According to the ICAO-sponsored Industry High Level Group (IHLG), by 2034, the aviation industry will provide 99m jobs and generate US$5.9t in GDP, a 122% increase over 2014. But if traffic growth were to slow by only 1% annually, the total number of jobs supported by the air transport sector would fall over 10%, more than 10m jobs, and the air transport sector’s contribution to world GDP would decrease approximately 12%, or $690b. With sustenance of current growth trends in mind, IHLG released its 2017 Aviation Benefits report to coincide with World Tourism Day (Sept 27), recommending a 7-point check list to maximise the benefits of aviation. ICAO said the report is aimed mainly at govt ministers and national planners to provide overviews of related investment and partnership priorities to be pursued. <br/>
general
Airports are a major global business, part of an industry that by one estimate transports the equivalent of nearly half the world’s population in a single year. But the world’s airports were largely designed for an older era — a cooler one. Many were built near seacoasts or river deltas to minimise disturbances to humans or avoid natural obstacles like mountains. Others have short runways because of space restrictions, while planners in the past gave little thought to how extreme temperatures could affect airplanes and airports. Climate change is making airport planners think again. Low-lying airports may become increasingly vulnerable to storm surges. Hotter temperatures may cause tarmac to melt, restrict take-off weights or require heavier aircraft to take off later in the day. <br/>
When the US Commerce Department slapped a nearly 220% countervailing duty on Bombardier's C Series airliner this week, lawmakers in Canada and Britain moved to trade-war footing with the US and vowed to retaliate. The plane maker, meanwhile, called the magnitude of the penalty "absurd and divorced from the reality about the financing of multibillion-dollar aircraft programs." An examination of the documents disclosed by Commerce and conversations with people familiar with the case sheds some light on the rationale behind the decision. It raises questions about whether the department used information selectively to achieve a predesired conclusion against the Canadians. And it suggests the hard line taken by the department so far does not bode well for a separate ruling on dumping expected next week. <br/>
Flights to northern Iraq’s Kurdish region have been suspended by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority. At the request of the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority, all international air traffic to and from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports was suspended Sept 29 until further notice. Domestic flights are continuing to operate at the airports. In addition to Qatar Airways, international flights to Erbil are operated by Austrian Airlines, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s Pegasus and Royal Jordanian, among others. The ban on international flights went into place after Iraq’s Kurds overwhelmingly backed independence in a referendum. The vote angered the Iraqi govt, which is taking retaliatory measures such as imposing the international flight ban. <br/>