Deadly slow-moving storms generated record or near-record snowfall and low temperatures in the US Midwest and tornadoes further east on Sunday, leaving airline travelers stranded and thousands without power. By Sunday night, 1,804 flights had been cancelled into or out of U. airports, the website flightaware.com reported, including 148 flights in or out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.<br/>
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British biofuel targets coming into force this weekend will double the use of renewable fuels in the UK transport sector in 15 years and reduce reliance on imported diesel, the government said Friday. The new targets, which take effect on April 15, will compel transport fuel suppliers who sell at least 450,000 litres a year or more to make sure the mix is at least 12.4% biofuel by 2032, the government said. The industry supplies fuel to transport companies such as haulage businesses and airlines. The changes will also reward and support the production of sustainable renewable aviation fuels in Britain. <br/>
Satellite technology to provide Wi-Fi on board planes has matured to a point where more and more airlines are looking to use it, triggering a “gold rush” among suppliers. That brings opportunities for a vast array of companies, from satellite firms such as Viasat and Inmarsat, to connectivity providers such as Gogo, Global Eagle, and Panasonic Avionics and software and hardware companies such as Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik. “It’s like a gold rush feeling at the moment,” said Jan-Peter Gaense, head of passenger experience products & solutions at Lufthansa Systems. But as competition for a slice of the business intensifies, Gaense foresees a wave of mergers very soon, predicting that out of around 17 connectivity companies around today, only a handful would remain in the future. Some are hitting bumps on the way. Gogo started with air-to-ground services but is now offering a satellite-based service. Customer American Airlines is de-installing Gogo systems in favor of Viasat after performance problems with the older ATG systems, which will weigh on Gogo’s revenues this year. “It’s competitive but competitive in a growing market. It makes you all the more agile, keeps you on the edge of innovation,” Gogo’s CTO Anand Chari said.<br/>
Rolls-Royce has said extra checks on one of its plane engines will add unexpected costs and cause further disruption for airlines including BA, Virgin and Norwegian. In an embarrassment for one of the UK’s top engineering groups, the company said more inspections would be needed to tackle problems with its Trent 1000 engines, which are used in Boeing’s Dreamliner 787. The issue concerns parts in 380 engines that are wearing out sooner than planned and affects up to 170 planes in use by airlines. The Dreamliners will need to be grounded for checks and replacements. Rolls-Royce said last month it was facing a GBP370m bill because of the engines, but it indicated Friday that that figure would rise with the cost of replacing more parts and paying airlines compensation. “While the compressor technical issue was known at the time of our results, the requirement for more regular inspections will lead to higher than previously guided cash costs being incurred during 2018,” it said. Warren East, the chief executive, said: “We sincerely regret the disruption this will cause to our customers, and our team of technical experts and service engineers is working around the clock to ensure we return them to full service as soon as possible.”<br/>