Boeing’s 737 Max may stay grounded until early 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported, months later than the guidance the planemaker is privately providing customers for resolving a software issue that surfaced last month. The plane is expected to start flying again in January 2020 “under the latest scenario,” the Journal said, citing unidentified sources within the Federal Aviation Administration and pilot-union leaders. The situation is “fluid” and no firm timeline has been established, the newspaper said. On Sunday, American Airlines Group said it would keep the jet off its schedule through Nov. 2, the fifth time the airline has adjusted its flights to accommodate the Max’s lengthening absence. United Airlines Holdings Inc. this week also removed the 737 Max from its schedule through early November. Once the global grounding is lifted, U.S. airlines have said they will need several weeks to prepare stored aircraft to resume commercial operations and potentially train pilots.<br/>
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Pakistan reopened its airspace on 15 July to all civil traffic, ending around six months of restrictions that impacted aircraft flying over the country. The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority issued a NOTAM reopening the airspace shortly after 19:00 GMT allowing civil traffic to use all published air traffic routes. The country closed its airspace on 26 February after a flare-up in tensions with India over airstrikes in the disputed Kashmir region. While it has reopened some sections of its airspace, the area along Pakistan's eastern border with India had been closed indefinitely. That has resulted in airlines operating flights between Asia and Europe having to operate longer routes to avoid the area. Indian carriers have also been particularly affected, with most northbound services usually transiting through the affected airspace.<br/>
The most delayed airlines flying from the UK have been revealed, with Vueling Airlines ranked the least punctual. Flights operated by the Spanish carrier were 31 minutes late on average in 2018, according to an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by Press Association. Following Vueling to round out the top five most delayed airlines were Thomas Cook, Wizz Air, Norwegian and Eurowings. Their flights left UK airports an average of 24, 23, 22 and 22 minutes late respectively. The average delay across all airlines was 16 minutes, the investigation found. At the other end of the spectrum, Cathay Pacific was rated the most on-time airline. The Hong Kong carrier’s flights typically took off just eight minutes late from the UK. More than 2,000 flights from 43 airlines that left the UK last year were included in the ranking. “It’s completely unacceptable for passengers to be regularly delayed by nearly half an hour,” said Which? Travel’s Naomi Leach. “These delays aren’t just an inconvenience but can leave holidaymakers hundreds of pounds out of pocket because of missed connections, transfers and fines for picking up their hire car late. The worst airlines need to ensure they have the staff and capacity to run an on-time service – and that they look after their customers if delays do occur.”<br/>
Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport will expand its Terminal 3 (T3) facility by adding an 80,000 sq m fifth passenger hall. The airport has two main terminals: T3 for international flights and T1 for domestic and LCC international flights. Israel Minister of Transport Israel Katz said: “With an investment of E740m, we are responding to the growing passenger traffic and looking forward to welcoming up to 30m guests a year at Ben Gurion Airport.” The terminal extension will provide 90 additional check-in desks, four new baggage claim areas, additional entry gates, and an enlarged duty-free shopping zone. Also, more parking spaces for aircraft on the apron will be available. The terminal currently accommodates eight airbridges, three of which are big enough for widebody aircraft. In 2018, Ben Gurion Airport inaugurated its fourth passenger hall in T3.<br/>