Airlines should offer mandatory training to prevent human trafficking, the UN’ aviation agency said in a new document that could further empower cabin crew on the front lines of global efforts to combat such trafficking. Civil aviation authorities should “require” carriers to teach staff to identify and respond to trafficking, the ICAO said in new training guidelines for cabin crew co-published on Monday with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Montreal-based ICAO cannot impose rules on governments, but wields clout in civil aviation through standards that are followed by its 192-member countries. While the US already requires mandatory training for flight attendants, it was not known whether other countries that don’t have similar rules would follow suit. Combatting human trafficking, estimated as the world’s second most profitable trans-national crime according to the document, has emerged as a growing concern for global aviation. IATA is eying ways to strengthen the training efforts its members are already doing “which should be announced later this year,” an IATA spokeswoman said. “It (airline involvement) is starting to spread,” said Martin Maurino, safety, efficiency and operations officer with ICAO’s air navigation bureau. However, training programs offered by airlines like Emirates and budget carrier AirAsia are done voluntarily.<br/>
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Rolls-Royce may transfer the design approval process for its large jet engines from Britain to Germany as a “technical measure” to avoid disruption from Brexit, the company said Monday. Rolls, one of the biggest names in British manufacturing, said in a statement it was working to ensure there was no interruption in its services to customers due to Britain’s departure from the EU. Aircraft safety and the design approvals process are among the issues that Britain and the EU have yet to settle in their divorce talks. Britain is due to formally leave the bloc in March next year. “As you would expect, we have to consider what contingency measures we may need to take to ensure our operations in the UK and elsewhere can continue, and these may in the future include the transfer of the design approval for our large jet engines from the UK to Germany,” a spokesperson said. “This would be a technical measure as we already seek approval for our business jet engines from Germany, and we do not anticipate such a move would lead to the transfer of any jobs from the UK.” Rolls added that no decision had been taken on whether to press ahead with the plan.<br/>
Improper instructions from air traffic control personnel at Singapore's Changi Airport led to the wing-to-wing collision between a Scoot Boeing 787 and an Emirates Airbus A380 on 30 March 2017. In its final report, the Singapore Transport Safety Investigation Bureau classified the incident as serious, and identifies 787 as 9V-OJA and the A380 as A6-EUB. The incident, which occurred at at 01:40 local time, saw the left wing tip of the 787 collide while it was taxiing with the right wing tip of the A380, which was being pushed back from a parking bay at Terminal 1. There were no injuries aboard either aircraft. The TSIB found that the ATC staffer in charge of the 787, who was in training, made a number of mistakes, which led 9V-OJA to turn left on the wrong taxiiway, where the collision occured. It was found that the 787's left wing suffered damage which included the delamination and scuffing of multiple composite panels; multiple bent and abraded skin panels; cracked wing tip light lenses and severed static discharger wicks. Meanwhile, the A380's right wing had scratches on wing leading edge and slats, as well as cracked ribs and spars.<br/>
A plane championed as the stalwart of the next era of long haul air travel has successfully completed its first flight. The Ultra Long Range A350 XWB took off from the Airbus' headquarters in Toulouse before performing a short flight above the south of France and returning to the French city. The aircraft has a range of 9700 nautical miles and will later in the year serve a record-breaking route between Singapore and New York, courtesy of Singapore Airlines. The flight, at 15,322 km, will shoot to the top of the table as the world's longest commercial flight. Marisa Lucas-Ugena, head of A350 marketing at the French aircraft manufacturers, said that the A350 ULR is the "most advanced airplane for now and for many years to come". The aircraft is a modified version of earlier A350 variants with a new fuel system that enables it to carry 24,000 litres without the need for additional fuel tanks, which would add weight and impact efficiency. <br/>