Federal officials have rejected a request by a regional airline facing a pilot shortage to hire co-pilots with half the usual minimum amount of flying experience, saying it would reduce safety. Republic Airways asked for permission to hire pilots with at least 750 hours of flying time if they complete the airline’s training program. However, the FAA said that it was in the public interest to maintain current standards, which generally require 1,500 flight hours for a co-pilot. Smaller carriers called regional airlines were once allowed to hire co-pilots, who are called first officers, with as few as 250 hours of flying experience. But the minimum was increased after a 2009 Colgan Air plane flying for Continental Airlines crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one on the ground. While the minimum is 1,500 hours, pilots with military experience or a degree from an approved university program can qualify with less experience. Republic argued that its program, run by a wholly owned subsidiary, would be comparable to military flight training. “After full consideration of Republic’s petition for exemption and the public comments, the FAA has determined that the relief requested is not in the public interest and would adversely affect safety,” the FAA said. The FAA also said that Republic’s curriculum and training is not comparable to that of the military.<br/>
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The US Commerce Department on Monday said it will add three Iranian cargo planes serving Russia to a list of aircraft believed to violate US export controls under the Biden administration's sanctions. Using commercially available data, the Commerce Department identified Boeing 747s operated by Mahan Air, Qeshm Fars Air and Iran Air transporting goods, including electronic items, to Russia in apparent violation of stringent U.S. export controls on Russia related to its invasion of Ukraine. These are the first three Iranian airplanes identified, the department said. The department has warned that any refueling, maintenance, repair, spare parts or services violate U.S. export controls and subject companies to US enforcement actions. Iran has publicly announced its intention to expand cooperation with Russia in the aviation sector by providing spare parts for its airplanes, the Commerce Department said. With the additions, there were 183 aircraft on the list for apparent violations of US export controls, the department said. The three Iranian airlines identified Monday were already subject to a variety of restrictions by the U.S. government. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said U.S. "controls, especially on items such as electronics and aircraft parts, have degraded Russia’s defense industrial base, severely restricted their access to the world economy." "When Russia seeks to engage pariah states like Iran in order to backfill for what the international community has cut off, we will take action to thwart such attempts and disrupt such connections," he added.<br/>
In a modest office building on the outskirts of Luton airport, a team of 30 people work in near silence to keep easyJet’s operations moving. The casually dressed and often strikingly young staff are responsible for managing more than 1,000 daily flights across Europe, including co-ordinating aircraft, crew and communication with customers round the clock. With voices low and lights dimmed, it is a calm setting for people who have been on the front line of handling the disruption that has gripped the aviation industry this year. “It is an incredibly complex ecosystem and there are lots of things that come at you, some of which are completely beyond your control,” said David Morgan, easyJet’s interim chief operations officer. Chief operating officers at airlines and their staff normally have a low-profile job, overseeing complex logistics and handling the everyday problems that hit schedules, from strikes to snowstorms. But the role has become one of the most pressured in corporate Europe this year, as millions of passengers travelling on nearly every airline have faced delays and cancellations because of chronic staff shortages across the aviation network, leaving executives fighting a daily battle just to keep passengers moving. Just under 4,100 flights from UK airports were cancelled in the last week of June as the industry buckled under the weight of returning passengers, according to industry data company OAG. Passengers complained of ruined holidays, hours long queues and mountains of lost luggage as companies struggled to cope. Reliability quickly improved as new staff started work, airports brought in passenger caps and airlines cut down their schedules. Between 0.5 and 1% of flights were cancelled in August. In Luton, the most striking part of the operation is that the team deals with disruption manually as it occurs. There is no algorithm to change staff rosters to replace people who have worked beyond their hours, or to suggest switching aircraft when things slip out of place. <br/>
Hundreds of students blocked the main airport road in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos on Monday to protest against the disruption to classes caused by a lecturers' strike that has been going on for more than seven months. Strikes over pay by public university lecturers are common in Nigeria and often go on for months. The latest action started in February. Chanting and holding placards, students gathered on Lagos International Airport Road, causing gridlock in a city that already struggles with daily traffic congestion and leaving motorists and air passengers stranded. Passengers were forced to walk with their luggage in the rain for at least 5 kilometres (3 miles) to and from the airport. Dozens of armed police watched from a distance.<br/>
The Middle East region’s air passenger traffic and commercial fleet are projected to more than double over the next two decades, Boeing said in its 2022 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), a forecast of 20-year demand. Middle Eastern carriers have successfully managed through challenges brought on by the pandemic by adjusting their business models and increasing usage of freighters to maximize revenue. Looking ahead, the region’s fleet is forecasted to expand to 3,400 airplanes to serve fast-growing passenger traffic as well as cargo demand, Boeing said. “The Middle East region, a popular connection point for international travellers and trade, is also growing as a starting point and destination for business and leisure passengers,” said Randy Heisey, Boeing managing director of Commercial Marketing for the Middle East and Africa, and Russia and Central Asia Regions. “The region will continue to require a versatile fleet that meets the demands of airline and air-cargo business models.” Middle East airlines will require 2,980 new airplanes valued at $765b to serve passengers and trade. More than two-thirds of these deliveries will enable growth, while one-third will replace older airplanes with more fuel-efficient models such as the Boeing 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner and 777X.<br/>
Airports Council International (ACI) says the Asia-Pacific will lose the top ranking in passenger numbers this year owing to the travel policies of China and Japan. The airport operator grouping forecasts that passenger traffic for the region will rise 22% year on year to 1.84 billion, but this will trail international traffic growth of 47%. Moreover, the Asia-Pacific’s 2022 traffic number is likely to be 55% lower than in 2019, the last full-year before the coronavirus pandemic crushed air travel in the region. This will see Europe displace the Asia-Pacific as the world’s largest air passenger market in 2022. ACI attributes the region’s lacklustre recovery to China’s tough border measures as well as Japan’s cautious approach to opening its borders to international travel. “The traffic in the region will not be able to fully recover to 2019 levels unless all countries keep their borders open to facilitate freedom of movement,” says Stefano Baronci, director general of ACI Asia-Pacific. “China and Japan– one of the largest contributors to the regions overall traffic– have been slow in lifting travel and COVID restrictions. We are urging states to take a measured approach to facilitate the recovery in a more sustainable manner and without causing significant impact on their healthcare system.” <br/>
Hong Kong wants to relax the Covid mitigation measures that have made travel difficult for nearly three years, CE John Lee said Tuesday, as mainland officials signaled their approval. The number of infections in the Asian financial hub have fallen to about 6,000 a day, creating room for the city to reconsider steps like requiring travelers to stay in hotel quarantine, Lee told reporters at a weekly briefing. Hotel quarantine will be replaced with seven days of home health monitoring, the South China Morning Post reported, though it said the move won’t be announced until all the details have been determined. The moves appear to have been blessed by leaders in mainland China. The central government will support Hong Kong’s efforts to have close, extensive contact with others on the mainland and the rest of the world, said Huang Liuquan, from China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. Huang, speaking at a separate briefing from Lee, said that China sees no problem with the city adjusting its Covid rules. Residents have been anticipating a reduction in the travel curbs, including hotel quarantine requirements and pre-flight PCR testing, as a series of high profile international events are slated to occur starting at the end of October. Visitors that the city’s leaders hope will attend have said they wouldn’t come if existing restrictions were too harsh. “Different departments are actively studying, as the confirmed cases are falling, what room it gives us to adjust quarantine arrangement for people arriving at the airport to Hong Kong,” Lee said. “We will make a decision soon and announce to the public.”<br/>
A large and powerful typhoon moved across Japan's southwestern region of Kyushu on Monday with record-breaking wind and rainfall, leaving at least two people dead, one missing and over 70 injured. Typhoon Nanmadol, which also disrupted public transportation by grounding more than 800 flights and leaving bullet train services canceled or reduced in many parts of the country, is expected to travel northeast along the Sea of Japan coast of the main island of Honshu through Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency continued to warn of violent winds, high tides and mudslides across western to northern Japan. PM Fumio Kishida postponed a trip to New York where he will deliver an address at the UN General Assembly this week. After monitoring damage caused by the typhoon, he is expected to leave Japan as early as Tuesday morning. After issuing a special typhoon warning for unprecedented winds and waves in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in southwestern Japan on Sunday, the weather agency has downgraded its warning level. The government ordered nearly 6 million people in western prefectures to evacuate at one point. Over 85,000 travelers were affected as Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled more than 450 and 370 flights, respectively. Some flights have already been canceled for Tuesday.<br/>