Four major US airlines have asked the federal government not to use their flights to transport migrant children who have been separated from their parents as part of the Trump administration’s policy on illegal immigration. American Airlines, United Continental and Frontier Airlines issued statements on Wednesday before US President Donald Trump backed down from the policy and signed an executive order to end the immediate separation of families detained at the US-Mexico border for entering the country illegally. “The family separation process that has been widely publicised is not at all aligned with the values of American Airlines - we bring families together, not apart,” the company said. United CEO Oscar Munoz said the policy that has led to family separations is “in deep conflict with our company’s values.” “We have contacted federal officials to inform them that they should not transport immigrant children on United aircraft who have been separated from their parents,” Munoz said. Frontier said in a Twitter post that it “prides itself on being a family airline and we will not knowingly allow our flights to be used to transport migrant children away from their families.”<br/>
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US security officials will require more screening of powdered substances in carry-on bags on international flights headed to the US starting June 30. A TSA spokesman said Wednesday that the change applies to more than 350 milliliters of powder, about the same as a soda can. Passengers carrying larger amounts of powders including food, ground coffee or cosmetics could have their bags opened and the powder subjected to a test for explosives. TSA says it already requires the extra screening before domestic flights. American Airlines is telling international passengers who have more than a soda-can amount of powder to put it in checked baggage, which undergoes more sophisticated scanning to detect explosives. TSA wants to expand CT technology to airport security checkpoints where carry-on bags are screened.<br/>
The FBI in Maryland is warning travellers taking to US skies this summer to be cautious as airlines nationwide have seen a recent spike in the number of sexual assaults reported on commercial flights. The assaults, which typically occur on long, overnight flights, are “increasing every year … at an alarming rate,” said David Rodski, an FBI special agent assigned to investigate crimes out of Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport. “This is statistically still very rare; however, it is very good advice for people travelling to have situational awareness,” said Rodski, one of several law enforcement officials who gathered at the Washington-area airport Wednesday to warn travellers about the disturbing trend. In 2014, airline passengers reported 38 instances of sexual assault on flights, compared with 63 reports in 2017, according to the FBI, a 66% increase. Rodski said the reports are coming from airports across the country and urged passengers to flag assaults immediately so law enforcement officials can effectively investigate and prosecute the cases. “What we’re finding is a lot of people do not report the act” or report long after the incident occurs, Rodski said. “Hit that call button … notify the flight crew immediately.”<br/>
European airports are facing mounting security costs, adding to pressure from dwindling commercial revenues, rising interest rates and reluctance among airlines to pay more fees, an industry association said. ACI Europe predicts European airports will need to invest E15b by 2022 to meet new EU requirements on screening hold baggage. “Before 9/11, airports spent about 5% of their costs on security, now it’s 20%. We’ve been transformed into big security companies,” said Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe. In the US, the government pays for security at airports, but in Europe it is mostly up to the airports and Jankovec said he didn’t expect governments to step in and help foot the bill. “We keep talking about it but we don’t see any opening,” he said. Jankovec also urged more cooperation between governments on intelligence and data sharing and said security resources should be focused on tracking the people who posed a possible threat, rather than subjecting all passengers to the same checks.<br/>
IAG and Ryanair are preparing a complaint to the EC over air traffic control strikes which have led to 5,000 flight cancellations so far this year. The two airlines claim that the commission’s failure to deal with strikes in countries such as France was breaching Europeans’ freedom of movement, one of the EU’s four fundamental freedoms. IAG’s low-cost Vueling airline, based in Spain, has had 50% of its flights affected by strikes. IAG and Ryanair’s complaint will argue that EU law is infringed by not adequately protecting flights over France. Willie Walsh, CE of IAG, said: “They are destroying European air traffic and having a huge impact on consumers . . . It’s a political problem that needs to be addressed by politicians, it’s not an airlines problem.” Michael O’Leary, CE of Ryanair, criticised the “lethargy and inaction” of the commission and national governments. In Europe, air traffic control is managed on a national level. “Nothing will get in the way of the four freedoms, unless you’re a French air traffic controller,” he said.<br/>
FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell has called on the UK and world governments to accelerate the pace of bilateral aviation negotiations ahead of Brexit, when the UK leaves the EU, in March 2019. “Brexit and its March 2019 deadline is obviously on all of our minds,” Elwell said. “As the clock runs down, removing uncertainty about the UK and its aviation agreements with the rest of the world only becomes more important.” “Brexit is going to affect passengers, businesses and the entire global supply chain, but early planning can help mitigate those impacts,” he added. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to reach a decision on the aviation components of Brexit as soon as possible.” Elwell also hailed a recent amendment to the US-EU Safety Agreement that makes it easier for both sides to validate and import each other’s aircraft and aviation parts. The amended agreement, which sets a framework toward lowering validation fees for manufacturers, will help get products to market faster by “reducing the involvement of validating authorities on both sides of the Atlantic.”<br/>
The head of Boeing jetliner sales said Wednesday he was confident a possible new mid-market jet with the potential to carve out new routes would be ready to enter service in 2025, but stressed the planemaker would not be rushed into a decision. Boeing is studying plans for what industry sources describe as a hybrid jet combining a wide cabin and a restricted cargo space, moulded to fly efficiently in a space between the industry’s single-aisle jets and wide-body long-haul aircraft. But it has been taking longer than expected to resolve questions about how to build the jet at a low enough cost to fit the market niche, prompting some suppliers to urge a decision soon to avoid slipping past a desired 2025 debut date. Ihssane Mounir, senior VP for commercial sales and marketing at Boeing, said Boeing would “protect” the targeted 2025 date for entry into service, which some analysts see as ideally suited to planned replacement cycles. He declined to say when Boeing could make a decision on the possible twin-aisle plane, which has been the source of speculation among airlines and investors for around two years.<br/>
As Bombardier surrenders hopes of securing a top spot in commercial aviation with the sale of its money-losing CSeries jet program to Airbus, the Canadian company is now drawing up plans to breathe new life into its older regional planes. Bombardier is shoring up its loss-making regional jets and turboprops with a mixture of hard-sell, cost-cutting and outsourcing. It is also growing its line of business jets after a cash squeeze and production delays forced it to cede a majority stake in its high-tech CSeries which aims to break into the market for mainline jets dominated by Airbus and Boeing. The company will now “sharpen the focus” on its remaining commercial planes, with Bombardier Commercial Aircraft President Fred Cromer recently expanding the leadership team for the division which has combined orders in hand for just for over 100 planes, according to an internal memo. Bombardier also plans to showcase its CRJ regional jets, which recently had a cabin upgrade with more overhead bin space to appeal to business travellers, at the industry’s flagship Farnborough Air Show in July, an event it previously used to market the CSeries.<br/>