The EU is set to extend the exclusion of foreign airlines from its emissions trading system to give a UN-brokered global deal time to come into effect, two EU sources said. The move would be welcomed by the airline industry which wants a single, global emissions trading system (ETS) for aviation as opposed to a patchwork of national and regional schemes. The EU had ordered foreign carriers to buy credits under its ETS in 2012 but backtracked when countries said it violated their sovereignty and China threatened to cancel plane orders to Airbus. It granted airlines operating flights into and out of the EU an exemption until 2016 to give the ICAO time to craft a global system. “Expectation is it will be extended,” one of the sources said. The proposal by the EC will be adopted at the end of January, sources said. <br/>
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Calls are growing for the aviation safety authority to impose stricter punishment on unruly passengers, following a recent in-flight commotion caused by a drunk Korean man on a Korean Air flight. Light sanctions under the domestic law are partly blamed for the growing number of people causing in-flight disturbances, and both people in the aviation industry and the public say punishment of unruly passengers who may threaten safety should be heavier. According to the Aviation Safety Law, those causing in-flight problems are subject to up to a KRW10m (US$8320) fine. The law also slaps up to 5 years in prison on those using violence, intimidation or other activities that obstruct security or flight operations. But these punishments are still far lenient compared to those in the US or Australia. <br/>
All 92 people on board a Russian military aircraft are feared dead after it crashed into the Black Sea. The plane disappeared from radar 2 minutes after taking off from Sochi, heading for Latakia in Syria, the defence ministry said. Debris and 11 bodies have been found, with no reports of survivors. The Tu-154 was carrying soldiers, reporters and 64 members of the famed Alexandrov military music ensemble who were to perform for Russian troops. Russia's transport minister says investigators are looking into an "entire spectrum'' of possible reasons the crash occurred, including the possibility of a terror attack. Earlier, a Russian official had downplayed any suggestion of a terror attack. The flight had originated in Moscow and landed at Adler airport in Sochi for refuelling. <br/>
Russian aviation authorities have grounded the country’s fleet of its newest model of civilian airliner, the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Metal fatigue, a problem usually associated with older airplanes, was discovered in the tail section of a new Sukhoi plane, the Russian regulator Rosaviatsia said Friday. The grounding was the latest setback for the Russian jet, which has already had a rough introduction. After the latest announcement, Aeroflot, a major Sukhoi customer, Saturday canceled 21 flights scheduled on domestic routes during the busy holiday season. Rosaviatsia ordered the planes grounded pending inspections after a regional carrier, IrAero, reported finding metal fatigue in a component in the tail wings of one plane. The agency grounded the fleet to determine whether similar problems were appearing in other planes. <br/>
Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting the deputy transport minister as saying that his county will only pay half of the announced price for 80 new Boeing planes, given the reductions in its purchasing options. According to the Sunday report, Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan says that despite an initial US$16.8b deal with Boeing to purchase 80 passenger planes, “Regarding the style of our order and its options, the purchase contract for 80 Boeing aircraft is worth about 50% of the amount.” He did not elaborate. Boeing has made no immediate comment. Iran announced earlier this month that it had finalised the deal, which was made possible by last year’s landmark nuclear agreement. It is the largest single contract with an US company since the 1979 revolution and takeover of the US Embassy. <br/>
The Airline Operators of Nigeria has appealed to the Federal govt to urgently intervene in making foreign exchange available for its members, following the threat by Lloyd’s of London to blacklist the country. The AON chairman has called on minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of domestic airlines operating in the country. He called for a joint working group with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria to forestall a potential backlash on the Nigerian economy. Lloyd’s had issued a warning to Nigerian airline operators that it might be forced to blacklist the country in the face of continued failure of some operators to pay their premiums regularly. <br/>