The world’s airlines suffered 15 fatal accidents in 2021, causing a total of 134 deaths. Within the 12-month period there was only one fatal accident involving a large passenger jet: a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 which crashed in Indonesia. All 61 people on board died in the 9 January 2021 accident. All the other fatal accidents recorded last year involved turboprop, piston-engined or business jet-type aircraft, many of them freighters. While the total accidents and fatalities were both unexceptional when ranked against air safety statistics from recent years, comparisons with pre-pandemic numbers are of limited value because of the marked reduction in commercial airline activity in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020 – the first year in which airline business was seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic – flight operations were more than 70% down compared with 2019. Twelve fatal accidents and 332 deaths were recorded in 2020, versus respective figures of 22 and 297 in 2019, when the amount of flying was far higher. A full analysis of airline safety in 2021, along with a detailed list of accidents and incidents, will be published in the February issue of Flight International.<br/>
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Federal transportation officials want AT&T and Verizon to postpone their planned release of expanded 5G wireless services this week, citing fears of signal interference that they said could pose risks to flight safety. On Sunday, the wireless companies responded and said no. In a letter sent on Friday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Steve Dickson, the head of the FAA, asked the two wireless companies to delay their planned introduction, on Wednesday, of new 5G technology for a “short period” of up to two weeks. Failing to reach a deal “will force the US aviation sector to take steps to protect the safety of the traveling public,” the officials wrote. “These steps will result in widespread and unacceptable disruption as airplanes divert to other cities or flights are canceled, causing ripple effects throughout the US air transportation system.” On Sunday, AT&T and Verizon said they intended to proceed with their 5G expansion. The aviation industry had nearly two years to upgrade any equipment that might be affected by the new spectrum use, the companies said. “Our two companies are deeply committed to public safety and national security, and fortunately, the question of whether 5G operations can safely coexist with aviation has long been settled,” John Stankey, the CE of AT&T, and Hans Vestberg, Verizon’s CE, wrote in a joint letter. The fight could add to the turmoil that has been plaguing airlines and their passengers in the past week, as carriers battled bad winter weather and a coronavirus wave that thinned their staffing during a peak holiday travel period.<br/>
Thousands of US flights were canceled over New Year's weekend as a combination of Covid-19 disruptions and wintry weather slowed travel. Flight cancellations have trended up steadily since Christmas Eve, hitting a new peak Saturday as millions travel over the holidays. Data from the website FlightAware shows more than 4,731 flights were canceled globally on Saturday — by far the largest day of cancellations since the meltdown began Christmas Eve. At least 2,739 of the cancellations were within, into or out of the United States. Sunday cancellations in the United States already number 2,600 flights, FlightAware showed, and global cancellations reached roughly 4,000. Sunday is generally the busiest travel day of the week, and this Sunday is likely a heavy travel day as the Christmas holiday and New Years week wrap up. The TSA said Thursday it expected to screen 10m people from Friday through Monday. Southwest, JetBlue, Delta and American Airlines each have over 100 canceled flights Sunday. Including Sunday, airlines have canceled more than 14,000 flights in the last 10 days, including Christmas Eve. The problem is likely to continue into next week because it takes time for airlines to recover from the weather issues alone. More than 310 US flights are already canceled for Monday. The cancellations were across the board for US carriers. The big four on Saturday: Southwest canceled 13%, Delta 10%, American and United 8%. One quarter of flights departing Chicago O'Hare Sunday were canceled, after 44% of flights out of O'Hare were canceled Saturday and 54% of flights were canceled from Midway. Allegiant canceled 27% of its Saturday schedule, or 64 flights. Spokeswoman Hilarie Grey acknowledged weather and Covid-19 staffing issues. "As you've noted, we continue to have an unusual number of cancellations this week — some have been due to severe weather, and some due to other factors -— including the type of unanticipated staff impacts from COVID experienced by other airlines and partners in places where we fly. "The ongoing impact of these factors is not something we can predict, but we do anticipate additional delays and cancellations this week, unfortunately. Of course when an unanticipated disruption to travel occurs, customer care notifies the affected passengers directly and relays options to be re-accommodated to another flight, receive a refund, credit or other compensation."<br/>
The FAA is warning more air travel headaches may be in store, even as airlines cancel thousands of flights because of coronavirus crew shortages and other issues. The FAA said Friday an "increased number" of its own employees are testing positive for the virus. That could force it to implement health and cleaning procedures that reduce the number of flights the system can handle. "To maintain safety, traffic volume at some facilities could be reduced, which might result in delays during busy periods," the FAA said. Airlines canceled more than 11,000 flights since Christmas Eve, including more than 1,000 already scrapped from Saturday and Sunday schedules. But none of those were the result of FAA issues, the agency said. The TSA said Thursday that it has "adequate staff to cover flight schedules and passenger volumes." Airlines have been canceling flights as they face staffing shortages. They had been staffing up and bringing back employees from cost-cutting leaves of absence. Airline payrolls numbered 718,000 in October, the most recent data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, up from 669,000 a year earlier. But the industry says the omicron variant of the coronavirus is sidelining its teams, and successfully asked federal officials to cut back the guidelines for isolation and quarantine. As airlines grapple with crews unavailable for work or stranded out of place, several are signaling the disruptions will persist.<br/>
Frequent testing, combined with vaccines and masking, has been repeatedly cited as the key to a holiday season closer to the “normal” of prepandemic times. But for international travelers who need tests to enter their destinations, getting tested in time is easier said than done. Finding a test has become increasingly difficult — appointments are booked and walk-in sites often have hourslong waits. And even if you can get a test, it is far from guaranteed that your results will come back in time for you to board. Making it even more difficult are the ever-changing requirements for international travel, with the testing deadlines often a moving target. In recent weeks, some places have shortened the window for valid test results, including the Cayman Islands — previously, a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours was sufficient for entry. Testing has been a repeated pain point throughout the pandemic, from the limited availability and turnaround times that could stretch as long as a week in the spring of 2020 to the shortage of at-home tests during the Delta surge last summer. But the one-two punch of the highly contagious Omicron variant and the holiday season has led to a huge demand for tests that the United States was, by and large, not prepared to meet. For some travelers, that means that the best-laid plans, and even backup plans, may fall through. “We have as much test volume now as we did in the large wave that we saw last holiday season,” said Alicia Zhou, the chief science officer of Color, a Burlingame, Calif., health technology company that has partnered with organizations across the country to provide large-scale testing and vaccination programs. <br/>
Denmark's government has announced a goal to make domestic flights fossil fuel free by 2030. In her New Year's address, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she wanted to "make flying green". However she acknowledged that the solutions to reach her target were not yet in place. Denmark is aiming for a 70% cut in overall carbon emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. "To travel is to live and therefore we fly," said Frederiksen, announcing her plan. "When other countries in the world are too slow, then Denmark must take the lead and raise the bar even more," she said. She added that achieving green domestic flights would be difficult but researchers and companies were working on solutions. Airbus has announced plans to develop hydrogen-fuelled planes that could be operational by 2035. If the hydrogen used to fuel them is generated using renewable energy, this could be a way for Denmark to reach its goals. However it is unclear if the technology will be ready, and costs sufficiently low, for the 2030 target to be reached.<br/>
The seven Australian women suing the Qatari government for forcing them to undertake invasive searches at its airport are now also complaining to an international authority on business standards. Marque Lawyers’ partner Damian Sturzaker said his clients hoped the move would force authorities to ensure no other passengers would be forced to endure such an ordeal. In October 2020, 13 Australian women on board a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Sydney were asked to leave their aircraft before being escorted to ambulances for an genital checks, supposedly carried out as staff tried to find the mother of a baby abandoned at the airport. Seven are now pursuing legal action against Qatar because they say they were left traumatised and received no personal apology or compensation. They will now also be lodging a formal complaint with the Australian National Contact Point for the OECD, which aims to provide “conciliation services” to resolve complaints against multinational businesses. “Even before they engaged our firm, this group of women wrote to the Qatari parties and received no response,” Sturzaker said.<br/>
Changi Airport is flying high again in air cargo flow, with two years of pandemic-induced global disruptions giving way to rising demand fuelled by supply chain disruptions and an online shopping boom. According to data provided by Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Friday, total airfreight throughput from January to November in 2021 hit 1.76m tonnes - 96% of the 1.84m tonnes reached over the same period in pre-pandemic 2019. It was also a 26% jump from the 1.4m tonnes moved from January to November 2020, when throughput for the full year fell to 1.54m tonnes - from 2.01m tonnes in 2019 - at the height of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns worldwide. CAG noted that throughput for September and October last year surpassed 2019 benchmarks, with air imports and exports from January to November last year exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 8%t. Air imports, exports and transshipments are the primary components of air cargo movements. As at the first week of December 2021, Changi Airport was registering some 1,000 weekly scheduled and charter cargo flights - including passenger aircraft converted to carry cargo in their holds - connecting the hub to more than 70 cities.<br/>
Over 220 flights connecting Hokkaido to other parts of Japan were canceled Saturday after the country’s northernmost main island was hit by another day of heavy snow. The cancellations at New Chitose Airport, the region’s main airline hub, were equivalent to 60% of flights arriving at or departing from the airport in a day, according to its operator. Runways were closed for around three hours after noon for snow removal, causing three flights from Narita Airport near Tokyo to turn back, according to the flights’ operators Jetstar Japan Co. and Peach Aviation Ltd. Around 130 trains, including a rapid service linking Sapporo with New Chitose Airport, were also canceled. According to the Meteorological Agency, the cold snap is expected to gradually ease over Saturday night, but heavy snowfall is forecast to continue in some areas across northern and eastern Japan through Sunday.<br/>
A year-end order bonanza for Airbus has swept away the lead built up by Boeing and put the European planemaker in position to claim bragging rights for 2021. Boeing amassed an order advantage in early 2021 fueled by pent-up demand for its 737 Max as the single-aisle workhorse came off a two-year grounding. Through October, its lead stood at 428 aircraft, based on figures reported by the two planemakers. But Airbus cashed in during the last two months of the year, notching major wins at the Dubai Airshow in November and snatching narrow-body accounts at Qantas and Air France-KLM in mid-December. In the final week of the year, the European planemaker landed 40 firm orders from leasing firm Aviation Capital Group, while a tentative deal reached with US giant Air Lease Corp. in Dubai was expanded to 116 jetliners and has now been finalized, according to an Airbus spokesman. With those added in, Airbus edged Boeing by 58 planes, based on a Bloomberg calculation of announced orders. Airbus may also be able to claim victory on a net basis. Through November, Boeing had reported 457 net orders for 2021, with Airbus trailing at 368. But the European manufacturer’s December haul pushed its annual total to some 664 jets before netting out any cancellations that haven’t been disclosed. That compares with 476 for Boeing, which notched a December freighter deal with UPS. <br/>
Buried deep inside the Rolls-Royce plant at Filton in Bristol is a bare brick room where the Olympus engines that powered Concorde and the Pegasus fans for the Harrier jump jet were put through their paces. Now it is testing a generator the size of a washing machine drum designed to burn green fuels and produce enough electricity to power the passenger planes of the future. The challenge is to radically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by aviation. While carmakers and other industries can move at speed, the problem for planes is neatly summarised by Rolls-Royce's chief project engineer, Adam Newman. "If your hybrid Jaguar needs to pull over to the roadside, that's one thing, but things like that can't happen at altitude." Rolls-Royce plans to get around these issues by introducing more efficient jet engines for the next generation of passenger planes to cut the amount of carbon released per passenger per mile. Its next model, the UltraFan, will be 25% more fuel efficient than its 1990s-era predecessor. It does so by being very big - its diameter is slightly smaller than that of a London Underground tunnel - and shifting more air through a larger fan, improving efficiency. Theoretically another 20 to 30% of fuel efficiency can be squeezed out of the turbofan jet engine design, says Alan Newby, director of aerospace technology and future programmes, although size limits and high temperatures make that ever more challenging. Story has more.<br/>