The EC is set to revamp a law enabling it to impose duties on non-EU airlines or suspend their flying rights if it finds they have caused injury to European airlines, as it seeks to counter rising competition from Gulf carriers. In a draft proposal seen by Reuters, the EU executive aims to guarantee fair competition between airlines in the bloc by tackling unfair business practices by foreign airlines and their governments which cannot be addressed through open skies agreements. These include illegal government subsidies or favorable treatment when it comes to slot allocation, ground handling services, airport charges and refueling, among others. The proposal is likely to stoke tensions between European legacy carriers - hit by increased competition on long-haul routes and shifting traffic flows to Asia - and the three major Middle Eastern airlines. Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways have faced accusations of receiving illegal state subsides, which they deny. The Commission has come under heavy pressure from France and Germany as well as their flag carriers, Air France KLM and Lufthansa, to do more to tackle the challenge posed by the Gulf airlines.<br/>
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US President Donald Trump lamented what he called an out-of-date US air traffic control system on Thursday, but also criticized current modernization efforts as the "wrong system" and too expensive. "I hear we're spending billions and billions of dollars, it's a system that's totally out of whack," Trump told a meeting of airline and US airport executives, referring to the air traffic control system. Those attending the White House meeting included the chief executives of United, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue. The Government Accountability Office said in a 2016 report that the United States "is generally considered to have the busiest, most complex and safest ATC system in the world." Air traffic is handled in the United States by the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency is spending billions to implement "NextGen," a system that would utilize satellites to monitor aircraft instead of radar and make other changes. The Transportation Department's inspector general said in a November report that the FAA has invested over $3b in NextGen programs since 2007, but has faced implementation challenges. "I hear the government contracted for a system, that's the wrong system," said Trump. "It's way over budget, it's way behind schedule and when it's complete it's not going to be a good system." The FAA did not immediately comment on his remarks. Trump also addressed U.S. carriers' concerns about trade agreements with foreign carriers. "I know you're under pressure from a lot of foreign elements and foreign carriers," said the Republican president, who has promised to renegotiate or scrap trade deals between the United States and other countries that he sees as unfair. But Trump said he wants to make sure foreign carriers also do well. "They come with big investments, in many cases those investments come from their governments, but they are still big investments," he said.<br/>
When President Donald Trump met with top airline executives Thursday, he mentioned one of his most trusted sources of information about the nation's aviation system -- his personal pilot. "I have a pilot who's a real expert," he told them. "He said, 'Sir, the equipment they're putting on is just the wrong stuff.' If we're going to modernize our system we should be using the right equipment." "My pilot, he's a smart guy, and he knows what's going on," Trump added. Trump did not specify whom he was referring to. But it has been widely reported that John Dunkin has served as the pilot of Trump's private Boeing 757 jet. Dunkin has served as Trump's personal pilot since 1989, according to a Smithsonian Channel documentary about private planes.<br/>
Winter storm Niko prompted the cancellations of 148 flights coming to or departing from Orlando International Airport across multiple airlines as of 6 p.m. Thursday. Airlines affected include American, Delta, Spirit, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United. Flights to the following destinations, across all the affected airlines, have been cancelled: Washington, D.C.; Boston; New York; Baltimore; Philadelphia; Providence, R.I.; and Hartford, Conn. Another 52 flights have been delayed, including 24 departures and 28 arrivals, airport officials said. Cancellations included 69 departures and 79 arrivals. Orlando International officials said those numbers included notifications from airlines for flights until midnight. Niko is expected to dump up to 18 inches of snow in some parts of New England. The storm will continue moving west to east across that section of the country, having started in western Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia around 4 a.m. In advance of Niko, many airlines have posted travel alerts warning passengers their flights could be cancelled. Airlines have also offered to waive re-booking and cancellation fees as a result of the storm.<br/>
The FAA has resumed issuing routine rules calling for safety fixes to aircraft, following a 19-day pause prompted by President Donald Trump’s government-wide regulatory freeze. The first mandatory safety orders, called airworthiness directives, were published in the Federal Register at the start of this week and five more appeared for public inspection Thursday on the publication’s website. In January, before Trump’s inauguration, some two dozen such rules were released by the FAA. An FAA spokeswoman said Thursday the directives “are critical to ensuring continued aircraft safety” and that goal “will not be compromised. FAA safety directives mandating or proposing inspection, repair or replacement of specific aircraft parts or systems are important parts of the agency’s daily activities. Hundreds of them are issued annually, affecting everything from jumbo jets to private aircraft to gliders. Except for unusual circumstances that require emergency action, cover an unusually large number of aircraft or entail particularly expensive fixes, the rules typically are handled by career FAA officials with little or no involvement of political appointees at the FAA or its parent agency, the Transportation Department. But in the wake of Trump’s executive order putting all new and pending regulations on hold for 60 days, the FAA’s normally low-profile, routine safety directives temporarily were held up by the freeze. The White House order allowed for exemptions due to urgent concerns about health, safety or national security, though it took time for the Trump team to determine that FAA airworthiness directives fell into one of those categories, according to people familiar with the process.<br/>
India said Thursday it had applied to Britain to extradite Vijay Mallya to face trial after the liquor and aviation tycoon was charged with conspiracy and fraud over a loan to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya moved to Britain last March after banks sued to recover about $1.4b the Indian authorities say is owed by Kingfisher. He has dismissed the charges against him, saying on Jan. 28 that "not one rupee was misused". The new push comes after Mallya was charged in absentia last month by the Central Bureau of Investigation - along with nine former executives from the failed Kingfisher Airlines and IDBI Bank Ltd - over a 9 billion rupee ($135 million) loan.<br/>