An Argentine court has granted permission to the final five crew members of a Venezuelan plane grounded since June in Argentina on suspicion of potential terrorism links to leave the country, local media reported late on Friday. Argentine daily La Nacion and other media said Judge Federico Villena had given the order for the three Iranians and two Venezuelans on the crew of the Boeing 747 cargo plane of Iranian origin that belongs to Venezuelan company Emtrasur. The court could not immediately be reached for comment. The plane arrived in Buenos Aires in early June, according to flight tracking data, and its presence soon created a diplomatic ruckus for Argentina. A court in the United States, which has sanctioned Iran and Venezuela, asked Argentina to seize the aircraft in August, which it did the following week. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the court order was intended to steal the plane. The plane had been sold to Venezuela by Iran's Mahan Air last year, according to the Iranian airline. The rest of its 19 crew were given leave to depart Argentina in the past few weeks. Iran and Venezuela maintain close ties and signed a 20-year cooperation plan in June. Center-left Argentine President Alberto Fernandez has criticized US sanctions on Caracas. Argentine authorities held the plane because of suspicions about its declared reason for entering the country, according to a National Directorate of Migration document seen by Reuters. The plane's seizure caused outrage in Caracas among supporters of the ruling party, who marched to demand its release.<br/>
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Norway police arrested a Russian man at the airport in the arctic town of Tromsoe and charged him with flying a drone, they said on Saturday, marking the second such arrest in one week. Police seized a large amount of photographic gear, including a drone and several memory cards, during Friday's arrest of the 51-year-old, who had admitted to flying a drone in Norway, police said. Sanctions laws forbid Russian companies or citizens from operating aircraft in Norway. "Among the seized material we have reviewed, we have seen pictures from the airport in Kirkenes and pictures of the defence forces' Bell helicopter," police prosecutor Jacob Bergh said. The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has also been involved in the case, Bergh said. Police are seeking a court order to detain the man for a four-week period, they said. The accused told police he entered Norway via the northern border point of Storskog on Thursday and was on his way to the arctic archipelago of Svalbard. It marks the second arrest in one week of a Russian citizen for flying drones in Norway, with another man detained for an initial two week-period following an arrest at the Storskog border crossing. Norway has increased its alertness levels following a number of drone sightings close to its oil and gas infrastructure in recent weeks and in response to the Sept. 26 leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.<br/>
Strasbourg airport's deal to buy baggage-scanning equipment made by Chinese company Nuctech has upset some European lawmakers over security concerns, a letter, written by three members of the European Parliament and seen by Reuters, showed. The letter, sent by the three MEPs to the French state representative for the Strasbourg region, called for the contract to be reversed "until an independent investigation" is carried out to check whether Nuctech's technology poses no spying risk. "Nuctech's rapid development raises concerns about the risks of adopting Chinese technology in our border security systems," the three MEPs -- Bart Groothuis, Nathalie Loiseau, Reinhard Bütikofer -- wrote in the letter, listing European lawmakers and members of the European Commission among the people concerned. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament, as well as of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. "My main concern is not about backdoors in these Chinese products, as any software update can initiate that, but about the dependency on a state-owned enterprise which is bound by the 2017 Chinese intelligence law," Groothius said, citing China's cybersecurity law that requires companies to store data in the country as well agree to security reviews. "Strasbourg airport will be dependent on Chinese nationals for innovation, maintenance and technical support," said Groothius, a member of the liberal Renew Europe political group at the European parliament and a former cybersecurity expert for the Dutch ministry of defence. Groothius said the letter was sent on Oct. 10. Nuctech, which is part state-owned, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the French prefect of the Strasbourg region, Josiane Chevalier, did not reply to requests seeking comment.<br/>
Africa’s beleaguered airline industry could return to profit at the end of 2024, although regulatory uncertainty and higher fuel prices pose critical challenges, senior aviation officials said at an annual industry meeting on Friday. Internal air travel in Africa has long been fragmented due to poor infrastructure and connectivity, as travellers moving from one country to another are often forced to visit a third destination outside the continent as part of their journey. Those problems were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as national airlines sought government bailouts while others were liquidated when passenger seats plummeted during strict lockdowns. Kamil Alawadhi, the IATA Regional VP for Africa and the Middle East, said market access and connectivity issues were delaying the recovery of southern Africa’s lucrative long-haul destinations, hampering foreign tourism and trade. “What the numbers describe is the impact of several carriers’ exits from the market and the harmful distorting effects of an out-dated regulatory framework of bilateral air service agreements between governments, that restrict expansion and market access,” Alawadhi said in prepared remarks for delivery at the Airlines Association of Southern Africa’s annual general assembly. “Today, in Southern Africa’s case, with the exception of Angola, the absence of local inter-continental operators from routes they have been designated, is causing particular pain as it has left many markets under-served,” he said. The meeting takes place as company executives and airline agencies plot a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that devastated global passenger and cargo transport. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also affected global fuel prices and led to shortages of jet fuel across Africa.<br/>
Hong Kong International Airport’s September passenger traffic volume increased by 133% from a year earlier, after authorities scrapped some of the city’s harshest travel restrictions, including requirements for hotel quarantine and a pre-boarding Covid test. Passenger throughput climbed to 525,000, 10% higher than in August. The growth was boosted by visitors to and from Southeast Asia, the Airport Authority said Sunday. Hong Kong is under mounting pressure to reopen as its isolationist travel curbs left the city struggling to maintain its status as a global financial hub. Authorities addressed one of the biggest complaints from the business communities when they scrapped the hotel quarantine requirement last month. Still, other restrictions remain, including three days of health monitoring for people who arrive in the city. While they are allowed to travel to work and take public transport, they are banned from visiting restaurants and bars. Cargo throughput dropped 25% to 341,000 tons last month, continuing a months-long slump amid geopolitical headwinds and disruptions to the global supply chain. Cargo traffic to and from key trading regions in North America and Europe is among the worst hit, the authority said. Both exports and imports have slumped more than 25%. <br/>
Discount domestic airfares in Australia hit a near-15-year price high in September as airlines balanced surging demand with high fuel prices and inflation. According to new BITRE data released by the department of transport, the ‘best discount’ airfare index hit 107 points last month, despite being at just 48 in April this year. Regular airfares also hit 83 points, its highest since March 2020 and the start of the COVID pandemic. The huge prices are a result of a perfect storm for the industry, which is still battling staff shortages and instability caused by the war in Ukraine. In total, jet fuel prices have risen by more than 40% in the APAC region in the last year alone, according to IATA, and by 85% in North America. The steadily increasing prices led to both Qantas and Rex announcing earlier this year that both airlines would be forced to up fares to cope. In March, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline had hedged around 90% of the fuel it needed through to the end of June, and 50% of its requirements for the September quarter and said the airline would ultimately need to increase airfares to account for its increasing costs.<br/>
Britain's competition regulator has referred Viasat's $7.3b takeover of satellite rival Inmarsat for an in-depth investigation, it said on Friday, raising the prospect of the deal being delayed. United States-based Viasat's plan to buy the British company was announced late last year and was expected to close in the second half of this year, but the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has 24 weeks to complete its investigation. The CMA's concern is that the tie-up could hamper competition in the aviation connectivity market, leading to airlines facing higher prices for on-board Wi-Fi. British and US authorities have already given security clearance for the takeover. Viasat offers connectivity services to residential, aviation and defence customers in North America while Inmarsat provides satellite-based communications services to the shipping and aviation sectors as well as government departments. The two companies said they remain confident that the deal would go through and increase availability of affordable in-flight Wi-Fi, noting that rivals Panasonic and Intelsat account for more than 75% of the market on long-haul flights. Viasat and Inmarsat's joint statement said they will communicate any expected delay to the closing of the deal as their engagement with the CMA progresses.<br/>
Honeywell International on Sunday lifted its outlook for business jet deliveries, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought in a wave of first-time users and buyers in the private flying market. Honeywell forecast up to 8,500 new business jet deliveries worth $274b from 2023 to 2032, up 15% from last year's outlook, while the usage in 2022 is expected to climb 9% higher. Private flying demand boomed during the pandemic as wealthier passengers opted for charter planes due to concerns about exposure to the virus. Passengers who used to fly first class on a commercial airline have now increasingly switched to private flying. Honeywell's survey showed nearly 74% of new users expect to keep the same level of flying in 2023 as they did in 2022. Business turboprops and small cabin jets each make up 35% of the fleet carrying these new users, followed by medium jets and large long-range jets, the company said, citing its survey. "Demand for new business jets is as high as we've seen it since 2015, and we expect high levels of demand and expenditures for new aircraft for several more years," said Heath Patrick, Honeywell Aerospace president, Americas aftermarket. Surveyed operators reported new jet purchase plans on par with 2019 levels, benefiting major players operating in the business aircraft market such as Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and General Dynamics.<br/>