Russia failed to win enough votes for re-election to the United Nation's aviation agency's governing council on Saturday, in a rebuke of Moscow for aviation-related actions taken after its invasion of Ukraine. Russia fell short of the 86 votes needed to stay on the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) 36-nation governing council, during the agency's assembly which runs through Oct. 7 in Montreal. The voting results set off a procedural review on Saturday, after a challenge by Russia for an additional vote. Poppy Khoza, assembly president and South Africa's director general of civil aviation, called the circumstances "unprecedented." "When we have votes in our countries, if we don't like the result, we don't ask for another vote," the French representative told the assembly. Russia, along with the G7, China, Brazil and Australia, held spots as "states of chief importance in air transport" on ICAO's 36-member council. "We'd like to express regret regarding the outcome of the voting," the Russian representative said. "We view this as a purely political step and has nothing to do with Russia's position in the field of civil aviation." The vote holds Russia to account for violating Ukraine's sovereign airspace, like bombing airports, that go against a key 1944 agreement that sets out core principles for global aviation, argued Yuliya Kovaliv, Ukraine's ambassador to Canada. "It is important that all the ICAO members addressed such a drastic breach of the Chicago Convention," she told Reuters. The West also says Russia has illegally confiscated hundreds of foreign jets, a charge Moscow denies. <br/>
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The US FAA has upgraded Malaysia’s air safety rating to Category 1, allowing the country’s carriers to expand flights to the United States after a three-year hiatus, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said Saturday. Wee said the move will bolster tourism and economic growth in Malaysia, which opened up from pandemic shutdowns in April. “With the return to Category 1, our airlines can now mount new flights to the US and have code sharing with American carriers. There is no more barrier now,” said Wee, who was in Montreal for an ICAO assembly. “This is good news after the COVID-19 pandemic.” Riad Asmat, CEO of low-cost carrier AirAsia Malaysia, said it was a “very good start.” He said AirAsia, currently the only Malaysian carrier that flies to the United States — from Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu — will seek opportunities to expand in the US. The FAA lowered Malaysia’s rating in November 2019 to Category 2 due to non-compliance with safety standards. The FAA identified deficiencies in areas including technical expertise, record keeping and inspection procedures. Under the FAA system, countries are listed either as Category 1, which meets International Civil Aviation Organization standards, or Category 2, which doesn’t meet standards. Wee told an online news conference that the downgrade prompted Malaysia to restructure its Civil Aviation Authority and make various efforts to strengthen its aviation workforce, documentation processes and inspection methods to ensure effective safety oversight.He said the FAA was satisfied the issues identified in 2019 had been rectified, but found 29 new problems in its December assessment. Those issues were swiftly rectified in the first half this year, he said, and the FAA has restored Malaysia’s Category 1 rating.<br/>
The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday added more than 50 Russian entities to an economic blacklist, including the Moscow Aviation Institute and a number of aviation repair plants. Commerce said it added entities for attempting or acquiring US-origin items in support of Russia’s military. The Moscow Aviation Institute has been involved in airplane, helicopter, drone and rocket engine development. The Commerce Department has previously cracked down on Russian airplanes and the Russian aviation sector.<br/>
The top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee has proposed extending the deadline for Boeing to win approval for two new variants of the 737 MAX until September 2024. Boeing faces a December deadline to win approval from the FAA of the 737 MAX 7 and 10 variants, or it must meet new modern cockpit-alerting requirements that could significantly delay the planes entry into service. Boeing shares fell 3.4% on Friday. It said it is "is focused on meeting all regulatory requirements to certify the 737-7 and 737-10" and argues it is safer to have one common 737 cockpit alerting system. The requirements were adopted as part of a certification reform bill passed after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people and led to the best-selling plane's 20-month grounding. Senator Roger Wicker proposed an amendment that would extend the deadline and said he is hoping it will be attached to a must-pass annual defense bill, people briefed on the matter said. It is not year clear if Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell and other key lawmakers agree. Wicker's office declined comment. Wicker filed his amendment on Thursday, the same day a harsh Sept. 19 FAA letter to Boeing became public. The FAA raised significant concerns Boeing would not be able to win certification this year and told Boeing it has not completed key work needed in order to certify the MAX 7.<br/>
Jet fuel supplies at one of Africa’s busiest airports are running low following further delays in deliveries, South Africa’s state-controlled airports company said on Saturday. Airports Company SA (ACSA) did not elaborate on what was causing the delay at Cape Town International Airport after it received a report on the situation from jet fuel suppliers. “ACSA has been working closely with airlines to reduce uplift out of Cape Town, and due to the added risks has had to introduce further restrictions on fuel uplift to conserve fuel stocks until a new consignment of jet fuel arrives,” ACSA said. There is currently no impact on scheduled flights, however based on a current risk assessment report airlines have been requested to conduct technical stops to get fuel at alternative airports, it added. South Africa’s petroleum industry body SAPIA, which represents major oil producers, was not immediately available for comment.<br/>
President Xi Jinping hailed the development of China's first medium-haul passenger jet as the embodiment of the country's drive towards self-sufficiency, with safety approval awarded to a plane that aims to challenge Western plane giants for high-tech jetliner sales. The first C919 aircraft, designed to compete with popular single-aisle models made by Airbus and Boeing, will be delivered by the end of the year, state Xinhua News Agency said. The news came a day after photos of a safety certification ceremony for the plane were posted on social media. Xi said the flagship development would "accelerate the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse," while stressing that China would put safety first, Xinhua reported. Xi met a delegation of the plane's developers in the Great Hall of the People and Xinhua quoted him as telling them were they pillars and heroes of the people. It remains unclear when the plane might be certified by the United States or Europe, opening the way to sales in most foreign markets, but industry analysts say it will be up to a decade before China can seriously tackle the existing Boeing-Airbus duopoly. Still, the first certification of a non-Western jet in the mainline category in the modern era firmly establishes China as the main future competitor to those two, they say. Analysts have watched China's efforts to develop its own commercial aircraft industry as a reflection of longer-term goals in developing self-sufficiency in technology and as an effort to stir patriotism in line with Xi's "China Dream". Airbus and Boeing both sent congratulations by social media.<br/>
International air traffic in the Asia-Pacific continued to recover in August, but global economic weakness presents challenges for airlines. Asia-Pacific airlines carried 13.1 million passengers in August, nearly ten-fold the number they carried in August 2021, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Still, this represents just 39% of pre-pandemic levels. International RPKs grew six-fold year on year, and ASKs nearly tripled. Passenger load factors jumped 42.3 percentage points to 77.9%. “The healthy growth in international passenger traffic in the first eight months of the year shows strong travel demand from business and leisure sectors, even as persistently high inflation curtailed spending elsewhere,” says AAPA director general Subhas Menon. “After more than two painful years into the pandemic, the region’s carriers are finally beginning to see some relief with the continuing upswing in passenger revenue, even as the cargo business remains weakened. Although cost pressures driven by high jet fuel prices and currency weakness have not abated, the rebound in travel markets will help support an improvement in the regional airline earnings performance.” On the cargo front, August’s international FTKs fell 7.9%, while FATK’s rose 5.2%. This saw international freight load factors drop 9.5 percentage points to 66.4%. Adds Menon: “Amid an increasingly gloomy macroeconomic outlook, the lifting of travel restrictions in the major North Asian markets of Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong will hasten the pace of the industry’s return to health, while full recovery is not expected until China is also open. The cooperation of all stakeholders is key to facilitating a smooth recovery in air travel.”<br/>