Virgin Atlantic provided BAA, which ran both Heathrow and Gatwick on behalf of the UK government, and the Secretary of State for Transport granted permission. The Civil Aviation Authority also transferred two pairs of unused landing slots that British Airways held at Tokyo's Narita Airport to Virgin to let it increase its frequency between Heathrow and Tokyo from four to six weekly round trips, making it easier for Virgin to compete against British Airways. The then-chairman of BA Lord King called the CAA's decision, which the government had endorsed, "a confiscation of his company's property". In the year to October 1993, Virgin
Newark Liberty International Airport aircraft. Newark was the only New York area airport used by Philippine Airlines (PAL), until financial problems in the late 1990s caused it to terminate this service. In March 2015, PAL resumed service to the New York metropolitan area routing to JFK Airport, and will not return to Newark, following the removal of the Philippines from the air safety blacklist of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In October 2015, Singapore Airlines announced intentions to resume direct nonstop service between Newark and its main hub at Singapore Changi Airport. For a time, the dates were not yet announced, but the Airbus