A major fire at an Airbus subsidiary factory overnight Friday has caused millions of euros worth of damage and could impact on the plane maker’s ability to hit targets in aircraft delivery. The fire broke out at a factory of their subsidiary Premium Aerotec in Southern Germany, apparently in the electroplating shop. The cause is not yet known but took firefighters several hours to bring under control. The factory supplied fuselages for Airbus for both civil and military aircraft. A spokesperson for Premium Aerotec said it believes ‘virtually all Airbus models’ will now be delayed. Airbus said that they are not expecting any immediate impact from the fire in terms of production. They have said that it takes several months for parts produced in the Augsburg factory to be finished and added to planes. <br/>
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India's aviation space recorded high passenger growth, battled oil shocks as well as survived mid-air scares in 2018. In the new year, the govt would focus on making flying "as good as possible", according to Civil Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu. From spiralling costs and cut-throat competition pushing airlines into the red to govt initiatives aimed at boosting the fast-growing sector, a mixed baggage greeted the stakeholders this year. India remained the world's fastest growing domestic aviation market with 51 straight months of doubled-digit traffic growth but the woes of passengers as well as carriers manifested in myriad forms. Despite high passenger growth, domestic airlines remained financially vulnerable as surge in oil prices, rupee depreciation and inability to raise fares amid intense competition crimped their earnings. <br/>
Facing opposition from private airport operators and after doing a cost-benefit analysis, the govt has turned down airlines’ demand for alternative airports in major cities. Airlines had asked the govt to open alternative airports, including reopening old airports, citing a shortage of slots and overnight parking bays at major airports. They had suggested using smaller nearby airports as alternatives beyond watch hours. “The govt pondered over the demand. We did a cost-benefit analysis study and found that most alternative airports suggested by the airlines lacked basic infrastructure for flight operations,” said a senior govt official. Airlines had argued opening alternative airports would be beneficial for them because those could be used for overnight parking stands and expanding their networks. <br/>
Vietnam’s Van Don Airport began operations with its first commercial flight Dec 30, becoming the country’s first privately-operated airport. Developed by Vietnam real estate developer Sun Group under the Build Operate Transfer model, Van Don Airport is situated in Quang Ninh province, where UNESCO World Heritage site Ha Long Bay is located. The location gives passengers an alternative to the increasingly overcrowded Hanoi Noi Ba airport, and cuts travelling time to Ha Long Bay from 3 hours from Hanoi, to around 1 hour from Van Don. The 27,000 sqm terminal can handle 7 Code E aircraft via 4 aerobridges (1 Code E and 3 Code C) and can accommodate a total of 2.5m passengers annually. Van Don is expected to handle half a million passengers by the end of 2019 and 2.5m by 2020. <br/>