Russia agreed to extend by six months overflight approvals for US airlines, the US State Department said Tuesday, hours before an agreement on overflights was due to expire. The agreement that allows US carriers to fly over Russia was to expire at 7:59 p.m. (2359 GMT). The State Department said the extension was for operations on three routes through Oct. 28, 2018. It did not specify the routes. Additionally, the Russian Ministry of Transport extended approvals for all cargo flights from Asia to Europe through April 20 but proposed an alternative route after that date, which was being discussed, the State Department said. “We are also working to schedule discussions with Russian civil aviation officials to discuss this and other civil aviation matters,” the State Department said. “Our goal remains to provide as many benefits as possible for US carriers.” Earlier, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a daily briefing that the department had met with representatives from US commercial and cargo carriers to discuss their concerns as the deadline loomed. US diplomats in Moscow were in touch with the Russian government, she said. Russian civil aviation officials had cancelled a meeting in Washington this week to discuss renewing the agreement, Nauert said.<br/>
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Airlines have to pay compensation to passengers for delays caused by wildcat strikes that result from management decisions, the European Union's top court said Tuesday. Several cases were brought to the EU's Court of Justice after German airline TUIfly said a 2016 wildcat strike - one not formally initiated by a trade union - was an extraordinary event, and so it was not liable to compensate for delays. The strike followed the company's announcement of a restructuring plan. EU regulation gives passengers on a delayed flight the right to compensation of up to E600, depending on the distance of the flight. Airlines are exempt from paying this if they can show there were "extraordinary circumstances" which they could not have reasonably avoided. The court disagreed with TUIfly, saying such circumstances were only applicable if they were not part of the normal activity of the airline and were beyond its control. Judges said restructuring was part of normal business, with the foreseeable risk of disagreements and conflict with staff. "The 'wildcat strike' at issue in the present case cannot be regarded as beyond TUIfly's actual control," the Court of Justice said. The dispute, which saw staff placing themselves on sick leave, was brought to an end by an agreement in October 2016.<br/>
Concerned by a rise in near collisions by unmanned aircraft and commercial jets, the world’s airlines back development of a UN-led global registry for drones, an executive of their trade group said Tuesday. The IATA backs efforts by the UN’ aviation agency to develop such a registry, which could also help track the number of incidents involving drones and jets, said Rob Eagles, IATA’s director of air traffic management infrastructure. IATA would consider collaborating with the ICAO with using the registry for data analysis to improve safety. ICAO is developing the registry as part of broader efforts to come up with common rules for flying and tracking unmanned aircraft. “One of the important things we would like to see on a registry as well is the compilation of data which would include incident and accident reporting,” Eagles said. Airlines and airport operators are looking to drone registries, geo-fencing technology and stiffer penalties for operating drones near airports. They hope these steps will ensure flying remains safe as hobbyists and companies like Amazon.com Inc use more drones.<br/>
Iran will soon resume direct flights from Tehran to Erbil, a city in Iraq's Kurdistan, an Iranian official said on Tuesday, almost six months after the Baghdad government imposed an air ban on the region in retaliation for an independence vote. Flights will start again on April 27, Morteza Ebadi, the Iranian consul general in Erbil, was quoted as saying by the news agency ISNA. Foreign airlines suspended flights to Erbil and Sulaimaniya in the region in September 2017, obeying a notice from the Baghdad government, which controls Iraqi air space. Ebadi said talks were under way to resume flight to Sulaimaniya as well. Iraq’s Kurds overwhelmingly backed independence in the September referendum, defying neighbouring countries, which fear the vote could lead to renewed conflict in the region. Iran re-opened a few border crossings with Iraqi Kurdistan in October and January, which it had closed after the referendum at the request of Baghdad.<br/>
The Chinese government has announced it will lift restrictions on the proportion of foreign ownership in aircraft manufacturing companies this year, as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s latest pledge made at the Boao Forum for Asia last week. According to China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), aviation manufacturing firms that produce commercial airliners and regional aircraft—as well as helicopters, drones and blimps—will be included. Currently, Chinese companies must hold a controlling stake (more than 51%) in domestic aircraft manufacturing firms. In addition to aircraft manufacturing, NDRC also announced an end to foreign ownership restrictions of shipbuilding companies and new energy vehicle firms in 2018. Xi Jinping’s announcement was seen as a response to the potential trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, Beijing announced a potential 25% tariff on US-made aircraft that would affect the Boeing 737NG narrowbody.<br/>
As the baggage claim area at New York Stewart International Airport filled with passengers arriving from Dublin last month, the airport’s manager of business development, Michael Torelli, shook his head with delight. "Awesome,” he said of the crowd. Just two years earlier, the airport, 67 miles north of Manhattan, had 275,000 passengers, its slowest year since the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey began running it 11 years ago. This year, passenger volume is projected to more than double that as the region rediscovers an airport with more land than Newark Liberty International Airport and just a tiny fraction of its passenger volume. “Where are you going to get the space to build a new airport now?” asked Ed Harrison, the general manager of Stewart Airport. The grounds include woodlands and a reservoir, giving the airport a rural feel. But the property, formerly a military airport, also contains an industrial park, a US Department of Agriculture animal inspection centre, three air cargo operators, an Air National Guard base and a runway long enough to handle the largest jetliners. Harrison and Torelli said that they expected more business from two commercial developments nearby: a $500m Lego theme park scheduled for completion in 2020 and the $1.2b Resorts World Catskills casino, which opened in February. By focusing on a low-cost carrier identity, Stewart is part of a growing trend among airports in the US. Story has further details.<br/>
Representatives from the Norwegian, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Ryanair and easyJet pilot groups, as well as French, Dutch and Argentinian pilots’ unions, have met to discuss better representation for pilots working for the growing number of transnational airlines in Europe, the European Cockpit Association (ECA) said. Transnational airlines, which can adapt their business structures for different markets and operate with multiple air operator’s certificates (AOCs), have been growing rapidly: UK LCC Norwegian recently obtained its Argentinian AOC as part of ambitious expansion plans there and several airlines, including easyJet and Central and eastern European LCC Wizz Air, have obtained additional AOCs and set up new subsidiaries to secure their flying rights post-Brexit. Fast-growing Ryanair, which last year reversed its stance on not recognising unions, now plans to base aircraft in France and grow there. “The growth of transnational airlines operating throughout Europe, and further afield, has led pilots to recognise that they must cooperate even more closely and adopt new representation methods to address the challenges arising from these new business models,” the ECA said.<br/>
The airport of Cameroon’s port city, Douala, has been told to shut down by the ICAO because of the poor state of its runways and a general lack of maintenance, according to airport authorities. Complaints by 15 airlines, including Air France and Turkish Airlines, about the condition of the Douala airport prompted an audit by ICAO inspectors earlier this month. The document cites, among other issues, runways in need of repair, poor maintenance of computer equipment and the location of the facility, which is close to residential areas. “We have forwarded the ICAO order to the government and precisely the Ministry of Transport, under whose authority the airport is operated,” Thomas Owona Assoumou, managing director of the Airport Authority of Cameroon, said Tuesday.<br/>
With closure of one of the runways at Dubai International Airport next summer, operator Dubai Airports is getting ready to offer incentives to global carriers to shift some capacity to Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central (DWC) during the 45-day period. Dubai Airports said in February it plans to close the southern runway at Dubai International Airport from April 16 to May 30, 2019, for refurbishment. “Any carrier relocating flights to DWC during the runway closure period, including Indian airlines, will not be charged landing and parking fees, and will also have reductions made to other operational costs at DWC,” said Khalil Lamrabet, Director of Aviation Business Management at Dubai Airports Tuesday. “There will also be free transport services for passengers transiting between the two airports during the closure period.” While these particular incentives apply only during the 45-day period, more incentives are being planned going forward.<br/>