general

For all the world’s economic malaise, there’s a bright spot above the clouds: Airline passenger traffic grew 6.4% last year, the most in five years. <br/>Total passengers rose across all major regions to 7.2b, almost the population of the planet, according to Airports Council International, the industry’s Montreal-based trade association. And as with the global economy, China is a dominant force for growth. Asia-Pacific airports handled the most, with trips up 8.6% to 2.46b, while the Middle East increased the fastest, climbing 9.6% to 334m. “Growth in passenger traffic approached the pre-recessionary growth levels that were seen in 2004 to 2007,” ACI said in its annual report. “International tourism in particular was irrepressible in 2015, even considering the geopolitical risks that persisted in certain parts of the world, such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East.” While the BRICS economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- have faced their own varying challenges, they still posted strong growth of 8.2% in passenger traffic last year and their 1.5b passengers accounted for 21.4% of global traffic, ACI said. <br/>

EASA has issued a conflict zone information bulletin (CZIB), warning that there is an anti-aircraft weaponry risk to airlines flying in Kenyan airspace. In the bulletin, issued Sept. 9, EASA alerted airlines to a notice to airmen (NOTAM) about the hazardous situation in Kenya that was released by the UK Aug. 26. The NOTAM, which remains valid until Nov. 11, warns of the potential risk of overflying Kenyan airspace and territory at altitudes of under 25,000 ft. because of “dedicated anti-aircraft weaponry.” Operators have been advised to take this into account in their risk assessments and routing decisions, but the EASA recommendations—which remain in place until Feb. 9, 2017—are not mandatory.<br/>

Federal accident investigators have called on jet makers and the FAA to devise tougher safeguards against one of commercial aviation’s most common safety threats: planes careening off slippery runways during landings. The NTSB issued the nonbinding recommendations on Tuesday, responding to a March 2015 accident at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in which a Delta Air Lines McDonnell Douglas MD-88 jet veered off a snowy strip, slid uncontrollably for thousands of feet and slammed into an embankment after touching down in stormy weather. There were no fatalities among the 132 people on board, and investigators determined the probable cause was pilot error. But by urging more-stringent landing rules for certain jet models and calling for development of possible new equipment intended to give all cockpit crews real-time data about braking conditions, the safety board inserted itself into a long-simmering dispute over runway safety between the world’s two largest airplane manufacturers. Boeing and Airbus Group are at loggerheads about a fundamental point when it comes to preventing landing planes from rolling off the sides or ends of runways: the need for joint US-European technical standards to combat this type of accident, partly by mandating ways to enhance pilot awareness about the dangers of such events.<br/>

Airports have experienced a huge construction boom as they’ve expanded and modernised. But the toughest jobs got saved for last: The most complicated projects in the most important US airports are snarling travel for millions of passengers this year. At Los Angeles International Airport, the already-congested single roadway that loops in front of all nine terminals has become traffic molasses. The number of cars jumped 9% this year, faster than passenger growth, according to LAX police. The horseshoe-shaped road has seen lanes closed for construction. Changes inside the newly expanded international terminal have created jams at the curb. It will likely get worse before it gets better: A complete rebuilding with a people-mover to shuttle in passengers from remote parking and drop-offs is scheduled to break ground in 2018, with more disruption probable. The entire airport rebuilding is estimated at $14b. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport has had construction on roadways around the airport and some lane closures in front of terminals earlier this year. In New York, the new $5.3b project to rebuild La Guardia Airport’s central terminal forced roadway changes that led to a traffic meltdown in August. “Traffic is crazier than usual. It’s been a rough summer,” says Cheryl Berkman, CE of Music Express, a limousine service operating in several cities.<br/>

A year after joining a national campaign for better pay and benefits, workers at Reagan National and Dulles International airports are shifting their fight to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The low-wage workers who hold critical service jobs — keeping terminals and plane cabins clean, moving bags and transporting people with disabilities, are pressuring the airports’ governing body to require that firms doing business at the region’s two commercial airports pay their workers a minimum of $15 per hour. “We hope that soon our fight will be coming to an end,” Legesse Z. Woldearegay, a security officer at National, said in a letter to be delivered Wednesday to MWAA leaders, along with a signed petition. “And that our light will shine on the dome of MWAA headquarters and that our voices will be heard in the board of directors’ office.” After a rally Wednesday afternoon at National’s Terminal A, dozens of workers and their supporters walked to the MWAA office to hand over a petition with more than 1,000 signatures urging it to extend its living wage to all contracted airport workers. MWAA, which oversees National and Dulles, has a living-wage policy that applies to airport contracts but not to companies that contract directly with individual airlines. There are more than 2,000 workers at National and as many as 4,200 at Dulles who work for such companies. Some of those workers are paid as little as $6 per hour, in addition to “unreliable tips,” according to the Service Employees International Union, which is organizing the workers.<br/>

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair has cancelled nearly 100 flights in response to a two-day French national strike, which could include the country’s air traffic controllers. According to Eurocontrol, France’s main air traffic control union USAC CGT is planning to support a national call for strike Sept. 15. “The strike will start on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 1700 UTC and will end at 0400 UTC on Friday, Sept. 16,” Eurocontrol said, adding the action could affect all French area control centers and airports. Eurocontrol warned of possible disruption and said there is a risk of minimum service in some regions.<br/>

Boeing said Wednesday it is curbing use of paid overtime by 80,000 salaried workers based in the US, part of a company-wide effort to reduce costs to deal with intense competition. Starting Oct. 14, Boeing will halt overtime for salaried employees not entitled to overtime pay by law "except in the case of pre-approved production- or mission-critical work," according to an internal memo confirmed by a company spokesman. When such work is needed, "Boeing organizations that pay exempt overtime — and most don't — will pay it only when it is discussed with and approved in advance by the employee’s direct manager," the memo said. Pay for Boeing's union employees will follow existing labor contracts and overtime for those workers is already managed. "This new policy is another step in the company’s efforts to improve our affordability and competitiveness so that we can better position ourselves to grow sales to customers," spokesman Chaz Bickers said.<br/>

Boeing CE sounded a new note of caution on Wednesday, saying the world's biggest plane maker would post "flattish" sales next year, even as profit and cash flow rise. Dennis Muilenburg said Boeing also might miss its target of selling about 740 jetliners this year, having booked just 355 net orders so far. Airlines have cooled on buying new planes, especially large twin-aisle models, and some analysts had already factored a sales miss into their forecasts. While Boeing is still aiming for its target, "there's nothing that's driving us with a sense of urgency that we have to hit" it, Muilenburg said at an investor conference hosted by Morgan Stanley. Boeing's near-record backlog of about 5,700 plane orders will keep the factories humming, and Boeing will not cut prices just to generate sales, he said. Still, Muilenburg said Boeing may cut production of 777 jets further than its current projections if sales of the twin aisle model continue to lag. The 777, one of Boeing's most successful and profitable planes, is undergoing a makeover that will add new engines and wings and other refinements. Boeing makes 777s at a rate of 8.3 a month, and had already announced plans to cut output to seven a month next year as it shifts to the new 777X model, which enters production in 2018.<br/>