New directives from the Department of Homeland Security require airlines that fly to the US to step up screening of passengers for trace amounts of explosives and, in some cases, impose more stringent security checks. The department laid out generally what the measures would do. But the additional details were disclosed in an airline industry memo. Aviation specialists and industry officials predicted that the new mandates would add to the challenges of airports and airlines, particularly smaller ones, during the busy summer travel season. The directives said the airports must have the explosive detection devices in place in 21 days and conduct the tougher security checks by the fall. “I don’t expect everything to go smoothly because it never does,” said Ben Baldanza, the former CE of Spirit Airlines. <br/>
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European airline passengers are paying excessive airport charges, particularly at monopoly airports and airports which operate under the so-called ‘dual till’ system, according to A4E. Under a dual till regime, profits from an airport’s commercial activities such as shopping or parking are not re-invested in lowering airport charges for consumers. This, A4E said, is despite the fact that this revenue would not be generated without the passengers in the first place. The ‘single till’ principle, by contrast, sees revenues from an airport’s non-aeronautical activities deducted from the airport’s revenue for aeronautical services before determining the level of airport charges. The dual till principle is particularly onerous in areas where a single airport effectively has a monopoly, A4E said. <br/>
A drone spotted in the sky near Gatwick airport Sunday evening prompted the closure of a runway and led to several flights being diverted to landing strips up to 80 miles away. Flights were forced to divert away from the West Sussex airport to Stansted and Southend in Essex, and to Bournemouth in Dorset, leaving some passengers stranded far from home. Four EasyJet flights were diverted during the runway closure, a spokeswoman for the airline said. British Airways was also forced to divert a plane. Drone disruption at British airports is becoming a severe problem, with 70 incidents in 2016 and 33 so far in 2017, according to the UK Airprox Board – a safety body jointly funded by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Defence. <br/>
Qatar will comply with enhanced security measures for flights to the US designed to prevent expanding an in-cabin ban on laptops, the country's minister of transport said Friday. The measures, which European and US officials said Wednesday would begin taking effect within 3 weeks, could require additional time to screen passengers and personal electronic devices for possible explosives. "We will respect it," the minister, Jassim Saif Al Sulaiti, said in Montreal, where he is meeting officials of the ICAO. He did not provide specific details. Al Sulaiti repeated Qatar's request for the ICAO to intervene over Gulf neighbours closing their airspace to state-owned Qatar Airways flights in early June. Qatar has also asked for the ICAO to open international airspace over Gulf waters currently managed by the United Arab Emirates. <br/>
The capital of the UAE became the first city to be exempt from a US ban on laptop computers being in the cabins of airplanes coming from the Mideast, Etihad said Sunday. Etihad said it welcomed the decision by the US Department of Homeland Security, which comes "subject to enhanced security measures" at Abu Dhabi International. That airport already has a US Customs and Border Protection facility that allows passengers to clear screening they'd otherwise have to go through when landing in America. A Homeland Security spokesman said US officials already had seen that "the measures have been implemented correctly and to the full extent required" in Abu Dhabi. He said American monitors would make further visits to ensure the checks were being done properly. <br/>
The boss of Melbourne Airport has hit back at claims that Australia's monopoly airports are gouging airlines and that privatisation has been a failure. Instead, Lyell Strambi says airports should get more credit for helping boost carriers' profits. Airlines have been on a war path over what they say are skyrocketing fees to land and take off at airports, and earlier this year Qantas, Virgin Australia, Air NZ and Regional Express formed the group Airlines for Australia and New Zealand to lobby for relief. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's annual report into airports this year found airports had steadily increased how much they charged airlines and boosted their profit margins over the past 10 years, taking in A$1.57b more in revenue than if they kept the fees steady in real terms. <br/>
Passenger departure cards disappeared from Australia's international airports this weekend and passports could be the next travel documents to go. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is trialling contactless biometric authentication technology that would remove the need for a known traveller to present a physical passport in Australian airports, Canberra International Airport was the first to trial the technology, allowing travellers who have previously departed Australia to pass through Customs without presenting their passport. A Department of Immigration and Border Protection spokesman said it was part of a broader strategy to further streamline the traveller experience. The move follows on from the replacement of outbound passenger cards with an electronic exchange of information between airlines and govts. <br/>