Global airport operators, faced with rising sea levels and more powerful storms as the climate changes, are starting to invest in measures including higher runways, seawalls and better drainage systems to future-proof immovable assets. In early September, a seawall at Japan's Kansai International built on a reclaimed island near Osaka, was breached during Typhoon Jebi. Major airports in Hong Kong, mainland China and North Carolina were also closed due to tropical storms last month. Such incidents highlight the disaster risks to investors and insurers exposed to a sector with an estimated US$262b of projects under construction globally. Fifteen of the 50 most heavily trafficked airports globally are at an elevation of less than 30 feet above sea level, making them particularly vulnerable to a changing climate. <br/>
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SITA CE Barbara Dalibard believes technology can be used to dramatically cut disruption, which adds US$25b a year to industry costs—a figure that is roughly equal to the industry’s annual profit margin. Further savings could also come by addressing $2.3b in mishandled luggage costs. “If you decrease disruption and mishandled baggage, you can double your margin,” Dalibard said. She said this could be achieved by tapping technologies to streamline processes, leading to improved on-time performance. While she conceded that it may not be possible to eliminate all possible causes of disruption, she added: “You could easily divide the cost of mishandled bags in two, if you tracked bags every step of the way.” <br/>
A bill that will regulate minimum seat size on US passenger airplanes is unlikely to lead to more leg or elbow room for cramped flyers, airline consultants said. The US Senate is taking up Monday the FAA reauthorisation bill, which funds the agency for 5 years and sets other travel measures. Final passage is expected Tuesday or Wednesday. If passed, the new rules would require a minimum standard based on a safety review. Flyer advocacy groups have demanded new rules to make air travel more comfortable, but experts said safety rather than comfort would likely continue to drive the standard. Currently, seat pitch on Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines is among the industry's tightest at 28 inches. But because the FAA has previously approved operations such as Spirit and Frontier's, it is unlikely to now call the 28-pitch unsafe. <br/>
The EU's top official warned that Brexit could prompt the grounding of flights from the UK to the bloc, providing a stark reminder of the economic stakes in stalled negotiations. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EC, evoked the airline industry’s nightmare scenario in remarks that cited the difficulties of reaching an agreement on the UK’s planned withdrawal from the EU in March 2019. “If everything goes wrong, then no more British planes can land on the continent,” he said Monday. “People don’t know that. One should have told them beforehand.” The airline industry is pressing for an accord between the British govt and the rest of the EU to prevent flight disruptions after the UK leaves the bloc, saying the failure so far to settle the matter is risky. <br/>
Ministers in New Delhi are pushing for a package of relief measures to help India’s ailing airlines, which are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in oil prices and a collapse in the rupee. The country’s domestic aviation market has been growing more quickly than any in the world for the past few years, but airline profits have dropped off in the past 6 months because of higher fuel prices. Officials have said that there are 3 measures under consideration: reducing the tax on aviation fuel, reducing the tax on aircraft servicing and allowing companies to borrow more. But they added that ministers were not yet considering bailouts of individual companies such as Jet Airways, preferring instead to see what happens during the lucrative festival season in the last 3 months of the year. <br/>