Global aircraft production has fallen by a quarter after the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max jet following 2 fatal accidents. ADS, the British aerospace lobby group, said 88 aircraft were delivered in July, down 24% on the same month a year ago, with the fall largely due to the slump in production of single-aisled planes such as the 737. The number of aircraft delivered in the year to date has now reached 716 but that is more than 11% lower than in 2018. The ADS recently slashed its forecast for 2019 global aircraft deliveries from 1,789 to 1,489. ADS CE, Paul Everitt, said the prospect of a no-deal Brexit was making the situation worse for British companies in the aerospace sector. Firms spent about GBP600m preparing for the March 29 deadline, and that figure is expected to rise ahead of the new Oct 31 deadline. <br/>
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Putting small containers of liquids in plastic bags could soon be a thing of the past for airline passengers in Britain after the govt announced plans Sunday to introduce 3D screening equipment for carry-on luggage at all major airports. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said that the new technology will improve security and could also mean "an end to passengers having to use plastic bags or rationing what they take away with them." Under current security restrictions, passengers are not allowed containers carrying more than 100 millilitres of liquids in their carry-on luggage and the containers have to be in a clear plastic bag. That could come to an end under the new screening regime and passengers may also be able to keep electrical equipment such as their laptops in their cabin bags. <br/>
Passengers could soon be flying on planes fuelled by waste gases from steelworks. The plan involves using the gases from Tata's Port Talbot plant, which developers believe could be used for thousands of flights a year. Tata, along with Neath Port Talbot council and American bioengineering firm LanzaTech are working on the plan. Waste gases are an unavoidable part of the industrial production of steel and it is thought it could generate 30m gallons of biofuel for the aviation industry every year. "We certainly have an ambitious agenda with this strategy and heavy industry has to be a part of that," said Neath Port Talbot council's deputy leader Anthony Taylor. Virgin Atlantic worked with LanzaTech last year to fly from Orlando to London powered by recycled carbon jet fuel. <br/>
EASA is set to issue an airworthiness directive on Engine Alliance engines that power Airbus A380s following a similar move by the US FAA after the discovery that a failed GP7200 engine showed a fracture in the fan hub. “The investigation in this case is led by the BEA in close coordination with experts from EASA and the FAA. Following the recent examination of retrieved engine parts, mandatory actions have been agreed between all involved parties which will call for repeated inspections of the affected engine type,” EASA said. “An airworthiness directive to this effect is expected to be issued within the next 2 weeks.” Operators of GP7200-powered A380s are already facing a new round of inspections after a fracture was found in the fan hub of the engine that failed on an Air France A380 over Greenland in Sept 2017. <br/>