Changes to a flagship UN aviation emissions agreement are closer to being approved after an airline trade group walked back objections on Wednesday, airline and government officials told Reuters. Members of the 193-nation International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are under pressure to reach consensus to curb emissions from global flights at its triennial assembly in Montreal through October 7. Countries plan to change the baseline of the UN aviation agency's landmark Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation(CORSIA) and are weighing an industry-backed goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Airline group IATA's acceptance of a compromise for CORSIA will help ease it toward approval by the assembly, said Mauricio Ramírez Koppel, a representative of Colombia and chairperson of the climate and environment committee on ICAO's 36-member governing council. CORSIA was launched in 2016, and airlines initially pledged to spend billions of dollars to to cap their rising emissions at 2020 levels by purchasing carbon offsets that support environmental projects around the world. CORSIA's first trial phase began in 2021. But the program's 2020 baseline was challenged when air traffic plummeted due to COVID-19. Hard-hit carriers feared higher-than expected offset costs when air travel recovered.<br/>
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Airlines canceled almost 2,000 U.S. flights for Thursday after Hurricane Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in one of most powerful US storms in recent years. The hurricane is causing significant disruptions to US air travel, especially in the southeast United States. Since Tuesday airlines have canceled more than 5,000 flights through Friday. Airlines canceled 2,163 flights Wednesday as a number of Florida airports temporarily halted operations, including Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota-Bradenton, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Naples and St Petersburg/Clearwater. Airline tracking website Flightaware said 1,935 flights for Thursday had been canceled and 738 Friday flights scrapped. Airlines canceled 403 flights Tuesday ahead of the storm. The Orlando airport said it expects to resume commercial operations sometime on Friday. The Tampa airport said it will be closed through at least Thursday. Florida is a major part of US aviation, and some carriers like JetBlue and Southwest typically expect 40% or more of their daily flights to touch a Florida airport.<br/>
Labor unions and some US lawmakers are pressing airlines not to resume stock buybacks after a COVID assistance prohibition expires this week. Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is holding a hearing on Thursday on investing in transportation workers that will discuss the issue. DeFazio is circulating a letter to colleagues seen by Reuters that urges airlines to "refrain from initiating stock buybacks ... at least until air carriers are able to publish and fulfill schedules that meet demand; staff flights and key personnel positions appropriately; and return service to every community." Aviation unions launched a campaign in August to pressure airlines against stock buybacks. It came as major carriers are negotiating new contracts with their pilots, who are asking for higher pay and improvements in schedules. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, is among those will testify at Thursday's House hearing. "While airlines are just now starting to make a profit, the recovery is not complete and the austerity of twenty years prior has not been corrected for airline jobs," according to Nelson's written testimony seen by Reuters. "We can’t allow CEOs to send one dollar to Wall Street before fixing operational issues and concluding contract negotiations." Airlines for America, a trade group, said airlines are in full compliance with the payroll assistance program. The group noted US airlines have been "aggressively hiring across the industry ... to accommodate the rapid return of demand for air travel" and are "making significant investments in new aircraft."<br/>
Wizz Air has commenced its flight from Rome to Dammam. The new ultra-low-cost route will provide a boost to the burgeoning tourism industry in both Italy and Saudi Arabia, by bringing a new era of affordable, hassle-free, and point-to-point travel opportunities, the airline said. Flights will operate twice a week and tickets are on sale now on wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app, with fares starting from E39.99.<br/>
Virgin Atlantic’s crew, pilots and ground staff can now wear whichever of its uniforms they feel most comfortable in, regardless of the original male or female design of its red skirt suit or burgundy trousers. The airline has announced a gender identity policy that lets its staff choose which of the Vivienne Westwood-designed outfits they wear to work – “no matter their gender, gender identity or gender expression”. Virgin said the move was to reflect the diversity of the workforce, and to reinforce its branding campaign as welcoming and inclusive, after recent moves to relax rules on visible tattoos. The airline will also start using optional pronoun badges for crew and passengers, who can request them at check-in to ensure people use their preferred pronouns. Its ticketing systems will also allow people whose passports have gender neutral markers – available in the US, India and Pakistan – to travel using those gender codes and the title Mx. Virgin will also start mandatory inclusivity training, and initiatives for hotels in destinations such as the Caribbean, where some people have faced more barriers. Juha Järvinen, Virgin Atlantic’s CCO, said: “It’s so important that we enable our people to embrace their individuality and be their true selves at work. It is for that reason that we want to allow our people to wear the uniform that best suits them and how they identify and ensure our customers are addressed by their preferred pronouns.”<br/>
More than 5,000 completely empty passenger flights have flown to or from UK airports since 2019, the Guardian can reveal. A further 35,000 commercial flights have operated almost empty since 2019, with fewer than 10% of seats filled, according to analysis of data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This makes a total of about 40,000 “ghost flights”. In one quarter, for example, 62 empty planes left Luton airport for Poland, while in another, Heathrow saw 663 almost empty flights going to and from the US. Both quarters were during the Covid-19 pandemic. Air travel results in more carbon emissions an hour than any other consumer activity and is dominated by a minority of frequent flyers, making it a focus of climate campaigners. They called the ghost flight revelations “shocking” and said a jet fuel tax was needed and airport expansion plans should be questioned. The UK government describes ghost flights as “environmentally damaging”. Why ghost flights operate remains unclear. Only airlines know the reasons but they do not publish data that explains the practice. Ghost flights may run to fulfil “use-it-or-lose-it” airport slot rules, though these were suspended during the height of the pandemic. Other reasons cited by airlines include Covid repatriation flights or the repositioning of aircraft. But these cannot be verified and campaigners said more transparency was needed.<br/>
Russia's aviation industry will aim to go it alone without the West, using locally built parts to produce 1,000 airliners by 2030 and end a reliance on Boeing and Airbus, state-owned engineer Rostec said. The remarks from Rostec, a vast state corporation headed by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin that includes Russia's only manufacturer of civil aircraft, are the strongest indication yet that the country's aviation sector sees the confrontation with the West as a permanent schism. The West's imposition of the most severe sanctions in modern history after Moscow sent thousands of troops into Ukraine has forced the biggest change on Russia's economy since the Soviet Union crumbled from 1989 to 1991. The post-Soviet assumptions of the aviation sector have been turned on their head: foreign aircraft, mainly from Boeing and Airbus, account for 95% of passenger traffic, but sanctions mean there are no spare parts - and no prospect of any. Reuters reported in August that Russian airlines, including state controlled Aeroflot (AFLT.MM), were stripping jetliners to secure spare parts they can no longer buy abroad because of Western sanctions. But Rostec, headed by Sergei Chemezov who worked with Putin in East Germany in the 1980s, sees the upheaval as an opportunity to build a strong, self-reliant aviation industry. "Foreign aircraft will drop out of the fleet," Rostec said in a written response to Reuters questions about its plans and the situation in Russia's aviation industry.<br/>
One-way economy flights from Moscow to Dubai are going for as much as $5,000 and many have completely sold out in the days following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of a “partial” mobilization of 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine. The roughly five-hour flight cost around $350 one week before the announcement that was delivered on Sept. 21. Current prices on UAE airlines Emirates and FlyDubai for the month between Sept. 28 and Oct. 26 are going for between $2,577 and $4,773 for a one-way economy ticket, according to those airlines’ websites. The cheaper of those prices is more than 2½ times the average monthly Russian salary of $965, according to Statista.com. Direct flights to Dubai from St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, were priced at around $2,600. One-way economy flights to Abu Dhabi from Moscow are around $3,000 on Etihad Airways. Flights with connections are available for lower rates, but still substantially higher than average, according to Google Travel. An economy ticket to Dubai on Azerbaijan Airlines with a layover in Baku ran for between $988 and $1,040 in the week between Sept. 28 and Oct. 6, about triple its price before the mobilization announcement. “Russians gettin’ outta dodge,” Ian Bremmer, CEO of risk consultancy Eurasia Group, wrote on Twitter, along with a video from flight-tracking site Flightradar24.com showing masses of planes leaving Russia over the course of a few days. For those with more money to spend, seats on private jets are an option, but their price tags have ballooned as well. Russians “are paying between GBP20,000 and GBP25,000 for a seat on a private plane,” The Guardian wrote in a report Tuesday, several times more than normal prices, citing the head of a private flying company who said demand has “increased by 50 times.”<br/>
Masks will be optional in Dubai Airports from Wednesday, officials have confirmed. The decision comes as Emirates and Flydubai also confirmed that flights do not have to be worn on services into the city. "It is not mandatory for passengers to wear face masks at Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC) effective Wednesday, September 28, 2022," a statement from the airport operator read. "Based on their specific requirements or the rules applicable at intermediate or final destinations, airlines can however request passengers to wear the face mask on board if deemed necessary.<br/>
SATS Ltd., a catering and gateway services provider, has agreed to acquire air cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services at an enterprise value of E2.25b. The Singapore-listed firm will pay about E1.2b in cash for WFS, according to a statement on Wednesday. SATS last week confirmed it’s in ongoing discussions with Cerberus Capital Management to acquire the air cargo handler after Bloomberg News reported that it was in talks for a potential deal. The deal will be financed with a S$1.7b ($1.2b) equity fund raising, with the balance coming from internal cash resources, SATS said. The acquisition is expected to close in March 2023. Temasek Holdings Pte, which owns about a 39.7% stake in SATS, has agreed to vote in favor of the acquisition. “This is a transformational opportunity for SATS,” CEO Kerry Mok said. “Our customers are telling us that they want seamless support across regions. It is a hugely powerful combination for growth.” Founded in 1971, Paris-based WFS is the world’s largest air cargo handler operating in more than 160 major airports in over 20 countries, according to its website. The company also provides ground handling services as well as technical support to airlines. Its annual sales stood at E1.3b. Cerberus bought the French firm from Platinum Equity in 2018 for about E1.2b.<br/>
Mask wearing is no longer mandatory on flights. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the decision, the latest in Malaysia’s continued relaxation of Covid-19 rules, took into consideration the country’s improving Covid-19 situation as well as better aircraft practices and technology. “These include good cabin ventilation, usage of high-efficiency particulate absorbing filters to remove airborne pollutants, forward seating arrangement and frequency of aeroplane disinfection scheduling. The country’s Covid-19 caseload is also more manageable. The decision was made using a risk-based approach, which has taken into account improvements in aircraft technology and practices. The relaxation is also in line with health recommendations from countries such as the European Union, Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore,” he said.<br/>
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the Clark airport terminal deal is an exemplar of his government’s public-private partnership (PPP) ambitions, adding that the airport will be crucial in positioning the Philippines as a logistics hub. He made the remarks at the formal opening of the new terminal building at Clark International Airport, north of Manila. “This is the public-private partnership that we always talk about,” he said, noting that both parties can leverage their resources to achieve “synergy” via collaboration. Marcos said his government is “willing to change in terms of documentation, procedure, even structure, even legislation” to attract investment into the country. “We understand… the needs of our potential investors and we will… do everything so that that partnership (is) to the advantage of both the private sector (and) the public sector,” he said.<br/>
Jet fuel premiums are skyrocketing in New York and Houston as low inventories stoke concerns of a supply pinch. The premium for physical barrels of New York Harbor jet fuel has jumped by nearly 20-fold since the start of the week. On the Gulf Coast, the premium over futures nearly doubled Wednesday to the highest in 14 years. The price spikes come as fuel supplies on the East Coast and Gulf Coast are at their lowest seasonal points since 2008. US refiners have scaled back jet fuel production to prioritize diesel output as a deadline to ban Russian fuels in Europe approaches, driving profit margins for the fuel higher. The resulting squeeze on stockpiles can trickle down to consumers in the form of higher airfare as airlines are forced to pay distributors more for fuel. Jet fuel yields fell to 9.7% last week, the lowest level since April, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Fuel makers can adjust which fuels they make more of based on market conditions. Right now, profit from turning crude into diesel have nearly tripled from this time last year, incentivizing refiners to produce more of that fuel.<br/>