Tokyo’s Haneda airport will undergo a major renovation to prepare for the surge in flights expected for the 2020 Summer Olympics, officials at the transport ministry said. Terminal 2, which is used mainly for domestic flights by ANA, will be renewed to install immigration, customs and quarantine facilities for international travellers. It will also host new duty-free shops and lounges and see some of its gates designated for international flights. A detached supplementary boarding area for domestic flights will be built in an area to the north that is now used for parking aircraft. The international terminal will be renamed Terminal 3. Part of Terminal 1, which is used chiefly by Japan Airlines, will be redesigned with rental offices, lounges and an indoor golf driving range, officials from the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry said. The parking area will meanwhile be expanded to fit 500 more cars. Under government plans, Haneda, also known as Tokyo International Airport, will be given up to 39,000 more flight slots a year on top of its current 447,000 by the 2020 Olympics, mainly by establishing new approach routes over central Tokyo.<br/>
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Airlines operating in Australia, including Qantas and Virgin Australia may be forced to delay flights after Melbourne Airport started rationing jet fuel because of shortages. Qantas planes flying to Singapore and Hong Kong from Melbourne -- the nation’s second-busiest air passenger gateway -- will stop in Sydney to refuel amid temporary rationing, the carrier said Friday. The domestic route between Melbourne and Sydney is one of the world’s busiest. Some flights “may be disrupted” by fuel availability, Virgin said in a separate statement. ExxonMobil manages fuel supplies at Melbourne Airport on behalf of several providers. “The supply issue has arisen following disruptions in recent weeks to jet fuel deliveries from multiple fuel terminals across Melbourne, which are in the process of being resolved,” Exxon spokesman Travis Parnaby said. Melbourne Airport, which is also Australia’s largest air freight export hub and the only aviation gateway to operate without a curfew, said it was encouraging Exxon to prioritize the allocation of available fuel to airlines that have limited alternatives, such as long-haul international carriers.<br/>International carriers were advised of “deep fuel rationing” late Thursday, the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia said, adding that the shortage was more severe than those which occurred in 2015. “The latest jet fuel shortages are the result of taking no action to deal with known and avoidable supply issues,” said Barry Abrams, the industry body’s executive director.<br/>
Most US airports are operating with minimal delays as millions of Americans return home after the long Thanksgiving weekend. FAA data showed most US airports with delays of 15 minutes or less Sunday afternoon. Lines at airline check-in counters and security checkpoints were short and flowing quickly at New York's Kennedy Airport. Passenger Susan Merced says she overestimated by budgeting more than two hours to pass through security before her flight to New Orleans.<br/>
The WTO as early as Monday is expected to rule that Boeing has been granted illegal state subsidies for its newest long-range jetliner, according to people familiar with the finding. The judgment involves tax incentives Boeing will receive from Washington state to build its new 777X widebody plane, the latest round in a long-running dispute between the US and the EU over support for Boeing and Airbus. Boeing said the value of the 777X tax incentive is $50m a year. Aircraft cases take years to resolve before the trade organization but are closely watched as evidence of the effectiveness of international rules. Donald Trump’s election victory and focus on trade are turning a new spotlight on such cases, and sanctions from earlier WTO judgments involving the two jet makers may start to be imposed next year. The EU almost two years ago voiced concern at the WTO about the support package for the 777X, a revamped version of Boeing’s existing 777 long-range plane. The updated model has attracted more than 300 orders from carriers including Emirates Airline and Lufthansa. The EU said Boeing had lined up more than $8b in prohibited subsidies for the 777X program and that those subsidies need to be immediately rescinded. US officials have called the $8b figure inflated. The WTO isn’t expected to put a value on the tax break it is expected to strike down. The WTO is expected to deny most of the EU claims, but agree that a key income-tax break offered by Washington state represented a prohibited subsidy that would have to be withdrawn, the people said.<br/>
US airlines will launch regularly scheduled commercial flights to Havana Monday, just in time for the start of funeral services for the island's former leader Fidel Castro. Castro, who controlled the communist island for more than five decades in part by railing against America's capitalist ideals, died Friday. In his final years, the aging, retired Castro was forced to watch as his brother, Raúl, re-established diplomatic relations with the US and welcomed President Obama to the island. Starting Monday, that new relationship will take another step as American Airlines runs a short, one-hour flight from Miami to Havana, the first regularly scheduled commercial route to the Cuban capital. That plane will soon be followed by flights operated by United, JetBlue, Delta, Spirit, Frontier, Alaska and Southwest, which will start offering Havana flights from different U.S. airports in the coming weeks. The new flights are one of the most tangible changes following the decision by Obama and Raúl Castro in December 2014 to normalize relations after more than 50 years of antagonistic isolation. <br/>