general

A govt watchdog says US safety inspectors are generally unable to conduct unannounced inspections of foreign repair stations where most airlines send their planes for major repair work. Instead, inspectors have to give the countries where the repairs stations are located advance notice of their plans. The govt Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday that FAA inspectors also complain that they've had to cancel inspections because of the agency's tight travel budget. The report also criticises the FAA for not collecting data from airlines on the amount of work that's performed at both foreign and domestic repair stations, saying the information could significantly enhance the agency's oversight. <br/>

Demand for air travel to France, and Nice in particular, has dropped again after an attacker killed 84 people in the city on the French Riviera July 14, according to ForwardKeys. France's tourism industry had yet to fully recover from assaults in Paris in January and November last year, which were also claimed by Islamic State. Daily net international bookings to Nice for future arrivals, combining cancellations of previous bookings and a decline in new bookings, dropped by 57% in the period July 15-23, compared with the previous year. ForwardKeys said flight bookings for travel in August and September were already down before the July attack but have since taken another knock. Bookings for travel to Nice for August and September were down 14% compared with last year before July 14, but are now down 19%. <br/>