British airlines could face severe restrictions on European flights immediately after a “hard” Brexit, the European Commission has warned, as the UK prepares for the formal process of leaving the EU. Commission officials recently told British airline representatives that under a transitional deal after a hard Brexit, UK carriers would be able to operate only direct flights between the UK and the EU, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Under such restrictions, airlines such as EasyJet and BMI, which currently fly between destinations in the continental EU, such as Milan to Munich, would not be able to operate such routes without changing their status. Should Britain also impose the same restrictions on EU airlines, Ryanair could be prevented from operating intra-UK flights. The probability of a hard Brexit has risen since Theresa May, the prime minister, made clear her plans to leave the EU’s single market and end the authority of the European Court of Justice over British courts. But one big question is whether the UK will accept European aviation law, over which the ECJ has the ultimate say. EasyJet has said since last year’s referendum that it intends to set up a new EU-based company with a European air operators’ certificate to handle intra-EU flights. The company has said it expects the process to cost GBP10m over two years. But the commission’s warning highlight the changes facing the aviation industry as May’s government triggers the Article 50 divorce clause of the EU Treaty. The moves EasyJet has embarked on would involve establishing its new company on the continent as its principal entity, with a UK subsidiary to run intra-UK flights. UK airlines already face a scramble to ensure they are majority owned by EU nationals after Brexit — which could involve forcing UK investors to sell their shares to EU citizens, in order to comply with the bloc’s strict rules on control.<br/>
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Although it went into effect only Saturday, a ban on electronic devices like laptops and tablets on certain overseas flights bound for the United States and Britain has already prompted business travellers to rethink their travel plans. For travlers who frequently cross through the Middle East and North Africa, the choices put them between a rock and a hard place: They can check their devices and lose a day or more of productive work, as well as run the risk of damage or theft, or trade a nonstop flight on a high-end Persian Gulf carrier for connecting flights on one of the major American or European airlines, where amenities and leg room are likely to be skimpier. The gulf carriers are scrambling to accommodate their most lucrative customers, but there is only so much they can do. They cannot, for example, accommodate travellers who work at companies that prohibit checking electronic devices for security reasons. “There are a lot of policies out there that basically say you can’t be separated from your laptop,” said Greeley Koch, executive director at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. Companies that deal with proprietary or sensitive data, including government contractors, often require that company devices remain with the employee at all times. These travellers will have to forgo the gulf airlines that fly directly to the US and spend more time making connections and waiting out layovers in European cities. “We’re going to see people shifting routes to get to other carriers,” said Brian Jenkins, an aviation security expert at the RAND Corporation. Airlines like Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, which in recent years have come to dominate parts of the long-haul market, stand to lose market share, especially among high-paying business travellers unwilling or unable to fly halfway around the world without their electronic devices. Before the bans on devices took effect, some gulf carriers had taken steps to try to mitigate any falloff in business travel bookings. Emirates, Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines established procedures allowing travellers to check laptops and tablets at the gate.<br/>
US and foreign airlines in the US carried a record number of passengers in 2016, according to the government office that tracks airline traffic, besting the previous all-time high by 3.5%. US-serving airlines carried 928.9m domestic and international passengers, topping the previous record of 897.9m set in 2015, the US DoT said Monday. Air travel has risen steadily following several challenging years for the industry post-9/11, as cheaper fares and a strengthened US economy have made affordable flights more widely accessible. Last year's growth, the agency said, was the result of a 3.3% increase from 2015 in the number of passengers on domestic flights and a 4% jump in the number of travellers to and from the US. Travel is also projected to hit a record high this spring, according to industry trade organization Airlines for America, with 145m passengers expected to fly globally on US carriers between March 1 and April 30. <br/>
Coastal areas in northeast Australia were battered by high winds and heavy rainfall on Tuesday as a powerful cyclone, which prompted authorities to urge some 30,000 people to evacuate, hit island resorts along the world-famous Great Barrier Reef. Cyclone Debbie was upgraded overnight to a category four storm, just one rung below the most dangerous wind speed level. Authorities warned it could reach level five by the time it makes landfall around 2 p.m. local time (0300 GMT). Wind gusts of more than 220 km per hour (135 mph) lashed resorts in the Whitsunday Islands, where tourists waited out the storm in hotel rooms. Authorities stockpiled food and fuel, and the army was on standby to deal with the aftermath. However, as winds cut power to about 23,000 people, emergency response crews were also hunkered down until the storm blew over. It was expected more would lose power as the storm moved slowly across populated areas. Ports at Abbot Point, Mackay and Hay Point were shut, Townsville airport was closed and airlines Qantas, Jetstar, Rex and Virgin Australia cancelled several flights to and from the region.<br/>
Two men were arrested on drug charges after heroin was found hidden in the false bottom of a dog crate containing a Labrador retriever that had been shipped from Puerto Rico to New York. Samuel Seabrooks, 35, of the Bronx, and Carlos Betancourt-Morales, 27, of Carmel, were arraigned on drug possession and conspiracy charges Sunday, according to the Queens district attorney's office. Prosecutors said Seabrook and Betancourt-Morales met up at a Bronx IHOP restaurant Friday night and travelled in separate vehicles to the American Airlines Priority Parcel Services at Kennedy Airport. The two men had a brief conversation before Betancourt-Morales entered the cargo building and signed for a delivery receipt for the dog crate, prosecutors said. He was stopped by police as he pushed the crate on a rolling cart toward the building's exit. After obtaining a search warrant, authorities recovered 10 plastic wrapped packages containing more than 22 pounds of heroin with a street value of more than $1m. <br/>
Like many Washington lobby groups, the US Travel Association was quick to congratulate the new president on his victory last November. “We are encouraged that Mr Trump’s extensive business and hospitality background … will make him a ready and receptive ear,” the trade organization said. On the Republican’s inauguration, the USTA’s CEO, Roger Dow, pledged the industry as a “capable, willing partner.” But almost immediately, things started to go sideways. A steady drumbeat of news and policy proclamations seemed likely to damage America’s $250b travel industry and its roughly 15m US employees. Initial contacts between Trump and leaders of Australia, Germany, Mexico, and China didn’t go well, resulting in negative publicity in countries that send lots of travellers to America. Then came the majority Muslim nation travel bans, with protests and news coverage that made for a global public relations disaster. The first ban, since suspended by the courts, resulted in the detention of foreign travellers. The second, changed from the first, was frozen before it could take effect. Trump is appealing. Meanwhile, the White House has instituted an airline cabin restriction on electronic devices for people flying from airports in eight nations. And last week, a US State Department policy was revealed that mandates extra vetting of visa applicants in nations where US-bound travellers must apply for one. This includes inspection of social media accounts for some and is likely to make it more difficult for millions of people to travel to America.<br/>
Singapore based aircraft lessor BOC Aviation announced full year 2016 results showing net profit of US$418m. The result was a 21.8% increase from 2015’s US$343m profit. Revenue grew 9.4% to US$1.19b in the period to end December 2016. BOC Aviation delivered 67 aircraft to airlines during 2016, driven by the growth in air travel and carrier demand, particularly in Asia Pacific. The company noted that IATA’s passenger traffic growth estimate for 2016 was 6.3%, and that it is projecting growth at or above average growth rates in 2017. It warned that passenger travel demand can be sensitive to external shocks such as terrorism, but it would mitigate risks by maintaining a young, in-demand portfolio of aircraft. At year-end, BOC Aviation had a roster of 284 owned and managed aircraft, leased to 68 airlines. The company’s outstanding orders book stood at 199 aircraft, with 71 to be delivered during 2017.<br/>
Runway repairs at Nigeria’s Abuja Airport are now expected to last a further 18 weeks after it reopens on April 19. Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Nigeria’s capital has been closed since March 8 for extensive repairs to its runway. Work was carried out overnight prior to the closure, to minimise disruption to passengers. Flights are using Kaduna Airport while Abuja is closed, but many international carriers including British Airways and Lufthansa have refused to use the smaller airport, located over 150 km away. The extended runway repairs after Abuja reopens will again be carried out overnight according to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.<br/>