Passengers who make trouble on international flights face swifter prosecution from next year when a new amendment to a global treaty comes into effect. Incidents involving unruly passengers are less frequent but have become more serious, according to a study by an international airline trade group two years ago which found that 60% of on-board crimes went unpunished. The problem stems from a 1963 agreement among 186 countries, known as the Tokyo Convention, that gave jurisdiction over prosecuting an unruly passenger to the nation where the plane is registered. That means that a passenger who gets drunk and belligerent on an American Airlines flight to France can be prosecuted only in the US, where American Airlines is registered, not in France, where the plane lands. Last week, Nigeria joined 21 other countries to ratify an amendment to the Tokyo Convention, giving the amendment the necessary support for the change to go into effect January 1. The amendment allows countries where the plane lands to prosecute a troublemaker on an international flight. “Everybody on board is entitled to enjoy a journey free from abusive or other unacceptable behaviour,” said Alexandre de Juniac, CEO of the IATA. “But the deterrent to unruly behaviour is weak.” The necessary 22nd nation to ratify the amendment came on November 26 when the secretary general of the ICAO, Fang Liu, accepted the endorsement of the amendment from Nigeria. “The protocol addresses the issue of rising incidents of unruly and disruptive behaviour on board aircraft by significantly improving the ability of [countries] to expand jurisdiction over relevant offences and acts to the [countries] of landing and the [country] of the operator,” Liu said in a statement. <br/>
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Safety regulators want to fine Boeing $3.9m, saying that the company installed wing parts on 133 planes even though it knew the parts were faulty. Boeing said Friday that all the affected planes in use have been inspected and fixed. A spokesman said the company is not aware of any incidents involving the parts. The FAA said Boeing failed to oversee its suppliers. At issue are parts for Boeing 737s known as slat tracks, which sit at the front edge of a plane's wings and guide the movement of panels called slats. The slats help give planes more lift during takeoffs and landings. The FAA said the tracks were made brittle during a process in which they received a coating of cadmium and titanium, and that suppliers notified Boeing of the problem. Boeing still submitted the planes for FAA flight approval even after deciding that the slat tracks “could not be used due to a failed strength test,” according to an FAA statement.<br/>
The Brexit Party, the Conservative Party and their MPs have received donations worth GBP8m from the aviation industry, according to new analysis. The boss of a jet fuel company who regularly donated to the Tories over a decade has given the Brexit Party GBP5.2m in the past six months, figures show. Extinction Rebellion climate campaigners said the donations showed that politicians could not be “trusted to protect the planet while they’re taking money from the biggest polluters”. Figures dating back over the past 18 years show that the Conservatives have accepted GBP2.8m from businesses and individuals linked to airlines. Political parties and individual politicians have received gifts worth more than GBP9m in total, the analysis by DeSmog found. Airports, airlines and aircraft manufacturers have made hundreds of contributions, either in cash or to cover MPs’ travel and airport parking costs, since the Electoral Commission’s online political finance database listings begin in 2001. Of parliamentary candidates who were MPs when the election was called, Liam Fox, former trade secretary, received the most, the figures showed, with GBP19,000 worth of gifts from Virgin Atlantic and BAA. Dr Fox, who has previously voted against measures to limit damaging carbon emissions, earlier this year said the government would continue to support the fossil fuel industry. However, most donations to single MPs were made in 2001, and are understood to have been in the form of free airport parking, which ended that year.<br/>
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has commended the opening of a major infrastructure project – Maafaru International Airport, located on one of the islands of the Noonu Atoll in the Maldives. To support the strategic objectives of the Government of the Maldives, ADFD contributed Dh191m ($52m) towards the project. Serving the northern and eastern regions of the archipelago, the airport was officially inaugurated by the Government of the Maldives. The airport aims to accommodate the surging numbers of tourists arriving from various parts of the world, and drive the growth of the transportation and tourism sectors. In addition, the new airport is set to stimulate logistical and economic activities, and provide new job opportunities for the local population. Story has details.<br/>