Global passenger traffic increased 7.6% in February, resuming the upward momentum of 2017 after a January slowdown affected by the later timing of the Lunar New Year, according to IATA’s latest Air Passenger Market Analysis. “The stronger demand growth in January ... is being supported by the robust economic backdrop and solid business confidence,” IATA DG and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said. “However, increases in fuel prices, and labor costs in some countries, likely will temper the amount of traffic stimulation from lower airfares later this year.” Industry-wide capacity increased 6.3% during the month, driving up the overall passenger load factor 0.9 points to 80.4%, the highest-ever load factor for the month of February, IATA said. In international traffic, Latin American carriers had the highest growth rate—9.8%—compared to February 2017, as the region continues to recover from the devastating 2017 hurricane season and travelers returned for warm-climate vacations. Asia-Pacific carriers also showed strong 9.1% passenger growth during the month, more than doubling from January and continued to reflect robust regional growth and increasing travel options for consumers. North American carriers too showed solid international passenger traffic growth in February, rising 7.2%, an 11-month high, IATA said, reflecting the region’s strong economic backdrop, which supported outbound traffic.<br/>
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German public sector workers will extend strikes to airports across the country, labour union Verdi said Monday, predicting flight disruption as it seeks to increase pressure in pay talks. Verdi, which is asking for a 6% pay rise for around 2.3m employees in various public sector roles across Germany, said ground staff and some fire services staff would be on strike on Tuesday at Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne and Bremen airports. Frankfurt and Munich are the two biggest hubs for Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline. Verdi said the strike at Frankfurt airport would run from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time (0300-1600 GMT) on Tuesday and involve security staff, as well as workers who load and unload planes. Frankfurt airport operator Fraport warned passengers to expect significant disruption on Tuesday. A spokeswoman said security checkpoints would likely have to be closed due to the strike. Similar strikes four years ago led to hundreds of flight cancellations at Germany’s largest airport, particularly on short haul flights. “Employers have not yet put forward an offer. With strikes and industrial action, employees are increasing the pressure on employers to end their blocking tactics,” Verdi boss Frank Bsirske said in a statement.<br/>
Berlin risks becoming a capital without an airport if its long-delayed new flight hub fails to open on schedule, Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer warned. The saga of Berlin-Brandenburg Airport has become a running joke for Berliners since 2012, when it missed the first of many completion deadlines, and an emblem of Europe’s richest country’s struggle to deliver major infrastructure projects on time. “If nothing happens then there is a danger that at the end of 2019 Berlin won’t have an airport,” Scheuer told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Saturday, urging city officials not to shut the old Tegel Airport too soon. City officials had planned to close the Cold War-era Tegel Airport within six months of the new airport’s opening, now scheduled for October 2020. City officials were not immediately available for comment on Monday. The new international airport’s initial opening date in June 2012 was called off with only three weeks to spare, leaving airlines racing to reschedule their operations at the last minute. Since then the project has been plagued by further delays, allegations of bribery and technical issues.<br/>
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is no longer ranked among the 20 busiest in the world, thanks to the rush in Asia. Among those pushing out JFK was New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, which made its debut on the table last year at No. 16, according to Airports Council International rankings released Monday. The Indian airfield was also the fastest-growing on the list, with passenger traffic rising 14 percent, followed by 10% at China’s Guangzhou, which climbed two notches to No. 13. The centre of gravity for world aviation is continuing its eastward shift, with China and India poised to feature among the world’s top three air-travel markets by 2020 as rising incomes make fares more affordable, Montreal-based ACI said. The Asia Pacific region is likely to have 3.5b passengers by 2036, adding more than double the forecast for North America and Europe combined, according to estimates by the IATA.<br/>
Despite a steady stream of headlines highlighting US airlines' customer-service failures, carriers have actually improved in several key areas over the last year, including bumping fewer passengers and losing less baggage, according to a study released Monday. The annual Airline Quality Rating (AQR), compiled by researchers at Wichita State and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical universities, found that US carriers in 2017 recorded improvements in the number of passengers denied boarding, mishandled baggage and customer complaints, even as high-profile instances of customer-service failures continue to plague the industry. The study's findings showed that airlines improved their performance in everything but on-time arrivals, the most heavily weighted of the four components. In that category, there was a decline of 1.2% versus the previous year. Based on data from the US DoT, the AQR rated Alaska Airlines the top carrier, followed closely by Delta on the basis of on-time performance, denied boarding, mishandled baggage and customer complaints. Ranked lowest of the 12 reported airlines were ultra-low-cost and low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines in 11th place and Spirit Airlines at the bottom of the heap.<br/>
A US court ruling has determined FAA is not obligated to force an aerospace manufacturer to supply maintenance instructions to a repair station, potentially kicking off a new round of debates between manufacturers and repair stations over so-called instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA). The issue pits Piedmont Propulsion Systems against UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS). North Carolina-based Piedmont repairs Hamilton Sundstrand 568F propellers found on several regional aircraft models. Piedmont has long sought ICA, or maintenance manuals, for a specific 568F procedure, court filings show. In 2014, after "several years" of trying, Piedmont went to FAA. In November 2016, FAA determined that Piedmont was entitled to the ICA—covering compression-wrap removal and replacement—and the agency said it would "pursue distribution" of the manuals with UTAS. Hamilton Sundstrand is now part of UTAS. Story has more details of case. <br/>
Venezuela Monday reopened air and sea links to the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, three months after cutting them off in an attempt to curb smuggling. The move is a welcome relief to those in Venezuela who can afford to fly out, after Copa, one of the last major airlines still operating in the OPEC nation, was forced by authorities to suspend services last week. The majority of international airlines have pulled out of the crisis-hit country over the last few years, citing economic and security concerns. An Aruba Airlines plane took off from Valencia airport, some 150 km from Caracas, on Monday morning on its way to the Aruban capital of Oranjestad. Transport Minister Carlos Osorio announced the reopening of links from the runway.<br/>