Syria and to become the new national airline. The fleet initially consisted of 3 Douglas C47 Dakotas, 2 Douglas C54 Skymasters, 2 Douglas DC-6Bs and a Douglas DC-6B freighter which was later sold to LAC-Colombia. Domestic and regional flights were promptly resumed, and the fleet originally was painted in a green livery reminiscent of that of the Syrian Air colors. S. A. A. L purchased a third DC-6B from SAS in 1962. Flights to Rome and Munich were started in 1963, followed by flights to London and Paris in 1964. A new livery was then introduced with alternating dark blue and red stripes for the cheatline. Syrian Arab Airlines became a founding member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization and entered the jet age in 1965 with the purchase of 2 Sud Aviation 210 Super-Caravelle 10B3s. These beautiful jets enabled the airline to expand and reinforce its network with the addition of flights to Luxembourg, Prague, and Bahrain. A slightly altered livery was introduced for the occasion, removing the parallel stripes from the fin and removing the red stripes from the cheatline. In 1966, Syrian Arab Airlines used the Caravelles on flights to Europe as well as the high density Middle Eastern routes and on flights to South Asia. Routings were as follows; eastbound: Damascus-Aleppo-Beirut 3 times a week, Aleppo-Beirut 2X, Damascus-Beirut twice daily, Damascus-Jerusalem 2X, Damascus-Baghdad-Teheran 2X, Damascus-Jeddah 1X, Damascus-Kuwait 3X, Damascus-Bahrain 1X, Damascus-Doha-Sharjah, Damascus-Doha-Sharjah-Karachi-Delhi 1X and Damascus-Dhahran-Sharjah-Karachi 1X. Westbound: Damascus-Athens-Rome-Munich-London 1X, Damascus-Istanbul-Prague-Luxembourg 1X, Damascus-Nicosia 1X, Damascus-Athens-Munich-Paris-London 1X, Damascus-Aleppo-Istanbul-Luxembourg 1X and Damascus-Nicosia-Rome-Paris-London 1X. Domestic: Damascus-Latakia 5X, Damascus-Palmyra-Deir-ez-Zor 3X, Damascus-Deir-ez-Zor-Aleppo 2X, Damascus-Deir-ez-Zor 1X, Damascus-Aleppo-Kamishlie 6X, and Damascus-Aleppo X5 including the flights continuing to Beirut. Luxembourg is a rare destination for Middle Eastern carriers except for cargo because S. A. A. L's flights may have been in connection with Loftleidir's budget flights to North America. The Dakotas and Skymasters were still used on domestic routes as well as the shorter Beirut and Jerusalem flights. The following year S. A. A. L joined the International Air Transport Association by which it was granted the serial number 70. The Dakotas and Skymasters were gradually withdrawn from the fleet, while the DC6-B's were used for domestic and for a few short-haul regional flights. The Six-Day War disrupted S. A. A. L's operations for several weeks in 1967 and the airline had to suspend its flights to Jerusalem. Beyond these immediate consequences on the airline Syria's military defeat left the whole country in a state of shock and had a decisive impact on the evolution of its political system for years to come. Nevertheless, S. A. A. L's operations were gradually restored and a normal level of operation was recovered by 1968. The fleet consisted then of 2 Super Caravelles and 3 DC-6Bs. With the beginning of the 1970s S. A. A. L continued its steady development by introducing flights to Moscow in 1970 and purchasing another 2 Super Caravelles from Sterling Airways in 1971. Frequencies were increased, flights to Jeddah were resumed the same year, and new flights were launched to Abu Dhabi, Benghazi, and Budapest. Flights were disrupted for several weeks because of the 1973 Yom-Kippur War following which Syrian sovereignty was restored in parts of the Golan Heights. A climate of confidence, pragmatism and political stability was nevertheless in sight in Syria after decades of volatile politics and coups d'état. Ambitious development programmes were launched throughout the country. Syrian Arab Airlines was among the government's priorities as a new modernization and expansion programme was launched. Damascus International Airport was opened to traffic in 1973 to become S. A. A. L's modern hub. A new S. A. A. L livery was introduced the same year, featuring the airline's new logo with a mythical bird rising over a mediterranean-blue disk. Closer economic and political ties with the Warsaw pact countries led to the progressive buildup of a comprehensive network in Eastern Europe, with the addition of Bucharest, Prague, and Berlin. More flights to North Africa were added in 1974 with the introduction of Tunis and Algiers. Sana'a was also added to the network in 1974. In parallel to that S. A. A. L was managing a increasing number of Soviet-built aircraft for the Syrian government and the Syrian Arab Air Force. This saw the fleet expand to include 2 Antonov An-24's and 6 Yakovlev Yak-40s; 2 French-built Dassault Mystere Falcon 20Fs and a Dassault Falcon 900 were also included in the fleet. These aircraft were not used by the airline for scheduled services except for some of the Yak 40s which replaced the Caravelles on domestic routes. 2 Boeing 707's were leased in from British Airtours in order to complement the Caravelle fleet in 1974. A fleet renewal programme was launched in 1975 as S. A. A. L ordered 3 brand new Boeing 727's and 2 Boeing 747 SP's. Awaiting the delivery of its new aircraft, the airline leased Boeing 707's in order to improve its service offer. 2 Boeing 707's were leased in at various times between 1974 and 1976, and were used to reinforce frequencies and add new destinations to the network. The Syrian Air acronym was officially adopted on 11 November in anticipation of the delivery of the new Boeing fleet and to generate a modern and international image. Syrian Air's official title continues to be Syrian Arab Airlines to this day. The Boeing 727-200's supplemented the Caravelles throughout the network, while the Boeing 747 SP's were used on high load international routes to the Persian Gulf region, Karachi, and Delhi. Demand was particularly high on these routes in 1976 following the repeated closures of Beirut International Airport and the increasing number of passengers using Damascus International Airport for travel to and from war-stricken Lebanon. A record 480,000 passengers were carried by Syrian Air in 1976. Given the predominantly medium-haul route network of the airline the choice of the Boeing 747 SP continues to this day to raise interrogations. The jumbo jets were ordered with the intention of operating transatlantic services to New York in 1976. Syrian Air and Royal Jordanian were to join forces in launching the first transatlantic route ever operated by a Arab Middle Eastern airline but never materialized, and Royal Jordanian launched its own Amman-New York flights in 1977. In 1980, Syrian Air sold 2 Caravelles as plans were made for the acquisition of newer aircraft. A year later, the airline carried 510 thousand passengers but these numbers declined to 462 thousand in 1982 because of the unrest caused by Israel's invasion of nearby Lebanon. Syrian Air welcomed the 1980s with a active fleet of 2 Boeing 747 SP's and 2 Super Caravelles. The Yakovlev Yak 40's devoted to internal routes were mostly flown on behalf of the Syrian Arab Air Force. While there was a obvious need to renew the fleet and to increase the airline's capacity, mounting tensions between Syria and the West hampered the airline's modernization plans. There was a growing rift between the US administration in particular, and Syria; both parties found themselves often at odds regarding a variety of regional issues, from the Iranian revolution, to the Palestinian cause, to the raging conflict in Lebanon. These tensions ultimately resulted in economic sanctions voted by Congress which accused Syria of harbouring and embracing illegal opposition movements. The sanctions became effective in the early 1980s, apart from harming Syria's economy in general, and prevented Syrian Air from buying newer Western equipment. This failure resulted in a relatively austere on-board service and in the persistence of tedious multiple-leg routings; Syrian Air had to resort to Soviet-built aircraft in order to expand its fleet. The Tupolev Tu-134s were introduced in 1983. In all, Tu-134s were bought by Syrian Air including 2 devoted for governmental missions and were used along with the Caravelles on low yield regional and medium haul flights and some domestic routes while most of the domestic flights continued to be operated using the Yakovlev Yak-40s. 3 Tupolev Tu-154Ms were acquired by Syrian Air between 1985 and 1986. They provided a well needed boost to the Boeing 727 operations in Europe and the Persian Gulf region. The same difficult summer of 1985, flights to Beirut were restarted using the Super Caravelles. In 1986, Syrian Air had to suspend flights to London because of a diplomatic crisis between the United Kingdom and Syria following the Hindawi affair. While sanctions and harsh economics kept it lagging way behind its competitors and while the demise of the Soviet Union cast doubts on the future of its Tupolev fleet, Syrian Air's fortunes changed following the second Gulf War in 1990. As Syria supported the US-led coalition against the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, it regained some of its long lost sympathy in Western hearts. Flights to London were resumed in 1991, and passenger numbers continued to increase to 700,819. The long-standing US sanctions were eased in 1993 which allowed the acquisition of modern Western equipment. The following year the Kuwaiti Government donated 3 Boeing 727's to Syria which enabled Syrian Air to phase out the 2 Caravelles in December a year later. In 1995, a record $71 million in operating profit was reported by the airline. The Tupolev operations were gradually scaled down while Madrid and Stockholm were launched as new destinations. In 1997, the airline took drastic measures in reducing its workforce to 2331, as operating profits had declined to $44 million during the previous year. The following year Syrian Air received its first Airbus A320 and a new livery was unveiled for the occasion. 6 Airbus A320's were delivered to Syrian Air which allowed the withdrawal of the Tupolevs from regular service by 2000. The Tupolevs, except for YK-AYE, a Tu-134 maintained for government use, and the Caravelles, were stored by the airline at Damascus International Airport. In 1999, flights between Aleppo and Beirut were inaugurated and service to Libya was resumed following the removal of the UN sanctions against that country. In 2000, Syrian Air operated a fleet of 14 aircraft: there were 2 Boeing 747 SP's while Yakovlev Yak-40s were used for the domestic routes to Kamishly and Deir-ez-Zor. Flights to Vienna were inaugurated, while the resumption of Amman and Baghdad flights during that year would prove only temporary. According to the Syrian Directorate General of Civil Aviation website, the airline carried 764,000 passengers that year. In 2003, Syrian Air registered a $9 million net profit thanks to its more economical fleet and carried 907,850 passengers. Unprofitable routes were either scrapped or downscaled to seasonal operations. Thus, flights to Doha were only operated during the summer season. New markets were sought with the addition of Copenhagen the following year. Syrian Air's flights are multiple-leg flights involving either a stop in Aleppo or triangular routings. This structure comes in sharp contrast to the current practices of modern airlines which tend to focus on high-yield, high frequency nonstop flights evolving around a strategic hub. The airline will also need to revamp its in-flight service and become more profit conscious. With a workforce exceeding 4,000 employees Syrian Air remains over-staffed. Syrian Air carried close to 1.4 million passengers by 2005, however the number of passengers being carried declined to less than 740,000 passengers by 2009. Plans were made for the renewal of the fleet with the possible acquisition of several new Airbus aircraft in order to replace the ageing Boeing 747. These plans were hampered by the reinforcement of a US-led embargo against Syria. By 2012, the 727 and 747 were taken over by 2 ATR 72's and 6 Airbus A320's. On 23rd July, as the Syrian Civil War continued, the European Union imposed a new wave of sanctions on Syria that included sanctions on Syrian Air which means that the airline cannot conduct flights to the EU or buy any new aircraft which contain European parts. As a result, Syrian Air was forced to suspend all its operations to the EU. The company is discussing a lawsuit against other EU countries since Syrian Air did not violate any laws nor jeopardise safety. EU ministers justified the sanctions on Syrian Air because the company provides financial and logistical support for the Syrian government. Syrian Air has assured its customers that it is pursuing a court case with the EU for unjust sanctions based on biased claims of transporting weaponry. This had been denied by Russia. If Syrian Air was flying weaponry to the Syrian government, it would be breaking major rules with the International Civil Aviation Organization although the EU has been discreet on the issue. 71 years after Syrian Air was founded, Reagan Farmer uploaded Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Bromsgrove and Six Flags Over Texas on 6 November to get his career as a YouTuber going again. He also uploaded the Six Flags Over Georgia version of Goliath on 22nd December and 5 days later uploaded Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, which caused Manchester City Football Club to change its name. As well as the future of the Aosta Valley to be decided after the Singapore Grand Prix Reagan uploaded Syria on 10th September. This version is a country in Western Asia bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and Jordan to the south. The western two-thirds of Syria′s Golan Heights are, since 1967, occupied by Israel, and were effectively annexed by Israel in 1981, whereas the eastern third is controlled by Syria with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force maintaining a buffer zone in between to implement the ceasefire of the Purple Line. Syria's capital and largest city is Damascus. Geographically embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 2,230 ft above sea level Damascus experiences a semi arid climate because of the rain shadow effect which is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountainous area away from the wind. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them. Wind and moist air is drawn by the prevailing winds towards the top of the mountains, where it condenses and precipitates before it crosses the top. The air, without much moisture left, advances across the mountains creating a drier side called the rain shadow. There are regular patterns of prevailing winds found in bands round the Earth's equatorial region. The zone designated the trade winds is the zone between about 30° North and 30° South, blowing predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere. The westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, blowing predominantly from the southwest in the Northern Hemisphere and from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere. The strongest westerly winds in the middle latitudes can come in the Roaring Forties between 30 and 50 degrees latitude. The Roaring Forties were a major aid to ships sailing the Brouwer Route from Europe to the East Indies or Australasia during the Age of Sail and in modern usage are favoured by yachtsmen on round-the-world voyages and competitions. The boundaries of the Roaring Forties are not consistent, and shift north or south depending on the season. Similar, but stronger, conditions occur in more southerly latitudes and are referred to as the Furious Fifties and Shrieking or Screaming Sixties. Hot air rises at the Equator and is pushed towards the poles by cooler air travelling towards the Equator, a atmospheric circulation feature known as the Hadley Cell. At about 30 degrees from the equator, the outward-travelling air sinks to lower altitudes and continues toward the poles closer to the ground and then rises up again from about 60 degrees as the air joins the Polar vortex. This travel in the 30 to 60 degree zone combines with the rotation of the earth to move the air currents from west to east, creating westerly winds. Unlike the Northern Hemisphere, the large tracts of open ocean below 40th parallel south mean that higher wind speeds, the Roaring Forties, can develop; similar, but stronger, wind conditions are prevalent closer to the South Pole, which are referred to as the Screaming Sixties. Syrian Air operates some Dassault Falcon 20 and Dassault Falcon 900 for government and VIP charters which are painted in Syrian Air livery. The company cannot purchase any Airbus or Boeing aircraft until the United States and the European Union have lifted sanctions imposed on it. Syrian Air had maintained orders for new Tupolev, Ilyushin and Antonov aircraft but a order for 10 Antonov 158 has been cancelled because of the Syrian Civil War. The National Hurricane Center began monitoring a tropical wave over the western coast of Africa on 26th August. This wave moved off the coast of the continent late on 27th August. Throughout the next 2 days, showers and thunderstorms associated with the wave became better organized and gradually coalesced into a low pressure area as it passed just south of and through the Cape Verde Islands on 29th August, with the NHC stating that any significant organization of the disturbance would result in the classification of a tropical depression. Further organization over the next 24 hours or so led to classification of the disturbance as Tropical Storm Irma at 15:00 UTC on 30th August. With warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear, strengthening was anticipated with the only hindrance being slightly cooler waters and drier air. The eye of Hurricane Irma made landfall along the northern coast of Barbuda at peak strength. Later that day, the pressure bottomed out at 914 mbar. Irma made successive landfalls at approximately 12:00 UTC on Sint Maarten and at 17:00 UTC on Ginger Island and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands while maintaining its intensity. Shortly before 6:00 UTC on 8th September, Irma made landfall on the Bahamian island of Little Inagua. About 3 hours later, Irma weakened to a Category 4 but regained Category 5 status 18 hours later before losing it again over Cuba. Irma made landfall in Cudjoe Key in Florida with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and a central pressure of 929 mbar and made landfall in Marco Island with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and a central pressure of 940 mbar with the Marco Island Police Department recording a 130 mph wind gust. The Naples, FL Municipal Airport gusted to 142 mph. Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Florida on 4th September and placed 100 members of the Florida National Guard on duty to assist in preparations. All 7,000 troops were to be on duty by 8th September. Officials advised residents to stock their hurricane kits. Governor Scott suspended tolls on all toll roads in Florida, including Florida's Turnpike, starting at 5:00 on 5th September. All state offices in Florida were closed on 8th September. All schools in the Florida Keys were closed from 6th September until further notice. The mayor of Fort Lauderdale ordered mandatory evacuations for all residents east of US 1 while Tampa declared a local state of emergency. The University of Central Florida announced that classes would be cancelled from 7th September to 12th September and its Orlando campuses closed from 8th September to 11. The governor ordered all public schools and colleges statewide to be closed on Friday and Monday. Most commercial airports including Miami International Airport and Orlando International Airport ceased commercial operations by late Saturday. Because of Hurricane Irma the Walt Disney World Resort was completely closed for the fifth time in its 45-year history. Its theme parks, water parks and Disney Springs were all closed by 9:00 on 9th September and did not open on 10th September. Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando were also closed while Irma was making its way through the Florida Keys. Orlando Sentinel, talking about the closures, said, "Hurricane Irma is forcing Central Florida attractions including the Walt Disney World Resort's theme parks to close to guests for multiple days starting this evening. Orlando International Airport was bustling with traffic shortly after 8:00 and operating normally. Multiple inbound flights to Orlando were about half full and passengers filled seats around departing gates as usual. The airport determined that it would close at 5:00. Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will close at 7:00 followed by the Magic Kingdom and Epcot at 9:00. All 4 are expected to stay closed through Monday. Typhoon Lagoon will close at 5:00 and not operate on Sunday or Monday. Blizzard Beach was closed on Friday and will also be unavailable on Sunday and Monday. Saturday's end-of-night finales at Disney parks have also been pulled from the lineup such as the Happily Ever After fireworks at the Magic Kingdom and the Rivers of Light show at Animal Kingdom while stores at Disney Springs will close by 9 o'clock and will not open for business on Sunday. Universal Orlando Resort parks are closing at 7:00 and will be closed on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, the park anticipates normal operating hours, it said. SeaWorld Orlando plans to close by 5:00, pending further updates about the storm, and will remain closed on Sunday and Monday. Aquatica will be closed today, Sunday and Monday. Discovery Cove, SeaWorld's day resort, will be closed on Sunday and Monday. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island will be closed today through Monday. Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort also cancelled some events including Saturday portions of Christian music festivals Night of Joy and Rock the Universe. Disney also cancelled the Sunday edition of its Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. Legoland Florida and its water park in Winter Haven will be closed through Monday. All guests will be lodged at Legoland Hotel. Legoland said that it was encouraging guests to seek other accommodations as it cannot guarantee resort amenities or access to electricity during severe weather. It also said that guests can reschedule trips and reservations without cancellation fees, and provided the county’s information hotline for shelters, 863-401-2234, and www.polk-county.net. Orlando Eye will be closed today and will not be opening until after Hurricane Irma. Madame Tussauds Orlando and Sea Life Aquarium will be closed through Monday. The entire I-Drive 360 complex will close at 4:00 Saturday but a reopening date has not been set. Orlando Science Center will be closed for 3 days during Hurricane Irma. If Orange County and Seminole County schools remain closed, the Science Center will begin offering break camp for students in kindergarten through fifth grade on Tuesday. Call 407-514-2000 after 5-o'clock Monday to confirm if camp will be running. The Orange County Regional History Center in Downtown Orlando will be closed while Gatorland plans to be open today during its normal operating hours and close on Sunday and Monday. Fun Spot locations in Kissimmee and near International Drive in Orlando will be open normal hours on Saturday, a spokesman said Friday. Scheduled hours are 10-o'clock to midnight for both attractions. The Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Sanford and ZOOm Air Orlando will be closed for 3 days starting on Saturday. By 2-o'clock on Saturday Walt Disney World is closing its Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground as well as the Treehouse Villas while Universal Orlando cancelled Saturday's portion of its 2 night Rock the Universe event scheduled for this weekend and moved today’s performances indoors. Saturday ticket holders can attend any night through 20th December or get a refund. Universal Orlando Resort visitors can reschedule or seek refunds, a spokesman said. 'We have a affirmative, no-questions asked policy for guests who tell us they want to change plans or seek a refund because of a named storm involving the Orlando area or where they are travelling from!' Tom Schroder said via email. Walt Disney World Resort policy allows people to reschedule or cancel their vacation packages, and room-only reservations without any fees if a hurricane warning is issued for the Orlando area or a visitor's residence within 7 days of the traveller's scheduled arrival. SeaWorld's Florida parks are also rescheduling or refunding any vacation package or individual park tickets booked through SeaWorld.com and BuschGardens.com. SeaWorld said that it has a comprehensive weather preparedness plan and that security and zoological staff will remain on property in secure locations during the storm. 'We’re also providing support and temporary housing for animals from other zoological facilities in coastal areas expected to have greater impact. Guests are encouraged to check our websites and follow our social media channels for more updates,' SeaWorld's statement said." In professional sports, the Miami Dolphins Tampa Bay Buccaneers game scheduled for 10th September at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami was postponed until November. The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees had their series moved from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg to Queens, while Minor League Baseball's Florida State League and Southern League called off their championship finals and named their division series winners league co-champions as a result. The Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League rescheduled their 9th September match to 7th September. Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer did not have any scheduled home games in September but was unable to return to training in Orlando because of Hurricane Irma. The UCF Knights Memphis Tigers game set to take place on 9th September was cancelled after originally being moved up by 25 and a half hours while the USF Bulls Connecticut Huskies football game was cancelled. The Miami Hurricanes Arkansas State Redwolves game scheduled for 9th September at Centennial Bank Stadium in Arkansas was cancelled because of travel concerns for the University of Miami. The Florida Gators Northern Colorado Bears match in Gainesville was originally scheduled for 9th September but was cancelled. The Florida State Seminoles contest against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks was cancelled on 8th September. The Seminoles's rivalry game with the Hurricanes in Florida's capital was originally scheduled for 16th September but was postponed until October. The F I U Panthers game against the Alcorn State Braves was moved up a day and relocated to Legion Field; the Georgia Southern Eagles game against the New Hampshire Wildcats was also moved to Legion Field for the day. Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on Princess Juliana International Airport with huge chunks of the building strewn across the runway and a jet bridge snapped in half. It demolished or severely damaged about 70% of Sint Maarten's houses, forcing thousands of residents into public shelters. Irma is considered the worst natural disaster to hit Sint Maarten; the extent of its damage far exceeded that of any previous hurricane. Premier William Marlin estimates that at least €1 billion will be necessary to restore the destruction, while disaster analysts from C E D I M predict that losses will exceed $1.5 billion. By 9th September, the death count rose to 4 but 1 person died of natural causes. Because the approach to Runway 10 is over water pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules. Normal instrument checks, coupled with experience and situational awareness, mitigate potential problems. The departure from Runway 10 presents more difficulties than the approach with a turn required to avoid mountains in the path of departure. Arriving aircraft approach the island on the last section of the final approach for Runway 10 following a 3° glide slope flying low over the famous Maho Beach. Pictures of low-flying aircraft were published in several news magazines worldwide in early 2000. The thrilling approaches and ease of access for shooting spectacular images made the airport one of the world's favourite places among planespotters. The runway at Skiathos is considered very short for commercial jet operations at 5341 ft. Some airlines require their pilots to undergo additional training before using the airport and require all landings to be performed by the captain. A further problem is the downslope on Runway 20 which makes it appear even shorter than it is. The southern end cannot be seen from the touchdown point. Aircraft approaching from Runway 2 pass to the east of Skiathos and over a coastal road just outside the airport boundary. The airport is famous for planespotters and took the nickname of 2nd Sint Maarten. To shorten the take-off roll aircraft must operate at low weight so most types cannot carry enough fuel for direct flights to northern Europe and have to make a intermediate fuel stop. Aircraft, such as the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 737, typically land at Thessaloniki International Airport. The Boeing 757 can carry sufficient fuel to operate to British destinations. This version was used for the longest non-stop commercial flight from Skiathos to Newcastle which was operated by Thomas Cook, but a Airbus A321 took over the route in 2014 which necessitated a fuel stop at Kavala on the northbound sector. More recently, non-stop flights from Skiathos to Manchester have been operated by TUI Airways using the Boeing 757 while Air Italy used a Boeing 767 on a flight from Milan. The British Overseas Territory of Anguilla had the eye of Hurricane Irma pass over it on 6th September. Many homes and schools were destroyed, and the island's only hospital was badly damaged. The devastation was particularly severe in East End, where the winds uprooted scores of trees and power poles and demolished a number of houses. In The Valley, the hurricane blew out the windows of government buildings. Rough seas inflicted heavy damage upon several bays and harbours, a seaside restaurant was completely eradicate and about 90% of roads were left impassable. The island's air traffic control tower was damaged which exacerbated the already poor communication with Anguilla. 1 death was reported on the island. According to C E D I M, Anguilla's economy could suffer at least $190 million in losses from the hurricane. The rapid strengthening of Hurricane Charley in the eastern Gulf of Mexico caught many by surprise. Around 5 hours before its Florida landfall, Charley was a strong Category 2 hurricane, predicted to strengthen its strongest winds to 115 mph upon its landfall in the Tampa-Saint Petersburg area. About 2 hours before landfall, the National Hurricane Center issued a special advisory. It notified the public that Charley had become a 145 mph Category 4 hurricane with a predicted landfall location in the Port Charlotte area, and as a result of this change in forecast, numerous people in the Charlotte County area were unprepared for the hurricane. Robbie Berg publicly blamed the media for misleading residents into believing that a Tampa landfall was inevitable. He also stated that residents of Port Charlotte had ample warning because of a hurricane warning having been issued for the landfall area 23 hours before and a hurricane watch having existed for 35 hours. Hurricane Charley affected the state of Florida. There were 9 direct fatalities, 20 indirect fatalities and numerous injuries attributed to the storm. Property damage was estimated at $5.4 billion, and approximately $285 million in agricultural damage. Due to Charley's speed and small size, rainfall along the eyewall was mostly limited to 4 to 6 inches. While moving northward to the west of the Florida Keys Charley produced moderate winds of 48 mph with gusts to 60 mph in Key West. The winds toppled a few trees and unreinforced signs. A boat, knocked loose by strong waves, struck a power transmission line, causing widespread power outages from Marathon to Key West. On Fort Jefferson, the hurricane produced a estimated storm surge of up to 6 ft. The surge was combined with incoming waves, caused extensive flooding in the park and damaged numerous docks. Hurricane Charley passed directly over Captiva Island near Cayo Costa with peak winds of 150 mph. The Category 4 hurricane produced a estimated storm surge of up to 6.5 ft on the island, which is lower than expected for a storm of its intensity. The decrease in the height of the surge was due to the hurricane's small size and its rapid intensification prior to landfall and the surge produced a ¼ mi inlet on North Captiva Island, known as Charley's Cut. Strong waves and storm surge caused severe beach erosion and dune damage at various locations. The storm severely damaged 5 houses, lightly damaged many others, and downed many trees on Gasparilla Island. At least half of the 300 homes on North Captiva Island were substantially damaged, including 10 that were destroyed. On Captiva Island, the strong winds severely damaged most houses as well as recreational buildings in the area. Hurricane Andrew caused about $25.3 billion in damage in Florida in 1992. Almost all of the damage in Florida was caused by strong winds. Of the 44 deaths attributed to the storm, 15 were direct fatalities while 29 were indirectly caused by the storm. It was later noted that if Andrew had been slightly larger or had made landfall a few miles further north it would have significantly affected Miami and Fort Lauderdale, which would have resulted in a even higher death toll. A analysis by the American Meteorological Society indicated that wind damage from Andrew was mostly north of the geometric center and occurred primarily on the eastern edge of the storm. Some officials in Florida considered Andrew the worst storm in the state since the Labor Day hurricane in 1935. The storm surge from Andrew caused more than $500 million in losses to boats and buildings. A house near Perrine initially reported a wind gust of 212 mph before the structure and the instrument were destroyed; when wind-tunnel testing at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University of the same type of anemometer revealed a 16.5% error the measurement was reduced to 177. College and professional hockey games scheduled the weekend before Hurricane Wilma's landfall were rescheduled for a later time. A professional football game scheduled for Sunday was moved ahead to Friday night. A concert by the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, expected to have taken place on 24th October, was cancelled, while Key West's Fantasy Fest was postponed until December. The flooding in Houston from Hurricane Harvey required the Governor's Cup National Football League pre-season game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans scheduled for 31st August to be moved from N R G Stadium in Houston to AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The game was later cancelled to allow the players to return to Houston while Houston Astros were forced to move their series with the Texas Rangers from Minute Maid Park; just 2 weeks later Hurricane Irma would force the Tampa Bay Rays to move 3 home games to Citi Field in New York City. The annual Texas Kickoff game that was to feature B Y U and L S U and kick off the college football season was moved to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans in Louisiana. The NCAA F B S football game between Houston and U T S A was postponed because of the aftermath of Harvey. The Houston Dynamo rescheduled a Major League Soccer match against Sporting Kansas City on 26th August; the Houston Dash of the NWSL rescheduled their match against the North Carolina Courage to a date that has not been announced. Both teams moved their training camps to Toyota Stadium in Frisco while preparing for their next matches; the Dash's match the following week was against the Seattle Reign and was played in Frisco. The Dynamo and the MLS also donated a combined $1 million into the hurricane relief fund while also opening the BBVA Compass Stadium to accept donated supplies for processing and distribution. In 2015 Bruce Forsyth was hospitalized for cuts and a minor concussion because of him falling at his home when he tripped over a rug and hit his head. A month later he made his last full TV appearance on Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need Special with filming for this taking place prior to him undergoing surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm on 12 November. Forsyth was unable to host that year's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special but a spokesman representing him later stated that he would play a part in the production, which had him record a special video message for it. After 2015 Forsyth made no further public appearances as his health began to decline with his wife commenting that he struggled to move easily following his surgery. 2 years later he was hospitalized with a severe chest infection and spent five days in intensive care. On 18th August, Forsyth died of bronchial pneumonia at his Wentworth Estate home, aged 89. Several celebrities paid tribute to Forsyth following his death including his former Strictly Come Dancing co-host Tess Daly. BBC One aired Sir Bruce Forsyth: Mr Entertainment, in place of The One Show, in tribute. Forsyth was laid to rest on 5th September in a private ceremony. 2014 saw Forsyth being one of 200 public figures who expressed their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum, which 55.3% of people voted no. Yes Scotland was the main campaign group for independence while Better Together was the main campaign group in favour of maintaining the union. Many other campaign groups, political parties, businesses, newspapers and prominent individuals were also involved. Prominent issues raised during the referendum included which currency a independent Scotland would use and European Union membership. Following the result of the UK-wide referendum on EU membership First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the Scottish National Party's intent to file legislation authorizing a second referendum on independence. The announcement was made following the results of the referendum showing that all of Scottish council areas voted to remain in the EU while the majority of the UK voted to leave the EU. 3,462 EU nationals were wrongly sent postal voting cards because of a IT issue experienced by Xpress, which is a electoral software supplier to a number of councils. Xpress was initially unable to confirm the exact number of those affected but the matter was resolved by the issuance of a software patch which rendered that the wrongly recorded electors are ineligible to vote on 23rd June. The Electoral Commission announced on 13th April that Vote Leave was the official leave campaign. This gave it the right to spend up to £7 million, TV broadcasts and £600,000 in public funds. Leave.EU also had an umbrella group offshoot, the cross-party Grassroots Out. The UK government's official position was to support the remain option. David Cameron announced that Conservative Ministers and MPs were free to campaign in favour of remaining in the EU or leaving it. This decision came after mounting pressure for a free vote for ministers. In a exception to the usual rule of cabinet collective responsibility, Cameron allowed cabinet ministers to campaign publicly for EU withdrawal. A Government-backed campaign was launched in April but on 16th June all official national campaigning was suspended because of the killing of Jo Cox. 2 polling stations in Kingston upon Thames were flooded by rain and had to be relocated. In Winchester a emergency call was made to police about "threatening behaviour" outside the polling station. After questioning a woman who had been offering to lend her pen to voters the police decided that no offence was being committed. The final result was announced in summer 2016 by Electoral Commission chairwoman Jenny Watson at Manchester Town Hall, after all 382 voting areas and 12 UK regions had declared their totals. With a national turnout of 72% across the United Kingdom and Gibraltar the target to secure the majority win for the winning side was 16,788,672 votes. The decision by the electorate was to Leave the European Union which won by a majority of 1,269,501 votes over those who had voted in favour of Remain a member of the European Union. The national turnout of 72% was the highest ever for a UK-wide referendum and the highest for any national vote since the General Election in 1992. David Cameron announced that he would resign by October because of the Leave campaign having been successful in the referendum. The leadership election was scheduled for 9th September. The new leader would be in place before the autumn conference set to begin on 2nd October. Unexpectedly, Boris Johnson had been a leading figure for Vote Leave although he declined to be nominated shortly before the deadline for nominations. 3 weeks after the vote Theresa May succeeded Cameron as Prime Minister and became only the second female British Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher and the first female British Prime Minister of the 21st century, and addressing the world's media outside 10 Downing Street May said that she was honoured and humbled to become Prime Minister. On becoming Prime Minister, May became the first woman to have held 2 of the Great Offices of State. May's first Cabinet appointment was described as one of the most sweeping government reshuffles for decades by Reuters and called a brutal cull by The Daily Telegraph. 9 of Cameron's ministers were sacked or resigned from their posts, which had included several members of the former Prime Minister. The early appointments were interpreted both as a effort to reunite the Conservative Party in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the EU and as a shift to the right according to The Guardian; ITV's Political Editor Robert Peston commented that her rhetoric is more left wing than Cameron's was and that her cabinet is more right wing than his. Although May had supported remaining in the EU, she appointed several of the most prominent advocates of Brexit to key Cabinet positions responsible for negotiating the United Kingdom withdrawal from the EU, including Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary and David Davis as Brexit Secretary, as well as Liam Fox as International Trade Secretary, the latter two being new positions. Other key appointees included Amber Rudd as Home Secretary and Philip Hammond as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The First May ministry delayed the final approval for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in 2016 which was a project that May had objected to when she was Home Secretary. On 28th July, the Électricité de France board approved the project, and on 15th September the UK government approved the project with some safeguards for the investment. The plant has a projected lifetime of 60 years and has a estimated construction cost of between £19.6 billion and £20.3 billion. The National Audit Office estimates that the additional cost to consumers under the strike price will be £50 billion. The following year EDF started work on a jetty and seawall after the Office for Nuclear Regulation gave approval to start building a network of tunnels to carry cabling and piping. But the concrete pour for the first reactor is only planned for 3 years later. EDF has negotiated a guaranteed fixed price for electricity from Hinkley Point C of £92.50/MWh which will be adjusted during the construction period and over the subsequent 35 years tariff period. The strike price could fall to £89.50/MWh if a new plant at Sizewell is also approved. A earlier proposal for a Hinkley Point C power station was made by the Central Electricity Generating Board in the 1980s for a sister power station to Sizewell B using the same pressurised water reactor design at a cost of £1.7 billion. This version obtained planning permission in 1990 following a public enquiry, but was dropped as uneconomic in the early 1990s when the electric power industry was privatised, and low interest rate government finance was no longer available. Great North Western Railway lodged a application to operate services from London Euston to Bradford Interchange and Southport in 2010. These were rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation the following year. G N W R concluded a 2014 negotiation with Network Rail for access paths from London Euston to Huddersfield and Leeds using Pendolino trains in 2017. Despite Network Rail support, the O R R refused the proposed services in 2015 because of capacity issues and failing the not primarily abstractive test meaning that most of its revenue would be at the expense of existing others rather than new custom, which had been the reason for the rejection. The Office of Rail Regulation therefore decided to give Arriva subsidiary Alliance Rail Holdings access rights for 10 years to operate services on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Blackpool North. After Alliance was unable to secure sufficient Class 390 Pendolino rolling stock by the end of 2017, the access rights lapsed. Alliance proposes to reapply for the paths with InterCity 225s to allow services to commence in 2019. In 2016 Alliance began a consultation for a Waterloo to Southampton service and was planned to operate 7 off-peak services calling at Hook, Basingstoke, Winchester, and Eastleigh, with peak-services proposed from December the following year. The Office of Rail Regulation told Alliance in 2017 to delay the application until the outcome of the South Western franchise was known. A year later, in 2018, the O R R released a update confirming a delay to the application which was rejected in August. The reason for the rejection was that the Class 442s were no longer available. The proposal also generated only between £0.17 and £0.22 of new revenue for each pound abstracted from the incumbent operators, and the O R R requires it to be over £0.30 meaning that it failed the not primarily abstractive test. Great North Eastern Railway lodged a application to operate from London Kings Cross to Bradford Foster Square in 2018. This was rejected in 2016 by the Office of Rail Regulation. G N E R also proposed to operate services from Kings Cross to Scarborough via the Yorkshire Coast Line and Skegness as well as to Sheffield via Grantham and Middlesbrough although these were rejected in 2010 by the O R R. There were also services to Skipton, but these were withdrawn in 2014 by the O R R. Hull Trains applied for track access rights to run services between Harrogate and London Kings Cross via York under the First Harrogate Trains banner and from Cleethorpes to Kings Cross via Lincoln and Spalding. The Office of Rail Regulation released its decisions on the East Coast Main Line route planning and rejected First Harrogate Trains's application in January the following year. Hull Trains began operations with Class 170's hired from sister GB Railways company Anglia Railways. There was at least 1 occasion of a Anglia Railways Class 86 and Mark 2 set operating as far as Doncaster. London Midland applied to the Office of Rail Regulation in 2010 to run a new hourly Birmingham to Preston service in 2016 by diverting every other Birmingham to Liverpool train. The Euston to Crewe service would also then be extended to Liverpool to maintain a half-hourly service between Crewe and Liverpool by 2016 but the application was rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation. Arriva Trains Wales applied to the Office of Rail Regulation to reinstate a Aberystwyth to London service, which would have served all stations to Birmingham International. There were worries that if Arriva Trains Wales were granted the service it would push Wrexham to London operator Wrexham & Shropshire out of business. The application was rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation in 2010 because of concerns about the financial viability of the service and the potentially high level of revenue abstraction from other operators. Wrexham & Shropshire ceased to operate on 28th January the following year. Wrexham & Shropshire services were frequently diverted during weekend engineering works. When the Wrexham to Shrewsbury line was closed services operated from Wrexham General to Shrewsbury via Chester and Crewe. Services had to reverse at Shrewsbury when the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton line was closed, before reversing again at Crewe and proceeding via Stafford to Wolverhampton. When the line south of Birmingham was closed, services operated via the West Coast Main Line, Willesden Junction, Acton Junction and Ealing Broadway to South Ruislip, before reversing to reach Marylebone. When the South Ruislip to Marylebone line was closed services would be diverted to London Paddington. The initial Wrexham & Shropshire timetable was for 5 trains per weekday between Wrexham and London with a journey time of approximately 4 hours 15 minutes; the week-day service was reduced to 4 trains per day in 2009 with 1 cut back to only operate from London to Shrewsbury with Wrexham & Shropshire citing the economic downturn for the cancelled services. From July until September of 2010, a fourth Saturday service was operated; the week-day service was reduced further to 3 per day in December with insufficient customer demand being cited as the reason. The Welsh Assembly announced in 2006 that Wrexham & Shropshire did not qualify for employment grants which it had intended to use to improve the facilities at Wrexham General station; this led to speculation that the company might have to move to Shrewsbury which would affect the number of services that it could run to and from Wrexham if the funding could not be found. In November, the Welsh Assembly announced that Wrexham & Shropshire was eligible for the grant and as a result a site survey at Wrexham General was undertaken. Wrexham & Shropshire announced in 2009 that it hoped to transfer operation of the Wrexham & Shropshire branded services to fellow DB Regio subsidiary Chiltern Railways from the beginning of 2010. The Department of Transport did not sanction the merger because of the problems encountered with Wrexham & Shropshire abstracting revenue from Chiltern Railways. Great North Eastern Railway suffered 2 major accidents during its operating years. In the Hatfield crash in 2000, the 12:10 London Kings Cross to Leeds train derailed just south of Hatfield railway station because of a hairline crack in the rail. 4 passengers were killed in the restaurant car which struck a overhead catenary stanchion during the derailment. G N E R's other accident was the Great Heck rail crash in 2001, where a Newcastle to London service hit a Land Rover that had driven off the M62 motorway. The train derailed and was subsequently hit by a Freightliner train from Immingham to Ferrybridge, which resulted in the death of 10 people. There was a Monday to Saturday morning departure from Harrogate to London Kings Cross although there was no return journey meaning that passengers had to leave the train at Leeds or York and on to Northern Rail services to Harrogate. This service was operated using a diesel InterCity 125 as the Harrogate line is not electrified. From 2000 until 2005, G N E R leased 5 British Rail Class 373 Regional Eurostars from Eurostar. These were used on services to York and later Leeds but were restricted to 110 mph between Grantham and Doncaster because of problems with the overhead wire and pantograph interface. Due to gauging restrictions, they were not permitted to operate north of York to Glasgow or Edinburgh. They were also restricted to run between Kings Cross and York because of the gauging on the bridges approaching Newcastle. They were not permitted to operate to Bradford Forster Square because of the electrical infrastructure past Leeds being insufficient. At the following locations on the East Coast Main Line they were restricted to 110 mph shown by blue TGV signs next to the tracks or required to use a single pantograph: The Down Fast line between 59m 10ch and 59m 30ch, between Grantham and Shaftholme Junction and between Colton Junction and York. 3 of the Three Capitals sets owned by SNCF were in French domestic use on the TGV network, mainly between Paris and Lille in a variation on the standard silver and blue TGV livery. This saw them initially used on international Eurostar services and SNCF added to their Class 373 fleet in 2007, when they leased 6 of the 7 redundant North of London sets. SNCF's lease of the sets was scheduled to last until 2011, with the option to keep the sets running for a further 2 years. In 2014 the 3 Three Capitals sets were removed from service and stored. Eventually, they were scrapped as they had not been refurbished since they entered service, and with TGV Duplex sets now in service there is no work for SNCF's 373s. The North of London sets were intended to provide Regional Eurostar services from continental Europe to and from north of London using the West Coast and East Coast Main Lines. These services never came to fruition because of long proposed journey times and the proliferation of budget airlines offering lower fares. At the presentation of the first e320 in 2014 Eurostar announced that they had ordered 7 additional train sets and that the first service would be a year later. By November, 9 of the 10 trains had been built and all 10 were delivered in 2016. The 7 trains in the second order will be delivered in March 2 years later. Eurostar intend to use the trains to expand its core operation between London St. Pancras International and Paris Gare du Nord. To meet the prospect of increased competition through the Channel Tunnel it intends to use them to expand its network to Cologne and more destinations in France. Eurostar's new service between London and Amsterdam was intended to begin in 2016 and would be operated by the trains, but in April Eurostar said that the service to Amsterdam was now planned to operate from late 2017, which was originally for December the previous year. Avanti West Coast services between London Euston and North West England do not call at Rugeley Trent Valley because of the low passenger numbers compared to other Trent Valley stations. The platforms are also not long enough to accommodate Class 390s. Heathrow Express was originally planned as a joint venture between Heathrow Airport Holdings and British Rail but was taken over fully by the former following the railways being privatised. Construction began in 1993. The principal works were 2-5 mile single-bore tunnels including 8 escape shafts, and underground stations at Heathrow Central and Heathrow Terminal 4. Electrification of the Great Western Main Line between Paddington and Airport Junction, where the new line diverged from the G W M L, was required. A flying junction known as Stockley Flyover was constructed to connect the tunnel to the G W M L fast lines. Beginning in 1998, a interim service called Heathrow FastTrain ran to a temporary station called Heathrow Junction, where a coach took the passengers the rest of the way. There is also a stopping service called Heathrow Connect which takes the same route but using the slower relief lines on which significantly lower fares are charged. This takes 15 minutes longer than Heathrow Express, although the service has connections to the Central and the District Lines at Ealing Broadway. Heathrow Connect was absorbed into the Transport for London Rail franchise in 2018. The TfL Rail franchise extended current train paths through a Central London tunnel as services to Shenfield and Abbey Wood when it was rebranded as the Elizabeth Line the following year. The central core section utilises new east west twin tunnels under Central London splitting into two branches at either end. The tunnelled sections are approximately 22 kilometres in length. In the east, the line splits at Whitechapel, with 1 branch running over the Great Eastern Main Line via Stratford to Shenfield, and the other branch running through Canary Wharf and emerging from the tunnel at Custom House on a disused part of the North London Line, which continues under the River Thames to Abbey Wood. The main western section runs on the surface from Reading to Acton Main Line with upgrades being made to stations at Taplow and Slough. A dive-under was constructed at Acton to allow passenger trains to pass slower freight trains leaving and entering a goods yard which was completed in 2016. Crossrail was named the Elizabeth Line after Queen Elizabeth II from its opening in Central London in 2018. The Elizabeth Line uses a version of the Transport for London roundel which is coloured purple with a blue bar and the Elizabeth Line name in TfL's New Johnston typeface. It was announced in 2017 that Crossrail services would be extended to Heathrow Terminal 5 from 2019, which meant that all Heathrow Airport terminals had a Crossrail service. In 2014 a statement by former Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin indicated that the Government was actively evaluating the extension of Crossrail as far as Tring with potential Crossrail stops at Wembley Central, Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey, Watford Junction, Kings Langley, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, and Berkhamsted. The extension would relieve some pressure from London Underground and London Euston station while increasing connectivity. Conditions to the extension are that any extra services would not affect the planned service pattern for confirmed routes. The proposal was subsequently shelved in 2016 because of poor overall value for money to the taxpayer. Kenilworth railway station opened in 1844 but the line and the station was closed to passengers in 1965 because of the Reshaping of British Railways report. Passenger services over the line were restarted in the 1980s but the station was not reopened. What remains of the double track includes a passing loop. CrossCountry and Warwickshire County Council supported the reopening and started to prepare a business case in 2008. John Laing plc was awarded a 20-year contract for the new Kenilworth station the following year although planning permission was granted in April two years later and funding was refused. In late 2011, John Laing asked to withdraw from the contract as there was no funding available for the station construction to go ahead in the immediate future. In November, the upgrading of the Coventry to Nuneaton route was approved, renewing new hope for regeneration of the line through Kenilworth. 2 years later Warwickshire County Council made a £5 million funding bid to the new fund that the Government had created to construct or renovate stations. In June, the Department for Transport approved funding for the new station. Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin identified a potential opening date of 2016. In December, the DfT reannounced its grant of £5 million toward the station's £11.3 million total cost and gave the opening date as December. In early summer of that year Graham Construction Ltd was awarded the contract to build the station. The official start of work on site took place on 29th July when Jeremy Wright ceremonially broke ground. Although the completion date was the following year the Kenilworth station will now open on 10th December because of a delay in track and signalling work by Network Rail. As part of the West Midlands Franchise agreement which began effective in 2017, a new service from Leamington Spa to Coventry will call at Kenilworth. The service was supposed to commence on 10th December but it was delayed for a third time and will now start in February the following year after the Department for Transport stated that no rolling stock or drivers would be available until that time. On 12th March, West Midlands Railway clarified that there were issues with final sign off and that Kenilworth will not open until later in the year. The Office of Rail Regulation denied a Platinum Trains application to operate from Scotland to London in 2009 along with First Harrogate Trains's. Difficulties had been highlighted in finding additional paths for the trains to operate in along the E C M L. In a letter from the Department for Transport to the Office of Rail Regulation it was noted that the Platinum Trains proposal "does not appear to be compatible with Transport Scotland's franchised service specification between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and we find it difficult to see how a non stop path could be achieved south of Edinburgh without use of excessive pathing time, which could present operational difficulties over persistent early running!" In 2013, a helicopter crashed after it collided with the jib of a Vauxhall Tower construction crane. 2 people died in the incident: the pilot, Pete Barnes, 50, and Matthew Wood from Sutton in South London. Barnes had been en route from Redhill Airport to Elstree Airfield to collect businessman Richard Caring and then fly onwards to Yorkshire. Before takeoff, Caring called him twice on his mobile phone to suggest either delaying or cancelling the flight. Barnes chose to proceed with the flight across London in low cloud and freezing temperatures. After being unable to land at Elstree at 7:46, Barnes asked Air Traffic Control for a change of route and permission to land at the London Heliport in Battersea at 7:56. Suddenly, it happened. The helicopter collided with the jib of a construction crane attached to St. George Wharf Tower in Vauxhall. The existence of the crane was subject to a Notice to Airmen but the investigators were unable to ascertain whether or not the pilot was aware. Although Barnes would have seen the building when he previously flew in to Battersea it was not on the database of the GPS system in use in the helicopter as that had not been updated since May. The impact sent the helicopter plunging towards the ground, where it exploded and killed Matthew Wood. ITV News reported that First Capital Connect warned passengers against travelling in the area although the station is actually served by South Western Railway. The London Heliport contacted the Royal National Lifeboat Institution after having been unable to make contact with the helicopter. A inshore rescue boat from Tower Lifeboat Station was scrambled as well as the fire services in the area. Mayday features reenactments and computer generated imagery to reconstruct the sequence of events to the audiences. Several passengers and crew members are picked and actors slash actresses play the role of those passengers and crews throughout the flight. The flight routines in the cockpit and the cabin are recreated on screen starting from departure up to the moment of the emergency. At the moment of the emergency, external views of the aircraft from different angles are recreated to show the effect and what had happened to the aircraft. The responses and reactions of the passengers and crews leading up to the eventual crash or emergency landing are then recreated. All the scenes in the cockpit are recreated using the cockpit voice recorder. A Continental Airlines DC-10 heading for Newark in New Jersey took off from Runway 26R in 2000, and lost a titanium alloy strip. Air France Flight 4590 ran over the piece of debris which cut a tyre and sent a large chunk of tyre debris into the underside of the aircraft's wing. Although it did not puncture any of the fuel tanks, it sent out a pressure shockwave that ruptured the number-5 fuel tank at the weakest point just above the undercarriage. Air traffic controller Gilles Logelin noticed the flames before the Concorde was airborne and informed the flight crew. Having passed V1 speed, the take-off was continued but the aircraft did not gain enough airspeed because of damage to the landing gear bay door. The crew reduced the power on engines 3 and 4 to try and level the aircraft but they lost control and the Concorde stalled and crashed into the Hôtelissimo Les Relais Bleus Hotel near Charles de Gaulle Airport, which caused all 109 passengers to die. Columbia Air Lines Flight 409 is a Boeing 747 on a flight from Washington to Los Angeles while Scott Freeman is a businessman flying his Beechcraft Baron to a meeting in Idaho. A occluded front has the entire West Coast socked in, with Los Angeles International Airport reporting zero visibility. Salt Lake City Air Traffic Control assigns Columbia 409 to land ahead of Freeman's Beechcraft. As Columbia 409 is about to start its descent, First Officer Urias unlocks himself from his seat to check out a vibration. Just then, Freeman suffers a heart attack. The Beechcraft slams into Columbia 409 just above the co-pilot seat which blows Urias out of the aircraft to his death and destroys most of the Flight Engineer's panel and fatally injuring Flight Engineer Julio. Captain Stacy is struck in the face by debris and is blinded. Nancy Pryor informs the Salt Lake City control tower that the crew is dead or badly injured and that there is no one to fly the 747. She gives a assessment of the damage as a large hole on the right side of the flight deck that destroyed most of the instrument gauges over the engineer station. Joe Patroni is apprised of Columbia 409's situation. He seeks the advice of Captain Alan Murdock who is Columbia's chief flight instructor who also happens to be Nancy Pryor's boyfriend. The only other person on the helicopter who can land a 747 is Captain Murdock. He is tethered to the helicopter, lowered to the aircraft and enters it through the hole in the cockpit. He lands the aircraft safely at Salt Lake City International Airport, where the flight attendants conduct a evacuation of the airliner. Stevens' Flight 23 flies invited guests to a estate in Florida which is owned by Philip Stevens who also owns the aircraft. Valuable artwork from Stevens's private collection is also on board the Boeing 747-100 to be displayed in his new museum. Because Stevens' Flight 23 is at such a low altitude, the sudden loss of airspeed threatens to stall the 747. Bob Chambers is forced to use a fire suppression bottle as the engine reignites. But by this time, the aircraft stall alarm is activated and the aircraft's tail hits the water. All the passengers wake up, and realizing what is happening, most panic. Chambers is able to pull up but the aircraft's right wing hits the water again. The aircraft lifts into the air for a moment and hits the water. Because of the hard impact the aircraft becomes grounded in the ocean and begins to sink. A lunar shuttle known as Mayflower One is being rushed to launch from Houston. The head of the ground crew, The Sarge, does not like what is occurring, but he defers to the airline's management. On the flight crew are Captain Clarence Oveur, Unger and first-officer-slash-flight-engineer Dunn. Also on board is computer officer Elaine Dickinson, who has long left Ted Striker and is now engaged to Simon Kurtz. Striker has in the meantime been committed to a insane asylum because of him being declared mentally incompetent in a lawsuit following a test flight that he piloted in which the lunar shuttle crashed. Striker believes that the lawsuit was used to silence him because he knew that there were problems with the lunar shuttle that made it unsafe and that he is once more haunted by his actions in The War, which causes a relapse of his drinking problem. Mayflower One suffers a short circuit during the flight which causes R O K to go insane and send the shuttle toward the Sun. Unger and Dunn try to deactivate the computer but are blown out of a air lock and the computer gasses Oveur. Steve McCroskey reveals that Joe Seluchi had boarded Mayflower One with a device in a briefcase intending to commit suicide so his wife can collect on money; Striker manages to wrestle the device from Seluchi and uses it to blow up R O K and set course for the Moon as originally intended. Using the device to destroy R O K causes collateral damage to Mayflower One meaning that the flight is not out of danger yet. On the way to the Moon, control of the flight is shifted to a lunar base, commanded by Commander Buck Murdock. He has a high level of contempt for Striker but agrees to help anyway and they manage to land the craft on the Moon. Ted and Elaine fall back in love and are married at the end. After the wedding, Seluchi looks into the cockpit and asks for his briefcase back. A post credit scene shows a screen that says "Coming From Paramount Pictures: 'Airplane 3.'" Murdock is then seen saying "That's exactly what they'll be expecting us to do!" The object of Just a Minute is for panellists to talk for 60 seconds on a given subject without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. The comedy comes from attempts to keep within these rules and the banter among the participants. A panellist scores a point for making a correct challenge against whoever is speaking or the speaker gets a point if the challenge is deemed incorrect. If a witty interjection amuses the audience but is not a correct challenge, the challenger can nevertheless be awarded a extra point at the chairman's discretion. A player who makes a correct challenge takes over the subject for the remainder of the minute or until he or she is challenged. The person speaking when the whistle blows after 60 seconds scores a point. On occasion a similar courtesy has been extended by the whistle-blower who will refrain from indicating the end of the minute so as to not interrupt a panellist in a full and entertaining flow which led to Paul Merton speaking for 1 minute and 40 seconds on the subject of Ram-raiding. There are also occasions when players choose not to buzz because of the speaker amusing the audience by performing badly. Sheila Hancock, on the subject of "How to win an argument," said, "Well it varies according to the person that you are arguing with. Should it be a child that you are having a contretemps with, the ideal is deviation tactics. For instance Lola Lupin who I mentioned before won't eat her dinner. So what I do is say, 'Yes it is rotten food, let us sing a song,' making sure that that particular chanson has a few vowels in it that require her to open her mouth during which I pop the spoon in and I have won the argument. However if it is a argument with a person that knows their subject what I do is nod sagely and smile superciliously, let them ramble on, and at the end I say 'Well I'm sorry, I think you're completely wrong,' turn on my heels and leave. I..." Unofficial reports claimed in 2012 that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg would divide writing responsibilities for Star Wars Episodes VIII and IX and that both would co-produce all 3 films of the upcoming sequel trilogy. Disney confirmed in 2013 that Kasdan and Kinberg were working on standalone films rather than saga films. The following year a spokesperson for Rian Johnson confirmed that he would direct Episode VIII and pen a story treatment for Episode IX. Ram Bergman was also confirmed to be brought onto the project as a producer by working alongside Kathleen Kennedy. As Lucasfilm had not developed a story beyond Episode VII Johnson was allowed to develop his own story based on access to the script and footage screened for him by J. J. Abrams. Abrams's friend Greg Grunberg claimed that Abrams was so impressed by the script that he regretted not directing it himself. According to Johnson, "I saw it as the job of this middle chapter to challenge all of those characters; let's see what happens if we knock the stool out from under them. I started by writing the names of each of the characters and thinking, 'What's the hardest thing they could be faced with?'" Johnson regularly met with the Lucasfilm Story Group and members of the cast to share ideas and drafts of the script. John Boyega later told Vogue that the script was darker than the one for The Force Awakens. To prepare for Episode VIII, Johnson and the crew screened classic films such as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gunga Din, Letter Never Sent, Sahara, Three Outlaw Samurai, To Catch a Thief, and 12-O'Clock High. Preliminary filming took place in 2015 on Skellig Michael which is a island off the coast of mainland Ireland that was first used for Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens. This saw the sequence being filmed with IMAX cameras and the crew donate €10,000 to the ferry service, with production officially beginning in February the following year under the Space Bear working title. From 9th March to 16th March production took place in Dubrovnik in Croatia, which was followed by a return to Ireland in May. Bob Iger originally announced the release date for Episode VIII of May the following year although the release date was later pushed back to 15th December. The film topped polls from both Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes as the most anticipated film of the year. Rian Johnson first publicly discussed the film in a Celebration Europe panel where The Last Jedi, the film's title, was announced. The title announcement was accompanied with a release of a logo for the film which features the Star Wars logo in red rather than its traditional logo. This version was previously seen with Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi and with Brothers and Revenge, installments of Star Wars The Clone Wars focused on Darth Maul, and led some to speculate that the creators may be hinting at dark events within The Last Jedi. The title's announcement launched a frenzy of online speculation in regard to the identity of the last Jedi with some noting that the term Jedi can be used plurally; Rian Johnson later said that the title is singular and refers to the Luke Skywalker character. Carrie Fisher passed away on 27th December a year earlier. In light of this, Colin Trevorrow met with Kathleen Kennedy in 2017 to discuss possible story solutions for Star Wars Episode IX with Kennedy saying that the team had pretty much started over and it was reported that Jack Thorne was hired to rewrite the script. The following year, it was announced that Trevorrow had left the project because of creative differences and would be taken over by J. J. Abrams. Disney agreed to pay a fee to Paramount so that Abrams could make the film as he had been in breach of contract with the latter by his involvement in The Force Awakens. Siri will have a more natural voice and support language translation with English and Italian available at launch. It will also support follow up questions by users and users will also be able to type to Siri. Siri will be able to use on device learning which is a privacy-minded local learning technique to understand a user's behaviour and interests inside different apps, which is to offer better suggestions and recommendations. A new Do Not Disturb While Driving mode lets users block unnecessary notifications as long as their iPhone is connected to a vehicle through Bluetooth. A auto-reply feature sends a specific reply to senders of messages to let them know that the user is currently unavailable. Siri offers numerous responses to amusing questions with such questions including "What is the meaning of life?" to which Siri may reply "All evidence to date suggests it's chocolate," "Why am I here?" to which it may reply, "I don't know. Frankly, I've wondered that myself" and "Will you marry me?" to which it may respond with "My End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage," which causes the user to laugh uncontrollably. Alexa supports a multitude of subscription based and free streaming services on Amazon devices. These streaming services include Prime Music and Pandora. Some of the services are not available on other Alexa-enabled products; this unavailability also includes Amazon's own Fire devices or tablets. Alexa is able to stream media and music directly. To do this, Alexa's device should be linked to the Amazon account which enables access to one's Amazon Music library in addition to any audiobooks available in one's Audible library. Amazon Prime members have a additional ability to access playlists and over 2,000,000 songs free of charge. Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers have access to a list of millions of songs. Alexa allows the user to hear updates on supported sports teams. A way to do this is by adding the sports team to the list created under Alexa's Sports Update app section. The user is able to hear updates on up to 15 supported teams. Messages can be sent through multiple ways from Alexa's application. Alexa is able to deliver messages to a recipient's Alexa application as well as to all of their Echo devices. Alexa is able to send typed messages only from Alexa's app. If one sends a message from a associated Echo device, it will be sent as a voice message. Alexa cannot send attachments including photos and videos. If there are multiple members within one's household one's Alexa contacts are pooled across all of the devices that are registered to its associated account. Within Alexa's app, one is only able to start conversations with its Alexa contacts. When accessed and supported by a Alexa app or Echo device, Alexa messaging is available to anyone in one's household. These messages can be heard by anyone with access in the household. This feature does not yet contain a password protection or associated PIN. There are concerns about whether Amazon has access to private conversations in the home, and non-verbal indications that can identify who is present in the home with nonstop audio pickup from Alexa enabled devices. Amazon responds to these concerns by stating that the devices only stream recordings from home when the wake word activates the device. The device is technically capable of streaming voice recordings at all times, and in fact will always be listening to detect if a user has uttered the wake word. 60 Seconds lasted for 60 seconds as the name suggests during which time the presenter condensed some of the day's news stories into a 60-second bulletin. This version was similar to FYI Daily which is a programme of the same length that airs on ITV 4, and 60 Seconds ran with a bulletin at the top of the hour or after a programme had ended. Throughout the bulletin, a line gradually crossed the screen which effectively counted down the seconds. There were sets of pictures running simultaneously for each story. 5 stories were featured in every bulletin. There was a rebrand of BBC Three in 2008, during which the identity of 60 Seconds also changed to match the new colour scheme of the channel. The first broadcast of the revamped 60 Seconds saw a new take on the news; the head-lines of news channels across the world including Al Jazeera and CNN are read as opposed to the original UK headline bulletins which are still included in the bulletin as well as the former properties of the show. Tony Hall announced that the programme would be rebranded to bring it under the Newsbeat banner of BBC Radio 1 in 2013. In March a year later it was announced that 60 Seconds and BBC Three would be axed the following year and all of the BBC Three programmes would be moved onto the BBC iPlayer website. It was not revealed if 60 Seconds would be moved online as well although the final decision was announced in autumn a year later. It was announced that the change would happen in 2016 with 60 Seconds being axed. The final 60 Seconds aired in the early hours of 16th February with the final words from presenter Sam Naz saying "Thank you for watching and for all of your messages, goodnight!" Set between 2065 and 2067 Thunderbirds follows the exploits of the Tracy family which is headed by American ex-astronaut turned multi-millionaire philanthropist Jeff Tracy. He is a widower with 5 adult sons: Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon, and Alan. The Tracys form International Rescue which is a organisation dedicated to saving human life. They are aided in this mission by technologically advanced land, sea, air and space vehicles which are called into service when conventional rescue techniques prove ineffective. The most important of these are 5 machines named the Thunderbirds, with each being assigned to one of the 5 Tracy brothers; 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Leslie Crowther hosted the original UK version of The Price is Right having beaten Joe Brown to the role of host after both recorded pilot episodes. It was also notable for William G. Stewart of 15 to 1 fame producing the show who made the occasional cameo appearance. The Crowther version is popular with fans of the show for its near-campiness, frenetic pace, glamour and the endearing presentation skills of its host, not for its cheaper prizes, which were changed by the Independent Broadcasting Authority. It initially used the Big Wheel to decide who would go through to the Range Finder although the I B A forced ITV to abandon this because of the lack of pricing skill involved. The show had to go off air for a while during its first season on the I B A's instructions because of the regulator also being unhappy that prize values had exceeded its limits so that the format could be adapted to fit into a much more tightly regulated UK broadcasting environment. The show replaced the Big Wheel rounds with a game called Supermarket which is a game based on the American version's Grocery Game game. In Supermarket each of the 3 people would select up to four of six presented grocery products; the one whose total was closest to £20, above or below, advanced to the Range Finder. Series 2 saw the Big Wheel return for a spin-off to see who would have the option of bidding or passing on the first showcase in which each contestant had to take 2 spins. If a person scored 100 £400 would be donated to charity on their behalf and Leslie would ask the person a consumer-related question to win £100 for him-slash-herself. The winner was the contestant who came closer to 100 in either direction. The Crowther version later replaced Supermarket and the Big Wheel with the Showcase Showdown where all 6 contestants played a series of estimated-guess questions and the person farthest away from the actual prize was eliminated. This was done until the last 2 contestants were left, and they then advanced to the Range Finder. The Range Finder was played largely the same way as on the American version. In the first season, the winner wouldn't win the largest prize in their showcase if their winning guess was not within 10% of the showcase total. When it started in 1995 Bruce's Price is Right was one of the first shows to fully take advantage of the Independent Television Commission's lifting of the prize limits and the general deregulation of the UK broadcasting environment. The Showcase Showdown was played on the Big Wheel; a high-scoring contestant on one spin or a combination of 2 spins going through to the Range Finder and any contestant who scored 100 on 1 spin or a combination of 2 spins would win £1000 and the ranges for the Range Finder in went from 1000 to £5000. This version did not involve any bonus spin unlike the other 3 versions of the show. Cars offered were usually superminis from makers like Daewoo, or models like the Ford Ka or Mazda Demio, but small sports cars like the Hyundai Accent or Vauxhall Tigra were offered on occasion. Forsyth initially opened the show with a modified version of his trademark line of "Nice to see you, to see you..." The audience yelled the word "nice" at the end and Forsyth added "Let's meet the stars of our show whoever you are!" Plinko was played to very different rules from the US version on the Forsyth version of the show. Considerably less money could be won and contestants could risk their cash winnings on 1 final Plinko chip in hopes of adding a car or other large prize to their winnings. Landing on LOSE would lose all the money accumulated while landing on WIN would win the car and the money. Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon used these rules for their playing of Plinko with a extra choice of a pound sign in addition to WIN and LOSE so that landing in the pound sign slot would double the winnings, while Vernon Kay's extra chip landed in a WIN slot. Many European versions of the show that debuted after the Forsyth version based their games and sound cues on that show. The main theme and the "come on down" music are from the short-lived 1994 US syndicated version. Challenge went through a revamp in 2016 that discarded the Challengers and introduced a new logo which features a segmented C. The new idents work in elements of game shows that are broadcast by the channel, and include commercial bumpers with famous game show sayings such as Blockbusters's "Can I have a P please Bob?" In 2015 Little Lion Entertainment announced that a live immersive experience of The Crystal Maze would be taking place later that year, which was funded through a Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. The Maze is situated on White Lion Street in Central London and admits members of the public who can buy tickets and play the show for themselves. 4 teams are each guided by their own host and enter the maze at once and rotate around the 4 zones simultaneously before competing against each other in The Crystal Dome. Little Lion Entertainment found a venue for the Maze in the Kings Cross area, and it opened for contestants on 15th March. It was later revealed in November that there would be another live experience at the Granada Studios in Manchester which opened to the public in 2017. This version of the experience is twice as large as the London version; the zones are split in two parts and the teams move through the maze one after the other, such that each half-zone always has one team in it. Like the London Maze, teams compete for the high score in the Crystal Dome by collecting as many gold credits as possible but unlike the London version the teams never meet one another. A computer game based on The Crystal Maze was released in 1993 by Sherston Software for R I S C OS on the Acorn Archimedes. A game for mobiles was released and for iOS devices from Apple. Some of the games from the Crystal Maze are based on a different point of time in human history, and consist of 6 game rooms which are referred to as cells. Teams begin at a pre-determined zone, and first must complete a simple challenge together to enter the Maze, whereupon they compete in a series of games in each zone amassing as many time crystals as they can before completing their last zone and travelling to The Crystal Dome. Upon entering a game's cell the goal of the puzzle is usually determined by a message, the objects within or a clue although it is not immediately obvious in some games and requires being initially figured out. The rest of the team watches their teammate's progress either through a cell's windows or via monitors and can give advice to the contestant unless advised against doing so. 1 major hazard of partaking in a game for a contestant is the risk of being locked within a game's cell. If a contestant is locked in, they are unable to take any further part in proceedings meaning that they can be absent from the final challenge and thus increase the difficulty for the team completing it. If the team's captain is locked in then the member appointed as vice-captain takes over. A locked-in contestant can be released at any time by the captain slash vice captain in exchange for a crystal that had been won by the team which has to be left behind in their cell. Each game is set within 1 of 3 time limits and a contestant must complete the game, secure the crystal and exit the cell within the allotted time that the host sets for it. While contestants can leave the cell whenever they wish to, particularly if they have had no luck completing the game, staying within a game's cell beyond the allotted time will cause them to be locked-in. In a minority of games, particularly in later series, the contestant could not leave a cell without the crystal although it is easily accessible because taking it will trigger a trap connected to the game meaning that they had to solve it before time ran out otherwise they would be locked in. In a number of games, contestants can be locked in if they breached a game's special rules or restrictions, irrespective of their progress in obtaining the crystal. For some games the rule strictly forbids the contestant from making contact with the floor; a 3-strikes rule is in place for other games in which a contestant may make 2 mistakes but cannot make a third with a example of the latter being making contact with a restricted part of the puzzle of the game, which the host states they must not touch. Some games had a special condition that would forfeit the crystal after it is obtained if the contestant did something that was against that game's rule. In one game, contestants could not wade back through a body of water after getting the crystal because of them only earning it if they stuck to using a set of platforms that they swung across with. In another game the crystal was forfeited if the contestant dropped it into a cell's pool of water. Some games involved contestants donning special gear before they were allowed into a game's cell which they later took off after leaving the cell regardless of whether or not they had gotten the crystal. In a number of games set within the same cell in Ocean Zone, contestants had to remove a piece of their clothing because of them having to swim through a pool of water. Furthermore, any contestant who was soaked was sent away to dry off or get a fresh set of clothes. Once the team arrives at The Crystal Dome they are told about how much time that they have to complete the final challenge based on the number of crystals that they have brought with them. At this point, the team enter The Crystal Dome, and upon the challenge beginning, must collect as many gold tokens as they can and deposit them into a container along a wall of The Crystal Dome while avoiding any silver tokens mixed in with them which are blown about by fans beneath the floor of The Crystal Dome. Once time is up, the fans are switched off and no more tokens can be deposited into the container. If the team can accumulate 100 gold tokens or more the team wins the grand prize that they chose for themselves before partaking in the show. All contestants who participate in the show win a crystal that says "I Cracked the Crystal Maze" which acts as a consolation prize if they fail. The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze was a attraction usually found in bowling alleys and video arcades in the United Kingdom. It allowed fans a opportunity to play The Crystal Maze for themselves in a computerised format. There were a few differences from the show, e.g. there is no player choice of game category and there is no locking in. Instead, failing to quit a game would immediately cost the team a crystal. 5 of the first 6 locations were in Britain while the 6th was in Japan. All of the Cyberdrome Crystal Mazes have since closed. Dale Winton served as the original host of Hole in the Wall while Anton du Beke and Darren Gough were the team captains for the first series. Additionally, Jonathan Pearce commented on the replays, and Peter Dickson provided the opening voiceover. The wall was activated by the presenter and the audience shouting "Bring on the wall!" Total Wipeout was hosted by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond who commentates as the contestants attempt to complete the challenges. He is also seen in a studio to provide certain links within the show. Hammond recorded his sections from a studio in England although the main footage was filmed in Argentina. The Qualifier involves 20 contestants attempting to complete a short obstacle course in the least time possible. The 8 contestants with the slowest times are eliminated, with the fastest 12 advancing to The Sweeper. The Qualifier contains the Sucker Punch and Big Balls. The first and last obstacles change every week, however the first obstacle is always set over a pool of water or mud and the final obstacle is always a swing to the goal. 29 contenders in the history of the show have conquered the Big Balls, which were declared as the hardest Wipeout obstacle. The Sweeper involves the 12 remaining contestants standing on 10 ft tall podiums over water while a robotic arm spins around in a circular motion. The contestants have to jump over it, with the arm getting faster and higher in random sections of every rotation. The game continues until a single player remains but unlike the American version the winner does not receive a prize. Dizzy Dummies involves 2 rounds with 1 contestant being eliminated in each round. 5 contestants are strapped onto a human merry-go-round, and spun at speed for 40 seconds and when they are released must make their way to the finish line by crossing the obstacles in their way. The challenge has 2 different routes: Round 1 uses the first route, while Round 2 uses the second. The final contestant in each round to reach the finish line is eliminated. The Wipeout Zone is the final stage of the competition in which the 3 remaining contestants must complete the toughest obstacle course in the world in the quickest time possible. The contestant who completes the zone fastest wins the grand prize of £10,000. In Winter Wipeout and later series the contestant does not have to reattempt the obstacle if they fall off and swim to the next one to save time. The fastest time of 1 minute 10 on the old Wipeout Zone was set by James in Series 2 and matched that time in Champions of Champions. 1 minute 24 was set by Colin, but this and the Series 2 time were both beaten by Andy in Series 4 Episode 3 whose time of 1 minute 7 used to be the new record. 5 episodes later this time was beaten by Roy who clocked in with 1:06. This, though, was the record for only 1 episode, as in the Champion of Champions final Scott beat this time with 58 seconds and became the original record holder for the fastest time on the Wipeout Zone with a time that didn't even exceed a minute. In Series 5 Celebrity Special #8, Dalton Grant beat the record with 54 seconds, while William matched Scott's time in the Series 5 Champion of Champions. The slowest winning time on the Wipeout Zone is 4 minutes 53. The UK version used the classic version of The Sweeper in series 1 and some episodes in series 2 and The Crusher variation in the other episodes of the second series which reduces the players from 12 to 5 or 6 depending on whether Dizzy Dummies or The Dreadmill is the next round; the US version sounds a siren when the elimination part of the game is over and offers a $1,000 bonus prize to the winner. The UK version does neither, with commentary often mocking the fact that players may well be unaware that they need not continue and that they are putting such effort into something that offers no reward. The Wipeout Zone course is almost identical albeit with the UK only ever using the waterfall version of the WaterWall obstacle called the Waterjet version. The US version's 4-part Launch Pads section is changed to the rolling beam, followed by 2 Launch Pads. US contestants hear a horn when their time exceeds that of a previous contestant while UK contestants are not told of their opponents's times until after they complete the course. 1 change in the rules is that if a contestant wipes out on a obstacle in the Zone, they have to go back to the start of that obstacle, and re-attempt it until they clear it although in Season 7 the contestants are now allowed to skip the obstacle once they fall off and swim on to the start of the next obstacle like in the Qualifier. Kunoichi contestants must cross a set of balance beams which are only 7 inches wide in Tornado Run while a wind machine blows at 55 mph against them in a attempt to throw them off balance. The first beam is positioned directly against the wind machine, thus creating a headwind; the second beam is at a 45-degree angle against the fan and the third beam runs alongside the wind machine resulting in a crosswind. In Domino Hill the competitor balances and walks across 40 upright foam dominoes and if a competitor loses her balance and touches a domino she is disqualified. In the 7th tournament it appears that the red zone of dominoes has been changed while in the 8th a shortened version of Domino Hill was used in Stage 2 based on a Kinniku Banzuke event although there is no blue zone. The Final Stage was revamped for the 3rd competition which made it similar to the Final Stage of Sasuke. To complete 2 obstacles, the competitor has 30, 35, 40, or 60, seconds. In the 3rd and 4th Competitions it was to climb up a 33 ft tower using ladder rungs attached to the sides of the walls and climb a 16 ft pole to a landing and the finishing button. In the 5th Competition the ladder rungs alternated, making it more difficult for the competitor to reach the end since they would have to climb the opposite wall every few steps. For the 6th Competition, the tower was replaced by a 33 ft Climbing Wall. In the 7th Competition, the wall tower was replaced with a 39 ft Net Climb. In the 8th Competition, competitors must complete a 33 ft Survival Climb consisting of a series of metal bars before climbing 2 vertically aligned and opposite Climbing Walls to reach the goal. Unlike Sasuke, Kunoichi's Final Stage competitors are not dropped into a freefall if they fail to finish before time runs out but are supported by a safety line. When the competitor transitions to the Pole Climb the ladders and the net slide out of the way but are not timed like Sasuke's Spider Climb. To date, 9 competitors have attempted the final stage and Yuko Mizuno and Ayako Miyake have attempted the final stage more than once. Kunoichi can be seen in the United States as Women of Ninja Warrior on Esquire Network. Like the regular version, the play-by play commentary and interviews with participants are subtitled in English while the introduction and player profiles and replays have been dubbed by Dave Wittenberg. It is also broadcast on Challenge with the first 7 competitions dubbed by Stuart Hall, while Kunoichi 8 was dubbed by Jim North although the Stuart Hall commentary was removed and the show has redubbed the competitions with new commentary. Episodes also feature segments such as Ninja Killer and Warrior Wipeout. The Sasuke All Stars are a group of 6 favored competitors established by the TBS network originally thought to be the most likely to clear all 4 stages. It includes 2 of the men to complete the course, Kazuhiko Akiyama and Makoto Nagano. The membership of the All-Stars has remained unchanged despite other competitors in later tournaments, notably Yuuji Urushihara who completed the course in the 24th and 27th tournaments. The All-Stars were officially retired in the 28th tournament, only 2 of them continue to compete, and are now referred to as the former All-Stars. The 6 consist of; Akiyama, Nagano, Toshihiro Takeda, Shingo Yamamoto, Bunpei Shiratori and Katsumi Yamada. In the 12th competition, Yamada was disqualified on the Spider Walk because of him failing to remove his gloves used on the Chain Reaction obstacle. Levi Meeuwenberg first competed in Sasuke 20 where he was one of only 3 people to clear the first stage and the only person to clear the second. He cleared Stage 2 with a record time of 38.5 seconds left. He failed the third stage's Shin-Cliff Hanger. In the 21st competition, he failed the Salmon Ladder in the second stage; in the 22nd, he failed the Slider Jump; in the 23rd, he made it back to Stage 3 but failed the Shin-Cliff Hanger again. He missed the 24th competition but returned for the 25th where he failed the Slider Drop. He couldn't compete in the 26th competition because of him breaking his wrist while participating in Jump City Seattle. Levi did not compete in American Ninja Warrior 3 to try to earn a spot for Sasuke 27 because of a big movie scene that came up for him during the time of the tryouts. Levi did compete in American Ninja Warrior 4 although he failed the Quad Steps. There are requirements that possible contestants have to meet before participating at a regional Qualifier. Contestants must be legal residents of the United States and be in decent physical shape. There is no upper age limit, but participants must be 21 years old and have to fill out a 23-page questionnaire and make a video about themselves. A total of 250 contestants begin the first stage of Ninja Warrior UK and attempt to complete 6 obstacles and hit the button at the end of the course with some of the obstacles being taken from or based on Sasuke such as the Warped Wall and the Quintuple Steps. The 10 contestants, from each of the 5 qualifying rounds, who make it the furthest the fastest, qualify for the semi-finals where there are 9 obstacles. They then qualify for the final which is split into 4 parts. The first part features 9 obstacles and is timed; the second part features 5 obstacles with a strict time limit, and the third part features 3 untimed obstacles. Lastly, contestants must climb Mount Midoriyama with a 70 ft rope. In contrast to the American Ninja Warrior rules which state that touching the water is not allowed competitors are permitted to make contact with the water but are disqualified if they fall. If they fall completely off the rope they are disqualified from the show. Deal or No Deal contestants do not know who is to take the seat until it is revealed at the beginning of the show. Usually, contestants will appear on 15-25 shows before they are selected to play. The contestant then takes their box and walks to the set, taking their place at the pound table, in what Noel Edmonds refers to as the crazy chair. Edmonds asks to confirm that the player chose their box at random after a brief chat with the contestant and any family or friends who may be in the audience. After this confirmation, the game begins. The contestant chooses one of the 21 boxes remaining to be opened which eliminates the value inside it from the list of possible amounts in the contestant's box which is displayed on a large screen opposite them. It is in the contestant's interest to uncover smaller amounts of money in the hope that their prize is a larger amount or that they can get a higher offer from the Banker. Boxes are opened by the remaining 21 contestants who are regularly spoken to by Edmonds and the contestant and offer support and advice. These contestants return for the following episodes, along with a new contestant replacing the previous episode's contestant so that all eventually play the game. The Banker is the name given to the show's quasi-fictional antagonist. Notionally, the money on the game board is the Banker's own. As such, his role is to make cash offers to buy the contestant's chosen box rather than allowing them to continue and risk them winning much more. As stated in the end credits The Banker is played by Himself. He talks to Edmonds via a Bakelite telephone on the contestant's desk, and also regularly talks to the player. As Broadcast magazine noted in 2006, the UK version of the show was the first to exploit the potential for the Banker to be a active character despite not being seen or heard on screen, which caused a high degree of interest in the media. Some sources have speculated that the Banker is former Coronation Street actor Glenn Hugill who works as part of the show's production team. Edmonds denied these claims in Heat magazine although they were proven to be accurate by Richard Osman and Stephen Mulhern 9 years later, who said that Hugill is the Banker. On 16 November Edmonds turned on Exeter's Christmas lights and claimed that the Banker studied Financial Affairs and Politics at Exeter University and that students could find his identity by looking at the records. This fact was mentioned during a University Challenge episode where Jeremy Paxman introduced Exeter University, and named the Banker as one of the institution's famous alumni. A interview with the Banker was published in a edition of the Sky Digital Magazine which revealed that the Banker has an MSc in financial analysis and fund management and a BSc in pure mathematics as well as statistics and a Masters and that he was a registered dentist. The Banker's voice can, on several occasions, be heard. He has been heard laughing manically, blowing kisses and imitating Basil Brush. Contestants have described his voice as sounding like a dirty phone call, old and sexy, rather like well spoken deep voiced fellow contestant Lance, and the Scream man. Edmonds has often imitated the Banker's voice in a deep Churchillian tone. Short utterances or other audio from the Banker's end of the phone call can occasionally be heard by the viewer. In a episode in 2010, The Banker's voice was heard properly for the first time. In a twist to how the boxes are usually chosen, the contestant offered the Banker the opportunity of choosing his next 3 boxes. The Banker accepted the offer, and rather than talking to Edmonds his deep gravelly voice was heard making his choices in the studio. The Banker has also made infrequent and obscure visual appearances which serve to exaggerate his reputation as only caring about his money. On Christmas Day 2006, a brief shot from behind of a man in a suit and hat was shown switching off his television after watching the contestants sing Christmas carols at the end of the show. Other short comical appearances followed, and in 2011, he said that he was going to appear in person to make his offer. When he came out it looked like he was hiding under a cloak until Helen unveiled him to see a man called Alex. The Banker then revealed that it was just a fake and that Helen and Alex knew each other. In 2016 it was announced that Deal or No Deal had been axed by Channel 4. A Deal or No Deal Tour series was announced where the show would travel to landmarks throughout the United Kingdom, which caused the show to end in December. Britain's Got the Pop Factor and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice was shown in the style of a live final talent show hosted by Cat Deeley. Peter Kay appeared as Geraldine McQueen. Jo Enright, Karl Lucas, David Hulston and Sian Foulkes performed as 2 Up 2 Down, and Marc Pickering played R Wayne. This mirrors the 3 categories that The X Factor originally split its entrants into. Geraldine McQueen had gone through gender reassignment surgery after being a male piano player on a Irish ferry and 2 Up 2 Down had a multitude of bad experiences. R Wayne was originally eliminated at bootcamp for not having a good sob story although he was brought back into the show after R Gran died from a heart attack on hearing news of his elimination. Later on in the show, Clinton Baptiste revealed that R Gran was attending a pub quiz with Thora Hird and Heath Ledger. The 3 finalists each performed a live medley which was performed in a serious manner with the insensitivity of the song selections providing the sudden humour; R Wayne was eliminated at this point and the final 2 acts then performed their own rendition of The Winner's Song. The winner of the show was Geraldine. She collapsed on stage during the last lines of her version. There was a controversy in 2015 when a voice trumpet from Teletubbies was in the middle of the Itsy Bitsy Spider nursery rhyme when Deeley told the trumpet to "F\*\*king shut up!", which resulted in a tug of war with the Noo Noo. It was perhaps as unlucky for Larson International who opened The Joker Chaos Coaster, as following the collapse of the Eiffel Tower Duke sentenced the Teletubbies to 65 years in prison, which caused the Teletubbies to say "Uh oh!" Six Flags Over Georgia had felt that Deeley was getting preferential treatment at the time and it was allegedly reported that she had ruined the Itsy Bitsy Spider nursery rhyme and that she had been involved in a controversy where she yelled "Shut up!" to a Hyundai. In response, the park issued a statement on 12 November which said that the ride would not be uploaded in 2016 and that the work of the attraction at the Gotham City section of the park was stopped in summer. The statement went on to say that the scene where the Eiffel Tower collapses was not intended to generate controversy. Georgia Scorcher replaced The Joker Chaos Coaster and featured Crank It by Kideko & George Kwali, which had debuted in October the previous year. The design of the Angola flag was inspired by a scene in a episode of EastEnders, in which a ambulance is carrying Johnny Carter to a hospital when a tanker smashes into the ambulance, which results in the ambulance overturning. The scene was not initially included after the 2015 controversy in a video by the former Ali Chebbani in which Deeley yelled at the crowd although she made a appearance in a Quintino video in which Adolf Hitler calls her and asks her to reveal the results. In the video, Quintino's remix of Runaway (U & I) by Galantis plays while Deeley is holding a gold envelope in her hand. Quintino plays the remix and the rhythm is heard for a short time before a angry Deeley yells "F\*\*king shut up!" and the remix is stopped, which causes Hitler to tell her "You have ruined the song!" Deeley says "Thank you" to Quintino which is followed by "OK" and says to him that "I have the answer right here" which is followed by Hitler asking her if she can reveal the show's winner, which causes the children from Ship Ahoy to say no. Quintino is taken over by Kaskade who plays a sample of his remix of the Galantis song that was interrupted earlier. When Thomas the Tank Engine gets Deeley into trouble for interrupting Quintino's remix, it is revealed that she was trying to prevent the release of Star Wars The Force Awakens on 18th December. Quintino struck back on 3rd October with the controversial Joker Chaos Coaster, the 5-minute 56 second movie being cancelled because of a controversy. The Eiffel Tower was destroyed in the video in question along with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Revolution after Thomas the Tank Engine told the latter that the villagers need their tree, which caused a total of 5 people to complain about the scene. As well as the character of the former Thomsonfly.com being repetitive in nature the company became the subject of Reagan's YouTube channel in September ahead of its debut the following month; a photo of one of its Boeing 767 aircraft confirmed the evidence along with the Kato & Sigala feat Hailee Steinfield song Show You Love, which made its debut in October. Sigala had become a worldwide hit with Came Here for Love at the time and it was reported that the collaboration with Kato and Steinfield would become more than just a big hit when the former debuted in Corsairfly. Unlike Thomsonfly.com, Corsairfly shows a Boeing 747-422 departing Roland Garros Airport in Réunion before the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Dumile; the take-off is followed by Julie telling Corsairfly that "You and Barney look like old fashioned airplane pilots" followed by Sigala playing a sample of the song that is already becoming a worldwide sensation. Sigala made a appearance in a 40 minute video that Reagan uploaded on 31st August called Supernova. Supernova took over from the 20 minute 40 second long Singapore when it made its debut and was notable for the samba drums from Instruction by Jax Jones feat Demi Lovato & Stefflon Don that had made their debut in Dua Lipa on 22nd August, who was later known for celebrating her birthday. A man who was narrating how Dua Lipa was born in 1995 is interrupted by Hitler, who tells him that it is Lipa's birthday. Lipa, who is heard reading a warning of the U certificate from the British Board of Film Classification, says, "When you rent or buy a video, you need to know that the film you choose is suitable for the audience at home. To help you understand what the film is like, you can look at the certificate it has been given. This film has been classified U. That means it can be seen by people of all ages and there will be nothing unsuitable for children." The 7-5 numbers appear on the screen and Lipa says that video certificates are there to give you the chance to make the right choice with the screen fading to black for a short time before the U certificate zooms in and rests onto a unknown position. Lipa says "Thanks for listening" causing Hitler to hang up the phone. The warning is perhaps as successful for the British Board of Film Classification, who likes the idea so much that it asks Scott Speed to read a 12, a 15 and a 18 certificate. After Lipa has done reading the U certificate the children from Look at Me I'm 3 say "We forgot to make a cake!" which causes Hitler to hang up the phone. Michael Angelis appears and says "One night there was a terrible storm" which is accompanied by the samba drums