Outage paralyses Dutch airport

THE HAGUE: A computer outage hit a regional airport and several public services including the coastguard and military police in the Netherlands Wednesday, with no immediate indications as to a cause. Planes were grounded at Eindhoven Airport in the southeast of the country, which normally takes passengers to 30 international destinations. “Due to a network disruption, there is no air traffic possible at Eindhoven Airport. It is still unclear when the situation will be resolved,” according to the airport website. The country’s main airport, Schiphol near Amsterdam, which is a major European hub, appeared to be functioning normally. — AFP

Arla’s raises 2024 revenue outlook

COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s Arla, one of the world’s biggest dairy producers and the maker of Lurpak butter and Castello cheese, raised its full-year revenue outlook on Wednesday and said it expected prices to rise, despite reporting a drop in first-half revenue. While dairy prices declined in late 2023 and early 2024 from historically highs levels early last year, a shift in the balance of supply and demand was again making products more expensive, Arla said. “As the global milk production saw a decline in the first half of 2024, the global dairy price levels in commodities, retail and foodservice generally continued the upward trend, enabling price increases across markets,” Arla CEO Peder Tuborgh said in a statement. — Reuters

Polestar reshuffles management

PARIS: Polestar, the electric car venture created by Volvo and now controlled by China’s Geely, Wednesday named a new chief executive as it reshuffles its management to confront a shrinking share price and a stumbling EV market. Michael Lohscheller, former chief executive of German carmaker Opel, on October 1 will replace Thomas Ingenlath, who has run the brand since its creation seven years ago. Polestar had already recently replaced its chairman and chief of design. Lohscheller “brings a wealth of expertise in the automotive industry, particularly in navigating competitive markets and scaling businesses,” the company said in a statement. — AFP

Ryanair boss reports rise in rowdiness

LONDON: The boss of low-cost airline Ryanair has warned of a “notable rise” in passengers misbehaving during flights due to alcohol and drug-taking in recent months. The Irish carrier’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said it was a “pan-European problem” but at its worst on some UK routes to so-called party destinations like Ibiza. The typically outspoken CEO said authorities across the continent “don’t take it seriously”, as he urged them to consider restricting airport alcohol sales to curb the issue. “We’ve had a notable rise, as have most of the other airlines, in bad behavior among passengers particularly on those longer holiday flights this summer,” he told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. — AFP

South Africa’s 2024 maize harvest falls

CAPE TOWN: South African farmers are expected to harvest 20.5 percent less maize in the 2023/2024 season compared with the previous one, the government’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Wednesday. The CEC’s seventh summer crop forecast estimated the 2024 harvest at 13.06 million metric tons, down from the 16.43 million tons harvested the season before. The previous estimate on July 26 put the 2024 maize harvest at 13.33 million tons. — Reuters