More than two-thirds of flight attendants in the US report experiencing verbal or physical sexual harassment during their careers, according to a study released Thursday by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. About 35% of flight attendants taking part in the survey said they experienced verbal sexual harassment, including lewd, suggestive and inappropriate comments, in the past year alone. Eighteen percent were physically harassed during the same period, reporting that they were “touched, felt, pulled, grabbed, groped, slapped, rubbed and fondled,” on top of and under their uniforms, AFA said. Beyond its impact on the individual, such abuse threatens passengers’ safety by undermining flight attendants’ authority, the union said. <br/>
general
For tens of millions of Americans the prospect of flying is about as exciting as a trip to the dentist. The seats are cramped. The service is, at best, barely bearable. The hassles are huge. The time demands have grown to be way out of proportion the actual distances covered. And it sure seems to cost a lot of money to fly these days. Yet more passengers - 965m - travelled more miles aboard US airlines last year than ever before. Last year so many people flew that despite a huge increase in the price of oil and rising labour costs US airlines scored their second-most profitable year ever. They combined to earn US$15.5b. That’s up 10.7% from the $14b they earned in 2016, but way short of their record $24.8b profit in 2015, when jet fuel cost a mere $1.43 a gallon on average vs. Thursday’s spot market price of $2.12. <br/>
The TSA is preparing for some of the busiest travel days it has ever seen this summer, with a whopping 2.7m travellers expected to fly from US airports during peak days around holidays, administrator David Pekoske said Thursday. TSA typically screens 2.2m to 2.3m passengers per day, but anticipates larger crowds during June, July and August. In an effort to reduce hand-searching carry-on bags, TSA is trying to reduce clutter for X-ray screening in carry-on bags. To help with that, the agency is asking travellers to remove more objects than just larger electronics. Technology is another possibility to hasten screening. TSA has been experimenting with 3D scanners called Computed Tomography at checkpoints in Phoenix and Boston, which provide images that TSA officers can rotate digitally without needing to open the bag. <br/>
North Korea has agreed not to engage in activities hazardous to aviation without advanced notice, a UN aviation agency official said Thursday, an assurance that could lead to major airlines resuming flights through its airspace. Airlines take indirect routings to avoid North Korea due to the threat posed from unannounced missile launches that are worrisome in the wake of the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine. If the airspace was deemed safe, carriers could save fuel and time on some routes between Asia and Europe and North America. Officials from the ICAO visited North Korea this week to discuss a request by Pyongyang to open a new air route that would pass through North Korean and South Korean airspace. <br/>