If there are any beneficiaries of climate change in aviation, it may be the passengers flying from New York to London. Climate change is strengthening and shifting the jet stream that propels aeroplanes across the north Atlantic, bringing a hop from JFK to Heathrow closer to 5 hours. But they may be the only winners: on every other measure it promises bumpier rides for airlines, passengers and investors. A recent report from Eurocontrol laid out the effects of climate change, each challenging to aviation in a different way. Higher temperatures will make it harder for aircraft to take off; more frequent and more intense storms will make flying less predictable and less pleasant; while rising sea levels can flood runways in coastal airports, such as in Barcelona and Hong Kong. <br/>
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Assuming a safe New Year’s Eve, Monday ends what can best be described as an average year for airline-related fatalities. According to one measure (fatalities involving airliners in flight, not necessarily in revenue service) there were 16 accidents that killed 555 people (as of Dec 27) in 2018. That compares to the safest year on record in 2017 when there were only 59 deaths. Aviation Safety Net opined that the tenfold increase “is not acceptable. The airlines, regulators and crew must work together to ensure this troubling trend does not continue,” the publication said in its annual review. For perspective, there were 45m airline flights in 2018 carrying 4.5b passengers. The most serious crash was the loss of a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX in Indonesia in October, which killed all 189 on board. <br/>
Investors in the UK’s busiest airports received GBP6.7b in dividends in the past decade even as those airports issued billions of pounds in debt, research by the Financial Times has shown. The scale of the dividends has provoked criticism from some in the aviation industry given airports are imposing high landing charges on airlines — which are passed on to customers through air fares — and are preparing to invest in expensive new runways and terminal buildings. Tim Alderslade, CE of Airlines UK, said airports were “skimming off millions in dividends”, while “airlines — many of whom are operating in the red — expect airports to keep landing charges down”. Dividend payments have already sparked tensions between airports and airlines. <br/>
Drone sightings at Gatwick grounded 1,000 flights from Dec 19 to 21, affecting the holiday travel plans of about 140,000 people and wreaking havoc during some of the busiest travel days of the year. But just how many drones caused this massive disruption, who was operating them and, most importantly, why? Over a week and a half later, there are still no answers, no culprits, and no drones recovered. The best British authorities can offer is that they are “absolutely certain” there was at least 1 drone. Sussex police said there had been 115 reports of drone sightings to police, including 93 confirmed as coming from credible sources, such as law enforcement and air traffic employees. But police also had to concede that it was possible that police drones launched to catch the perpetrator(s) during the ordeal caused “some level of confusion”. <br/>