Jet engine manufacturer CFM International Inc said Thursday airlines have inspected more than half of nearly 700 CFM engines subject to an emergency order issued late Friday by US and European regulators. The inspections cover engines like the one involved in a fatal Southwest engine blowout last week. The directives for inspections by the US FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency suggested rising concerns about CFM56-7B engines, built by the joint venture of General Electric and France’s Safran. The same type of engine had a similar failure in 2016. Ultrasonic inspections on fan blades that have been used in more than 30,000 cycles, or in service for about 20 years, will be required by May 10, the agencies said. A cycle includes one take-off and landing — and 150 had already been inspected prior to Friday’s order. Cincinnati, Ohio-based CFM International said airline operators have completed more than 60% of mandated ultrasonic inspections on CFM56-7B engines with more than 30,000 cycles. As soon as next week, the FAA was expected to finalise a separate directive on CFM56-7B engines it had proposed in August covering a different set of engines, two officials briefed on the matter said.<br/>
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Vietnam’s two biggest airlines reported strong growth in domestic and international markets on Thursday, fuelling profits and talk of expansion plans. VietJet, the biggest private airline in the Southeast Asian nation, said it was adding routes to Japan, India and Australia as part of its strategy to become a global airline. VietJet currently operates 38 domestic and 44 international routes. VietJet added 17 new aircraft last year to boost its fleet to 51 planes. VietJet said Thursday it expected pre-tax profit to rise to 5.8t dong this year, up 9.4% from 2017. It also targeted a 20.5% rise in revenue to 50.97t dong from a year earlier. Its state-owned rival, Vietnam Airlines, said on Thursday its pre-tax profit jumped 71% in the first quarter as growth on domestic and international routes exceeded its forecasts. Vietnam Airlines said it carried 5m passengers in the quarter, up 5% from the same period last year.<br/>
Venezuela and Panama will restore ambassadors and allow for the resumption of airline service, turning the page on a diplomatic dispute between the two countries, they said Thursday. Venezuela this month cut commercial ties with a group of Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa, for alleged involvement in money laundering, prompting both countries to recall ambassadors. The two governments said that they would send back their respective ambassadors, “reestablish air connectivity” and “maintain an open and respectful diplomatic dialogue.” <br/>
Guangzhou’s new 17b yuan (US$2.7 billion) airport terminal opened on Thursday, designed to handle 100 million passengers a year from southern China’s “Greater Bay Area” by 2025. A subway line connecting the city centre of the Guangdong capital with the new terminal at Baiyun International Airport will also start operating. The bay area is China’s most developed region and the economic and business hub includes Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. Passenger numbers in the region are expected to reach 223m a year by 2020, up from around 175m last year, according to the China Civil Airports Association. It said the level of airport traffic would dwarf that of other bay areas such as San Francisco, New York and Tokyo. Terminal 2 has 397 check-in counters and more than 5,000 car parking spaces and will use facial recognition technology to screen all passengers before they board. The 880,000 sq m facility is expected to be handling 45m passengers a year by 2020. On its first day of operation, however, the new terminal will handle a reduced schedule of about 30 domestic and international flights.<br/>