IATA and global IT provider SITA said the tracking rates of Radio Frequency Identification technology could reduce the number of mishandled bags by up to 25% and save the air transport industry over US$3b by 2022, according to a paper released Oct 19. For the air transport industry, RFID technology enables airports, airlines and ground handlers to keep track of bags at every step of the journey and ensure the right bag is loaded onto the correct flight, the report stated, adding the technology supports IATA’s Resolution 753 that requires by 2018 airlines keep track of every item of baggage from start to finish. According to SITA’s Baggage Report 2016, baggage management technology has helped reduce the number of mishandled bags by 50% from a record 46.9m mishandled bags in 2007, saving the industry $22.4b. <br/>
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European airlines will spend US$1.1t on new aircraft over the next 2 decades as air travel booms and demand for smaller, LCCs soars, according to Boeing. The aircraft maker predicts that European airlines will need more than 7,500 new aircraft by 2035, which, based on its current catalogue prices, would mean a spending spree of $1.1t to help meet the rising demand for single-aisle aircraft. European airlines acquired more than 240 new airplanes in 2015, of which 67% were narrow-body planes. But Boeing estimates that by 2035 almost 80% of new aircraft entering the European market will be smaller carriers, at a total cost of up to $640b. As a result the number of narrow-body planes carrying European passengers will climb from just over 3,300 in 2015 to almost 6,000 by 2035 <br/>
The rise in “right-wing populism” around the world is a threat to the growth of the airline industry and global air travel, the chief economist of the IATA said Tuesday. Right-wing movements from Europe to the US challenging established political systems have becoming increasingly popular, pitching tighter, protectionist trade policies. It is these policies, which also include closing borders to foreign citizens, that threaten growth of air travel demand, chief economist Brian Pearce said. The June Brexit referendum is one of many examples that analysts and commentators argue is the rise of right-wing populism. In the US, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has called for renegotiating or even reneging from international trade agreements while also setting out a policy of building a wall on its southern border with Mexico. <br/>
FAA is contending with a backlash from some communities around airports where Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedures have inadvertently created concentrated areas of increased aircraft noise. “We’ve gotten a few calls and letters,” FAA administrator Michael Huerta said. “PBN has certainly made flights more efficient. More precise navigation paths have an effect of shrinking the [overall] noise footprint of aircraft, but it does have the effect of concentrating the noise over a smaller area under the flight path.” The agency is seeking to avoid contentious legal battles over airport noise issues created by PBN flight paths. Huerta said FAA is willing to consider flight path adjustments to mitigate noise concerns, and will be more cognisant of potential noise issues when designing PBN procedures in the future. <br/>
The Obama administration unveiled sweeping new consumer protections for airline passengers, including a plan to give travellers refunds when bags arrive late, which carriers called a harmful attempt to “re-regulate” the industry. The US govt is also moving to require carriers to release significantly more information about tardy flights, make purchasing tickets more transparent and give consumers clearer data on the percentage of bags that get lost in transit. “We are committed to a system of fair treatment and fair play for the 700m passengers that will board 9m domestic flights this year,” Transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said. The combination of executive actions and proposed rule changes are the third major effort at improving air-passenger consumer protections by the Obama administration. <br/>
Howard Davies, chair of the Airports Commission, has called for a parliamentary vote on airport expansion to be held without delay and reiterated the commission’s preference for a third runway at Heathrow. Davies also said “the froth has gone off the London property market”. He said he saw no reason why the House of Commons vote on airport expansion should not go ahead straight away. Theresa May has been accused of “dither and delay” by Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, after putting off the vote for another year, amid worries about resignations of Conservative MPs. “I’m very nervous about a situation which says: ‘We can’t do something because people will protest.’ We have a democracy in this country,” Davies said. “We should put it to the House of Commons and see what the vote is". <br/>
Brussels Airport will step up security measures by introducing face recognition checks as of Nov 7, Interior minister Jan Jambon and Brussels Airport CE Arnaud Feist announced Wednesday. Under the new procedures, travellers will not have to undergo a pre-screening at tents erected outside the airport terminal following the March 22 bombings. “We change from visible security measures, to less visible ones,” Jambon said, adding that the security level of the airport remains high. New security measures include cameras with face and vehicle plate recognition, as well as barriers on the way to the airport building, aimed at slowing down and stopping cars. In addition, police officers deployed at the airport will undergo training to identify suspicious behaviour. Similar measures will later be introduced at Belgian regional airports. <br/>
India’s domestic air traffic grew 23.5% in September continuing its 2-year run of double digit growth and is now expected to surpass the UK in a decade. Nearly 8.23m passengers flew in Sept 2016 compared with 6.66m in Sept 2015, according to civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Wednesday. “The passenger load factor in the month of Sept 2016 has almost remained constant compared to previous month primarily due to the end of tourist season,” aviation regulator DGCA elaborated in its report. The July-September period is considered lean season for domestic airlines which is followed by a peak in the October-December period, with festivals and New Year holiday travel boosting demand. Traffic data showed airlines were able to still fill up their planes by offering cheaper fares in the lean season. <br/>