The FAA has warned in a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) of the risk of a runway overrun at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) caused by transposed runway numbers. Dated Sept. 4, the SAFO describes a runway event at SFO last year that involved pilots consulting takeoff performance system (TPS) data for Runway 10L, while the actual departure was from Runway 01L. “This resulted in an actual takeoff runway length (for 01L) that was 4,220 ft. less than what was calculated by the TPS (for 10L),” according to the SAFO. Using the flap and thrust settings required for Runway 10L “resulted in a rotation at standard speed, and a takeoff with 400 ft. of usable takeoff distance remaining.” The pilots submitted a voluntary report under the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). Analysis by the carrier of other ASAP reports and Flight Operations Quality Assurance data revealed that “similar errors of lower severity had previously occurred.”<br/>
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Hong Kong International Airport has installed facial recognition technology to make it faster for passengers to get through immigration and security checks. The Airport Authority, which manages the airport, unveiled on Wednesday automated security checks using biometric technology for travellers before entering the restricted area of the airport for screening. Within two to three years, officials hope that during every process requiring checks – from check-in to security, immigration and at the boarding gate – passengers would only need to have their faces scanned as the identity check. “In terms of scalability this is the starting point for the whole biometrics journey,” said Chris Au Young, general manager of the smart airport concept at the Airport Authority Hong Kong. Singapore’s Changi Airport opened Terminal 4 last year, filled with automated technologies and processes that are now being slowly matched at HKIA. “We are also going to implement the same biometrics [face] capture at the check-in to enrol the face to show you have a valid boarding pass and passport. Associated with your face, it is the single [digital] token to go through the rest of the checkpoints until you board the aircraft.” For now, the airport has installed four automated gates, which go into operation on Thursday. By next year, 44 such gates will be in operation.<br/>
Groups of revellers heading to party destinations are being warned by the aviation industry to fly responsibly or risk being grounded at the airport and fined. The warning comes as new figures show that the larger the group, the greater the risk of disruption from excessive drinking and other antisocial behaviour before take-off or during the outgoing journey. Groups now account for up to two-thirds of all incidents at individual airports, according to the new data issued by partners in the government-backed One Too Many public awareness campaign, launched in July. Airports and airlines are now tracking and logging their results in order to better identify “at risk” groups, whereas previously the Civil Aviation Authority only released global figures. Glasgow airport, for example, says that over the year to date, an average of 65% of incidents (which result in a warning or more) are for passengers travelling in groups, including hen and stag parties. Passengers found drunk on a plane could be fined up to GBP5,000 and jailed for up to two years for breaching air navigation orders. If the plane is diverted due to antisocial behaviour then they may also have to pay a fine of up to GBP80,000 to cover the cost of an unscheduled landing.<br/>
A total of 66 new routes from the UK could be added by airlines if Air Passenger Duty was abolished, a new study claims. These include 20 domestic connections, 31 European short-haul connections and 15 long-haul routes outside of London. The research, carried out by Frontier Economics and commissioned by Airlines UK, also found that of a sample of eight loss-making routes dropped by airlines in recent years could all have been viable if the air tax had been abolished. The report concludes that by increasing the price of fares, APD dampens demand and impacts negatively on connectivity at UK airports. It highlights that APD was found to constitute as much as 50% of the price of an off-peak short-haul ticket – from UK to Poland – and 44% the price of an off-peak long-haul ticket – from UK to Israel. By raising around GBP3.4b per year, APD represents around the same cost as the total aeronautical revenue – the money raised through charges paid by airlines – generated by all airports in the UK. Airlines UK CE Tim Alderslade said: “As we prepare to leave the European Union the government should be doing everything in its power to create the right conditions for economic success. Levying the world’s highest rate of tax on air travel is incompatible with this goal." <br/>