Taiwan braced for Typhoon Maria Tuesday, prompting school closures and the cancellations of hundreds of flights amid warnings of landslides and floods on the island. Maria was expected to approach the northern coast early on Wednesday as it moves in a west-northwesterly direction at 30 kph, weather officials said. At one point a super typhoon, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau has downgraded Maria to a medium-strength storm with wind gusts of up to 209 km per hour. China Airlines and Eva Airways, Taiwan’s two largest carriers, cancelled many flights and warned more could be delayed because of the typhoon. Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific Airways, said more than a dozen flights had been canceled.<br/>
general
Britain’s aviation regulator has stepped up planning for a “no deal” disorderly Brexit, identifying how many new staff would be needed and preparing safety systems to take on work now carried out by European authorities. The Civil Aviation Authority had said in January it was purposely not planning for a scenario where it was excluded from Europe’s safety body, “as it would be misleading to suggest that’s a viable option”. PM Theresa May said Friday the government would step up preparations for the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without reaching a deal with Brussels. With only nine months left until Brexit, some authorities and companies are following suit. On Tuesday the CAA published information on its plans to fulfil functions now delivered by the European Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, should that become necessary. The CAA has consistently stated the most positive outcome is that Britain stays in EASA, and the government has said it wants to explore the terms on which that could happen.<br/>
Boeing’s H1 aircraft deliveries rose more than 7%, lifted by demand for its bestselling 737 jetliners as airlines seek more fuel-efficient planes, and orders were more than double those of rival Airbus. The announcement Tuesday caps a successful half year for the world’s largest planemaker and comes a week ahead of the Farnborough Airshow in Britain, where airlines typically place orders. Boeing had 460 net aircraft orders in H1 2018, compared with Airbus’s 206, rebounding after losing that race to Airbus last year. Deliveries are financially important to planemakers because that’s when airlines pay over most of the money, while orders give a better glimpse of planemakers’ prospects. Boeing said its in-house financing arm, Boeing Capital Corp, acquired 75 single-aisle 737s for an unnamed buyer, indicating Boeing had to help arrange financing to close the deal. Such deals do not typically stay on Boeing’s balance sheet but would be sold on to other lessors. <br/>