general

Airlines canceled thousands of flights for the second time in a week ahead of a massive winter storm that’s forecast to impact areas from Texas to New England. More than 2,200 US flights were canceled on Wednesday and nearly 3,000 scheduled for Thursday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. The National Weather Service said heavy freezing rain is expected to accumulate from Texas through the Ohio River Valley as well as heavy snow through the Upper Midwest. Southwest canceled more than 470 Wednesday flights, or 14% of its schedule, and 805 flights, or 23%, scheduled for Thursday, according to FlightAware. It suspended flights at its home hub of Dallas Love Field on Thursday. American Airlines canceled more than 537 mainline flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. More than a third of the departures scheduled for Thursday from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, American’s biggest hub, were canceled. Airlines including Southwest, American, Delta and United said they would waive fare differences for travelers who plan to rebook flights in the coming days because of the storm. <br/>

The FAA said Wednesday it is proposing training revisions to help pilots avoid overly reliance on autopilot and to ensure they focus on flightpath management. The FAA said it was issuing draft guidance and recommended practices, and said it was important that even on autopilot flight crews "should always be aware of the aircraft's flightpath so they can intervene if necessary." The guidance addresses a NTSB recommendation sparked by a July 2013 accident of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that struck a seawall at San Francisco Airport and fatally injured three passengers. The draft guidance was also prompted by some requirements specified by Congress in late 2019 as part of reforms adopted after two fatal Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people in five months and prompted the best-selling plane's 20-month worldwide grounding. A Congressional Research Service report issued in September noted the crash investigations "raised questions about the increasing use of automated flight control systems and flight crew interactions with those systems, as well as broader concerns regarding human performance and human factors assumptions about pilot reactions to abnormal and emergency situations and alerts." The FAA said the advisory "provides a single framework for operations and training programs. This will help pilots develop and maintain manual flight operations skills and avoid becoming overly reliant on automation."<br/>

The FAA is confident that aviation safety concerns about 5G C-Band deployment will be addressed "safely with minimal disruptions," the head of the FAA will tell US lawmakers on Thursday, according to testimony seen by Reuters. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson will tell a House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee that in the coming weeks FAA will use testing data to "safely enable additional 5G deployment." The aviation industry and FAA has warned 5G interference can impact sensitive airplane electronics like radio altimeters. Dickson, a pilot, noted radio altimeters are one of the most crucial pieces of safety equipment aboard an aircraft and are used in low visibility landings. "Harmful interference affecting any of these systems has the potential to be catastrophic," Dickson's testimony says. "There is no scenario under which harmful interference is acceptable from a safety standpoint." On Jan. 17, airlines chief executives warned of an impending "catastrophic" aviation crisis that could ground almost all traffic because of the 5G deployment. Hours before the planned Jan. 19 deployment, Verizon and AT&T agreed to delay deploying about 510 5G wireless towers near airports. The delay did not prevent dozens of countries from canceling flights to the United States, and it cast the US regulatory system in an ugly light.<br/>

US safety regulators have received more than 100 pilot reports of possible interference from 5G wireless signals -- including three near Chicago O’Hare International Airport -- since the new mobile phone service began less than two weeks ago. The reports of anomalies on aircraft devices known as radar altimeters are being reviewed by the FAA, said three people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak about it. Interference from the new 5G service has been ruled out in many of the cases, one of the people said, and it remains unclear whether the others indicate a safety hazard or just pilots being overly cautious. “We are using our established safety-reporting systems to look into a handful of reports of possible 5G interference,” the FAA said. “So far none of these reports have been validated.” But the reports, combined with the vital role altimeters play in safety, help explain why the FAA has taken such a stringent approach to minimizing risks from the new wireless signals. Radar altimeters that have malfunctioned in recent decades for reasons unrelated to mobile phone signals have been blamed for multiple accidents, including a crash near Amsterdam in 2009 that killed nine as well as several fatal helicopter crashes, a Bloomberg News review of U.S. government and international records has found.<br/>

Airline and tourism groups are pushing to eliminate the government requirement that international travelers provide a negative test for COVID-19 before boarding a US-bound plane. They believe the testing rule is discouraging people from booking international trips. They point to the United Kingdom, which eliminated a similar rule last month. Airlines for America, which represents the nation’s biggest carriers, and 28 other airline, travel and business groups wrote Wednesday to the White House coronavirus policy adviser urging the Biden administration to end the testing requirement. The groups argued that the testing requirement is no longer needed because of the high number of COVID-19 cases already in every state, higher vaccinations rates and new treatments for the virus. “Removing the requirement will greatly support the recovery of travel and aviation in the United States and globally without increasing the spread of COVID-19 and its variants,” they wrote.<br/>

Newly revealed correspondence between the federal government and the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) at the start of the pandemic is raising questions around the regulator's independence. Unredacted emails show senior officials spoke with the agency's top brass about how airlines could compensate passengers for cancelled trips because of COVID-19. Section 39 of the CTA's code of conduct says that "members shall not communicate with political actors or officials of other federal departments and agencies ... regarding a matter that is, was, or could be before the agency." However, the emails indicate that then-transport minister Marc Garneau's chief of staff spoke with the agency's chairman and the department's top bureaucrat in March 2020 about an upcoming CTA statement that airlines could issue flight credits rather than refunds for cancelled trips. The correspondence also shows a senior civil servant at Transport Canada reached out to the arm's-length agency to discuss concerns brought up by Air Transat about having to reimburse customers for flights it cancelled. The CTA's statement in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic that vouchers rather than refunds constitute a "reasonable approach" toward out-of-pocket passengers sparked public backlash and thousands of complaints to the transportation agency. Asked about the issue in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the Liberal government "was there to help Canadians with their refunds" as well as struggling airlines and aviation workers. NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach says the emails and phone call mark a "troubling" example of government "doing the bidding of the big airlines" rather than standing up for customers.<br/>

More than 850 people have been assigned a special number to help avoid being inadvertently ensnared by Canada's no-fly list. A dozen of these travellers have been cleared to board an aircraft as a direct result of having the personal code since the program began in November 2020, says Public Safety Canada. The department has touted rollout of the Canadian Travel Number as a key step in revamping passenger screening procedures after many young children were stopped at airports because their names are the same as, or close to, ones on the no-fly roster. Passengers who have experienced difficulties can apply for a travel number via the Public Safety website to help avoid false matches when booking flights to, from or within Canada. The government requires air carriers to send a passenger's name and date of birth as early as 72 hours before a flight so that their identity can be verified and any false name match can be resolved in advance. The government is now responsible for screening passengers against the Secure Air Travel Act watchlist, commonly known as the no-fly list. Federal officials inform the air carrier should there be any additional screening requirements or an outright prohibition on allowing the person to fly.<br/>

Administrators for Frankfurt Hahn airport have expressed uncertainty over the length of time operations can continue at the facility. Hahn airport’s operator filed for insolvency in October last year, and a search for potential investors commenced. Initial indicative offers were received at the end of January and are undergoing evaluation, although the identities of participants are not being disclosed. A court in Bad Kreuzach opened formal insolvency proceedings against the company on 1 February. Insolvency administrator Jan Markus Plathner, appointed by the court to oversee the process, says restructuring measures have so far enabled the airport to continue operating. “However, we have to examine how long operations can be maintained,” he cautions. “This will depend on how much support we receive from all stakeholders.”<br/>

A commercial flight carrying 64 passengers from Yerevan landed in Istanbul on Wednesday, the first such direct flight in two years, as Turkey and Armenia move to mend badly strained ties. Last month, Turkey and Armenia held what both hailed as "positive and constructive" talks in Moscow, their first in more than a decade, raising hopes that normal relations can be established and their land border - shut since 1993 - reopened. Turkey has had no diplomatic or commercial ties with its small eastern neighbour since the 1990s. The talks in Moscow were the first attempt to restore links since a 2009 peace accord that was never ratified. The two countries are at odds over several issues, primarily the 1.5m people Armenia says were killed in a genocide by Ottoman Turkish forces in 1915. Turkey's transport ministry said FlyOne Armenia, a subsidiary of the Moldovan low-cost airline FlyOne, and Turkish budget carrier Pegasus Airlines had been granted clearance for the Istanbul-Yerevan flights.<br/>

New Zealand on Thursday announced a phased reopening of its border that has been largely closed for two years, but the travel and airline industry said much more was needed to revive the Pacific island nation's struggling tourism sector. Vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia can travel home from Feb. 27 without requiring to isolate at state quarantine facilities, while New Zealand citizens in the rest of the world will be able to do so two weeks later, PM Jacinda Ardern said. Foreign vaccinated backpackers and some skilled workers will be allowed into the country beginning March 13, while New Zealand will allow up to 5,000 international students to enter from April 12. But all travellers would still have to self-isolate for 10 days, Ardern said. Tourists from Australia and other visa-free countries will not be allowed to enter until July and travellers from the rest of the world will be kept out until October under the plan, which will also require them to self-isolate on arrival. Ardern said opening borders in a managed way would allow people to reunite and help fill workforce shortages while ensuring the healthcare system could manage an increase in cases. "Our strategy with Omicron is to slow the spread, and our borders are part of that," she said, referring to the highly contagious variant of the virus currently dominant around the world. New Zealand has had some of the toughest border controls in the world for the last two years, as the government tried to keep the coronavirus out. Foreigners were banned from entering, and citizens looking to return had to either make emergency requests to the government or secure a spot in state quarantine facilities, called MIQ, through a website. Critics have called the process an unfair, lottery-style system. The policies have been mostly successful. A country of 5m people, New Zealand has had about 17,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far and just 53 deaths.<br/>

Sydney Airport shareholders on Thursday were poised to approve a A$23.6b ($16.85b) cash takeover by infrastructure investors, though many small retail investors voted against delisting Australia's only listed airport. The Sydney Airport takeover, one of Australia's biggest-ever buyouts, was backed by 96% of proxy votes cast, but 20.4% of shareholders representing a 4% stake were against the deal. A final tally is due on Thursday. Several retail shareholders said at a meeting that they were disappointed there was not a scrip component to the bid because they wanted to remain invested in the company over the long term. One long-term shareholder said he faced a big tax bill from accepting cash. Chairman David Gonski said the bidders came to the board with an offer, and it did not include the opportunity for shareholders to roll their interests into the unlisted vehicle. There was however, one exception. The consortium's bid was contingent on the company's largest investor pension fund UniSuper folding its 15% stake into the unlisted company rather than accepting the cash on offer to others. After the deal is complete, UniSuper will join IFM Investors, QSuper, AustralianSuper and US-based Global Infrastructure Partners as major shareholders. The purchase is a long-term bet on the travel sector, which has been battered by the pandemic. Record-low interest rates have prompted pension funds and their investment managers to chase higher yields.<br/>

Troubles with Boeing’s 787 programme and pandemic-related pressures pushed aerospace component manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems to a $541m loss in 2021. Still, those results are a positive swing for Spirit following an $813m loss in 2020. Two aircraft programmes that account for a significant portion of Spirit’s revenue – the 737 Max and 787 – have been under immense pressure in recent years, pushing the company to losses. Though the 737 Max programme has started rebounding, production remains well below pre-grounding figures. Meanwhile, Boeing’s deliveries of 787s remain halted amid quality problems. Spirit makes 737 fuselages and 787 forward fuselage sections, engine pylons and wing leading edges. In 2021, Spirit delivered “shipsets” for 1,028 aircraft, up from 920 in 2020. Deliveries of 737 fuselages jumped to 162 in 2021 from 71 one year earlier. But Spirit’s 787 deliveries slipped to just 37 sets in 2021 from 112 in 2020. In 2021, Spirit booked “excess capacity costs” of $218m, “abnormal” pandemic-related costs of $12m and another $242m in forward losses. The forward losses included $154m against the company’s 787 work.<br/>