The cost of flying cargo around the world has reached record levels as companies attempt to meet surging demand in the run-up to Christmas. Prices have nearly doubled on key air freight routes linking manufacturing hubs in China to consumers in the US and Europe over the past three months, leaving the industry struggling to find enough aircraft to keep up. Prices on routes from Shanghai to North America reached $14 per kilogramme for the first time last week, up from $8 at the end of August and above the previous record of $12 achieved when the pandemic first hit supply chains in early 2020. There have been similar rises from Hong Kong to Europe and the US, and on the transatlantic routes between Frankfurt and North America, according to data from the Baltic Exchange Airfreight index and TAC Freight, cargo data providers. “Everyone knows if they want something on to the shelves before Christmas they have to use air freight,” said Yngve Ruud, head of global airfreight at Kuehne+Nagel, one of the world’s largest freight forwarders. Companies have been moving finished products such as fashion goods and consumer electronics by air, but also components including auto parts or semiconductors. There has also been a rush to order Covid-19 tests and personal protective equipment into Europe to deal with the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to industry executives.<br/>
general
US flight attendants are calling on airports to limit passengers’ access to alcohol before flights, saying the free flow of liquor is fueling clashes once planes are in the air. “We’ve seen an increase in the pushing of alcohol to try and get sales up,” Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson said, citing data showing the number of incidents soaring. Airports are “sending the wrong message about people drinking right up to the second they get on the plane, and even that they can take that alcohol onto the plane.” While a zero-tolerance policy and improved messaging have had some impact slowing a surge in in-flight disruptions, airports have failed to discourage excessive drinking, Nelson said at a IATA conference last week. Southwest and American Airlines have banned on-board alcohol sales to economy passengers through at least January after lobbying from groups including the AFA. The comments from Nelson, whose group represents U.S. cabin crews, may help to further efforts to limit “to-go” alcohol sales at airports. Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson and Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon have called on airport bars to stop selling such drinks for takeaway. In the U.S., outbreaks of inflight violence and unruly behavior during the pandemic have focused on compulsory wearing of face masks. <br/>
The US TSA said Monday that security personnel had confiscated more than 5,700 firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2021, the highest ever in a single year. TSA Administrator David Pekoske told reporters at a briefing the prior yearly record was about 4,400 in 2019 and the current rate of gun detections in carry-on luggage at checkpoints per million passengers is twice the prior high. He said he thinks the increase reflects an increase in firearms being carried by Americans. Airline passengers can transport an unloaded firearm on an airplane but only in checked baggage. "It's a pretty costly mistake to make," Pekoske said, saying TSA will "always proceed with a civil penalty action that will cost thousands of dollars after we complete an investigation." TSA also refers the issue to law enforcement if it is a violation of local or state laws. In November, an accidental shooting at a security checkpoint at Atlanta International Airport prompted chaos. A TSA officer saw a gun during screening and the passenger lunged into the bag and grabbed it, at which point it discharged, the agency said. The incident briefly prompted a halt to air traffic while Atlanta Police investigated. Separately, TSA said it is not clear when a federal mandate requiring masks in transit may end.<br/>
Six former chairs of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday urged the Biden administration to quickly resolve a dispute over the planned use of 5G wireless spectrum that the aviation industry says poses an air safety risk. Former FCC chairs Ajit Pai, Tom Wheeler, Julius Genachowski, Michael Copps, Michael Powell and Mignon Clyburn said in a joint letter they were "concerned" about the FAA recent efforts to revisit the FCC’s 2020 decision to allow use of the C-Band spectrum for wireless use. The former officials said the agencies should work to "resolve the FAA’s concerns expeditiously, but this debate should not be fought publicly in a way that undermines consumer confidence in the process." Last week, the FAA warned that interference from 5G wireless spectrum could result in flight diversions. Asked about the former FCC chairs' letter, the FCC said Monday it continues "to work with federal agencies and the wireless companies so 5G C-band and aviation can safely co-exist." The aviation industry and the FAA have raised concerns about potential interference of 5G with sensitive aircraft electronics like radio altimeters. AT&T and Verizon Communications in November agreed to delay the commercial launch of C-band wireless service until Jan. 5 after the FAA raised concerns.<br/>
A US Senate report released on Monday said the FAA must do a better job overseeing Boeing Co (BA.N) and the certification of new airplanes, as well as review allegations raised by seven industry whistleblowers. The 97-page Commerce Committee report from Senator Maria Cantwell includes concerns raised in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in a five-month period that prompted the plane's 20-month grounding. Congress also passed sweeping reforms in December 2020 to how the FAA certifies new airplanes that the agency is still implementing. "FAA’s oversight of the certification process has eroded," the report found, saying the agency "over time, increasingly delegated away its authority" to Boeing and others. The FAA, the report said, "should take immediate action to address undue pressure at the Boeing" safety oversight office, adding that it is "chronically understaffed." Boeing said it is reviewing the report. "Boeing teammates are encouraged to speak up whenever they have safety or quality concerns," the planemaker said, adding that many issues in the report "have been previously publicized, and Boeing has worked to address them with oversight" by the FAA.<br/>
Hungary's government will put off a planned acquisition of Budapest Airport until after next year's parliamentary elections due to high inflation and volatility in global financial markets, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday. Orban, who faces a tough race for re-election, has said for months he wants to see the airport in domestic hands. Since Orban took power in 2010, his government has boosted Hungarian ownership in strategic sectors such as energy, banking and the media. A consortium led by his government had submitted a revised non-binding offer to buy the airport last month. "We need to pay attention to the budget deficit," Orban told a news conference held jointly with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and leaders of other Central European countries. "For the time being, I believe it is not reasonable to seal this (airport) deal before the elections." In mid-November the owners of Budapest Airport entered into a due diligence process with the government. Local media reported that Hungary had offered E4.44b for the airport, a figure that neither its biggest shareholder, AviAlliance GmbH, formerly Hochtief AirPort GmbH, nor the government confirmed.<br/>
Ghana will fine airlines $3,500 for each passenger who arrives in the West African country without being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the latest measure taken by the country with some of the strictest restrictions in the region. Airlines also will be penalized the same amount for passengers who did not fill out a health declaration form before boarding their flight to Kotoka International Airport, the state-owned Ghana Airport Company announced Monday. While Ghanaians who fly in without meeting the requirement will be allowed to enter the country and undergo a 14-day quarantine, foreigners may be refused entry, the airport authority announced. The new penalties come a day after Ghana began requiring all passengers over the age of 18 to provide evidence of full vaccination against the virus, saying that about 60% of the total new cases recorded in the country had come from the airport during a recent two-week period. “The current increase in cases together with the detection of the omicron variant among international arrivals and the expected increase during the festive season calls for urgent actions to prevent a major surge in COVID-19 cases in Ghana,” the Ghana Health Service said last week in announcing its decision. <br/>
Nigeria is taking diplomatic steps to try to reverse travel bans placed on it by some countries that have added the West African state to their COVID-19 "red lists", Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said on Monday. Sirika on Sunday said he had recommended that Argentina, Britain, Canada and Saudi Arabia be placed on a COVID-19 "red list," which would entail a ban on flights, in retaliation for similar restrictions imposed on Nigeria by those countries. Britain was the first country to announce such a move, which Nigeria has described as unjust and unfair. Several others have restricted the movement of people from some African nations since the Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong. It has since spread to at least 57 countries. "Nigeria has initiated diplomatic steps to make these countries reverse their course," Sirika told reporters. "This is ongoing in the interest of all parties concerned and we expect that positive results would emerge within the next one week," he said at a regular COVID-19 briefing in Abuja. Sirika said a presidential committee working with government ministries was addressing the restrictions imposed on travellers from Nigeria due to the Omicron variant. He added that the government has escalated surveillance and control measures around the country and ramped up vaccination, including making booster shots available.<br/>
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) hopes it can resume licensing pilots in February with the release of an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit after a scandal over fake licenses, an authority official said. The ICAO advised Pakistan in September 2020 to undertake immediate corrective action and suspend the issue of any new pilot licenses after false licenses came to light following the crash of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane in May that year, in which 97 people wer killed. A nine-member ICAO team carried out an audit in Pakistan for 10 days that concluded on Friday. “We are hopeful we will resume issuance of licensing following the release of release of the ICAO audit report expected in February,” Khaqan Murtaza, director general of the PCAA, told reporters on Monday. The pilot licence scandal tainted Pakistan’s aviation industry and hurt flag carrier PIA, which was barred from flying to Europe and the United States.<br/>