Britain has no choice but to agree an orderly exit from the EU because the disruption of a hard Brexit would be too damaging to the British economy and to peace in Ireland, Ryanair’s CE Michael O’Leary said Tuesday. Once the “political craziness” in Britain has played itself out, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier does not expect an impact on its business, O’Leary said. “If you look out long enough, I don’t think Brexit has any effect on our business,” O’Leary said, on the basis that ultimately Britain would have no choice but to make a trade deal and retain the Open Skies aviation agreement with the EU. “It’s nuts to leave (the EU), but if you are going to leave, the first thing you’ve got to do on the day after you leave is renegotiate a trade deal with the European Union.” O’Leary campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU in the June 2016 referendum and was one of the most vocal airline executives highlighting the risks of Brexit to the sector. Since then, Britain and the European Union have agreed a deal to allow flights to continue in the short-term and O’Leary has come to the conclusion that the damage of a British no-deal exit would be too severe. “I don’t think there’s anybody who would want to be the UK Prime Minister who leads the UK out on a no-deal scenario. There will be food shortages, there will be medicine shortages,” he said, adding that ports would also be disrupted.<br/>
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Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary slammed Britain’s aviation regulator on Tuesday, saying its soft licensing rules contributed to the chaos around Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy. O’Leary, whose low-fare model has squeezed less competitive rivals, said the tour operator model was “dead” and Thomas Cook’s collapse last week was no surprise. He said that some responsibility lay with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for granting Thomas Cook a license to operate without demanding more proof that they would survive. “How you can license Thomas Cook in April as fit to fly for another 12 months and then it goes bust in September. (It) is something the CAA needs to address,” O’Leary said. “The CAA should be much more aggressive in requiring the shareholders of those companies to put up much more cash to get through the year, rather than allowing them to continually fail.” Thomas Cook’s UK airline immediately folded when the company went into administration, although its German Condor airline is still flying and has been offered a bridging loan by the German government. Thomas Cook’s Scandinavian airline is also still flying. O’Leary speculated that Germany’s Lufthansa might ultimately buy Condor, whose CEO on Tuesday said that there would eventually be a new owner of the airline, according to Die Zeit.<br/>
UPS says it has won government approval to run a drone airline, a first for a US company, and it plans to expand deliveries on hospital campuses and eventually other industries. UPS Inc. said Tuesday that its drone subsidiary was awarded an airline certificate last week by the FAA. Even before getting the airline designation, UPS Flight Forward, as the subsidiary is called, has operated more than 1,000 flights at Wake Forest University's medical center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The designation removes limits on the size of the company's potential drone operation. Flight Forward can fly an unlimited number of drones, a key step toward expanding the operation. It can also fly drones at night – the company plans to do that after installing the necessary colored warning lights on each drone. However, UPS still faces severe restrictions before it can run a large commercial operation with drones.<br/>
Unexpected coffee spills that cause injury on an aircraft should be classified as accidents under the terms of the Montreal Convention, a European Court of Justice advocate general has formally opined. The advisory ruling from advocate general Henrik Saugmandsgaard Oe follows a case against the now-defunct Austrian budget airline Niki. It concerns a six-year old child who suffered second-degree burns from a hot coffee spill during a flight between Spain and Austria in August 2015. Her father, seated beside her, had received a cup of coffee – without a lid – from the cabin crew, and placed it on the folding table in front of him. The container slipped and its contents spilled, although it could not be established whether this resulted from a defective table or aircraft vibration. Niki filed for insolvency in 2017. The child, represented by her father, sought compensation of up to E8,500 from the airline's bankruptcy administrator, which denied liability by claiming that the event did not meet the definition of an accident under the Montreal Convention. While a regional court in Korneuburg, Austria, sided with the plaintiff in December 2015, a higher regional court in Vienna disagreed, arguing that the Montreal Convention only covered accidents caused by an inherent risk in air transport – and that the plaintiff could not prove this. But the case was subsequently heard by the supreme court which sought the European Court of Justice opinion as to whether the definition of 'accident' applies when a cup of coffee, placed on a table, spills for unknown reasons and burns a passenger. Story has details of ruling. <br/>
Hundreds of older Boeing 737 NG aircraft around the world may have to be urgently inspected in coming days after the discovery of cracks in a part of the plane that holds the wings to the fuselage. The cracks were discovered in three 737-800s being converted from passenger planes to cargo aircraft, the US FAA said in a notice to international operators. Each of the planes had been used for more than 35,000 flights, the FAA notice said. Boeing has determined that its existing inspection routines for the planes aren’t adequate to find the cracking, so the company is developing new routines to ensure the issue doesn’t threaten flight safety, according to the notice. The company is also working on repair instructions and producing spare parts. “Boeing has notified the FAA and been in contact with 737 NG operators about a cracking issue discovered on a small number of airplanes undergoing modifications,” the company said. “No in-service issues have been reported.” The cracking is considered an urgent issue and, under the expected FAA order, older planes will have to be inspected within a week, said a person who wasn’t authorised to discuss the matter and asked not to be named. The agency directive is due to be issued within days. The 737 NG, or Next Generation, aircraft include the 737-600, 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900. The plane’s latest version, known as the 737 Max, isn’t affected. <br/>
The Uzbekistan government has introduced Open Skies at several of the country’s airports from Oct. 1. Fifth freedom rights are granted to the carriers operating to Karshi, Nukus and Termez. In addition, fifth freedom with the right to carry foreign passengers has been granted to airlines flying to Bukhara, an ancient city with hundreds of historic sites. The State Tourism Committee expects Open Skies will attract more tourists to the country. The local government plans to revise bilateral agreements regulating international flights to allow more airlines to launch flights to Uzbekistan to develop the network connecting it with other countries, the committee said in a statement. It also plans to renovate runways, taxiways, control towers and air navigation facilities at specific airports.<br/>