general

Critics of perceived federal govt overreach regarding US airline industry regulation were handed a victory Dec 7 as the US DoT withdrew 2 proposed rules that would have forced US airlines to collect and publish detailed data on ancillary revenues and disclose baggage fees to passengers at point-of-sale, respectively. “The department is withdrawing these rulemakings because they are of limited public benefit,” DoT said, adding that the withdrawals correspond “with the department’s and administration’s priorities and is consistent with [president Donald Trump’s] Executive Order 13771, Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, Jan 30, 2017.” A4A, which had been critical of the Obama administration’s efforts at increased regulation, was supportive of DoT’s decision. <br/>

The UN aviation agency is not considering the creation of a "no-fly" zone around North Korea because the direction of Pyongyang's tests are not predictable, 2 sources familiar with the organisation's thinking said Thursday. Airlines are already avoiding North Korean airspace and some have re-routed flights to avoid portions of the Sea of Japan because of the missile tests. Air France KLM and Lufthansa did so in August, while SIA Friday said its flight routings did not traverse near the missile trajectories because it had been avoiding the northern part of the Sea of Japan since July. OPSGROUP, which provides safety guidance to airlines, said in September that the western portion of Japanese airspace is a risk area due to multiple North Korean missile re-entries into the same area. <br/>