Iran is urging the UN to hold the US accountable for the interception of an Iranian passenger plane by two US fighter jets in the skies over Syria last month, which it called an “unlawful” and an “adventuristic act.” Iran’s UN ambassador, Majid Takht Ravanchi, said in identical letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council circulated Friday that Iran “expresses its strongest objections against this violation of international law and will pursue the issue through relevant international bodies.” Ravanchi said a Mahan Airlines Airbus A310 en route from Tehran to Beirut on July 23 “was aggressively and unexpectedly intercepted” by two US F-15 fighter jets while traveling through internationally specified air corridors in Syria’s airspace. “In reaction to the offensive and hazardous manouverings of the United States fighter jets and in order to save the civil aircraft and passengers’ lives, the airliner had to change altitude abruptly, causing injuries to the passengers onboard,” the ambassador said. US Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a Central Command spokesman, said at the time of the incident that a US F-15 “conducted a standard visual inspection” of the Iranian plane “at a safe distance of approximately 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) from the airliner.” He said the inspection was meant to ensure the safety of US coalition troops in al-Tanf in Syria as the plane was flying over that area. <br/>
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Front-line aviation safety specialists for the US government say they fear industry concerns come first, and that senior managers aren’t held accountable for pro-business decisions, according to the results of an employee survey. Surveys and focus groups of FAA employees conducted in the wake of two fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 Max found widespread concern among the agency’s field employees. Some of the polling was done anonymously. A summary of the results was sent to Congress on Friday. Only 39% of respondents said that industry has an appropriate level of influence on FAA safety decisions, the survey found. “They [industry] just keep going up the chain until they get the answers they want,” said one employee, who wasn’t identified. The survey is the latest to shine a light on the FAA and how it operates. The 737 Max was certified by the agency with a flawed flight-control system that helped lead to two crashes that killed 346 people. The plane’s been grounded for almost 18 months. After the Max crashes the FAA hired an outside contractor to survey employees in its aviation safety division, which oversees aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing as well as airlines and others. “It is completely unacceptable that there are employees who lack confidence that their safety concerns are taken seriously,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson wrote to lawmakers.<br/>
Britons may be able to enjoy guilt-free 'green' holidays within years thanks to new eco-friendly aeroplane technology being developed in Oxford. Reaction Engines has begun work on systems which will turn existing commercial aircraft "emission-free", by allowing them to run on ammonia rather than kerosene. Ammonia, different to ammonium nitrate, would be safer than traditional kerosene because it is harder to burn and so less of a fire hazard, the researchers said. When it does burn, it does so without CO2 emissions. The way the system works is that ammonia could be fed in and split into hydrogen and nitrogen, with the former burned to fuel the jet. James Barth, who worked on the project at Reaction, said there were key benefits in using ammonia over pure hydrogen given it could be stored in a plane's wings, as kerosene currently is, and the chemical is less expensive. This would allow commercial airlines to only have to adapt their existing fleet of planes, rather than redesign the models, and would also not result in higher air fares. "There's no reason why, without the right funding, we couldn't have a small-scale demonstrator ready to test within a matter of years," Barth said. It follows a wave of trials on battery-powered planes, with companies such as Rolls Royce, Airbus and Siemens looking into such projects. However, experts have warned that the range of electric planes would be severely limited. Ammonia-fuelled planes, meanwhile, would be able to handle most short-haul flights, although the range would still be less than existing planes. <br/>
Aviation consultancy firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation has warned that India’s civil aviation industry is at breaking point due to massive losses because of flight restrictions during the Covid-19 outbreak and this could take a toll on the country’s air connectivity. On March 25, the Indian government imposed a ban on flights to curb the spread of Covid-19 and only allowed the resumption of flights two months later. Once flights resumed on May 25, airlines were allowed to operate only one-third of their scheduled summer flights, and that was later raised to 45%, but the airlines are still operating below 33% due to low patronage. Passenger loads are still between 55% and 60%. In addition, the abrupt lockdown rule changes implemented by various state governments have impacted schedules, leading to frequent flight cancellations. India’s top domestic airline IndiGo and prominent carrier SpiceJet have posted losses for the April-June quarter against profits in the same period one year ago. The consultancy observed that IndiGo’s losses were consistent with its earlier projection of a consolidated industry loss of US$1.50b to $1.75b.<br/>
Work has reportedly commenced for the $300m expansion of the Pier D international terminal building at Canada’s Vancouver International Airport. Vancouver Airport Authority CEO Tamara Vrooman said that the airport has planned to go ahead with the project. The expansion is expected to be completed and opened for passengers in December 2020. Previously, the building was set to open in June but construction was halted due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Construction started in 2018 and the work will now focus on outfitting the building’s interior. YVR will feature eight additional wide body gates, along with four jet bridge gates when open. It will also feature four remote stand operation bus gates to enhance capacity at the terminal building.<br/>
Faced with the COVID-19 collapse in travellers, Taiwanese airlines have begun offering sightseeing "flights to nowhere" on their passenger jets - including flight attendant lessons for children. At the headquarters of Taiwan's China Airlines in Taoyuan on Saturday, 50 children took a morning course on how serve passengers aboard a mock cabin. Cheng Yu-wei came with his wife and six-year old daughter to "revive that old feeling of travelling". "Maybe it's because we have been bored for too long," Cheng said. Later in the day, the excitable gaggle of kids took to the skies in their new uniforms for a two hour flight over the island and the soaring mountain range that runs down its spine. The flights are part of an innovative attempt by airlines to scramble up some extra cash at a time when their business has all but dried up. Like most airlines around the world, both China Airlines and its main competitor Eva Air have had to mothball a huge chunk of their fleet as international travel evaporates during the pandemic. The two also have a limited domestic business to fall back on. On Saturday, an Eva A330 from Taoyuan International Airport flew over Taiwan's northeast cape, circled Japan's Ryukyu Islands before returning home via the picturesque and rural southeast coast. The total flight time was two hours and 45 minutes. An economy seat is selling for around NT$5,288 (US$180) while business class costs NT$6,288. The China Airlines flight lasts around two hours and will also fly into Japanese airspace before turning around to the eastern coast of Taiwan. Further flights are planned in the coming weeks and both Eva and China Airlines say they have quickly sold out.<br/>