A decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement would not send a good signal for a separate deal agreed last year that seeks to curb aviation emissions, global airlines body IATA said Thursday. Aviation is not part of the Paris accord to fight climate change but the industry last year agreed its own deal to combat aviation pollution, also known as the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). "Any decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement by the US is not sending a good signal, even if the US could remain in CORSIA and withdraw from the Paris agreement. But it's not decided and the two are completely separate," IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac said Thursday.<br/>
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Global airlines warned Thursday of "major disruption" if Britain leaves the EU without a deal on aviation traffic. Traffic between the UK and other EU member states is currently covered by the EU Open Skies deal which allows EU airlines unlimited flying rights to, from and within other EU countries. If no overall Brexit deal is agreed within the two year time frame for negotiations, it is unclear what rules would govern airlines with significant British and EU business after Brexit. IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac said the association had identified a risk in terms of access to the UK by non-UK carriers and access to Europe by UK carriers following Brexit. "A negotiation that didn't take into account the question of traffic rights would create a major disruption in crossings between the UK and Europe, and our position is to say 'please maintain connectivity'," de Juniac said Thursday.<br/>
Restrictions on bringing large electronic devices into aircraft cabins on certain routes to the US are affecting traffic between the Middle East and the US, a global airlines' association said Thursday. Overall demand for air travel rose 10.7% in April, but the growth rate for the Middle East airlines was slower than its five-year average, a trend not seen in other regions, the IATA said Thursday. In March, the US announced restrictions on large electronic items, such as laptops, on flights originating from 10 airports, including in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, because of fears that a concealed bomb could be installed in electronic devices taken onto aircraft. That affects carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. IATA said that in March traffic measured in RPK between the Middle East and the United States fell by 2.8% year-on-year, the first drop in at least seven years. "It's too early to be absolutely sure, but we think these numbers are indicative of some impact on travel," IATA chief economist Brian Pearce said Thursday. The US seemed set to expand the restrictions last month to flights from Europe but, after discussions with European partners, it has not yet announced a decision. IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac said that the uncertainty over whether the ban would be extended was not yet having a measurable impact on overall bookings. "In the mid term, if the decision is made, it's another story," he said.<br/>
The US should expand the use of bomb-sniffing dogs and screening technology to avoid a sweeping ban on electronic devices that would pummel business travel, an airline group said. Sensing an openness to alternatives, the IATA is pushing administration officials to rethink expanding the restrictions beyond 10 Middle East and North Africa airports. The US has held talks with airlines and European officials on keeping the devices out of cabins on trans-Atlantic flights. “The US government is in much more of a listening mode than it was when it implemented the first ban,” IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac said Thursday. “We will see.” The US DHS hasn’t decided whether to expand the ban, a spokesman said Thursday, and no new talks with European officials or industry groups are scheduled. Secretary John Kelly has kept his options open, the spokesman said. De Juniac said an expanded ban would be “ineffective.” Storing masses of laptop computers in the cargo holds of airplanes would create its own security risk, because of the risk the lithium ion batteries inside could cause a fire, he said in a talk ahead of IATA’s annual general meeting in Cancun, Mexico. “It is not a good way to be able to protect passengers and crew against the threat that has been pointed by US and UK authorities,” de Juniac said.<br/>
Show Court 1, one of the biggest stadiums at the Australian Open, was rechristened Margaret Court Arena in 2003 to honor the player who dominated women’s tennis in the 1960s and still holds the record for the most Grand Slam titles. It is unclear what the stadium will be called when the tournament begins in Melbourne next January. Court, 74, now a pastor in Perth, has reignited debate about her legacy and how the sport should celebrate her by making a series of inflammatory comments recently about gays and same-sex marriage. Her unflinching remarks have provoked some current players to say they would object to playing on a court named after her. “I think it would be a good thing to see if the Australian Open can maybe change the name of the stadium,” Richel Hogenkamp, who is gay, said after winning her first-round match Monday at the French Open, where talk about Court has commanded unusual attention. “Because I think if you’re in that kind of position, maybe some players, they don’t feel so comfortable playing in a stadium named after Margaret Court.” The latest controversy was stirred by a letter to the editor that Court wrote last week criticizing the chief executive of Qantas, Alan Joyce, for signaling his company’s support for same-sex marriage, which is not legal in Australia. Court has found a powerful ally atop Australian government in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Asked about the controversy in an interview with the Australian radio network 3AW, he spoke out against any change to the tennis stadium’s name.<br/>
Global demand for air freight rose 8.5% in April, but IATA says there are signs that the cyclical growth peak for air cargo has passed. IATA said in its monthly air freight market update that business confidence indicators remain consistently upbeat and that there is often a boost in demand at the beginning of an economic upturn as companies look to restock inventories quickly. But IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac cautioned that “Demand eased in April. Growth rates, however, are still much more robust than anything we have seen in the last six years. That’s good news, but it should not be taken as a message that all is well in air cargo.” Africa topped the table for growth in April on 26%, but in the major markets, Europe again came out on top with a 12.9% improvement in demand. Asia Pacific saw an 8.4% uplift, with North America close behind on 7.3% growth. Latin America was the only region where freight demand shrank, dropping 1.9% in the month.<br/>
Chinese airlines will need an additional 3,200 aircraft over the next 10 years as Chinese citizens travel more, according to Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company controlled by China’s conglomerate HNA Group. According to a research paper issued on Thursday, more than 50% of the aircraft still need to be ordered, including 1,150 narrow-body aircraft, 400 wide-body aircraft and 150 regional jets. China currently had 2,800 aircraft in its passenger service fleet, which accounted for 13% of the world’s total and represented 11% annual growth since 2010, the paper said. The fleet mix had a high narrow-body content, compared with the average for the rest of the world, and Chinese airlines were correspondingly underresourced in wide-body aircraft, it added. “China offers an attractive long-term growth opportunity for domestic and international airlines, aircraft [original equipment manufacturers] and aircraft leasing companies,” said Dick Forsberg, Avolon’s head of strategy and author of the study.<br/>“Competition for airlines is likely to be intense as Chinese airlines focus on capturing their growth potential while being challenged by international carriers.”<br/>