The partial shutdown at FAA is likely to delay several major airspace-modernization and safety initiatives, including implementation of new approach procedures at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and the roll-out of taxiway-landing warning systems at major US airports. The shutdown forced FAA to cancel a key meeting with dozens of stakeholders that was meant to serve as a final approval of new procedures for triple-simultaneous approaches at IAD in instrument meteorological conditions. Work on the new procedures — which are not yet needed at IAD but serve as a capacity-enhancing step and are part of the massive Northeast Corridor airspace modernisation — began in 2016 and were slated to be available to airlines late this year. Cancellation of the meeting, which was to gather some 60 representatives from FAA’s air traffic organization, controllers, and airlines, means the timeline could slip by a year or more, a controller involved in the project said. “That was the last meeting we needed for everybody to bless the procedures and say yes,” the controller said. “Now, they’re telling us the [implementation] timeline is the end of 2020 or maybe 2021.” The slippage is one example of the long-term ramifications of a shutdown that wipes calendars clean of all but essential duties. Another air traffic control-related project that is sure to be impacted: FAA’s roll-out of its Taxiway Arrival Prediction (TAP) system.<br/>
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Airlines are waiving change fees as two more winter storms are set to move across the Midwest and Northeast. American, Southwest, United and Frontier all had rebooking waivers in place Thursday morning, and Delta and JetBlue added their own by the afternoon. It was possible other carriers could do the same as forecasts solidified. The waivers come as two different winter storms were forecast to affect airports across large parts of the Midwest and Northeast. The first storm could bring light snow and wintry conditions from the Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic, though the impact on travel was not expected to be severe. The bigger threat loomed from the second storm – dubbed “Winter Storm Harper” by The Weather Channel – that was expected to bring heavy snow, rain and strong winds to the Midwest, Ohio Valley and Northeast from Friday into Sunday. That’s the storm that was at the centre of most airline waivers. Story has waiver details.<br/>
India’s air safety watchdog Thursday directed airlines to make extra checks on their Airbus A320neo aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney engines as part of new safety protocols after temporary grounding orders affected the planes last year. IndiGo and its low-cost rival GoAir, which fly the A320neos in the country, were forced to ground the aircraft on several occasions due to issues related to the engines. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered that airlines must inspect some parts of the 1100 series engines weekly and train the cabin and cockpit crew to deal with and report any kind of odor, burning smell or smoke. “Log all the cases detecting odours/smoke in cabin during operation for necessary investigation and rectification,” the DGCA said in its notification, adding that in all such cases the engine would need to be inspected in detail and used only after the defect is resolved. The new rules, which are effective immediately, were issued days after a meeting between the civil aviation ministry, the regulator, the two airlines, Airbus and engine maker Pratt & Whitney to discuss the issues with the engines. “During (the) meeting, it was decided to issue directive in addition to the existing measures related to combustion chambers and No. 3 bearing issues for identifying and correcting impending failures of dry face seal,” the DGCA said.<br/>
Iranian investigators have yet to disclose why a Boeing 707-320C attempted to land at a general aviation airport with a short runway, during which it careered into a residential area. The aircraft, part of the Iranian air force fleet, overran runway 31L on 14 January and crashed through a perimeter wall located almost immediately beyond the runway surface. It came to rest in a residential area, having travelled some 300m beyond the end of the displaced opposite-direction threshold of runway 13R. Iran’s official aeronautical information publication lists Fath airport as being located at an elevation of around 4,000ft, with the length of 31L given as 1,300m. The distance between the displaced thresholds is around 1,000m. Investigators have not confirmed the landing weight of the aircraft, which was carrying only a light crew load. But Boeing performance data for the 707-320C indicates that, even at a minimal landing weight of just over 70t the aircraft would require – in dry conditions – a runway distance of close to 1,500m at 4,000ft elevation.<br/>
Most passengers say that the worst part of the airport experience is the security checkpoint, in which travellers are temporarily transformed from valued customers to suspected international terrorists. Only when passengers have divested their outer layers of clothing, separated laptops and liquids from their cabin baggage and possibly been ordered to remove their shoes are they allowed to proceed to their flights. But within a couple of years, travellers could simply walk through a short corridor, with coats on and car keys and phones in pockets, being screened by ultra-low temperature sensors. Meanwhile their bags will go through the usual X-ray machine – but the staff watching the screens will have been taught not what to look for, but what to ignore. The technology for “walk-through security scanning” developed by Cardiff University is derived from astronomy detection. It uses infra-red cameras that are so sensitive they could “see” a 100-watt lightbulb from half-a-million miles away. In an airport context, hidden cameras using one-millimetre wavelength technology are installed to examine passengers from a range of angles. Their sensitivity requires temperatures just one-quarter of a degree above absolute zero: 273 degrees below freezing. For such cameras, the radiation emitted by the human body acts as a kind of lightbulb, due to it being warmer than the surroundings. The image projects through clothing and reveals significant items carried by the passenger. Story has more background on the company developing security technology.<br/>
US lessor Air Lease Corp. will raise $700m through a public offering, which may be used for commercial aircraft purchases. On Wednesdaty, ALC said it will be issuing $700m of senior unsecured medium-term notes, with an interest rate of 4.25%, maturing on Feb. 1, 2024. “The company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, the purchase of commercial aircraft and the repayment of existing indebtedness,” ALC said. ALC said the sale of the notes is expected to close on Jan. 23, subject to normal conditions.<br/>