Flights to and from the US capital Washington were experiencing delays and diversions Monday evening after an air traffic control tower had to be evacuated because of fumes, authorities said. Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport, Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport were all impacted following the incident in the town of Leesburg, Virginia. "Local fire officials directed the FAA to evacuate the Washington Center in Leesburg, VA at about 6:40 pm after fumes from construction work permeated the control room," the FAA said. "The center handles high altitude flights over the area. The facility stopped accepting new flights and handed off airborne flights to other air traffic control facilities for safe handling. We are actively working to fully ventilate the facility. We will update the statement when we get new information," it added. Delays were expected to last well into the night. BWI Marshall added American Airlines would cancel any flights that "are not currently airborne."<br/>
general
Chicago-to-London airfares under $450 are great news if you're a cash-strapped globe-trotter who doesn't mind a no-frills flight. It's not so great if you're United or American Airlines, both of which are charging more than double that sum for a coach seat on similar nonstop flights early next year. Mainline US carriers like United, American and Delta already face competition for price-conscious domestic travelers from the likes of Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Now they're facing it on trans-Atlantic routes from those carriers' European cousins, which are just starting to arrive in Chicago. Iceland's Wow Air is expected to begin flying from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to the airline's Icelandic hub in Reykjavik on July 13. Norwegian Air's first flights from Chicago to London are scheduled to begin March 25. More could be on the way — Norwegian said it's adding flights as fast as Boeing can deliver the 787 Dreamliners it's ordered. During recent investor conferences, executives at United and American said the new airlines would force more competition on those trans-Atlantic routes. Story has more details.<br/>
ICAO secretary general Fang Liu has told the UN counter-terrorism committee that threat and risk information must be shared to overcome “significant concern” of terrorism against aviation. “Foreign terrorist fighter movements, landside attacks, threats posed by insiders and airport staff, and the use of increasingly sophisticated improvised explosive devices are all significant concerns,” Liu said, “and our expanding reliance on information technology in all areas of aviation—from navigation to communications to security—exposes us to cyber threats.” Liu made the comments at a special UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) meeting on July 7. In September 2016, UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution 2309, which addresses international cooperation on civil aviation security. ICAO has come up with a Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP) and Global Risk Context Statement, but Liu stressed that national security authorities need access to current threat and risk information. She said “challenges persist” over the sharing of this information.<br/>
A Marine transport plane crashed in Mississippi on Monday, military officials said, as local media reported that the crash killed at least 12 people. The Marine Corps KC-130 “experienced a mishap” Monday evening in Mississippi, according to a Marine Corps spokeswoman. The Corps had no additional comment. At least 12 individuals were killed in the crash in a rural area in LeFlore County, according to The Clarion-Ledger. The paper cited local officials as saying the plane was carrying 16 people. Local media published images of the aftermath of the crash, with thick dark smoke emanating from the middle of a field.<br/>
Singapore-headquartered lessor BOC Aviation is to open a New York office, which will be headed by EVP-airline leasing and sales (Americas) Matt Baumgarth. The New York office will be co-located with the Bank of China offices at 1045 6th Avenue. It is BOC’s fourth overseas office, joining Dublin, London and Tianjin. Baumgarth, who was previously BOC’s London-based SVP for capital markets, has two decades of aviation finance experience with North American airlines and investment banks. “A US presence is essential to maintaining our global footprint,” BOC Aviation MD and CEO Robert Martin said. “With the opening of the New York office, we aim to better serve new and existing airline customers and aircraft investors.” At the end of June 2017, BOC Aviation had a fleet of 493 aircraft owned, managed and on order, placed with 75 airlines worldwide.<br/>