The Russian government will offer domestic airlines subsidies to help them purchase aircraft they currently have on lease from foreign companies, the Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday. Carriers will be offered preferential government-backed loans at a rate of 1.5% for 15-year terms, with funds being allocated from Russia’s National Welfare Fund, according to a letter sent by the transport ministry to airlines. The ministry asked companies to provide an estimate of how many planes they want to buy and how much financial support they would need. Russia's aircraft industry - heavily reliant on Airbus and Boeing planes and parts - was hit with heavy Western sanctions. Kommersant cites a source in the industry saying it is unlikely Russian carriers will be able to buy many jets from Western leasing companies due to sanctions.<br/>
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Five people were arrested in Rome and Brussels for smuggling migrants from Turkey to western Europe via private jet in trips costing around E10,000, Italian police said Wednesday. The suspects, held on warrants issued by Belgian authorities, are accused of belonging to a criminal organisation aimed at abetting illegal immigration, a statement said. They would give migrants fake diplomatic ID papers from St. Kitts and Nevis and put them on aircraft headed to the Caribbean state with a stopover in Europe, the statement added. Upon landing in a European airport, the migrants, described as mostly ethnic Kurds or Iraqis, would get off, declare their real identity and file for asylum, Italian police said. According to investigators, who documented five separate landings in Italy, Germany, France, Austria and Belgium between October and December 2020, each migrant paid about 10,000 euros for the journey. The suspects were arrested following joint investigations by police forces from the five European countries, with help from US authorities and European Union agencies Europol and Eurojust.<br/>
While Queen Elizabeth's funeral on Monday will be observed across Britain, thousands of people face cancelled doctor appointments, closed food banks and shut supermarkets because of a surprise national holiday. London's Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport, said it expects changes to its operations on Monday, while warning of disruption to flights for nearly two hours on Wednesday as the Queen's coffin is carried in a procession in central London.<br/>
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced that it is set to deploy the Artificial Intelligence security screening technology (ICMOR) for operational use in airports across the kingdom. This comes following a partnership contract with Smith Detection Group, a global leader in the application, management and manufacture of world-class security equipment technologies for aviation, ports, borders, security and the military field. As per the deal, Smith Detection Group will deploy AI solutions in X-ray baggage screening devices. The technology automates the detection of prohibited items and keeps huge data feeds through machine learning, increasing the capacity and efficiency of inspecting larger amounts of baggage. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the opening session of the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit in its second edition under the title "Artificial Intelligence for the Good of Humanity" - organized by the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA) and held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. GACA granted Smith Detection a technical certificate (ICMOR) for operational use in Saudi airports as a result of a successful testing process which recorded a high percentage of detection that passed the approved technical standards, stemming from the joint work and efforts to develop and test the technology, said a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority.<br/>
Asia-Pacific carriers are expected to continue recovery momentum through the end of the year – with profitability in the near-term – though a key challenge will be making sure capacity “can catch up” with demand. IATA regional VP for Asia-Pacific Philip Goh notes the region is expected to recover between 70 and 73% pre-pandemic traffic by year-end, a significant jump from earlier this year, but still lagging behind most other regions. Goh spoke to FlightGlobal in Singapore on the sidelines of a pre-show conference for the Transport Logistic and Air Cargo trade show. He notes that the region’s reopening only got into full swing around April, when several countries – including Singapore and Malaysia – fully opened their borders for travel.However, while most countries report “good momentum”, those that depend on traffic from Mainland China – such as Thailand and Vietnam – have yet to see a meaningful recovery. A key challenge amid the recovery – and an often-repeated point – is that airlines in this region are unable to keep up with a strong return in demand, leading to widespread operational snares, including flight delays and cancellations, higher fares, as well as lost baggage. Goh says that the region has not been hit by issues in the same scale as that in Europe or North America, partially because “the numbers are not there yet”, referring to a “tipping point” where demand far outstrips the supply of seats. He also warns that this could become a reality if airlines, as well as the larger air transport sector, fail to plan ahead, in gauging demand and hiring manpower. “[This is] why [IATA is] telling [airlines to] anticipate, prepare, project and then get resources ready,” he adds. <br/>
A small fanfare of orchid bouquets, souvenirs and live music performances greeted the first passengers arriving at Changi Airport Terminal 4 on Tuesday as it reopened after more than two years. They were on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong and are among about 1,000 passengers on five flights - two departing and three arriving - scheduled to use T4 on its first day of operations since it was shut in May 2020 after air traffic plummeted at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cathay Pacific and Korean Air are the first among 16 airlines to start operations at T4, with more to follow in the coming weeks. Max Shih, 29, a passenger on the Cathay Pacific flight, said the arrival process was fast here, compared with the Hong Kong airport. Reports said temperature screening arrangements remain in place for those arriving at the Hong Kong airport, with the city still requiring travellers to take tests for the virus and undergo quarantine in hotels upon arrival. While some shops remain closed, more than 30 retail stores and restaurants, including duty-free shopping, Charles & Keith and TWG Tea, were open. More shopping and dining options will be available progressively in the following months. To ensure the smooth restart of operations in T4, Changi Airport Group (CAG) has been conducting operational readiness trials with the airlines and airport partners, which involved 3,000 people, since May. These include rigorous testing of key systems such as baggage handling and automated check-in kiosks, as well as processes such as security screening, said Ang Siew Min, CAG's senior vice-president for airport operations management.<br/>