US airport security workers and air traffic controllers working without pay warned that security and safety could be compromised if a government shutdown continues beyond Friday, when some workers will miss their first paychecks. On the 19th day of a partial government shutdown caused by a dispute over funding President Donald Trump wants for a border wall, the president stormed out of talks with Democratic congressional leaders, complaining the meeting was “a total waste of time.” As the effects of the shutdown began to ripple out, the Trump administration insisted that air travel staffing was adequate and travelers had not faced unusual delays. But union officials said some TSA officers, who carry out security screening in airports, had already quit because of the shutdown and others were considering quitting. “The loss of (TSA) officers, while we’re already shorthanded, will create a massive security risk for American travelers since we don’t have enough trainees in the pipeline or the ability to process new hires,” American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council President Hydrick Thomas said. “If this keeps up there are problems that will arise – least of which would be increased wait times for travellers.” Aviation unions, airport and airline officials and lawmakers will hold a rally on Thursday outside Congress urging an end to the shutdown. TSA spokesman Michael Bilello said the organisation was hiring officers and working on contingency plans in case the shutdown lasted beyond Friday, when officers would miss their first paycheck since the shutdown began on Dec. 22. “There has been no degradation in security effectiveness and average wait times are well within TSA standards,” he said. Story has more details. <br/>
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A no-deal Brexit risks grounding half of Spain’s domestic passengers and a quarter of the total if British Airways parent IAG can’t show that its Iberia and Vueling arms are owned by EU investors. One of the licensing conditions for operations by EU carriers is that they be controlled by nationals of member states, or the states themselves, something London-based IAG has said it complies with via its own Spanish registration and the vesting of Iberia and Vueling voting rights in local holding companies. The EU has said IAG needs to verify that the structure is compliant with requirements before Britain quits the bloc on March 29 or risk seeing its right to operate some services terminated. With the group itself headquartered at Heathrow airport and 21% owned by Qatar Airways with extensive UK and US shareholdings, that may not be straightforward. IAG reiterated Wednesday that it remains confident that it “will comply with the EU and the UK ownership-and-control rules post-Brexit,” following extensive engagement with all relevant regulators and governments. <br/>
Europe’s Airbus lost out to Boeing in 2018, breaking a five-year winning streak against its US rival for the number of jet orders, slumping to its lowest share of the $150b jet market in six years, data showed Wednesday. Airbus posted 747 net 2018 orders, down 33% from the previous year, including 135 for the A220 jetliner which it took over from Canada’s Bombardier in July. Boeing beat Airbus for the first time since 2012 with 893 net orders. Airbus delivered 800 jets, up 11%, including 20 of the small A220 model, leaving Boeing as the world’s largest planemaker by manufacturing volume for a seventh straight year. Although Boeing missed its delivery target and Airbus had previously lowered its target due to strains on the industry’s global supply chain, strong demand for passenger jets expanded total deliveries by 8 percent, the fastest pace in six years. Planemaking chief Guillaume Faury welcomed the deliveries, which set a company record, and a “healthy order intake,” with waiting lists for many new jets stretching for up to 7 years. Insiders say the quest for new business has, however, been overshadowed in the past year by industrial problems, management changes and morale problems coinciding with a corruption probe. A resurgent Boeing has been cashing in on greater availability and declining costs for its 787 Dreamliner, while struggling to contain its European rival in the lucrative segment for large narrowbody jets just above 200 seats.<br/>
Afghanistan opened the latest in a series of air cargo trade corridors on Wednesday with the inauguration of a route linking the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif with Istanbul and destinations in Europe. An initial flight, carrying five tonnes of dried fruit, was sent on a Turkish Airlines flight to London, following similar routes carrying dried fruit and other products to India and China, where an inaugural cargo of pine nuts was sent in November. “The air corridor has been one of the effective programs of the national unity government for export development,” said deputy commerce and industry minister Zohoruddin Shirzada. “Given that Afghanistan is a landlocked country, we must have alternatives,” he said. The new air corridor follows the opening last month of the so-called Lapis Lazuli corridor, a road, rail and sea route from western Afghanistan to Turkey and Europe, part of President Ashraf Ghani’s push to build up Afghanistan’s trade connections.<br/>
A crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia has severely dented the kingdom’s private jet industry in a sign of the impact the campaign has had on private enterprise and the wealthy elite. Dozens of planes, owned by individuals and charter companies and worth hundreds of millions of dollars, are stranded at airports across the kingdom including Riyadh and Jeddah, four people familiar with the matter said. Some were handed over to the state in settlements reached after the crackdown was launched in late 2017, when dozens of princes, businessmen and government officials were detained, they said. Others belong to Saudis who either face travel bans or are reluctant to fly the planes because they are wary of displays of wealth that might be seen as taunting the government over the anti-corruption campaign, two of the sources said. The idle aircraft, which one of the sources estimated at up to about 70, include Bombardier and Gulfstream jets, the sources said. There are also larger Airbus and Boeing aircraft that are more commonly associated with commercial airlines but are often used in the Middle East as private jets. The number of registered private jets in Saudi Arabia stood at 129 as of December 2018 compared with 136 a year earlier, according to FlightAscend Consultancy data.<br/>