The US said Wednesday the EU and 4 of its planemaker states have failed to bring subsidies for Airbus into line with a WTO ruling of last May, an accusation refuted by the EU. The EU asked the WTO last week to certify that it has complied with WTO rulings that found its Airbus subsidies illegal, attempting to forestall billions of dollars of US retaliatory sanctions. However, at Wednesday's meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, the EU's request to set up a fresh panel to rule on its "full compliance" was blocked by the US delegation. The next meeting is Aug 27 where the row is expected to surface again. The WTO appeals body ruled May 15 that the EU had failed to remove subsidised govt development loans for theA380, and Europe's newest long-haul jet, the A350, causing losses for Boeing and US aerospace workers. <br/>
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Russian investigators are claiming that several recommendations intended to enhance and reinforce pilot training have yet to be introduced. The Interstate Aviation Committee says it has previously noted “shortcomings” in the training of crews during inquiries into several accidents. Inquiries have cited issues with initial, recurrent and conversion training, and problems at all levels of civil aviation administration, including legislative support. “Unfortunately, many recommendations aimed at improving training levels for pilots…have not been implemented to date,” says the committee. It states that these recommendations have included advisories for enhancing practical skills to recover from in-flight upsets and unusual attitudes – including negative g-loads – and establishing criteria for language proficiency among foreign pilots. <br/>
Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was forced to suspend all flights for around an hour due to an air traffic control problem. The Netherlands' ANP news agency reported the issue was the result of a problem with air traffic control systems. The agency cited airport and air traffic control sources saying the problem began shortly after 1pm. Schiphol announced just after 2pm local time departures from the airport were resuming “slowly”, adding a “limited” number of incoming flights had been unable to land. Planes that were cleared to land were able to do so using a backup system after a short delay. The airport said the air traffic control system was “stable” by around 2.30pm, but warned it would take “some time” before services were running as scheduled again. <br/>
The Rwandan CAA and IATA have agreed to cooperate on safety, as part of a wider African drive to get all airlines on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) register. Under the 2015 Abuja Declaration, African govts committed to recognise IOSA as a safety standard and get all of the continents’ airlines IOSA-registered by 2020. Tuesday, IATA said it has signed an MOU with the Rwandan CAA, which will further develop Rwanda’s safety oversight program. “Rwanda, when this MOU is implemented, will be the second African state after Zimbabwe to fulfil this commitment,” IATA said. IOSA was established in 2003 as an airline-safety benchmark, which is now held by 440 airlines—including 34 African airlines. IOSA certification is required to become an IATA member airline. <br/>