Airline fuel efficiency on transatlantic flights has improved by 1% a year since 2014 as carriers buy modern planes, but the industry still lags its own climate goals, a study released Wednesday said. The industry’s average fuel efficiency improved to 34 passenger kilometers per litre of fuel from 33 between 2014 and 2017 as carriers opted for modern aircraft with lower fuel burn and operated fuller planes, the study from the US-based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) said. Airlines have been switching to more fuel-efficient aircraft in an attempt to mitigate the impact of high oil prices on their margins. The aviation industry has also set a non-binding goal of capping emissions from international flights at 2020 levels, despite rising passenger traffic as global travel demand climbs. <br/>
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Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights and added more service to get travellers out of areas that could be affected by Hurricane Florence. The Category 3 storm is expected to make landfall in North Carolina and South Carolina early Friday, but the storm will affect several states with high winds and widespread flooding, federal forecasters said. So far, airlines have canceled more than 450 flights scheduled for Thursday in or out of Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham International, Charleston International and Myrtle Beach International. Scores of other flights scheduled for Friday in the area were also canceled and more are likely. Flight disruptions could continue after the storm has passed. The FAA said it could restrict air traffic, including passenger flights, to clear airspace for emergency flights. <br/>
A4A president and CE Nicholas Calio called on the US Congress to pass multi-year legislation reauthorisation the FAA, adding that failure to do so would jeopardise the agency’s safety mission, as well as the airline industry’s ability to plan for the long term. “We can’t simply stop and restart our funding,” Calio said. “There have been far too many short-term extensions over the years, and we need Congress to act swiftly, now.” Calio expressed disappointment over Congress’s inability to pass air traffic control (reform, a long-time priority for the airline trade group. He said the inefficiencies of the current public-sector ATC system mean that “flights today take longer from point A to point B,” which he blamed on an “antiquated system” and the govt’s “dilapidated procurement and product-development processes.” <br/>
The UK govt has continued its gradual relaxation of the ban on large personal electronic devices (PEDs) being carried in the cabin of UK-bound aircraft with 2 more Turkish airports being exempted from the restrictions. Istanbul Atatürk and Dalaman airports are no longer subject to restrictions on carrying large phones, laptops and tablets in the cabin, the UK DfT said late Sept 11. Ataturk is the larger of Istanbul’s two international airports, while Dalaman is a popular tourist airport in southwest Turkey. The UK imposed restrictions on in-cabin carriage of large PEDs from several Middle East and Near East nations in 2017, following fears that terrorists had perfected methods of shrinking explosive devices to fit inside their confines. The UK restrictions followed a similar US ban. <br/>
Poland is banking on booming passenger and cargo traffic to help turn its planned transportation hub into a key European gateway to Asia and is open to looking for partners in the far East to help finance it. Poland wants a US$9.4b 45m passenger airport by 2027, making it the largest transportation hub in central and eastern Europe. The project is set to be “the biggest undertaking in Poland’s modern history,” even before planned later extensions that would put it at a par with Heathrow Airport. The planned airport, to be situated 45 kilometers from the capital, has drawn criticism from the opposition parties as well as from CE Michael O’Leary of Ryanair. O’Leary has said Poland doesn’t need a “shiny cathedral in the middle of nowhere” to service the growing number of airline customers. <br/>
Thailand's airspace capacity will double from 1m to 2m flights per year if it successfully introduces a new one-way aircraft route plan in 3 years' time, the new Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai) president Somnuk Rongthong says. Thailand has been using several overlapping lanes in its airspace, which means flights going in opposite directions have to share airspace simultaneously by travelling at different altitudes. This has led to numerous delays because each plane has to wait for the previous aircraft to pass to a safe distance first. Somnuk said the planned system would involve planes travelling to Thailand's regions -- such as the North or Northeast -- using a single, large one-way route, and branching off the main route to their specific destinations. <br/>