US and European officials will discuss airline security issues at a meeting in Brussels next week, including possibly expanding the number of airports that ban passengers from carrying electronic devices bigger than cellphones aboard flights, a European Commission spokeswoman said on Friday. US Homeland Security Department Secretary John Kelly said by phone Friday the department does not plan to immediately unveil any new measures, the EU said. US Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan said no final decision had been made on whether to expand the restrictions, and he declined to immediately confirm Kelly's trip to Brussels. "The US and the EU are on the same side when it comes to fighting terrorism and protecting our security," said Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship. "Our phone call today proved once again the strong cooperation we have on these matters. I look forward to welcoming Mr Kelly and his experts in Brussels next week to continue our positive talks." US and European carriers are concerned about the logistics of checking large numbers of devices. Some airline officials say they would need to hire more staff to impose additional curbs and are worried about how much advance notice they would have.<br/>
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The EU has protested strongly against a proposed extension of a US ban on laptops on transatlantic flights from some of Europe’s biggest airports, warning that it could pose a risk to flight safety. EU officials have also called on Washington to be more open in sharing security information that would justify enlarging the scope of the ban that the US authorities imposed earlier on flights to US cities from certain airports in the Middle East. In a conference call with John Kelly, US secretary for homeland security, the EU’s transport and migration commissioners warned of the “potential safety implications of putting a large number of electronic devices in the aircraft hold” if they were not allowed in the cabin. European regulators are concerned that placing hundreds of lithium-ion batteries in an enclosed space such as an aircraft hold could pose a serious fire risk. Under UN rules, passengers are not allowed spare lithium-ion batteries in the hold after flight safety experts found that when packed tightly together, they can self-ignite and burn. Overheated batteries can also give off fumes and explode on board. The European Aviation Safety Agency advises airlines that large electronic items such as laptops “should preferably be carried in the passenger cabin, on the person or in the carry-on baggage” in order to mitigate the risk of fire. One European aviation official said that moving a laptop into the hold would make “no difference” if a bomb were hidden inside it, adding “cabin luggage is scanned more rigorously than hold luggage — some hold bags are not scanned at all”. EU officials were particularly keen to understand why the US was insisting on an extension of the ban when European agencies see no imminent threat at hand.<br/>
Numerous airlines will begin moving to different terminals or to new ticket counters in their current locations at LAX, beginning Friday night. The moves over several days are part of a massive overhaul of the heavily used airport and have been planned for months. Airlines and LAX have been using social media and websites to advise travellers of the moves, and guides in brightly colored vests will be on hand to help passengers find out where they need to go to catch their flights.<br/>
The Dubai government said Sunday that it had secured $3b in long-term financing for the expansion of its airports. The expansion is one of three multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects that the emirate is planning to fund through debt, together with the building of Dubai's World Expo 2020 exhibition site and an extension of Dubai's Metro system. The funding will be used for the expansion and development of Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, the emirate's new airport being developed on the edge of Dubai, it said. The facility signifies the first stage of a larger funding plan which will transform Al Maktoum International into the primary airport for Dubai, serving up to 146m passengers by 2025, it said. The deal, for which HSBC acted as financial adviser, included a $1.63b, seven-year conventional loan and a $1.48b-equivalent, seven-year ijara facility denominated in dirhams. Ijara is a common lease-based structure used in Islamic finance. <br/>
Boarding a bus to catch a plane at Hong Kong International Airport could soon be a thing of the past with plans afoot to build a bridge across the airfield. Currently, any passengers travelling on flights from an isolated terminal called the North Satellite Concourse, must be ferried to or from the main airport building by a shuttle bus. The Airport Authority has invited bids to build a structure linking the two buildings. The tender contract was expected to be issued in Q3 2017 and construction would take at least two years. Airlines have welcomed the proposal, saying it would further improve the passenger experience at one of the world’s most highly rated airports. Few details have been made public, though the bridge could cost at least HK$2b, based on previous creations and factoring inflation and higher construction costs locally.<br/>
Britain’s next government should appoint a commission tasked with choosing the locations for two new runways serving southeast England, the Institute of Directors said. With London Heathrow airport’s third landing strip not due to be completed until 2028 and Gatwick, south of the capital, filling up fast, the commission should be given only a year to determine the best sites, according to a statement from the lobby group, which represents 30,000 company directors. Heathrow posted the fastest traffic growth in more than a decade in the first quarter, taking it even closer to the maximum capacity of its existing facilities. Europe’s busiest hub crammed in almost 76m passengers last year as airlines switched to bigger planes to accommodate more people per flight. Gatwick meanwhile ranks as the world’s busiest single-runway airport. “The years of dawdling on new airport capacity have left us lagging well behind European competitors,” said Dan Lewis, the IoD’s infrastructure adviser. “Expanding Heathrow is not enough. We need two further runways at southeast airports and better connections to the ones where there is spare capacity, particularly Stansted.”<br/>
Thailand's domestic air traffic market has nearly reached saturation point, with very little room left for further expansion by airlines, according to the industry. Executives of major budget airlines such as Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air said that new routes are getting harder to find and ramping-up flight frequencies is almost impossible. This comes as Thai skies have become overcrowded and main airports -- Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket and Chiang Mai -- are facing critical congestion, largely due to handling capacity constraints. Meanwhile, competition has grown even more intense in recent years as airlines struggle to fill up seats, thus depressing yields and cutting into their profitability. "Thailand's domestic market has almost reached saturation point," said Santisuk Klongchaiya, commercial director at TAA. The only place left for airlines to expand domestic service is through the introduction of inter-regional connections, such as linking U-tapao (Rayong) and Ubon Ratchathani, he said. TLA CE Aswin Yangkirativorn agreed, saying this reality has prompted the airline to focus more on expanding abroad by introducing new international routes and raising frequencies on existing ones. TLA is targeting regional expansion, particularly to China and India, to support its growth plan. <br/>
Boeing said Friday it resumed test flights of its $110m 737 MAX 8 jetliner, just two days after saying it had grounded the entire fleet to address an engine problem. The resumption of flights, which the plane maker said was backed by air safety regulators, is good news for Boeing and engine-maker CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and Safran of France. CFM had said flaws in the forging of a disc inside the engine could have led to cracks. Boeing grounded the fleet late last week, and announced it on Wednesday, just days before it planned to deliver its first 737 MAX 8 to an airline. Inability to fly the plane could have threatened Boeing's ability to deliver the new jetliners on time. The company said a 737 MAX 8 took off around 12:15 pm Pacific Time on Friday. Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said regulators supported the resumption of flights. "Our plan remains to start deliveries this month," he said, noting the flights are with planes that do not have the suspect discs. Alder declined to say when the inspection and possible repair of any engines with the suspect discs would be complete.<br/>