Airline pilots and air traffic controllers are on schedule to switch to text communications at most of the nation's busiest airports by the end of the year, a milestone that holds the potential to reduce delays, prevent errors and save billions of dollars in fuel cost, says the FAA. Controllers and pilots will still use their radios for quick exchanges like clearance for take-off and in emergencies and situations where time is critical. But the nation's air traffic system is gradually shifting to text messages for a majority of flying instructions. That's a big advantage, say govt and industry officials, because up until now longer and more complicated instructions like a route change for pilots of planes waiting to take off are communicated verbally, with each word laboriously spelled out in the radio alphabet. <br/>
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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it will soon convene a meeting with foreign airline operators over their alleged rejection of naira payment for flight tickets. A spokesman confirmed that the NCAA had received complaints from some passengers, adding that they had the right to make payments in naira. He, however, noted that the industry was facing some challenges, particularly the scarcity of foreign exchange and inability of foreign airlines to repatriate their funds. “The truth is that the airlines are beginning to reject the naira because of the special circumstances that they have found themselves. In the BASA agreement, when you sell your tickets, you should be able to repatriate your money; but presently, the airlines are finding it hard to take their money home." <br/>
Fast-growing aviation powerhouse India is not ready to join the world's first climate deal to curb pollution from commercial flights because it fears that talks beginning Tuesday may not lead to a fair agreement, its civil aviation minister said. The proposed landmark deal, backed by the US and China, aims to limit rising airline pollution to 2020 levels after it takes effect in 2021, but has been watered down by being made voluntary for the first 5 years. "(We'll decide) once the nuts and bolts become clearer," Ashok Gajapathi Raju said. "Until then, our fears are that it is not equitable." Countries with a high-growth aviation sector want more latitude to produce emissions than developed countries, which are growing more slowly but were responsible for generating the bulk of the industry's greenhouse gases. <br/>
There is scope to upgrade the air services agreement between Singapore and Japan, including expanding opportunities for airlines in Singapore to use Japanese airports as a transit point for outbound flights, said senior minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo Monday. One reason for this, according to Teo, is that since the last time the air services agreement between the two countries was updated in 2012, slot capacity at the airports in Japan have improved. “We also know that Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has set a target for the tourism arrivals into Japan to double from the current 20m to 40m by 2020,” said Teo. Japanese airports like Narita have seen transit traffic decrease in recent years – from a high of 21% in 2009 to 18% in 2014 – as they face competition from other Asian air hubs, including airports in China. <br/>