Some of the world's largest airlines have yet to set long-term targets to reduce their climate-changing emissions, climate and economic researchers warned Tuesday. Top publicly listed airlines have cut their "emissions intensity" - how much pollution they produce for the same amount of activity - significantly in recent years, said researchers from the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute. But they are not making clear plans for the much larger emissions reductions needed to meet internationally agreed climate goals, the researchers said. Beyond 2020 and particularly in the long-term "the targets these airlines have set to reduce their emissions are not clearly consistent with the Paris Agreement goals,” said Simon Dietz, co-author of a study released Tuesday. The Paris goals, agreed by world governments in 2015, call for keeping global temperature rise to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and ideally to 1.5C above pre-industrial times. The study, which looked at 20 of the world’s largest publicly listed airlines, noted that air travel currently accounts for about 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions, and 12% of transport-related emissions. Cutting those emissions - and emissions from shipping - is particularly challenging because their mobile nature makes it harder for companies to use clean energy sources such as solar or wind power. Alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, may offer long-term solutions but are still being developed.<br/>
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Drones have become an increasing nuisance for airports worldwide in recent months, and good solutions to keep them from interfering with flights aren't yet available. Airports in various cities -- including Newark, New Jersey; Gatwick, England; Dublin, Ireland and Dubai -- have grounded planes in the last three months following drone sightings. The incident at Gatwick in December proved especially disruptive, impacting the flights of more than 100,000 passengers. In 2017, a drone hit a commercial airplane approaching Quebec City in Canada. The plane landed safely. Aviation experts fear catastrophic damage or death could result from a drone hitting an airplane. Such an incident could be accidental or motivated by ill will, such as a terrorist attack. A 2017 FAA study found that drones colliding with large aircraft can cause more damage than birds -- a threat the industry has long faced. There's also a business risk. Airlines risk losing millions of dollars from flight delays and cancellations. If air travel becomes more unpleasant, some travellers may switch to other modes like trains or driving. The problem is urgent and fixes are lacking, according to Chris Oswald, senior vice president for safety and regulatory affairs at the Airports Council International-North America, which represents airport owners and operators. Story has more.<br/>
As seats shrink and fees multiply, it’s hard to find value from an airline these days. Except when redeeming frequent-flyer points. The six largest US carriers grew more generous from 2013 to 2018 as they sought to encourage mileage redemption. The average price, in loyalty miles or points, for a domestic rewards ticket declined 13.5% over that time, according to data compiled by IdeaWorksCompany and CarTrawler. “Airlines are recognising that in order for the loyalty program business to be sustainable longer term, consumers have to stay engaged and continue to want to earn this currency,” said Joe DeNardi, a Stifel analyst who tracks reward travel. “One way is to allow them to use it more effectively.” To entice travelers to use—rather than hoard—their miles, airlines have decreased the number of miles needed to book a ticket, increased the numbers of seats per plane available for rewards travel, and enhanced the buying power of each mile. The prices to redeem miles have also declined in tandem with airfares. To be sure, not every flight has seen these generous changes, and airlines tend to offer better prices on off-peak flights where they won’t sell as many seats. Carriers have also shifted the method of awarding miles from distance flown to a ticket’s price. Delta and United Continental swapped to revenue-based mileage accrual in 2014 and American Airlines followed two years later. That put all three legacy carriers in line with the accrual method both Southwest and JetBlue have used for years. Carriers no longer care “whether they sell a seat with dollars or miles,” said Jay Sorensen, IdeaWorks president. “Historically it was negative from a revenue standpoint if they sold a seat with miles in general. Now airlines are recognizing that these loyalty programs are tremendously valuable.”<br/>
Recorded conversations by pilots on a cargo jet carrying packages for Amazon that crashed last month near Houston reveal they began losing control of the aircraft about 18 seconds before it slammed into a shallow bay, investigators said Tuesday. The communications captured on the cockpit sound recorder were “consistent with a loss of control of the aircraft,” according to a press release issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB recovered the crash-proof cockpit recorder and another black box storing flight data in recent days and brought them to its lab in Washington for analysis. The press release, offering a first glimpse of what happened on the Boeing 767-300 as it was preparing to land at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport Feb. 23, still doesn’t explain its mysterious, abrupt dive. The second recorder contained detailed data from the accident flight as well as 16 previous ones, but none of its contents was revealed in the NTSB statement. Atlas Air Flight 3591 dove roughly 6,000 feet and plunged into a shallow bay as it was descending and preparing to move around a line of storms ahead. The impact shattered the plane and killed all three aboard: two Atlas pilots and one from a regional airline who was catching a ride. There was no emergency radio call from the cockpit. The NTSB is convening a group of experts to evaluate the recorder’s contents and to produce a transcript, the agency said in its release. “It will be a time-consuming process to complete the transcript,” the agency said.<br/>
London police are investigating three small improvised explosive devices (IEDs) delivered March 5 to administrative offices at two of the city’s airports and one of the capital’s main rail terminals. The Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation after the packages—A4-size white envelopes enclosing yellow padded bags—were determined by police specialists to contain IEDs capable of igniting small fires when opened. The first package was reported about 9:55 a.m. local time at The Compass Centre, the administrative offices of Heathrow Airport Ltd. on the north side of London Heathrow. The package was opened by staff, causing the device to ignite and partially burn the package. No one was injured, and the building was evacuated. The incident did not affect flights. At about 12:10 p.m., police were alerted to a suspicious package at City Aviation House, the main administrative building for London City Airport, located in a car park opposite the terminal building. The package was not opened and no one was injured, but about 100 staff were evacuated. Specialist officers made the device safe. The building was reopened at 3:55 p.m., airport officials said. “Specialist police officers dealt with the device, which did not affect flight operations. The airport terminal remained open throughout,” the airport said.<br/>
Heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. said Tuesday it has discovered unqualified workers inspected airplane engines after routine repair and maintenance operations, becoming the latest Japanese manufacturer involved in quality control misconduct. The company launched an investigation into whether any improper checks had been conducted after such inspections were discovered by the transport ministry during on-site inspections in January and February. “We will consider taking necessary administrative measures,” transport minister Keiichi Ishii told a news conference, adding that the matter is “extremely regrettable.” Unqualified workers conducted visual inspections of repaired engine parts at a factory in Tokyo that maintains around 150 engines a year mainly for low-cost carriers, IHI said. In some cases, the workers compiled inspection documents under the names of qualified employees and IHI is delving deeper into the issue. Unauthorized workers conducted inspections during part of the maintenance process, and hundreds of engines may have been affected, the IHI officials said.<br/>