A UN panel Monday proposed long-sought greenhouse gas emissions standards for airliners and cargo planes, drawing praise from the White House and criticism from environmentalists who said they would be too weak to actually slow global warming. The ICAO said the agreement reached by the agency's environmental panel requires new aircraft designs meet the standards beginning in 2020, and that designs already in production comply by 2023. There is also a cutoff date of 2028 for the manufacture of planes that don't comply with the standards. The standard must still be adopted by the agency's 36-nation governing council, but substantive changes aren't expected. The standards would be the first ever to impose binding energy efficiency and carbon dioxide reduction targets for the aviation sector. When fully implemented, the standards are expected to reduce carbon emissions more than 650m tons between 2020 and 2040, equivalent to removing over 140m cars from the road for a year, according to the White House. The standards would require an average 4% reduction in fuel consumption during the cruise phase of flight starting in 2028 when compared with planes delivered in 2015. However, planes burn the most fuel during takeoffs and landings, while cruising at high altitudes is already the most fuel-efficient period. The agreement is the first of two important opportunities this year to reduce carbon emissions from aviation. The second opportunity will come later this year when ICAO tries to reach an agreement on a "market-based approach" that would use economic incentives to further reduce aviation carbon emissions.<br/>
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The IATA has announced the highest demand for air travel in the past five years. Global air travel demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), rose 6.5% for the year compared to 2014. “This the strongest result since the post-Global Financial Crisis rebound in 2010, and well above the 10-year average annual growth rate of 5.5%,” the airline organization states. Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO of IATA said of the results, “Last year’s very strong performance, against a weaker economic backdrop, confirms the strong demand for aviation connectivity. But even as the appetite for air travel increased, consumers benefitted from lower fares compared to 2014.” Annual airline capacity rose by 5.6% and passenger load factor climbed 0.6 percentage points to a record annual high of 80.3%. While all regions experienced growth in 2015, Asia-Pacific airlines accounted for one-third of global annual increase in traffic in 2015, with a demand increase of 8.2% compared to 2014. North American airlines’ demand rose by 3.2% in 2015, “Broadly unchanged from the growth achieved in 2014,” IATA reports.<br/>
Britain should make a decision on where to build an additional runway this summer, its transport minister said, dismissing concerns it could be further delayed by a referendum on EU membership. PM David Cameron could reach a deal over Britain's ties with the EU at a summit later this month, paving the way for a public vote on membership of the bloc possibly in June. Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin said he did not think a June referendum would derail the current timetable for deciding on expanding either Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport, or Gatwick, the second-busiest. The decision has been delayed repeatedly. "If the referendum is June 23, the date that has been talked about, then I think we still could be on target to make it (the decision) before the end of July," McLoughlin told a panel of MPs, adding that he did not know when the vote would be. "I very much hope that by the summer of this year we will have a location decision," he said.<br/>
The FAA says there are now more registered drone operators in the US than there are licensed pilots. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a legal forum on Monday that the agency passed the milestone last week when it topped 325,000 registered drone owners. There are 320,000 licensed pilots of manned aircraft. Huerta said the number of small unmanned aircraft is even larger because drone operators often own more than one drone. FAA officials launched a drone registration program just before Christmas, saying it would help them track down operators who violate regulations and also help to create a culture of accountability. Huerta said the speed with which registration has taken off is proof that government and industry can work together. Drones have become increasingly popular with hobbyists. The FAA estimated in December that 1.6m small unmanned aircraft will be sold this year, with half during the last three months of the year.<br/>