Airlines canceled over 700 flights in the United States on Monday, as adverse weather and a shortage of staff hurt their ability to keep up with a surge in summer travel demand. Total flight cancellations within, into, or out of the United States as of 1.07 p.m. ET were 747, as per flight-tracking website Flightaware.com. Nearly 860 flights were canceled on Sunday. Delta had over 200 cancellations, Republic Airways and United Airlines had 196 and 122 flight cancellations, respectively, while American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) canceled 62 flights as of Monday afternoon. American Airlines said the cancellations were largely due to weather and air traffic control initiatives designed to regulate traffic. In Europe, recent airport snarls have been blamed on a shortage of employees, as many workers, who were laid off during the pandemic, desert airport work for flexible working practices and other occupations. read more<br/>
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It has been 18 months since Boeing’s 737 Max was allowed to start flying passengers again, but some of the families that lost loved ones in a pair of fatal crashes of the plane say they are still worried about its safety. With help from a pair of industry insiders, one who worked at Boeing and another who worked at the Federal Aviation Administration, the families are trying to draw attention to those safety concerns. They say officials failed to thoroughly investigate production at Boeing. And they contend that a system alerting pilots to problems onboard must be overhauled. They have their work cut out for them. The Max carries out about 2,400 mostly uneventful flights globally each day. Most government investigations ended and laws and regulations were changed, but the families press on, encouraged by help from the industry experts and driven by a desire to avert further tragedy. “I have two twin girls, and given how many 737’s are out there, it is inevitable that they’re going to fly in one of them at some point,” said Javier de Luis, whose sister Graziella de Luis y Ponce died in the second Max crash. “There’s my motivation right there.” In all, 346 people were killed in the crashes, first in Indonesia in late 2018 and then months later in Ethiopia. The Max was allowed to fly again in late 2020 after Boeing made changes to the plane, including to MCAS, the flight control system behind the crashes. The company’s CE stepped down, Boeing agreed to a $2.5b settlement with the Justice Department, and Congress passed a law imposing major changes in FAA oversight. But more should be done, the families say.<br/>
The federal border agency is not moving fast enough to fill staff shortages that have bogged down airport traffic and revved up passenger frustration, says the union representing customs officers. “With no end in sight to delays affecting travellers at airports and border crossings across the country, it's clear the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has no plan to get travel back on track any time soon,” the Customs and Immigration Union said in a release Monday. The federal government has been scrambling to respond to scenes of endless lines, flight delays and daily turmoil at airports, a problem the aviation industry - and now unions - blame on a shortage of federal security and customs agents. The agency's “summer action plan,” which imposes mandatory overtime and suspends non-essential training, amounts to “poorly planned half-measures” without long-term solutions, the union said. It is calling on the CBSA and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to increase the number of border officers and commit to a long-term plan addressing travel delays amid the labour crunch. The union's demand for between 1,000 and 3,000 more hires comes after it wrapped up its first round of bargaining with Ottawa over a new collective agreement. The negotiations kicked off on the cusp of peak travel season, with problems of clogged airports and border crossings poised to increase.<br/>
German officials say airlines could help ease the c urrent chaos seen at airports due to staff shortages by ending the privileged treatment some travelers enjoy. Passengers at German airports, like elsewhere in Europe, have endured long waits at check-in and numerous cancellations in recent weeks, prompting calls for government intervention. Germany is currently considering bringing in more temporary workers from abroad amid a shortage of security and baggage-handling staff during the peak holiday travel season. But the country’s interior ministry said security checks for the temporary workers would take about two weeks, and airlines could do their bit too in the mean time. “For example they could open ‘fast lanes’ for all travelers and end the privileged treatment a few passengers get,” ministry spokesman Maximilian Kall said Monday. “They could smooth out their flight schedules and prevent peak loads.” “So there are also measures that companies, that bear some of the responsibility for their own staffing shortages, can take.” Airlines and airports across Europe had cut jobs during the pandemic, and many are now struggling to find staff as travel rebounds. Story has more.<br/>
Russia's government announced plans on Monday to invest 770b roubles ($14.5b) in the country's aviation industry by the end of this decade to boost the share of domestically-manufactured aircraft. The Russian aviation industry has been in crisis since the West imposed sanctions after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, banning Russian airlines from flying to destinations in Europe, the United States and other countries. Russian airlines have largely stopped international flights, after leasing companies said they would seize planes in line with sanctions. Moscow has passed a law allowing the seizure of hundreds of jets in response to those sanctions. Foreign plane makers have also stopped delivering new aircraft, while spare parts for foreign-built planes are in short supply. "The share of domestically produced aircraft in the fleet of Russian airlines should grow to 81% by 2030," Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said in a televised meeting of government officials. Russia has been pushing to localise aircraft production but only the Sukhoi Superjet regional aircraft is mass-produced inside Russia, while a significant number of its components, including vital engine parts, are imported. Russia is preparing to mass produce the MS-21 medium-haul aircraft, which also has some foreign components. It also expects to begin building a small number of Soviet-designed Tu-214.<br/>
Airports in Dubai are fully prepared and equipped to deal with the Hajj rush, authorities said on Monday. A special committee of Dubai Police, immigration authorities, customs, health authorities and airlines have made special arrangements to handle the increased number of passengers at all terminals. There will be dedicated counters at check-in, immigration, and security, while special departure gates have also been set up to accommodate passengers travelling on Hajj flights. Mohammad Al Marzouqi, head of the Hajj Committee at Dubai Airports, said passengers must arrive at the airport four hours before their scheduled departure to ensure they have adequate time to complete travel procedures. “We urge all pilgrims to check that they have the required valid documents and ensure they have their passport, Emirates ID, vaccinations cards and Hajj Permit ready before they arrive at the airport," he said.<br/>
Pakistan’s aviation regulator has made masks mandatory on domestic flights given a gradual rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, it said a statement. The order comes a day after Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, reported that its COVID-19 positivity ratio, or the rate of positive cases out of all tests conducted, rose to 21% compared with a national rate of 2.8%. "With immediate effect, mask wearing will be mandatory onboard domestic flights,” the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said late on Sunday. Pakistan has had very few COVID cases over recent months and had done away with almost all precautions. But over the past 24 hours, the national COVID positivity ratio had risen to 2.85% with 382 positive cases and two deaths, according to data released on Monday by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH). A month ago, the positivity ratio was 0.54% with 79 positive cases and no deaths. According to the NIH, 85% of eligible Pakistanis have been fully vaccinated against COVID.<br/>
After debuting in 2011, Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner has become popular among the world's airlines. But heightened scrutiny both inside and outside the company in recent years has revealed a number of production flaws and largely prevented it from delivering new Dreamliner jets for nearly two years. The plane's largely carbon composite frame reduced fuel costs, helping make the airplane economical to connect more of the world's cities with direct flights. The Dreamliner also marked a shift for Boeing: It farmed out much of the work to a global network of suppliers, making it the first of the company's planes to be designed largely by other companies. After overcoming initial challenges -- including getting suppliers up to speed, and two battery fires that led to a three-month grounding -- Boeing has delivered more than 1,000 of the jets, with firm orders for about 400 more. The Dreamliner was a hit. Airlines launched new routes like Miami to Warsaw, Dublin to Shenzhen and Oakland to Oslo. The plane's interior boasted a better cabin climate to reduce jet lag, big overhead bins and large windows that darken with the touch of a button rather than a pull-down shade. But in 2019, problems emerged with how Boeing was producing the Dreamliner. As Boeing examined its 787 production, certain defects came into focus: improperly sized shims that fill tiny gaps between sections of the airplane body, known as the fuselage, and variations on skin flatness in certain sections of the interior of the fuselage. Such production issues can be detected after planes enter service and fixed during maintenance. Story has more.<br/>