A second US federal district court judge issued a block Tuesday on the Trump administration’s third travel ban, which had been scheduled to take effect Wednesday. District Judge Theodore Chuang, of the US District Court, District of Maryland, issued the order while granting a preliminary injunction against the ban filed on behalf on an international refugee assistance group. Judge Chuang’s ruling echoed an earlier block on the administration’s latest travel ban issued by a federal district court judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii in that it pertained only to the ban’s proposed restriction on US entry of individuals from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, countries which the US government had deemed uncooperative with stringent US entry security requirements announced to the world in July. The Maryland judge, like the Hawaii judge, did not block the new travel ban’s restriction on US travel by North Koreans and certain Venezuelan government officials and family, which will be implemented as of Wednesday. The US Justice Department is expected to appeal both decisions.<br/>
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Airlines are warning that passengers could be charged $2.2b more each year to pay for airport construction, under a proposed fee hike Congress is considering. But airports contend more funding is needed to modernize and expand terminals and other facilities for the growing number of passengers. The aviation partners have been feuding for years over the fees, called passenger facility charges, which are collected as part of each ticket price. Congress capped the fees in 2000 at $4.50 per ticket. Airports contend the cap should rise to $8.50, just to keep pace with inflation. Congress, which has been divided over a possible hike, is expected to make a decision soon. The key Senate Appropriations Committee agreed in July to raise the cap $4 for the first leg of each flight. But House counterparts left the fee unchanged. A decision is expected as part of the massive spending bill Congress must approve by Dec. 8 to fund the government.<br/>
Airlines in the UK are reportedly drafting contingency plans to account for changes in consumer rights post-Brexit, which will see customers lose various protections held under EU law. Under current laws, EU citizens are entitled to claim compensation in certain circumstances, for example, if their flight is delayed or cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. Current rights also extend to more unusual scenarios such as an unplanned downgrade, with a 30% reimbursement for flights up to 1,500km to or from an EU airport, rising to 75% on flights over 3,500km. However, with Britain set to leave the EU in March 2019, such rights will no longer apply to UK citizens, reports Travel Weekly. An aviation deal has yet to be agreed upon to replace or replicate the current set of rights. Airlines are said to be updating their websites to inform customers of the changes, notifying them that bookings will no longer be guaranteed post-Brexit, with proposed contingency plans reportedly due to come into effect as of Spring 2018 should talks continue to be deadlocked. The changes would apply to tickets sold to EU destinations, but also 17 other countries, such as the US, where Europe-wide agreements oversee the legal flight rights of British airlines. Airlines would continue to refund customers the cost of their tickets, but would be unlikely to compensate them for other costs incurred should a flight be cancelled, as they are currently obliged to do under EU law.<br/>
Airbus will prioritize sales of Bombardier’s C Series jet over the smallest version of its own single-aisle plane while seeking to adapt the model’s key elements for future projects following the surprise tie-up between the companies, according to CEO Tom Enders. Airbus will “definitely” push the Canadian model’s largest variant, the CS300, at the expense of the similarly sized A319neo, Enders said Wednesday. The planemaker hasn’t announced a new airline customer for the jet in five years, since Bombardier’s aircraft emerged as a serious rival. “That was the last time we sold the plane,” he said. “That tells you something about the competition between the A319 and the C Series.” Airbus this week agreed to take a 50.01% stake in the Bombardier program in a deal that will put the might of its global sales machine behind the North American model. Enders said he’s confident the surprise deal will make both the CS300 and the smaller CS100 a “roaring success in the market.”<br/>
Airplane passengers around the world could be in for a bumpier ride because of climate change, new research suggests. By mid-century, the likelihood of severe air turbulence along popular international flight routes will probably multiply, British scientists say. "Air turbulence is increasing across the globe, in all seasons, and at multiple cruising altitudes," said study lead author Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading. "This problem is only going to worsen as the climate continues to change.” Severe turbulence at the routine cruising altitude of 39,000 feet will become two to three times more common over the North Atlantic and Europe, the study predicted. North American flights could see more than a doubling of rough air pockets, while the skies over the North Pacific and Asia will become 90 and 60% bumpier, respectively, according to the study. The researchers said air turbulence is also expected to intensify in the Southern Hemisphere. The findings were published recently in Geophysical Research Letters. "Our study highlights the need to develop improved turbulence forecasts, which could reduce the risk of injuries to passengers and lower the cost of turbulence to airlines," Williams said.<br/>