Slovenia, reeling from the collapse of its only carrier, said Thursday it had passed legislation to allow the government to subsidize some national air routes that might not otherwise be served by commercial airlines. The changes were passed at a government session on Thursday, four days after Slovenia’s Adria Airways, owned by German investment firm 4K Invest, filed for bankruptcy, leaving the country with no Slovenian-based airline. Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratusek said later she could not speculate which destinations might need subsidies and added all airlines would be able to apply for them if the government decides to offer them for a certain destination. “We want Ljubljana to be connected to Europe and the world with as many airlines as possible,” Bratusek said. In the last three days Lufthansa and its subsidiaries announced they will introduce flights between Ljubljana and Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich later this month or in November. The proposed legislation will need to be confirmed by parliament in the coming months.<br/>
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Epinephrine, or adrenaline, is one of a handful of lifesaving drugs that are supposed to be “no-go” items for commercial passenger planes. According to federal regulations, flights are not supposed to take off without these medicines. Citing chronic drug shortages, however, the FAA has granted airlines exemptions that permit passenger planes to fly without a complete medical kit if the airlines say they cannot replenish the drugs. The exemptions apply to international as well as domestic flights. Earlier exemptions were issued by the agency on an annual basis, and only for one or two of the drugs in the kit. But in January 2016, more than 50 airlines were granted four-year exemptions from the requirement to carry all five drugs in the medical kit. The medicines include two doses of epinephrine, one to treat severe allergic reactions and one to treat cardiac arrest; atropine, which is used to treat a slow heart rate; dextrose, to raise dangerously low blood sugar in people with diabetes; and lidocaine, to treat irregular heart rhythms but rarely used these days. There are no data on how many airplanes may be flying at a given time without the drugs. Representatives of airlines said they usually carry complete medical kits and rely on the exemption only during periods of temporary shortages. “U.S. carriers adhere to all FAA regulations, including carrying emergency medical kits on board the aircraft and providing flight crews with training for handling medical emergencies,” said Katherine Estep, a spokeswoman for Airlines for America, an industry group that secured exemptions for all of its members, including American Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest and United Airlines. Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, whose office discovered the medical kit exemptions, called on the FAA to reconsider the policy. “No traveler should ever fear that an allergic reaction on a flight might go untreated because the airline was quietly granted an exemption from carrying lifesaving medications,” Duckworth said.<br/>
Overhead luggage bins that illuminate in red when they're full, an airplane seat tailored to your personal position preferences, seat belts that alert cabin crew when they're unbuckled. And cameras outside restrooms. This, according to Airbus, is what the airplane cabin of the very near future will look like. The European aerospace company recently announced inflight trials of what it calls its Airspace Connected Experience cabin at an industry event in Los Angeles. But while some of its passenger-focused innovations may well emerge as super convenient, others such as the restroom cameras are likely to further ignite debate over passenger privacy in the skies. Airbus says the connected cabin is the natural extension of the ultra-connectivity many of us experience on the ground -- from smart homes to the ubiquitous Amazon Alexa and Google devices, to cellphones that predict our every move. "It's a kind of a seamless transfer," said Ingo Wuggetzer, VP marketing at Airbus. "What you experience on ground, you continue to experience on board of an aircraft."Wuggetzer says Aibrus's new concepts will make boarding quicker, allow cabin crew to be constantly on the ball and cater to the intrinsic desires of a 21st century airplane passenger. He dismisses potential fears about airlines gathering ever more data on their passengers. "I think today's airlines have a lot of data already about their frequent fliers, and usually frequent fliers see the benefit of a more personalized service."<br/>