European transport ministers have agreed on proposals to support competitiveness and sustainability in the mobility sector, including one aimed at safeguarding competition within air transport, paving the way for negotiations with the European Parliament. Major European airlines have for years been calling for changes in legislation to redress the balance, in particular with their Middle Eastern counterparts, which they say have an unfair advantage because they receive illegal subsidies from their national governments, a claim those carriers deny. Transport commissioner Violeta Bulc said: “We have reached an agreement within the Council on three important files, and I am confident that we can complete their adoption by the end of the year.” Ministers agreed on new rules aiming to safeguard competition in air transport, the flagship initiative of the “Open and Connected Aviation” measures tabled by the EC a year ago as part of its Aviation Strategy. The move will allow the European Union to take “appropriate action,” should European airlines be subject to unfair practices affecting competition with third country carriers.<br/>
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A toy grenade in a passenger's bag forced the shutdown of a security checkpoint at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport Thursday morning, just a day after the international terminal of the city's other major airport was evacuated due to a bomb scare. Houston Airport System spokesman Bill Begley said people were allowed to approach the checkpoint again after a bomb squad determined that the suspicious item spotted by a TSA agent was a "novelty grenade." Hobby Airport is a hub for Southwest Airlines. The website FlightAware indicated delays of an hour or more for flights arriving and departing the airport immediately after the security checkpoint reopened. An AP journalist was in the line when a TSA agent raised the alarm at about 4:35 a.m., forcing hundreds of people to move away from the immediate area on both sides of the security checkpoint.<br/>
The Chinese region of Tibet is planning to build three new airports to promote tourism and economic growth, bringing the total of civil airports in the far west region to eight, the official Xinhua news agency said Saturday. Construction of the three new airports, all above the altitude of 3,900 meters, will begin in 2019, according to Xinhua. Currently, there are nine airlines operating 86 routes out of Tibet, including an international one, Xinhua said. <br/>
Airbus has finalized a rescue deal for Bombardier’s CSeries jet and is expected to flex its cost-cutting and marketing muscle to revive the money-losing Canadian venture. Bombardier agreed in October to sell Airbus a 50.01% stake in its flagship commercial jet for a token fee of one Canadian dollar, after sluggish sales and low production rates pushed the program well over budget. Airbus will be able to offer airlines deals by packaging the CSeries with its own jets in a challenge to rival Boeing and is expected to use its industrial power to slash the price of parts and improve efficiencies internally. After winning regulatory approvals and agreeing on the fine print of the deal late on Thursday, the two companies said they were ready to start the new tie-up formally on July 1. The deal’s completion finalizes a historic shift in the aircraft industry, with 75-year-old Bombardier abandoning its standalone bid to enter the main jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing, in exchange for a stake in a stronger project.<br/>
Germany’s Hamburg Airport is launching a test phase for a new “Gate Delivery” service where passengers can order snacks and drinks online to be delivered directly to their departure gate. The trial runs through mid-July, and is available daily between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. Hamburg is the first airport in Germany to offer such a service, in cooperation with VAAIR Airport, a company that also operates Café Scoom and Pier2Bar at the airport. Passengers can order online. First, they choose the snacks and drinks they want. During the test phase, the range extends to snacks like baguettes and cinnamon pastries along with cold drinks such as water and cola. Then they pay online via PayPal or credit card. Registration is not necessary. The prices are the same as in the VAAIR cafés and bars, with no extra charges for delivery. Gate Delivery staff bring the order to the departure gate within a specified 10-minute time window. The passenger may choose to receive the delivery immediately or at a predetermined time. <br/>
Automated passport control gates based on facial recognition technology were unveiled to the press Friday at Narita airport ahead of their official debut. The unmanned gates, which will debut Monday, will automate passport control for Japanese passengers by comparing photos of passengers’ faces with the data in their passports to confirm their identities. Thirty-one gates will be installed at the three terminals in Japan’s main international gateway this month. They will also be introduced at Haneda (Tokyo International Airport), Chubu Centrair International Airport near Nagoya, Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture and Fukuoka Airport. The gates have been tested at Haneda airport since October.<br/>
Sri Lanka’s jinxed second international airport was left without a single scheduled flight from Friday after the only airline using the remote facility scrapped its daily service. Dubai’s flydubai gave no reason for the pullout from Mattala International, built by former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse and financed with Chinese loans. The airport — a five-hour, 250-kilometre drive from the capital Colombo — is located inside a wildlife sanctuary and smack in the middle of a migratory route for birds. Several aircraft have hit birds since it opened in 2013 and two years ago the military deployed hundreds of troops to clear deer, wild buffalo and elephants off the sprawling facility. The airport, which cost an initial $210m and employs some 550 workers in Rajapakse’s home district, has failed to generate enough business to pay staff, let alone make a profit. Rajapakse’s administration had offered hefty concessions and initially attracted Air Arabia — which pulled out after only a few weeks — and flydubai. Even Sri Lanka’s national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines stopped flying to Mattala in 2015 saying the move saved them $18m annually. Mattala will however remain an emergency alternate landing location for flights heading into Colombo International. <br/>