The FAA Wednesday issued a directive for Boeing requiring operators of 737 MAX airplanes to conduct additional inspections for the plane’s automated flight control system. The directive makes mandatory instructions released by Boeing in December that recommend planes with more than 6,000 flight hours be subject to specific electronic checks. MCAS, an automated flight control system on the 737 MAX, was tied to two fatal 737 MAX crashes that led to the plane’s 20-month grounding that was lifted in November. Boeing said it “fully supports the FAA mandate “requiring functional checks at certain intervals to the digital flight control system, stabilizer trim, and the primary and secondary aisle stand stabilizer.” The three repetitive inspections are to be done during existing maintenance programs, the FAA said, “to ensure the continued functioning of certain systems throughout the life of the airplane.”<br/>
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The EU agreed additional sanctions on Belarus on Wednesday in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair (RYA.I) flight in Minsk and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board in May, an EU diplomat said. The sanctions, approved by EU ambassadors and to be adopted by the bloc's foreign ministers at a meeting on Monday, target seven individuals with links to the Belarus aviation sector, according to the diplomat. EU ambassadors also signed off on a fourth package of asset freezes and travel bans, to be imposed on more than 70 Belarusian individuals in response to last year's contested presidential election, the diplomat said. This fourth package of measures was already being prepared when the Ryanair jet was forced to land in Minsk on May 23 and opposition blogger Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend were arrested by Belarusian authorities. EU governments described the incident as air piracy and, at the start of June, banned Belarusian airlines from flying over European Union territory or having access to its airports. The latest listing of seven individuals is meant as a stop-gap measure while economic sanctions are discussed to inflict real punishment on President Alexander Lukashenko. They could target bond sales, the oil sector and potash, a big Belarusian export.<br/>
The European Council appears to be “almost walking back” on its commitment to the European single sky initiative to unify the bloc’s air traffic space, a representative of global airline industry body IATA told an event on Wednesday. “The European Council does not seem to be committed to this, and is almost backtracking,” IATA’s European Vice President Rafael Schvartzman said. Airlines have been lobbying for the project to eliminate borders for years but it has consistently run into opposition. <br/>
Airlines renewed their calls on Britain to restart international travel, pleading with the government to allow people vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel freely with the peak summer season just weeks away and as Europe begins to open up. BA, easyJet and Ryanair said Britain's strict quarantine rules which discourage travel will deepen the industry's crisis as July and August, the months when its makes most of its profits, approach."The UK will get left behind because I do see Europe actually moving at a quicker pace to open up," BA CE Sean Doyle said. "We should be acknowledging that vaccinated travellers have an inherently lower risk when they travel than those who don't," he said. "It's crazy not to try and reap that dividend." EU countries have agreed to an easing of travel restrictions from July 1 that will allow fully vaccinated tourists to avoid tests or quarantines. The bloc also agreed on Wednesday to allow non-essential travel from the United States. All EU countries are currently on Britain's amber list, which means if people visit they still have to self-isolate upon their return, even if they have been fully vaccinated. Ryanair CE Michael O'Leary said that Britain should allow vaccinated UK and EU citizens to travel between the United Kingdom and the European Union without the need for quarantine and tests. EasyJet said it was moving planes from the United Kingdom, usually its biggest market, to Europe as that is now where most of its bookings are coming from.<br/>
Tired of merely supplying parts for Western aircraft, major Japanese engineering companies including IHI and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are joining forces with Japan's space agency on research and development in supersonic passenger jets, seen as a key step in the next generation of transportation. Their new public-private initiative, Japan Supersonic Research, was announced Wednesday. Members also include Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Subaru and Japan Aircraft Development Corp. The group aims to participate in international projects with such companies as Boeing, starting around 2030 or so. The project could create new opportunities for Japan's aerospace industry, which is now mostly limited to building wings and fuselages for big aircraft makers elsewhere, such as Boeing and Airbus. Setting up a single research center may enable companies here to not only set a direction for this new technology, but also boost their profit margins. Supersonic jets can slash travel time between Tokyo and San Francisco from 10 hours to six. Though fares will likely exceed those for conventional planes, estimates suggest demand for 1,000 to 2,000 supersonic aircraft over the next decade to serve corporate executives, high-level government officials and wealthy travelers. Supersonic flight could also speed disaster response. Among the main hurdles to commercializing the technology are sonic booms, the loud shock waves created when a plane crosses the sound barrier. The Concorde, a supersonic passenger jet introduced in the 1970s and retired in 2003, was barred from flying faster than sound over land. Story has more.<br/>
TUI is exploring ways to raise fresh capital to help the German travel firm pay back state bailouts, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company is working with advisers to consider options including a potential share sale, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private. It is discussing raising about E1b through a capital increase, though the final size could change, the people said. TUI is likely to wait at least a few weeks before deciding whether to proceed with any fundraising, the people said. It may wait until after the summer holiday season to assess how much it needs, according to the people. The world’s largest tour operator has raised billions of euros from three bailouts since the coronavirus pandemic slammed its business ferrying mainly British and German tourists to warm-weather destinations. TUI, which operates airlines, hotels and cruise ships, has called on the German government and private investors to pitch in on prior fundraisings.<br/>