The FAA wants airlines to complete retrofits of some airplane radio altimeters that could face interference from C-Band 5G wireless service by the end of 2022, according to a memo. The FAA memo said following a May 19 meeting of airlines, manufacturers and wireless carriers that “a collective goal was set to complete” retrofits on some Embraer and Airbus planes by the end of the year. Another meeting is set for June 3. The memo sets out a series of dates for actions by the aviation industry, including by June 1 asking airlines to “commit to purchase filters and installation kits.” The FAA plans to develop a “tool to track and report progress in real time” by May 31, the memo says. Radio altimeters give data on a plane’s height above the ground and are crucial for bad-weather landings. AT&T and Verizon voluntarily agreed in January to delay through July 5 switching on some wireless towers and depowering others near airports just hours before the planned Jan. 19 deployment, averting what airlines had warned would cause a potentially “catastrophic” aviation safety crisis. An airline trade group declined comment. The FAA and altimeter manufacturers divided the U.S. commercial passenger airline fleet into four groups based on their tolerance to interference. Group 1 has the poorest performing altimeters and primarily consists of Embraer regional jets, while Group 2 is largely Airbus A320s, officials said. The FAA wants 1,760 planes in Groups “1 and 2” to be retrofitted this year. None have been completed yet. The memo also says retrofits should be completed for 4,800 Group 3 planes in 2023.<br/>
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A year after the US FAA downgraded Mexico's air safety rating, Mexican airline and government representatives say regaining the coveted Category 1 rating could still be months away. In a letter sent on Monday to Mexico's civil aviation agency, the FAA delayed a technical review required for a possible restoration "by some weeks," dealing a blow to an industry already reeling from a string of safety incidents in Mexico City's airspace. "I think that the recovery will be achieved by September or by the end of November," Deputy Transportation Minister Rogelio Jimenez told local news outlet El Financiero. Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco said in an interview this week that the ministry hopes an upgrade will come "in the next few months." The FAA downgraded Mexico's rating in May 2021. It argued Mexico lacked the "necessary requirements to oversee the country's air carriers in accordance with minimum international safety standards, or the civil aviation authority is lacking in one or more areas such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping, inspection procedures or resolution of safety concerns." Mexican authorities had promised that regaining the rating would be a "quick and easy process," but that has not been the case. "Unfortunately, we still do not see clearly when this recovery of Category 1 will happen," Walfred Castro, director of corporate communications at VivaAerobus, told Reuters on Monday at Mexico's tourism conference in the beach resort city of Acapulco.<br/>
Taxi drivers blocked access to the Mexico City International Airport’s two terminals in an apparent protest against ride-hailing apps on Tuesday, snarling traffic at one of the busiest airports in Latin America. The demonstrations blocked access to terminals 1 and 2 at the Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, according to an afternoon tweet from an account for the airport, and vehicle access in some areas was restricted. A statement from Mexico’s National Transportation Movement, a collective of transportation workers, said it planned to protest at the airport “with the purpose of joining forces so that together we defend our source of work,” in an apparent rally against ride-hailing apps like Uber, which operate to and from the airport. Traditional taxis were “disappearing,” the group said, adding that government authorities had left them “defenseless.” Taxi drivers have blocked major roads in Mexico City in protest against ride-hailing apps in recent years, calling for them to be subject to the same regulations as taxis.<br/>
A Boeing executive said there was no need to revamp the cockpit crew alerting system in its forthcoming 737 MAX 10 jet, as the US planemaker races to complete its certification before a year-end deadline. "I personally have no belief that there's any value in changing the 737," Mike Delaney, Boeing's chief aerospace safety officer, told reporters at its hub north of Seattle. There's no data that says switching to another system is safer, Delaney said, adding that the company was still evaluating its options. The embattled US planemaker is facing an increasingly high-stakes battle to win certification for the largest variant of the 737 MAX before a new safety standard on cockpit alerts takes effect. The deadline for changes was introduced as part of broader regulatory reforms at the FAA after fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Missing the deadline could require Boeing to revamp the jet's crew alerting system and mean separate pilot training - raising costs to airlines and putting orders at risk. Delaney's comments came during a media event where Boeing unveiled new pilot training tools and a revamped data-sharing system. The efforts are part of a long-term global safety initiative, first reported by Reuters in 2019, to reduce risks such as those faced by the crews in two 737 MAX crashes. The event was timed to the release of an annual safety report, required by a 2021 legal settlement over fatal 737 MAX crashes. Boeing also separated the CEO and board chair positions, and is creating an ombudsperson program to provide Boeing employees handling certification work with a way to raise concerns.<br/>
Boeing is taking steps to bolster safety and address criticism that it lacked a robust, in-house oversight program in the wake of two fatal 737 Max accidents. Even so, there’s still much to be done some three years after the twin tragedies, which killed 346 people and sparked a global grounding of the Max aircraft, plunging Boeing into crisis, the US planemaker’s Chief Aerospace Safety Officer Michael Delaney said. “The reality is we are where we are,” Delaney said on Monday in the US. “We have to build forward. We have to extend our hand,” he said, providing the first detailed overview of the measures Boeing is putting into place to address the miscues and lapses that contributed to the two tragedies in 2018 and 2019. Boeing’s reputation for quality and safety was badly damaged as a result of the incidents and it’s grappling with tougher regulatory scrutiny. The planemaker hasn’t delivered any 787 Dreamliners in almost a year as it addresses lapses in its factories, and some employees are still afraid to buck a traditionally top-down management system. Delaney, who took over the newly created position last year, is trying to instill a more open and transparent culture where employees speak up without fear of retaliation. That’s one facet of a larger framework he’s putting in place, known as a safety management system, that uses data and other tools to address risks before they flare into broader issues. His deputy, Al Madar, pointed to one counterintuitive sign the approach is starting to take root: Boeing saw a record number of safety reports filed by employees in March and April.<br/>
Several Mexican airlines plan to resume operations at a little-used airport outside Mexico City after a decision to cap flights out of the capital's crowded main airport following a series of safety incidents. Beginning this summer, discount airlines VivaAerobus and Volaris will resume operations to and from the Toluca International Airport in neighbouring Mexico State, some 65 km west of the capital's main hub. Volaris said it would resume some routes and launch several more to and from the Toluca International Airport Tuesday at a tourism conference in the beach resort city of Acapulco. VivaAerobus said last week it would re-launch two routes and open two more from the Toluca airport "to keep growing its offering" in the larger Mexico City metropolitan area. Mexico's government said earlier this month it would cap operations at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and begin moving dozens of flights to a newly built hub, the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), after the string of incidents fed concern about air safety in the capital's skies. In one such recent situation captured on video, two Volaris planes came close to crashing at AICM after one was given permission to land on the already-occupied runway. Aeromexico said in a news conference Monday that for the moment, the carrier only had plans to operate out of the AICM and the newly opened AIFA. "That's our focus for the moment," Rodrigo Sandoval, Aeromexico's director of banks and loyalty, said following the conference.<br/>
Dutch largest trade union FNV on Tuesday threatened "large-scale" labour action next week at Amsterdam's overcrowded Schiphol airport, scene of long queues and cancelled flights over the past two months. The threat to down luggage comes as passengers again this week face long queues at one of Europe's busiest airports. Schiphol's CE broke off a visit to the World Economic Forum to deal with the problem. "Something has to change, we can't continue like this," said Joost van Doesburg, spokesman for the FNV labour union which represents the majority of unionised staff at Schiphol. "Passengers and workers are literally falling over from fatigue," he said. "If we don't have an agreement, we will start with labour action on June 1, including work stoppages," Van Doesburg said. The FNV is set to meet airport delegates again on Wednesday, but could not say whether Schiphol boss Dick Benschop would join the discussion. Schiphol officials confirmed Benschop flew back from Davos in Switzerland to deal with the problem. Both Schiphol and the Dutch national carrier KLM have been battling staff shortages as passenger numbers picked up to pre-Covid levels since the Dutch government dropped most pandemic restrictions in March. "It's not clear whether these shortages will be solved before the summer, the NOS public broadcaster said. "It's busy again today Schiphol, just like over the May holidays," added Schiphol spokeswoman Willemeike Koster. "We're trying our best, but passengers must keep this in mind when they travel," Koster told AFP. Airlines too including KLM, have warned of delays and cancellations.<br/>
The Taliban will sign an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on operating airports in Afghanistan, the group's acting deputy prime minister said on Tuesday, after months of talks with the UAE, Turkey and Qatar. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar made the announcement in a Tweet and later told reporters in Kabul that his administration was renewing an airport ground handling agreement with the UAE. It was not immediately clear whether the agreement went beyond existing arrangements or if it included airport security, a sensitive issue for the Taliban who fought for decades against US-led NATO troops and say they do not want the return of international forces. The UAE's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A source briefed on the negotiations told Reuters that a sticking point in the negotiations with Qatar has been Doha's condition that Qatari security personnel be present at the airport. Qatar and Turkey had already sent temporary technical teams to help airport operations and security after the Taliban took over in August last year as foreign forces withdrew. The airport talks have demonstrated how countries are seeking to assert their influence in Afghanistan even as the hardline Islamist group largely remains an international pariah and its government not formally recognised by any country. The Emiratis are keen to counter diplomatic clout enjoyed there by Qatar, sources told Reuters last year as talks began. <br/>
Japan's government on Tuesday started a trial reopening to foreign tour groups, as a first step toward a planned wider relaxation of rules in June, as the country emerges from a long border shutdown due to COVID-19. The government will draw up guidelines for a safe revival of tourism from information gathered in this trial. However, with only 50 participants in the project, there are worries that there will not be enough data collected, which could delay a full reopening. Japan has already opened to foreigners, to an extent, with a limit of 10,000 visitors per day but these arrivals tend to be workers and students under special visas. On Tuesday afternoon, a group of tourists arrived from the U.S. at Tokyo's Narita Airport. They will stay for eight days, taking tours to popular destinations such as Nikko Toshogu Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture and Matsumoto Castle in Nagano Prefecture. "I want to see the difference between Hawaii and Japan on measures to prevent infections at tourist spots and restaurants," said one of the participants, a woman who runs a travel agency in Hawaii. Six travel agents will take a total of 15 groups during the trial period that lasts until early June. Tourists from Singapore, Thailand and Australia are also expected to take part in the project. Each tour group will comprise up to four people, who will be accompanied by a tour guide. These tourists will have their temperatures taken daily. The tour guides will also carry antigen test kits, and if an infection is suspected, arrangements will be made with local medical facilities.<br/>
The Korea Airports Corp. (KAC) will resume international flights and activate local airports network to pave the way for the industry's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, its chief said Tuesday. KAC President and CEO Yoon Hyeong-jung, who took office in February, said that the "super-converged global strategy," or the vitalization of international travel from local airports via the integration of advanced technologies with various sectors, is the company's prime focus for its post-pandemic recovery. Yoon said that the coronavirus pandemic has triggered an unexpected growth in domestic tourism and revealed the potential of local airports and travel destinations. The KAC plans to reinforce the network of the country's local airports and meet growing travel arising from the global popularity of Korean content and culture. The KAC plans to open seven additional local airports across the country, the first of which will open on Ulleung Island in 2025. The organization operates 14 international and domestic airports nationwide, except for Incheon International Airport, and provides integrated aviation services. According to the KAC, a total of 22 international routes with 136 weekly flights will resume at five airports from June, which will represent three percent of pre-pandemic levels. Only 0.5 percent of the figure from 2019, or 156 air routes to 13 countries, are currently active at Gimhae and Daegu airports as of May. The routes that will be resumed next month include the flights between Gimpo and Haneda, Japan; Jeju and Singapore, and Bangkok and between Gimhae and Guam, Saipan, Fukuoka, Bangkok, Singapore and Cebu.<br/>
Hong Kong will probably keep mandatory hotel quarantine requirements for incoming travellers until at least the end of June, its outgoing leader said, despite business leaders’ growing calls to join the rest of the world in opening up. CE Carrie Lam said Tuesday at a regular press briefing that a "significant amount” of the city’s daily infections still came from imported cases. Considering new variants were emerging globally, the financial hub still had to be extremely careful in loosening restrictions on border controls, Lam added. "It’s very unlikely that during my term there would be more relaxations on the border controls,” she said. "In other words, we will still have the hotel quarantine. We will still require vaccination before a passenger can board a plane to Hong Kong and we will still impose the test and hold, whether at the airport or at a hotel, for a PCR test, in order to keep Hong Kong safe.” Lam’s term expires at the end of next month, clearing the way for former Chief Secretary John Lee to be installed as leader on July 1 -- the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule.<br/>
Deutsche Boerse's commodity exchange EEX will launch a range of voluntary carbon offset products to help bring transparency to the market, it said on Tuesday. Many global companies such as oil majors Shell and BP have pledged to reach net zero emissions but will need to buy or generate carbon credits to offset the emissions they are unable to cut from their operations. Carbon credits can be generated from a range of projects such as planting trees or switching to less-polluting fuels, and are currently traded in a small but growing market, often on a project-by-Project basis. “While companies first-and-foremost need to reduce their own emissions, carbon offsets are a legitimate tool, especially for hard-to-abate emissions,” EEX CEO Peter Reitz said. “In this context, robust, trustworthy and secure Voluntary Carbon Markets are instrumental to generate financial investments which are critically needed for a net-zero future,” he said. EEX said the contracts would be offered first, on June 17, through its North American platform, Nodal Exchange, and later in 2022 on its European platform. Its Verified Emission Reduction (VER) CORSIA eligible product meets standards set under the global airline industry carbon offsetting scheme called CORISA.<br/>