A deadly attack in London and debate over travel restrictions in the US put safety concerns high on the agenda as global airline executives gathered on Sunday for the industry's largest meeting of the year. Alexandre de Juniac, DG of the IATA, said the weekend's violence in London could discourage potential visitors as similar attacks did in Europe last year. "In previous events, in Brussels or in Paris, the traffic has reduced coming from certain regions of the world," de Juniac said. "So it's possible that there is an impact, but it's a bit early to know how big this impact will be." Three attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby on Saturday night, killing at least seven people, in Britain's third major militant attack in recent months. Airlines were quick to offer assurances and refunds to travelers on edge after the London attack, but it was unclear whether the impact on tourism would match the fallout from similar attacks in Europe last year. Malaysia Airlines has offered free refunds to customers flying into London through June 5 and may extend that offer, CE Peter Bellew said. "Very few people have taken up the offer and we haven't seen any drop-off in bookings to London. But it's not good," he said.<br/>
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Airlines are being urged to train more flight attendants to help prevent human trafficking, placing cabin crew on the front line of the fight against sexual exploitation and slavery. Airline leaders meeting in Mexico will be briefed by the United Nations agency responsible for tackling the largely hidden crime, which the UN says nets smugglers $150b profit a year. "We want ... airlines to join our campaigns and our initiatives in order to make human trafficking and migrant smuggling visible," said Felipe De La Torre of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ahead of the June 4-6 meeting of the IATA. According to the International Labour Organisation, almost 21m people are in forced labour, meaning three out of every 1,000 people on the planet are enslaved at any given time. In a case that sprang to public attention in February, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant helped rescue a teenage girl from alleged trafficking onboard a domestic US flight in 2011 by leaving her a note in the toilet. Shelia Frederick said her suspicions had been aroused by the girl's dishevelled appearance compared to the smart clothes and controlling attitude of her older male companion. The pilot alerted police who arrested the man on arrival. More than 70,000 US airline staff have been trained to identify smugglers and their victims in that way under the Blue Lightning initiative, launched in 2013 with the support of JetBlue, Delta and others. Such training has since become mandatory. But Nancy Rivard, a former flight attendant hailed as a pioneer of such training, said the US federal programme is poorly funded and that the majority of foreign airlines are barely starting to focus on the problem. "This exists in every country in the world. There is room for improvement but at least we are beginning to make changes," Rivard, founder of Airline Ambassadors International, said. Current online training does not go far enough, she added.<br/>
Donald Trump next week will send Congress a proposal to hand over control of the US air-traffic control system to a non-profit corporation, part of a week-long push for his infrastructure plan, said Gary Cohn, the president’s chief economic adviser. The proposal, which Trump will release Monday in an Oval Office ceremony and Rose Garden event, will kick off what Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, called the formal launch of the president’s infrastructure initiative. Later in the week, Trump plans to travel to Ohio to garner support for his plan -- a key campaign promise -- to channel $1t into the nation’s roads, bridges, inland waterways and other public facilities. Trump’s air-traffic control plan will be based largely on legislation introduced in 2016 by Representative Bill Shuster. While providing few specifics, Cohn said Trump’s proposal would create a new user fee to replace current taxes on aviation fuel and airline tickets. He also said there would be unspecified protections for rural airports; critics of the air-traffic plan have said it would jeopardize small airports by giving too much power to airlines and large hubs. While the FAA is already years into a technology upgrade known as NextGen, the efficiency improvements it promises can be done more effectively outside of direct government control, say backers of the White House plan. The FAA would continue to monitor safety and write air-traffic regulations. Most large airlines and some former high-level FAA managers favor the privatization plan, which is opposed by many Democratic lawmakers and private-aviation groups. <br/>
A more than $1b partnership with a Spanish firm over three decades would renovate the Denver International Airport terminal by moving the security screening area and tripling the amount of space for shops and restaurants. The project also would consolidate ticket counters, which become less necessary as more people check in online and use automated ticketing kiosks. The airport would work with Madrid-based Ferrovial Airports on the four-year renovation project, airport officials said. Ferrovial would then operate expanded concessions in the terminal over three decades. Work could begin next summer. Airport CEO Kim Day has said she wants the renovations to include attractions such as a zipline or climbing wall in airport's new main-level atrium.<br/>
Venezuela is withholding billions of dollars from global airlines as a deepening crisis distracts from talks, an industry representative said Sunday, a day after United announced the end of daily service to the country. Peter Cerda, vice president of the IATA, said Venezuela owes airlines more than $3.8b after years of failing to reimburse companies in hard currency for ticket sales in local currency. Last year IATA said airlines were owed $3.78. "I still think it will probably get worse before it gets better," Cerda said. "The government's main priority is not aviation ... We know what's happening in Venezuela with the uncertainty and violent demonstrations." Unrest prompted by a crackdown on the political opposition and food shortages has resulted in the deaths of at least 65 people since April. Airlines from Lufthansa to Air Canada have pulled out of Venezuela in recent years, citing everything from the payment dispute to safety concerns. "The industry is trying to be sympathetic. The airlines don't want to pull out of Venezuela, but we are getting to a point where airlines need to take business decisions," Cerda said.<br/>
The battle is on in Barcelona, Spain's popular Mediterranean city where two airlines have started competing for passengers in the emerging trend of low-cost, long-haul flights. The first flight operated by Level -- a new carrier created by IAG, the parent company of BA and Iberia -- took off Thursday from El Prat airport for Los Angeles. The airline also flies to San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile Norwegian, a pioneer in cheap long-distance flights, begins Monday flights to New York, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. The airline will make Barcelona its fifth hub for such flights after London, Paris, Bangkok and Amsterdam. Altogether, 22 low-cost transatlantic flights will take off every week from Barcelona, breaking into a market that until recently was the preserve of traditional major airlines. But with the emergence of a new and more fuel-efficient generation of aircraft and the collapse of oil prices, low cost carriers such as Norwegian and French Blue are increasingly operating transatlantic flights from European airports such as Paris or London. Barcelona, a huge tourist magnet, is well placed to ride on this new wave, given that it is Europe's number one hub for low-cost flights according to air travel data company OAG. While it is still behind Madrid, the airport has seen passenger numbers leap 60% between 2009 and 2016. But until now, the flights that took off from Barcelona were almost solely short- or medium-haul.<br/>