There is little sign that higher fares or recession worries are curbing the pent-up demand for air travel. But higher expenses and staffing shortages are hampering the nation’s airlines as they seek to take full advantage of the rebound. Delta is the latest to rein in its plans. On Wednesday, Ed Bastian, Delta’s CE, said that although demand was strong, the airline would fly the rest of the year at the levels it operated in June. The aim is to limit delays and cancellations, which have been problematic in recent weeks. “While the demand and revenue landscape is the best we’ve seen, the operational environment for the entire industry remains uniquely challenged,” Bastian said on a call with industry analysts and reporters. Delta, the first major US airline to report financial results for the second quarter, said Wednesday that it had a profit of $735m in the three months that ended in June and that it expected steady demand into the winter. But it also reported high costs, driven in part by investments in improving operations. The cost concerns appear to have been the major factor in a decline in share prices for most of the big carriers on Wednesday. Delta shares were down 4.5%. The aviation industry has broadly struggled to maintain smooth operations over the past year, as staffing shortfalls compounded the turmoil from bad weather and other disruptions. Delta, for example, canceled about 3 percent of its flights last month, second only to American, which canceled 5 percent, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website.The problems aren’t limited to the carriers. Heathrow Airport, in London, said this week that such shortages had led to long lines, delays, lost luggage and last-minute flight cancellations. As a result, it said, it will limit the number of passengers who cycle through the airport each day until mid-September. Airlines and airports are hiring workers as quickly as they can to better meet demand. In the United States, airlines have hired more pilots this year than in any full year in at least three decades, according to Future & Active Pilot Advisors, a career consulting firm for pilots.<br/>
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The Swiss government advised travellers on Wednesday to avoid unnecessary trips to Sri Lanka given the country's political turmoil. "Tourist and other non-urgent travel to Sri Lanka is discouraged (except for air transit via Colombo International Airport)," the Swiss foreign ministry posted on its website, noting the country's declared state of emergency. "The political situation is confused and tensions have increased. A deterioration of the situation must be expected," it added.<br/>
BP is aiming to start producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Australia by 2025 after converting its oil refinery near Perth to produce renewable fuels, a senior executive of the British company said on Thursday. The project is expected to cost "hundreds of millions" of dollars, BP's Asia Pacific vice president of low-carbon solutions, Lucy Nation, told Reuters. BP has not disclosed what volume it plans to produce, but Nation said output would depend on demand as the facility would be able to switch day-to-day between producing sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel. Its Kwinana plant is in Western Australia, a region dominated by the mining industry where there is heavy demand for diesel for trucks. "We're lucky at Kwinana in that we're able to reutilise some of the processing equipment, the utilities and we have tanks ready to go," Nation said.<br/>