The UN body that sets standards for civil aviation worldwide suffered a massive cyber hack in 2016 which compromised its entire IT system and led to subsequent attacks on member states, according to the US ambassador to the organisation. Thomas Carter, US ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization, said on Tuesday that the ICAO’s network was breached in November 2016 by a foreign state actor, and that the problem was worse than it had previously admitted. Carter did not name the country responsible, but internal documents reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which revealed the hack earlier this year, suggested the perpetrator was most likely a member of Emissary Panda, a group with ties to the Chinese government. Carter said at a speech in Washington: “ICAO systems were totally exposed by a foreign state actor, and two completely independent forensic investigations proved this to be true.” He went on to criticise the organisation for having tried to cover up the extent of the breach after it was reported by CBC. “ICAO’s corporate response was that the reports were ‘over exaggerated’,” he said. “In fact, council members have subsequently learned that ICAO’s network had been compromised for quite some time and that both member states and contractors had to fend off attacks from malware that emanated from the ICAO system.” He added: “The way the hacks — by the way, not just one, but four — were handled was unacceptable.”<br/>
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The FAA said Tuesday it had convened a multi-agency Technical Advisory Board to review Boeing’s proposed software fix on the grounded 737 MAX. The board consists of experts from the FAA, US Air Force, NASA and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center that were not involved in any aspect of the Boeing 737 MAX certification. The board's recommendations will "directly inform the FAA’s decision concerning the 737 MAX fleet’s safe return to service." Boeing, which has yet to formally submit the software fix to the FAA for approval, did not immediately comment Tuesday on the new review. Some in Congress have urged the FAA to conduct an independent review into the anti-stall system at the centre of investigations into two deadly plane crashes before allowing the planes to resume flying. The board known as TAB will assess Boeing's proposed fix to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), the FAA said. "The TAB is charged with evaluating Boeing and FAA efforts related to Boeing’s software update and its integration into the 737 MAX flight control system. The TAB will identify issues where further investigation is required prior to FAA approval of the design change," the FAA said.<br/>
Changes to a bill that opens up Brazil’s airline industry to foreign investment may scare off low-cost carriers, the head of the country’s aviation regulator said in an interview. The regulatory agency, known as Anac, is concerned that lawmaker-backed changes mandating airlines to fly to smaller airports and also forbidding them from charging for baggage could make Brazil unattractive for companies like Sky Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle. To avoid that problem, it is important that Congress approves the proposal in its original format, Anac head Jose Ricardo Botelho said. “This bill is the last step that would allow an increase in investments, jobs and competition in Brazil,” Botelho said. “We want to bring in low-cost companies, but if the changes proposed in Congress go through, that won’t be possible.” Brazil has been working for years to encourage greater competition and investments in its domestic airline industry that’s currently dominated by Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, Latam Airlines and Azul. Those efforts gained new impetus under the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro, who took power earlier this year pledging to lure investments, boost public accounts and jump-start Latin America’s largest economy.<br/>
The Scottish government has abandoned plans to cut and eventually scrap air passenger tax, saying that the policy was no longer compatible with its climate change goals. The move is a policy U-turn for the Scottish National party, and follows the declaration last month by Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, of a “climate emergency”. The SNP promised in its 2016 manifesto to halve and then abolish the air passenger duty, saying the levy made it harder to secure and maintain international routes from Scottish airports, and so held back the tourism industry. But the policy had been criticised for promoting air travel, a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as for mainly benefiting relatively affluent people and increasing pressure on other areas of government spending. The SNP plans to convert air passenger duty to an “air departure tax” and halve the rate had already been stalled by difficulties in maintaining an existing exemption for flights from the Scottish Highlands and Islands. <br/>
The most exclusive airline seats are becoming harder to find, with two South Korean carriers becoming the latest to eliminate first class on some of their flights. Korean Air Lines will do away with first-class seats on 27 routes starting June 1, while Asiana Airlines will no longer offer the products on any of its services starting Sept. 1, according to separate statements from the country’s two biggest carriers Tuesday. The carriers will allocate more capacity for business class on those flights, they said. The carriers are following competitors such as Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Emirates, which have been adding more business-class offerings over the past few years as demand for first-class seats declined on certain routes. The airlines have also expanded the more modestly priced sections of the cabin with options such as premium economy. Korean Air will operate 76 routes with business and economy class seats in June, compared with 49 now, the company said. Asiana will offer what it calls business suites on its six A380 planes, which will be on average 30 to 40% cheaper than first-class fares.<br/>