The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has reiterated its belief that no pilot shortage exists in the US, and instead blamed airlines’ scheduling exuberance and a failed regional carrier model for recent operational disruptions. “The United States is producing a record number of pilots, yet some are still trying to claim we need to weaken aviation safety rules to fix a problem that doesn’t exist,” ALPA President Joe DePete said June 7. ALPA stands alone in its view that there is no pilot shortage in the US. The CEOs of the big three carriers — American Airlines, Delta, and United Airlines — all have said their regional affiliates face challenges hiring pilots. And even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has acknowledged a shortage, saying in May that it was a “national issue” that was “disproportionately affecting smaller regional carriers.” “Airlines aren’t canceling profitable routes, trimming capacity as domestic demand is soaring, leaving fares on the table and otherwise taking revenue hits because they want to play this ‘Is the earth flat or is it round?’ with the collective bargaining units,” Regional Airline Association (RAA) CEO Faye Malarkey Black said in response to DePete’s comments. Black added that the pilot shortage is real and said ALPA was seizing an opportunity to advocate for higher wages for its members. She added that regional airlines have been raising wages and offering bonuses.<br/>
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The United States on Wednesday moved to lift some Trump-era restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba even as it fended off criticism for blocking the Communist-run island and long-time foe from attending a regional summit this week. The amended regulations, set to be published in the US Federal Register on Thursday, will provide further fine print around a broader easing of U.S. restrictions on Cuba first announced by the administration of President Joe Biden in May. A Treasury Department official said publication of the new regulations was purposefully aligned with the US-hosted Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. The conference was initially conceived as a platform to showcase U.S. leadership and support for Latin America. But that agenda has been partially undermined by a boycott by some regional leaders upset at Washington's decision to exclude Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Washington has said it has concerns about human rights and a lack of democracy in those three nations. The Cuba-related rule changes this week allow US citizens to once again travel to Cuba on group educational trips hosted by US-based travel companies or organizations, and to attend professional meetings and conferences in Cuba. The regulations also lift a $1,000 quarterly limit on family remittances to Cuban nationals who are close relatives and allow US citizens to send funds to non-family members on the island.<br/>
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the federal government is working on new measures to help ease delays at major airports, adding that a “similar phenomenon” is happening worldwide. The minister says working groups that include airports, airlines, public health and federal officials are meeting up to three times a week to try and find solutions. But when pressed for details about when changes are expected, Alghabra says he's not yet ready to announce new measures. People travelling through Canadian airports have been experiencing long lines and flight delays as post-pandemic travel ramps up, particularly at Toronto Pearson airport. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority are both hiring new staff, adding it's important that airports also ensure they have enough employees. The Conservatives have been calling on the government to lift travel restrictions, which require anyone returning from outside the country to confirm their vaccination status, and end the use of the ArriveCan app and stop random COVID-19 testing at airports. “Since the low point of the pandemic, travel is up 700 or 800%, in that range,” Mendicino said Tuesday. “Right now, the latest statistics that we have is that roughly three per cent, only three per cent, of all travellers at Pearson and Vancouver International are waiting more than a half-hour.” Alghabra said the federal cabinet is talking about the mandates on a regular basis as it has throughout the pandemic, and “sometimes we'll make adjustments.” “It's also important to note that this phenomenon is happening at airports across the world,” Alghabra said. “I'm not saying this to say that there's no responsibility here.”<br/>
Some Russian airlines are weighing setting up Turkish-based carriers to get around the sanctions that have prevented them from leasing aircraft and accessing maintenance and repair facilities following the invasion of Ukraine. Pegas Touristik, which owns Nordwind Airlines, and Anex Tourism Group, which operates Azur Air, are considering basing new airlines in Turkey and have had discussions with leasing companies about getting planes, according to people familiar with the matter. Unlike state-owned Aeroflot, which flew to some 56 countries before the invasion of Ukraine, Azur Air and Nordwind mainly ferry Russian holiday-goers to tourist destinations. While based in Russia, both are part of larger tour companies controlled by Turkish businessmen. The carriers haven’t been individually sanctioned, so the moves wouldn’t violate the rules, the people said. EU sanctions forced leasing companies, mainly based in Ireland, to terminate leases on planes to airlines in Russia and barred the carriers from flying in European airspace. The airlines in turn have refused to return planes to lessors after the Russian government, determined to maintain the country’s air links, forced them to seek permission before handing back aircraft. Anex may base a new unit in Antalya, the main hub for Turkey’s southern coast, with a fleet of Boeing narrow- and wide-body jets, one of the people said. The group is in discussions with several lessors including Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and Aviation Capital Group, as well as AerCap Holdings and Boeing Capital Corp., according to that person. <br/>
Workers at France's main Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris will strike on Thursday to demand better pay and working conditions, the CGT trade union said, as European airports struggle to deal with a sudden pickup in passenger numbers. "We demand a 300 euro raise for all," the union said Wednesday, pointing to rising inflation, and working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier on Wednesday, France Info radio reported the strike would result in the cancellation of a quarter of the airport's flights. "We were present during the most critical periods linked to COVID and worked in difficult conditions, lack of protection, masks, gel," the union said in the statement, also citing COVID-related layoffs which can weigh operationally. Europe's aviation sector is looking forward to a peak summer season free of substantial coronavirus restrictions in most countries worldwide for the first time since 2019. However, airlines and airports are struggling to cope with a rebound in demand with staff shortages leading to cancelled flights and long queues. <br/>
Travellers faced disruption across Italy on Wednesday as air traffic controllers went on strike and unions also called out workers from budget airlines on four-hour stoppages, prompting the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Around 360 flights have been cancelled with over 4,000 passengers affected, a spokesperson for the UIL Trasporti union said on Wednesday. Passengers across Europe have endured delays and cancellations over the past week as airlines and airports struggle to cope with a rebound in travel at the start of the summer season. Italian unions FILT-CGIL and UIL Trasporti called a four-hour strike starting from 0800 GMT for Ryanair workers in Italy, complaining about a cut in pay linked to on-board sales and tough labour conditions at Europe’s biggest budget airline. Pilots and flight attendants of easyJet were also striking from 1100 to 1500 GMT. Ryanair denied that any of its crew had joined in the strikes in Italy but added that it had cancelled a number of flights because of action by air traffic controllers in northern and central Italy. “These ATC (air traffic control) strikes are completely beyond our control and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience they will inevitably cause,” Ryanair said. Flight controllers from Italy’s ENAV walked out for 12 hours on Wednesday. EasyJet also blamed the controllers for disruption to its schedules. “Around 24 flights to and from the UK have been cancelled in advance to mitigate the impact on customers’ plans today and provide the option to rebook before travelling to the airport,” easyJet said. Italy’s ITA Airways had re-routed approximately 99% of its passengers to avoid the strike, the airline said.<br/>
World football governing body FIFA has said that it will host the first-ever carbon-neutral World Cup this year -- but not everyone's buying it. Marking World Environment Day on Sunday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino reiterated a pledge to have a green tournament, saying the body "is playing its part" for the environment "so I call on all of you to raise the FIFA green card for the planet," he said. Host nation Qatar, the world's largest emitter per capita of carbon dioxide, has said it will keep emissions low and remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as the tournament produces by investing in projects that will capture the greenhouse gases. Climate activists aren't convinced, and one German politician has accused the organizers of "greenwashing" the event -- a term used to call out those who try to cover their damage to the environment and climate with green initiatives that are either false, misleading or overstated. "There is no such thing as a carbon-neutral world championship," Michael Bloss, a member of the European Parliament for Germany's Greens party, said last week. "It's a bit of a punch in the face" for environmental efforts, Bloss said. "Calling it a green championship is bizarre."<br/>Story looks at why environmentalists and advocates for climate action are skeptical about the organizers' claims.<br/>
Europe could produce 1.83m tonnes of e-kerosene in 2030 and save about 5m tonnes of CO2 if policymakers boosted the market by lifting targets for its use, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations said on Thursday. E-kerosene, sometimes called synthetic kerosene, is an SAF produced from CO2, water and renewably-sourced electricity. SAFs are vital for the aviation industry's efforts to cut carbon emissions because most planes are too large to switch to battery power, as is happening in the car industry. But they are currently expensive due to their limited availability, which makes airlines reluctant to buy them. Investors, in turn, do not want pay to make a product for which there is little demand. According to the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), higher blending mandates - making it compulsory for all jet fuel supplied to EU airports to contain a certain proportion of SAFs - could give investors the assurance they need to expand production. E-kerosene is the most sustainable SAF as the production of other SAFs from waste oil cannot be scaled up to the same degree and using crops such as rapeseed requires land, T&E said. Fuel blending mandates are currently being negotiated in the context of ReFuelEU Aviation - part of the European Commission's "Fit for 55" climate package - but the current proposals are below manufacturers' production targets, T&E said.<br/>
Sydney Airport has announced it is on the lookout for thousands of additional workers across multiple facets of its operations, in anticipation of strong travel demand during the July school holidays. It comes after the airport faced significant scrutiny in April, after an influx in passengers, combined with staff shortages, resulted in hours-long queues at airports, increased cancellations, and passengers missing flights. The airport revealed on Wednesday that over 5,000 jobs are currently vacant across 800 different organisations within the airport, including retail, hospitality, cleaning, security, and airport ground handler positions. In order to aid potential employees into roles with over 40 employers within the airport, Sydney Airport said it will host a jobs fair on Thursday, 16 June, from 10am to 4pm on level 3 of its T1 International Terminal. Job applications will be taken on the spot. “Fifteen thousand jobs were lost at the airport during the pandemic and even though everyone started recruiting heavily when borders looked like opening, we’ve still got 5,000 roles to fill,” said Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert. “Our security contractor and ground handlers have been advertising jobs since December and have brought 500 staff on board since the start of the year, but they have another 1,200 roles to go which is incredibly challenging in this market.”<br/>
Airbus confirmed on Wednesday it delivered 6% fewer airplanes in May, compared to the same month last year, as the aerospace industry wrestles with tight supply chains. It delivered 47 jets, bringing the total for the year so far to 235, up 7% from the first five months of 2021. The announcement confirms a Reuters report last week that Airbus had delivered approximately 47 jets in May. Deliveries included 37 of the A320-family single-aisle aircraft that make up the bulk of the company's income, suggesting that Airbus added to a backlog of undelivered planes based on its latest announced production rate of 50 a month. Airbus gave the estimate in a recent legal filing in a dispute with Qatar Airways, but some suppliers say the Omicron fallout and gaps in supplies have kept a global parts network running closer to the mid-40s per month for the time being. Airbus has said it wants to lift A320 output to 65 a month by the middle of next year, propelled by a brisk recovery in medium-haul travel. Beyond that it aims for 75 a month by 2025. "It is not the breakthrough Airbus would have wanted," one supply chain source said of the May deliveries. Airbus is targeting a total of 720 commercial deliveries this year. CE Guillaume Faury said on Tuesday that Airbus remains confident in its future output projections.<br/>
ATR has outlined big ambitions for the Japanese market, anticipating significant ATR fleet growth in the next few years. The turboprop manufacturer’s hopes for Japan appear to rest on the new Pratt & Whitney PW127XT engine, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as well as the company’s developmental short take-off and landing (STOL) version of the ATR. “We see 100 ATR aircraft flying in Japan in a few years,” says ATR chief executive Stefano Bortoli. “Air transport is crucial for the archipelago, where air routes are essential for domestic travel and transportation. We want to help ensure that aviation contributes to a prosperous future for Japan by connecting its regions ever more sustainably and affordably. Most of the new ATRs will replace older, less efficient models, and will connect islands and remote regions with the country’s major cities.” The company claims that ATRs “burn 40% less fuel and emit 40% less CO2 than similar size regional jets.” ATR says this is consistent with Tokyo’s overall aim to cut emissions 46% by 2030. It also notes that new PW127XT will be able to use 100% SAF. Revealed at the Dubai Airshow in 2021, the PW127XT will be standard on all new ATRs from late 2022, with Air Corsica the launch customer for the new engine with an order for five aircraft. The updated engine will also be retrofittable to legacy ATRs. At Dubai, ATR said that the new engine promises a 3% reduction in specific fuel burn, time on wing extended by 40% and maintenance costs reduced by 20%. The PW127XT is also capable of running on blends of up to 50% SAF, with a goal to reach 100%. Fifteen ATRs are in service in Japan, serving with Amakusa Airlines, as well as Japan Airlines units Japan Air Commuter and Hokkaido Air System. Toki Air and Oriental Air Bridge are also poised to start operating ATRs.<br/>