Sukhoi Civil Aircraft expects to complete work to resolve a tail stabiliser defect discovered in Sukhoi SSJ100s during a routine inspection Dec 22 by the end of January, according to the manufacturer. As 2016 drew to a close, the Russian civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, approved methods suggested by the manufacturer to fix the earlier discovered defects related to stabiliser attachments points. It also authorised the plan to conduct the work necessary. According to the manufacturer, the defect does not relate to construction material quality or manufacturing methods; rather, inspectors have traced the problem to incorrect installation of stiffeners. SCAC further said the defect does not amount to a critical issue because the attachment of the stabiliser incorporates “a multilevel redundancy system". <br/>
general
After a comfortable 2-year spell of cheap fuel and no major crises to dampen travel demand, US airlines are in for what looks to be a more turbulent 2017. Seven consecutive quarters of declining jet fuel expenses have come to an end as carriers are likely to report higher bills for Q4 2016, with more increases in the offing. Crude oil prices have more than doubled from a Feb 2016 low of US$26 per barrel, with many analysts expecting further, albeit modest increases this year. Atop this cost pressure, 3 of the 4 largest US airlines recently agreed to a bevy of labour contracts, representing roughly $3.3b in higher operating expenses by year’s end, according to Raymond James Financial. Only American Airlines Group has been absent from contract negotiations of late. <br/>
Licenses the US govt granted to Airbus and Boeing last fall to sell airliners to Iran Air could be “amended, modified or revoked at any time,” a provision that renders the transactions vulnerable at a time of political upheaval in Washington, D.C. During his successful campaign for the presidency, Republican Donald Trump denounced the July 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran that made the sales possible, and the previous Republican-ruled House of Representatives—now still under Republican control—voted to block any financing of aircraft sales to Iran. “Yes, those licenses could be revoked or modified even after they’ve been granted,” said Eric McClafferty, an attorney specialising in international trade. <br/>
Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport has begun to mix biofuel with normal jet kerosene in its fuel bunkers as standard procedure. The first uptake of the new fuel, which contains around 10% biofuel converted from used cooking oil and is produced in California, was uplifted Jan 3 by an SAS Airbus A320neo. Stockholm Arlanda joins Oslo Gardermoen in offering the more environmentally friendly fuel. Swedavia, the Swedish state-owned organisation that owns and operates 10 airports throughout the country, bought the fuel through the Fly Green Fund, an organisation that brings together aviation and biofuel bodies to help encourage the use of the fuel in Nordic nations. KLM and Braathens Regional Airlines will also be using the new biofuel at Arlanda. <br/>
IATA has expressed its displeasure with the Indian govt over 10% in airport and navigation charges and pointed out that such decisions should have been taken after consulting all stakeholders as the current norms are as per international regulations. Blair Cowles, regional director, safety and flight operations, IATA, wrote to civil aviation secretary RN Choubey Dec 9, saying that the increase in these charges should have been done after consulting all stakeholders. “As you would be well aware, Airport and ANS charges must be in line with the ICAO tenets of user-consultation, cost-relatedness, transparency, and non-discrimination. These core principles have been missing from the recent all around airport and ANS charges increases in India,” Blair Cowles wrote to Choubey. <br/>
Nigerian airlines have told the federal govt that there is no need to close the Abuja airport to conduct repairs on its runway. The chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Noggie Meggison, said though his members would support any decision taken by the federal govt, such closure as announced was unnecessary. The federal govt had announced that the airport would be closed from March 8 for 6 weeks to enable repairs on the only runway. Meggison, however, said the repairs could be carried out at night while flights are allowed to operate during the day. The airline chief said Gatwick airport in the UK, which like Abuja airport has only one runway, did not shut down when repairs were carried out on its runway. <br/>