The European Parliament voted on Thursday to allow airlines to share passenger information with EU states to help detect militants, culminating five years of debate that intensified after the Paris and Brussels attacks. The parliament in Strasbourg overwhelmingly adopted the Passenger Name Record system after resolving privacy concerns raised after the European Commission, the executive of the 28-nation EU, first proposed the law in 2011. "This is a strong expression of Europe's commitment to fight terrorism and organised crime together through enhanced cooperation and effective intelligence sharing," the commission said. "The EU PNR Directive will improve the safety and security of our citizens," the commission's first vice president Frans Timmermans and home affairs commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos added, citing the November 13 Paris massacres and the March 22 Brussels bombings. One of the two Brussels airport suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, was deported by plane from Turkey to Europe without detection despite being a wanted man in Belgium. The legislation passed with 416 votes for, 179 votes against and nine abstentions. Story has further details.<br/>
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Egypt's Public Prosecutor has referred the case of the Russian airliner that crashed in Sinai last year to State Security prosecutors to look into suspicions that criminal activity brought it down. The Egyptian-led committee investigating the crash, in which all 224 people aboard were killed, said last month it had sent the case to the public prosecutor after a Russian investigation raised suspicion of criminal activity. Moscow stopped all civilian flights to Egypt, a popular destination for Russian tourists, after the plane crashed in Sinai on October 31. Russia has long said a bomb destroyed the airliner. Islamic State, whose Egyptian affiliate is waging an insurgency in the Sinai, immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and later said it smuggled the explosive aboard in a soft drink can. But Egyptian officials did not acknowledge evidence of foul play until February, when President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a televised speech that terrorists had brought down the plane to hurt tourism and relations with Russia.<br/>
Airlines will still be allowed to jam passengers into ever-smaller seats and charge them for checked luggage, but they will have to provide refunds when those bags are delayed or lost under a bill set for Senate passage. Rules to require those refunds and to bolster airport security are part of a FAA measure nearing final approval by the US Senate as early as next week. The measure to extend the agency’s authority through September 2017 puts pressure on the House to act before current authorization expires July 15. The bill advanced on a 94-4 vote Thursday morning. Senate leaders had originally hoped to pass the bill later in the day, but were still wrangling over amendments.<br/>The measure would mandate new rules for drones and also would provide more disclosure of the cost of fees airlines charge passengers. Last week, the Senate rejected other proposed consumer-friendly provisions, including an amendment aimed at setting minimum seat sizes offered by Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. Increased airport security is an issue with heightened urgency following the attack in Brussels. Earlier efforts to amend the bill to include tax credits for renewable energy failed, although Democrats said they extracted a promise that the energy credits would see Senate action later this year. The bipartisan legislation still faces likely votes on amendments before final passage. <br/>
Three European airlines – Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa – were penalized up to a combined $550,000 for dealing improperly with complaints from disabled travelers, the US DoT announced Thursday. The cases involved the airlines not following US rules for responding to numerous complaints received from 2012 to 2015. The airlines were supposed to either admit or deny that they violated rules for dealing with disabled travelers. Then the airlines were supposed to advise travelers how to ask the DoT to investigate. But Air France and British Airways each failed to summarise the facts of the complaints, explicitly admit or deny violations, or advise travelers to pursue enforcement with the department. Lufthansa also didn’t tell their passengers about the option for a department investigation, and instead referred them to an attachment called “Travel Tips” with department contact information. “When air travelers file complaints with airlines, they deserve prompt and complete responses that appropriately answer their specific concerns,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. Each of the airlines responded that they take their responsibilities seriously to comply with US policies for travellers with disabilities. The airlines each agreed to penalties, although they will be paid in different ways.<br/>
Seven Malaysian air carriers have joined forces to form the Association of Malaysian Air Carriers (AMAC), according to a joint statement issued on Thursday. Malaysia Airlines, MASwings, Firefly, AirAsia, AirAsia X, Malindo Air and Berjaya Air are the founding airlines of the association, which will be open to all Malaysian air carriers. According to AMAC, the association will provide a common platform to discuss issues affecting the airline industry. It will also represent common industry interests among institutions such as the Ministry of Transport, Department of Civil Aviation and the Malaysian Aviation Commission. <br/>
Narita International Airport held a large-scale counterterrorism drill Thursday ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Mie Prefecture next month. About 170 people, including police, airline officials and personnel from security firms participated in the drill in response to possible chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive attacks. It was the first large-scale exercise of its kind held at the airport, one of the main gateways to Japan. The 1½-hour drill was organized jointly by Narita International Airport Corp., Chiba Prefectural Police, Tokyo Customs’ branch at the airport and the Narita city fire department.<br/>
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has strongly criticised the E70m cost increase for the second parallel runway at Dublin Airport. O’Leary, speaking in Trinity College Dublin, where he was endorsing Sean Barrett’s re-election to the Upper House, said the Dublin Airport Authority should pay the excess. A 2014 report put the cost of developing the second parallel runway at €250m but last week’s announcement about the planned development put the price tag at E320m. O’Leary described the cost increase as “nonsense” and without justification. “A second runway is a good idea and hopefully we will need it,” he said. “It was approved by the aviation commission in 2014 at a cost of €243m. So we are somewhat taken aback that it has spiralled by 30% to E320m within 12 months without a sod being turned We have a meeting with the Dublin Airport Authority to find out what the other E70m is for. If the regulated cost of the project is E250m then we will fully support it. We are not paying for another round of DAA badly designed gold-plated, badly located facilities.”<br/>