Israel is trying to persuade Saudi Arabia to allow it to send special Hajj pilgrimage flights to Mecca, building on Trump administration efforts to strengthen cooperation between the two nations. Instead of enduring the 1,000-mile bus route across the Jordan River and through the Saudi desert to reach Islam’s most sacred shrine, Israel hopes its Muslim citizens will be able to fly directly into the kingdom from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, Communications Minister Ayoob Kara said. Just two months ago, Trump broke a longstanding taboo by flying between the two nations, which do not have formal diplomatic relations or airline links but have drawn closer in recent years due to a shared enemy, Iran. “Reality has changed,” Kara said. “This is a good time to make the request, and I’m working hard on it.”<br/>
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If the Trump administration gets its way, US citizens boarding international flights will have to submit to a face scan, a plan privacy advocates call a step toward a surveillance state. The Department of Homeland Security says it’s the only way to successfully expand a programme that tracks non-immigrant foreigners. They have been required by law since 2004 to submit to biometric identity scans, but to date have only had their fingerprints and photos collected prior to entry. Now, DHS says it’s finally ready to implement face scans on departure, aimed mainly at better tracking visa overstays but also at tightening security. But, the agency says, US citizens must also be scanned for the programme to work. Privacy advocates say that oversteps Congress’ mandate. “Congress authorised scans of foreign nationals. DHS heard that and decided to scan everyone. That’s not how a democracy is supposed to work,” said Alvaro Bedoya, executive director of the Centre on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University. Trials are underway at airports in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Kennedy Airport in New York City and Dulles in the Washington, DC. DHS aims to have high-volume US international airports engaged beginning next year. During the trials, passengers will be able to opt out. But a DHS assessment of the privacy impact indicates that won’t always be the case.<br/>
Months after an online video of a United passenger being dragged from a plane went viral and sparked global outrage, Chicago aviation officials on Wednesday said future airport disturbances will be handled by city police, not aviation security officers. The forced removal of a passenger on April 9 to make room for airline employees trying to fly to Louisville was "completely unacceptable," Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans said in a 12-page report. Other policy changes outlined in the report include the removal of the word "police" from aviation security uniforms and vehicles in coming months. "Their role is to perform security functions, not policing functions," Evans said in the report. An updated training program for aviation security will also be developed, according to the report.<br/>
The aviation industry is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2011, aviation contributed around 3% of Australia's emissions. Despite improvements in efficiency, global aviation emissions are expected to grow 70% by 2020 from 2005. While the industry is seeking new renewable fuel sources, growing biofuels takes up valuable land and water that could be otherwise used to grow food. But what if you could grow biofuels on land nobody wants, using just seawater and sunlight, and produce food at the same time? That's just what a new project in Abu Dhabi is seeking to do. The Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System, or ISEAS, will grow sustainable food and aviation fuel in the desert, using seawater and sunshine, in a way that is eminently transferable to similar arid regions around the world.<br/>The project was announced in January 2015 and is now under construction.<br/>So, how does the project solve the biggest environmental problems? Story has more details.<br/>