Pumps used to inflate the emergency slides on some of Airbus’ biggest aircraft might not be working, a safety regulator has warned. Inspections found that some of the pumps or aspirators on the A330 and A340 wide-body models were damaged, with cracks or leaks in shutoff valves caused by the improper folding and packing of the chutes, according to the EASA. “The slide may not perform as required in an emergency-evacuation scenario,” EASA warned in a bulletin. While the planes have multiple slides and exits and are “not considered unsafe,” the number of cases in which damage was discovered means maintenance firms should be alert to the issue, it said. <br/>
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A new plan to accelerate production of biofuels for passenger planes has drawn stinging criticism from environmentalists who argue that most of the world’s rainforests might have to be cleared to produce the necessary crops. Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, with an 8% leap reported in Europe last year and a global fourfold increase in CO2 pollution expected by 2050. To rein this back, the industry has promised carbon neutral growth by 2020. The “green jet fuel” plan would ramp up the use of aviation biofuels to 5m tonnes a year by 2025, and 285m tonnes by 2050 – enough to cover half of overall demand for international aviation fuel. But this is also 3 times more biofuels than the world currently produces. <br/>
ViaSat, the Californian satellite company, has said it will take the UK communications regulator Ofcom to court over a licence used by its British rival Inmarsat to operate an in-flight broadband network. ViaSat said it would launch legal proceedings “imminently” after Ofcom this week allowed Inmarsat — originally granted a licence in 2009 for mobile phone services — to use it instead for ground-based stations to deliver broadband to planes flying overhead. The US company argues that Inmarsat has abused the conditions of the original licence and has told Ofcom that what it alleges is a “blatant misuse of spectrum must stop now”. The stakes are high with HSBC predicting the in-flight broadband market, including private jets, will grow to US$5b in size by 2025 from $700m in 2015. <br/>
The organisation behind Istanbul New Airport (INA) has unveiled some of the advances it hopes will make the huge new facility a user-friendly experience for passengers. INA, which is being created to take over from the still relatively young but increasingly overcrowded Atatürk International, is scheduled to open in 2018; its first phase will have 3 runways and a terminal with an annual capacity of 90m passengers. If the airport grows to the full size envisaged through a series of expansion phases, it will eventually have 6 runways, 3 terminals and the capacity to handle up to 200m travellers annually. According to iGA, the organisation charged with constructing and running INA, airports will have to become “smarter” and more proactive in assisting the people who use them as the volume of air traffic grows. <br/>
Airbus has taken full control of Malaysian MRO provider Sepang Aircraft Engineering (SAE), making it a fully owned subsidiary. Airbus took a 40% stake in Kuala Lumpur International Airport-based SAE in 2011, but has now bought out the remaining 60% of the shares. SAE now becomes an integral part of the Airbus Customer Services network; the manufacturer said SAE will be a key element of the group’s Services by Airbus organisation, which is expanding its interests in the Asia-Pacific market. In September, SAE marked a significant expansion in its operations with the opening of a second hangar to deal with increasing demand and now has a combined floor area of some 50,000 sq m. <br/>