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US federal safety officials will launch an investigation into a Hawaiian Airlines flight after severe turbulence injured 36 people aboard, while five people were hospitalized in Houston on Monday after a second flight was rocked by turbulence en route from Brazil. There was no indication that the two instances of turbulence were related. Air travel is exceptionally busy around the world this week due to the winter holidays. The Hawaiian Airlines flight departed Phoenix and was nearing Honolulu around 10:35 a.m. HST (2035 GMT) on Sunday when it hit the turbulence, according to the US FAA. On Monday, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board announced it would investigate the incident. Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement on Monday that 36 people had been evaluated at the airport upon landing, and that it was "continuing to support" the 17 passengers and three crewmembers who were transported to area hospitals for treatment, 11 with serious injuries. Meanwhile, two passengers and three crewmembers on a United Airlines (UAL.O) flight from Rio de Janeiro were injured early on Monday by turbulence en route to Houston, Texas. Medical personnel brought them to a local hospital with "minor injuries," United Airlines said in a statement.<br/>

A budding winter storm is expected to bring frigid conditions across much of the United States this week, including snowfall likely to cause travel delays ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend, forecasters said on Monday. The Midwest and Great Lakes region could see a major blizzard beginning Thursday, while cold air moving east could bring a flash freeze caused a rapid temperature drop across the country, according to the National Weather Service. "It does not look like a good day to be traveling across the Midwest on Friday," said Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations at the NWS Weather Prediction Center. "It'll definitely be feeling like winter almost from coast to coast." Airports and roads from Chicago to the St. Louis areas could suffer disruptions beginning Thursday, while the rest of the country battles with falling temperatures, he warned. The biggest risk exists in the states of Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, as well as parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Snow amounts could exceed a foot, Carbin said. Southern states could have rainfall and thunderstorms through Thursday, after which temperatures could drop significantly. Wind chill temperatures in the immediate Gulf Coast could reach 30 degrees, he added. "Wind chill temperatures will be frigid," he said. <br/>

Boeing is set to win backing from Congress for an extension of a looming deadline imposing a new safety standard for modern cockpit alerts for two new versions of the US plane maker’s best-selling 737 Max aircraft, sources told Reuters. The Chicago-based company has been intensely lobbying for months to convince lawmakers to waive the Dec. 27 deadline that affects its Max 7 and Max 10 airplanes that was imposed by Congress in 2020 after two fatal 737 Max crashes killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Congressional leaders have agreed to attach the extension to a bill to fund US government operations and to require new safety enhancements for existing Max aircraft proposed by US Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, the sources said. That massive spending bill still must be passed in the coming days. Cantwell proposed requiring retrofitting existing Max airplanes with an “enhanced angle of attack and a means to shut off stall warnings and overspeed alerts, for all Max aircraft,” Reuters reported on Nov. 30. Faulty data from a single sensor that erroneously triggered a software function called MCAS to repeatedly activate played critical roles in the fatal 737 Max crashes. The FAA in 2020 required Boeing to retrofit planes to ensure MCAS could activate only if it received data from two AOA sensors. Boeing declined to comment, but Boeing Commercial Airplanes CE Stan Deal said last week the planemaker supported Cantwell’s safety retrofit proposal.<br/>

The FAA Monday issued the airworthiness criteria that Archer Aviation will need to meet for its M001 air taxi to be certified for use. The FAA released the criteria for public comment of Archer's electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The release comes after the FAA made a similar announcement in November for Joby Aviation's Model JAS4-1 eVTOL. Archer said earlier this month it is working to win FAA certification of its eVTOL in late 2024. Earlier this month, Archer said its eVTOL completed its first full transition flight on Nov. 29 -- less than a year after its first hover flight after several months of testing. Archer, which is backed by United Airlines and Stellantis NV, said in October it aims to make about 250 battery-electric air taxis in 2025 and scale up production in the following years. The eVTOL aircraft have been touted as air taxis that could be the future of urban air mobility. The low-altitude urban air mobility aircraft has drawn a huge amount of interest. The FAA said in May it was modifying its regulatory approach because regulations designed for traditional airplanes and helicopters "did not anticipate the need to train pilots to operate powered-lift, which take off in helicopter mode, transition into airplane mode for flying, and then transition back to helicopter mode for landing." The FAA said the Archer eVTOL "will be much quieter than conventional helicopter turboshaft engines and rotors. As a result, birds will have fewer cues to the existence of the vehicle due to quiet approach environments" and as a result "the FAA proposes a more comprehensive bird strike requirement."<br/>

Mexico is in talks with US planemaker Boeing to rent aircraft for a carrier run by the military, set to start operations next year, the country's president said Monday. "It's being looked at with Boeing," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference. "Because planes are going to be rented. That's already being worked on." A spokesperson for Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lopez Obrador has previously said that Olmeca-Maya-Mexica, a military-run business, will lead the airline, which aims to operate under the name "Mexicana," absorbing the operations of an airline which was declared bankrupt in 2014. The business will also run airports in the southern region of Mexico in Tulum, Chetumal, Palenque and Campeche, Lopez Obrador said earlier this month, as well as the new airport on the outskirts of Mexico City, the Felipe Angeles International Airport. Lopez Obrador added he had received an appraisal for the airline over the weekend but had not yet reviewed it. The push to operate the military-run airline comes as part of the president's dissatisfaction with Mexican airlines. On Thursday, Lopez Obrador filed a reform to Mexico's aviation law which would allow "cabotage," or permitting international airlines to operate domestic flights within the country.<br/>

French airport operator Vinci will invest $820m in renovating an airport in the Mexican business hub of Monterrey in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, the state's governor said on Monday. The investment follows Vinci's purchase earlier this month of a near-30% stake in Mexican airport administrator OMA that owns the Monterrey International Airport. Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia on his Instagram account shared clips from his meeting with Vinci representatives. A Vinci spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. A presentation shared on Garcia's Instagram said that Vinci viewed the Monterrey airport as "the best alternative to Mexico City airport" and that it had "great potential." It also said that Vinci Airports was planning to "engage in strong partnerships" with Mexican airlines Aeromexico and Viva Aerobus to build up their customer bases. Vinci earlier this month said it would start direct flights between Monterrey, whose international airport alone it said represents about half of OMA's passenger traffic, and Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit and Austin. The French firm became OMA's biggest shareholder when it finalised its $1.17b stake purchase earlier this month, it said.<br/>

An airport has apologised after passengers were left waiting hours for luggage in the baggage hall. Manchester airport said there were "unacceptable levels of service" during "the busiest weekend of the Christmas travel period". A statement blamed "significant staffing challenges" faced by the handling company, Swissport. One passenger claimed he waited seven hours for his bags, another said it was a "shambles". Lisa Tideswell tweeted: "Even before Covid it was the worst airport I've even been through for claiming luggage. Now it just seems to get worse and worse each year." Swissport has been contacted for comment. The airport has recruited hundreds of additional staff after long queues, delays and cancelled flights this year. Managing director Chris Woodroofe has insisted the airport is "now a very different experience" than earlier in the year. Passengers had branded the airport a "complete nightmare" after weeks of chaos. with passengers missing flights because of long queues at security.<br/>

London City airport dialed back plans for more early-morning and Saturday flights to make an effort to lift capacity by almost 40% more palatable to planning officials and local people. The terminal, favored by business travelers for its proximity to London’s financial districts, is sticking with an application to raise its annual passenger cap to 9m from from 6.5m while modifying other elements of the expansion goals, according to a statement Monday. Changes to a planning request include as many as nine flights in the first 30 minutes of any given day starting 6.30 a.m., down from 12, and Saturday operations from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., plus an extra hour in summer for arrivals. The airport had previously looked to host flights until 10 p.m. on Saturdays. London City, hemmed in by housing on a former docklands site in the UK capital’s East End, is seeking to add passengers without resorting to extra trips, with a ceiling of 111,000 aircraft movements to be retained, together with an eight-hour night-time curfew and limited operations on Sundays. The plan also requires no new infrastructure after permission for eight more aircraft stands and a new terminal and taxiway was granted in 2016, though the additional flights would have to be performed by new-generation jets such as the Airbus SE A220, a plane that’s at the limit of the airport’s short runway.<br/>

More than half of UK’s 23 airports now have complete bans on smoking and vaping in place for travellers once they get through security. Only 11 of these airports have a place for smokers to light up before getting their flight after their bags have been scanned. And even vape users aren't spared as these restrictions extend to e-cigarettes too. This means nicotine users could be forced to go without for several hours prior to take-off - potentially longer if there’s a delay, in additions to the time spent in the air. And while many overseas airports do have indoor smoking areas, vape users often have no choice but to vape in the same area as tobacco users. This might explain why uncertainty over what the smoking policy will be post-airport security is a worry for 44 per cent of nicotine users. To alleviate such confusion, VELO, the brand behind tobacco free nicotine pouches, has created an interactive map detailing the smoking policies of many domestic and international airports.<br/>

A cargo flight using China's self-developed aviation biofuel has arrived in Belgium after a 12-hour journey from Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, marking the first time that the country uses such fuel for an international cargo route since it was mass produced this year, according to Sinopec Group. Biojet fuel is a type of sustainable aviation fuel made from renewable resources such as catering-sector waste oil, animal and vegetable oil, and agricultural and forestry waste. It has been shown to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 50% compared with traditional petroleum based aviation kerosene throughout its lifecycle, according to China Central Television. In 2009, Sinopec developed biofuel production technology with independent intellectual property rights, and built a set of test equipment by using Sinopec's own production facilities. The development of the fuel aided the completion of the first test flight in 2013, the first commercial flight in 2015 and the first transoceanic flight with biofuel in 2017. The progress has made China the fourth country in the world with independent research and development and production technology of aviation biofuel after the US, France and Finland, according to media reports.<br/>

Adani Group is set to invest $1.2b for the expansion of Lucknow Airport in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This expansion will enable the airport to increase its annual passenger handling capacity from four million passengers per annum (MPPA) to 39 MPPA, reported Business Standard. The Union environment ministry has cleared the expansion plan for the airport. Adani Group company Lucknow International Airport Limited was quoted by the news publication as saying: “CCSIA (Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport) in Lucknow has a total land area of 509.41ha (1258.80 acres), making it one of the most land-constrained airports in India.” LIAL is now planning to expand the airport within an area of 457.1ha. It further noted: “CCSIA presently has two operational passenger terminals: international terminal (T1) and the domestic terminal (T2). A new integrated terminal building (T3) is under construction, located west of Terminal T1.”<br/>

In late 2021, Changi International Airport embarked on a baggage transformation project to improve passengers’ overall travel experience, especially around baggage handling. Having worked with its airport partners to use technology and improve the tracking and handling of baggage, the result is a personalised baggage tracking function on the iChangi app. This function is currently in a beta trial, and is the first of its kind to be launched by a Southeastern Asian airport. The app allows the passenger travelling to or from Changi to keep track of the status and location of their bag, as well receive updates on the arrival of their baggage at Changi and whether is has been delayed due to inclement weather or other disruptions. To begin with, this function will be available only to passengers on participating airlines who are departing from or transferring at Changi, as well as those arriving on participating airlines at Changi’s Terminals 2 and 3. The rest of the terminals will come onboard by early next year.<br/>

The Adani Group rolled out a digital platform for its airport vertical on Monday as the ports-to-power conglomerate, helmed by Asia’s richest person, Gautam Adani, inches closer to unveiling its super app. Adani One, developed in-house, will enable users to book air tickets, check flight status, access lounges, shop for duty-free products, get cabs and avail parking facilities. “We have taken a step forward in our digital journey,” Nitin Sethi, senior vice president and chief digital officer for consumer businesses at Adani Group, wrote in a LinkedIn post. “It’s our collective effort to build a digital twin that will eventually parallel our traditional businesses.” The rapidly-diversifying Adani Group is the country’s largest airport operator. With an all-in-one e-commerce app, it will join fellow conglomerate Tata Group in vying for a piece of the fiercely-competitive sector, currently dominated by Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.-owned Flipkart Group. Sethi said Adani One aims to gather customer insights and feedback that will help the conglomerate improve its services. Gautam Adani said last August his super app will be launched in six months and he wants it to be “the Ferrari of the digital world.”<br/>

Rolls-Royce Holdings said a new aircraft engine designed to slash carbon production over coming decades is ready to be fired up in ground-based tests. The demonstrator turbine for the so-called UltraFan program has completed assembly and been transported to Rolls’s purpose-built Testbed 80 in Derby, England, where it has been mounted in preparation for activation early next year, the London-based company said Monday. Rolls-Royce says the turbine will deliver a 10% improvement in fuel efficiency compared with current-generation engines. The next stage of development will see it spooled up using 100% sustainable aviation fuel, a kerosene replacement that’s set to play a key role in cutting net emissions in coming few years, though currently expensive and in short supply. While the UltraFan demonstrator has a fan measuring almost 12 feet across and developing 80,000 pounds of thrust, Rolls has designed the engine to be scalable from 110,000 pounds down to 25,000 pounds. Different versions will therefore be able to power both the wide-body aircraft that Rolls currently serves and much smaller models, allowing the company to re-enter the single-aisle jet market it abandoned in 2011 and now a preserve of US rivals General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.<br/>