general

With air travel seeing a post-pandemic rebound, the mishandled baggage rate worldwide increased by 24% to 4.35 bags per thousand passengers last year, stated a report by IT and telecommunication services provider SITA. This rise is said to be due to growing passenger volumes and particularly driven by the relaunch of international and long-haul flights. Most of the recovery last year was fuelled by domestic travel and passenger traffic has been evolving since 2020, according to the SITA Baggage IT Insights 2022. The mishandling rate on international routes stood at 8.7%, while it was 1.85% for domestic routes. According to the report, the scope of a bag being mishandled is nearly 4.7 times higher on international routes than domestic routes. Last year, delayed bags constituted 71% of all mishandled bags, a two-point increase compared with 2020. SITA stated: “An increase in long-haul flights with connections in 2021 has pushed up the bags delayed at transfer to 41%, which is four points increase from 2020.” The number of damaged and pilfered bags fell to 23%, while the number of lost and stolen bags rose to 6%.<br/>

A detailed report on the April 20 emergency evacuation of the US Capitol raises new questions about poor communication at a command post designed to ensure security in the skies above Washington. A US Capitol Police official assigned to help monitor aircraft near Congress knew that the plane was authorized to be in the area and wasn’t a threat, and tried to notify colleagues in a phone call, the report by the FAA said. The evacuation—which sent hundreds of people fleeing the Capitol on an April afternoon—occurred shortly after the conversation, the report said. The report was contained in a packet sent to Capitol Hill. The flight that prompted the alert was being operated by an Army parachute team that had been given permission to fly over the Washington Nationals baseball stadium a short distance from the Capitol. It had received FAA permission for the flight. The FAA findings confirm earlier reports that the aviation agency also failed to provide advanced warning to the Capitol Police and prompted an apology from its acting chief, Billy Nolen. “On behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration, I sincerely apologize for the unfortunate confusion created by the unusual military operation on April 20, 2022,” Nolen wrote in a letter dated Friday to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “I recognize that this caused unnecessary stress on you, other members of Congress and their staff, residents, and members of the American public visiting the Capitol area.”<br/>

Joby Aviation said Thursday it had received a certification from the FAA that would allow it to kick start its air-taxi operations commercially. Although the certification gives the necessary clearance and is a significant milestone, the company still has some regulatory hurdles to clear before its five-seater aircraft can legally fly passengers. The FAA's Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate is among the three regulatory approvals critical for Joby's planned launch of all-electric aerial ridesharing service in 2024. The certification will let Joby operate its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as an air taxi service in cities and communities across United States.<br/>

Canada Soccer has cancelled a friendly between the men’s national team and Iran next month, the national governing body said on Thursday, following widespread opposition to the fixture. No reason was given for the cancellation of the game that was set to be played on June 5 in Vancouver and would have marked the first for Canada on home soil since March when they qualified for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar. The game had drawn plenty of opposition from politicians and the families of the Canadians who died aboard a Ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down near Tehran in January, 2020 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had also said he felt it was “a bad idea” to invite the Iran team to Canada. “Over the past week, the untenable geopolitical situation of hosting Iran became significantly divisive, and in response, the match was cancelled,” Canada Soccer said. “While we considered the external factors in selecting the optimal opponent in our original decision-making process, we will strive to do better moving forward.” Canada Soccer also said it will conduct a review of its process for the hosting of international matches and that it is working to find an alternative opponent. A special Canadian forensic team had produced a report in mid-2021 that accused Iran of incompetence and recklessness over the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane. Iran criticised the report as being “highly politicized”.<br/>

European travel businesses have been eagerly awaiting the scrapping of border curbs since the pandemic started. Now that restrictions are lifting, they’re creaking under the strain of surging demand. Delays and cancellations at airports, turmoil at ferry ports, and issues with trains connecting Britain and France have turned the exodus from northern Europe to the sunnier south into an obstacle course for millions of tourists. Staff shortages have been the chief trigger for disruption, with companies that dismissed workers or lost them to other sectors during the Covid‑19 crisis struggling to make up the gap as bookings have rebounded. Carrier disruptions at Easter, the start of Europe’s main travel season, were so widespread that airlines are now looking toward the summer peak with trepidation about their ability to cope with higher passenger loads. Some have cut schedules, especially in the UK, where hiring at companies including British Airways has proved particularly tough. That limits their ability to tap the vacation boom ahead of what may be tougher economic times later in the year. “It’s a setback for carriers such as BA and EasyJet to be forced to pare down capacity and not be able to cash in fully on the massive pent-up demand this summer,” says aviation analyst John Strickland of JLS Consulting.<br/>

European regulators are preparing an initial environmental-protection certification framework aimed at addressing the emergence of new supersonic transport aircraft designs towards the end of this decade. The measures are being laid out in an advanced notice of proposals by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. EASA states that a new generation of supersonic commercial and business aircraft is expected to become operational from the late 2020s. Noise and carbon emission requirements for such aircraft are topics that “need to be addressed”, it says, to ensure a “high, uniform level” of environmental protection. EASA points out that no ICAO standards exist for landing and take-off noise, or emissions, that would apply to supersonic aircraft – and that it intends to develop detailed requirements which would apply until ICAO draws up its own. “Pending ongoing work towards establishing an appropriate [carbon dioxide] limit for [supersonic aircraft], provisions for the standardised measurement and reporting of [carbon] emissions are proposed as an interim step,” it adds.<br/>

Britain set out plans to bolster airlines and airports roiled by the coronavirus pandemic, while emphasizing that growth must be in line with steps to slash carbon emissions and promising a charter for traveler rights. The ten-point strategy revealed by the government Thursday lists ambitions including sustainable growth in both passengers and cargo and the addition of airport capacity where justified, while committing to net zero emissions from UK aviation by 2050 and improvements in the “customer experience.” The Flightpath to the Future plan also targets job creation and a skills upgrade to accommodate technologies resulting from the drive toward decarbonization, including drones, flying taxis and electric planes, and stresses that benefits must be spread across the country as part of a so-called leveling-up agenda. London Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest prior to the pandemic, welcomed the proposals and opportunities for closer contact with ministers, while saying the government must “bring pace to the policies” in order to fulfill its ambitions. Airbus separately provided a boost for Britain’s aerospace manufacturing sector, saying it will open a hydrogen-technology center in the country to help develop a zero-emission plane by the middle of next decade. The government’s aviation roadmap is partly an attempt to restore relations with a sector that complained of being cut adrift during the pandemic, as state aid fell short of the support seen elsewhere despite some of the most stringent travel curbs anywhere. It’s also aimed at assuaging consumer concerns after thousands waited months for compensation when flights were canceled.<br/>

China's finance ministry said on Thursday that it would offer subsidies to Chinese airlines from May 21 to July 20 to help carriers weather the coronavirus-induced downturn and higher oil prices. Cash support will only be provided when average daily numbers of domestic flights per week are lower or equal to 4,500 flights and when the average load factors are lower than 75%, the ministry said on its website. The maximum grant would be 24,000 yuan ($3,574) per hour to the loss-making flights, the ministry added. Analysts expect another year in the red for Chinese airlines in 2022, on top of heavy losses for the past two years, as Beijing sticks with its zero-COVID policy to stop the spread of the virus. Domestic air traffic has plunged because of lockdowns in Shanghai and surrounding cities. Shanghai-based China Eastern said passenger numbers collapsed 90.7% in April year on year, while Shanghai International Airport saw passenger numbers down 98.9% in the same period.<br/>

China's top state-owned airlines are on track to acquire double the number of homegrown planes in 2022 from last year, as the government bolsters support for its budding aviation sector even while travel demand continues to suffer from the coronavirus. China Eastern Airlines announced plans this month to raise up to 15b yuan ($2.25b), including from its parent company, largely to expand the carrier's fleet. It is slated to receive 38 aircraft in the next few years including 24 ARJ21 regional jets and four C919s, both produced by Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, known as COMAC. In commercial service since 2016, the ARJ21 seats roughly 90 and already is used for domestic flights by the China Eastern group. The C919 is sized to compete with the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 with around 160 seats. The plane, designed to propel COMAC to the international stage, is expected to enter commercial service as early as this year under China Eastern. China Southern Airlines and Air China also are buying more Chinese-built aircraft. The three carriers look to receive 31 COMAC planes this year, about twice as many as in 2021, boosting the share of COMAC craft in their fleets by 5 percentage points to 19%. Another 30 planes are slated for delivery in 2023. Neither the ARJ21 nor the C919 has received safety certification in the US or Europe, meaning they can fly only within China and a few other markets. Selling to Chinese carriers is currently the only way that COMAC can recoup its investment and fund new production and development. Yet COVID-19 still hinders travel demand in China. Shanghai was placed under a weekslong lockdown in response to a surge in infections, while Beijing, Guangdong Province and other areas have toughened restrictions on long-distance travel.<br/>

India’s flying public is becoming increasingly frustrated with the nation’s airlines, according to a survey undertaken for Bloomberg, saying that customer service and the behavior of airline staff has deteriorated sharply in the wake of Covid-19. Some 79% of the 15,000 airline passengers surveyed by LocalCircles said they believe carriers in India are compromising on passenger comfort and cutting corners as a result of the pandemic, souring the reopening of what was prior to Covid the world’s fastest-growing aviation market. Topping respondents’ list of airlines whose service was deemed most unsatisfactory was SpiceJet, followed by the country’s biggest airline with a 55% market share, IndiGo. Complaints across all airlines included flight delays, shoddy in-flight service, bad boarding procedures and tatty aircraft interiors. SpiceJet said it is prioritizing automation, technology and sustainability to improve customers’ experience. IndiGo said it is also focusing on digitization to give customers a contactless travel experience, noting that using technology at check-in to boarding and beyond has helped it reduce wait times at airports. The results come as Indian carriers find themselves on the receiving end of a degree of backlash from passengers. In one recent high-profile incident, IndiGo barred a disabled teenager from boarding a flight, saying the boy was causing a disturbance and could pose a safety threat.<br/>

Japan will double the maximum number of people allowed every day to enter at border crossings to 20,000 from June 1 as part of a phased easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday. Japan has maintained some of the strictest border controls in the world over the past two years in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, hammering inbound tourism which had been a major driver of economic growth. “We will raise daily entries to 20,000 and allow travellers from countries with low positive testing rates (for COVID) to enter Japan without testing upon arrival,” Kishida told a symposium. The daily limit will include returning citizens and residents as well as visa holders and visitors on package tours. Travellers from lower-risk countries who are fully vaccinated and boosted will be exempt from quarantine and COVID-19 testing. Travellers on escorted package tours will be admitted from June 10, Kishida added. The resumption of inbound tourism will provide welcome relief for Japan’s battered hospitality sector, though some remain concerned about a possible resurgence of the pandemic as COVID-19 curbs are eased. Japan will prepare for the resumption of international flights to New Chitose airport in the northern tourism-reliant prefecture of Hokkaido and to Naha airport in the southernmost island of Okinawa by the end of June. <br/>

Park24, the largest car park operator in Japan, will convert a parking facility into a takeoff and landing base for flying cars in the western Kansai region in 2025 as part of the World Expo, Nikkei has learned. More companies are entering the business of operating flying cars, which refer to electrically powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft mostly on autopilot, but the lack of landing sites has become an issue. This move by Park24, which runs about 20,000 parking facilities, is expected to spur other operators into entering the space. Park24 will develop a takeoff and landing base in a corner of a parking lot it manages in the Kansai region, close to Yumeshima, a man-made island that will be the site for the World Expo 2025. It will adhere to guidelines for such sites drawn up in Europe and the US, with the aim of eventually expanding the business throughout Japan. Park24 will be the first Japanese parking lot operator to enter the flying car business. It will work with Skyport, a UK-based company that has developed and operates such a base in Europe. The Kansai lot will be able to accommodate aircraft of various sizes, from small ones that can take one or two passengers to those that have a five-person capacity that are suitable for longer flights. European guidelines stipulate that such bases must be at least twice the size of the aircraft they are catering for in terms of both length and width, so that doors can open easily. Generally, an area of approximately 3,000 sq. meters is required, and not all of the parking lots operated by Park24 are suitable for this purpose.<br/>

Air travel in Singapore is recovering and has reached around 40% of pre-Covid levels despite China’s border restrictions, Transport Minister S. Iswaran said. China’s passenger traffic is significant for Singapore, he said. Some 3.6m Chinese residents traveled to Singapore in 2019, accounting for 13% of total visitors, according to data from the local tourism board. China remained among the top sources of visitors to Singapore during the pandemic, but that may be changing as other countries relax border measures. In April, Singapore received just 5,000 visitors from China, less than 2% of total arrivals, data showed. Travelers to China still need to take multiple Covid tests and quarantine upon arrival in the country. Still, there are opportunities for growth in travel, Iswaran told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick and Geoff Cutmore on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum. “We’ve seen a significant rebound in air travel coming through Singapore, in the space of less than two months from mid March to mid May,” said Iswaran. “Our volumes have more than doubled to around 40 odd percent of pre-Covid, and we expect that momentum to continue,” he added.<br/>

Nearly 700,000 international passengers passed through Australian airports in March 2022, an uptick of 60% compared to February. It marked the first full month in which fully vaccinated tourists from around the globe were once again allowed to visit Australia, after the federal government lifted restrictions for tourists from 21 February. It’s a significant result after February saw 436,000 international passengers pass through Australian airports, while 442,000 did so in January, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE). However, despite the strong result, March’s figures still remain 78.8% lower than that of March 2019 – prior to the COVID pandemic – in which 3.2m passengers travelled to or from Australia. Of the 697, 969 international travellers at Australian airports in March, 54 per cent were arrivals into the country. Singapore Airlines continued to make up the largest share of Australia’s international travel market in March, carrying 18.9% of all passengers, followed by Qantas with 14.6%, Emirates with 14.0%, and Air New Zealand with 9.4%.<br/>