Since the start of 2014, more than 1,600 people have died in commercial aviation disasters. That rate is up from the preceding 3 years and results in part from some shocking incidents. Yet a strong case can be made that airline safety — at least in terms of mechanical failures and human error — is better than ever, even as investigators try to learn why an EgyptAir jetliner crashed into the Mediterranean Sea Thursday with 66 people aboard. IATA says there was only one serious jet accident per every 3.1m flights in 2015. "Aviation is the safest form of long distance transportation ever invented. And it is getting safer," an IATA spokesman said. "All the data point in that direction." The flying public appears to accept those assurances, as air traffic records are being broken in virtually every region of the world. <br/>
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The US govt is accelerating plans to add security staff and bomb-sniffing dogs at Chicago's 2 major airports after a "breakdown" earlier this week caused frustration and some passengers to miss flights. Long security lines at airports across the US recently have frayed tempers and led to calls for the govt to fix the problem. Passenger screening has slowed since TSA last year abandoned the 'PreCheck' lanes where officers would pull people randomly into faster but less rigorous lanes, after reports of screening lapses. However, TSA budget and staffing levels had been set assuming that PreCheck would be in effect, and that more people would sign up to it. As a result, the agency found itself without the resources to handle rising passenger traffic on US airlines, expected to be at an all-time high this summer. <br/>
Singapore’s second airport and MRO hub, Seletar Airport, is to build a replacement Passenger Terminal Building to expand the facility’s handling capacity. Operator Changi Airport Group said construction is expected to begin in Oct 2016, with operation commencing in 2018. CAAS DG Kevin Shum said the upgrade would be a valuable complement to Singapore’s Changi Airport. “The new PTB will enhance the capacity of [Seletar] and will … enable more opportunities to thrive in Seletar Aerospace Park, reinforcing Singapore’s position as an … aviation hub,” he said. In 2015, Seletar saw some 80% of all flights operated by flying schools, but with the opening of the new PTB, all turboprop aircraft operations operating out of Changi will be required to move to Seletar. <br/>