A problem with a critical air traffic control system that caused flight delays at major airports in Florida on Monday has been fixed, the FAA said. "The computer issue has been resolved. The FAA is working toward safely returning to a normal traffic rate in the Florida airspace," the US agency said. A problem with the functioning of a system known as the En Route Automation Modernization used to control air traffic prompted the FAA on Monday afternoon to issue a so-called ground stop order, slowing traffic into Florida airports. The issue was the latest problem to hamper U.S. travel after a massive winter storm during the Christmas holiday season crippled operations at low-cost carrier Southwest, forcing it to cancel thousands of flights. The problem with the ERAM system at a major regional air traffic control center in Miami was behind dozens of flight delays at the Miami International Airport and also flights into other airports in the southern US state.<br/>
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European Union government health officials will hold talks on Wednesday on a coordinated response to the surge in COVID-19 infections in China, the Swedish EU presidency said on Monday, after December talks concluded with no decisions on the matter. At a similar meeting on Dec. 29, held online among over 100 representatives from EU governments, EU health agencies and the World Health Organisation, Italy urged the rest of the EU to follow its lead and test travellers from China for COVID, with Beijing poised to lift travel restrictions on Jan. 8. But others in the 27-nation EU said they saw no need to do so despite China's decision to loosen its pandemic restrictions amid a wave of new infections. "There is a scheduled Integrated Political Crisis Response meeting on Wednesday, January 4, for an update of the COVID-19 situation in China and to discuss possible EU measures to be taken in a coordinated way," a spokeswoman for the Swedish presidency of the EU said. The European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a letter to EU governments on Dec. 29 they should consider immediately scaling up genomic sequencing of COVID-19 infections and monitoring of waste water, including at airports, to detect any new variants, given the surge in infections in China. Kyriakides said the bloc should be "very vigilant" as reliable epidemiological and testing data for China were scarce, advising EU health ministers to assess their current practices on genomic sequencing of the coronavirus "as an immediate step".<br/>
Belgium will test wastewater from planes arriving from China for new COVID variants as part of new steps against the spread of the coronavirus as infections in China surge, the government announced on Monday. "This will be an additional monitoring objective to verify that the data we receive from China is accurate," Steven Van Gucht of the Sciensano national public health institute said. He said Belgium was aware that some COVID-infected passengers might not use the toilet during their flights, and therefore the new measure was "not meant to track people but to track independently what is happening in China." Belgium is also asking travellers from China to test themselves for COVID-19 if they show symptoms seven days after arriving, but will not enforce this measure. At a press conference announcing the new measures, Belgian Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said that a European Union-wide policy was needed towards China's COVID surge. EU health officials will hold talks on Wednesday on a coordinated response. Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China, including mandatory testing for COVID, as infections there spread following Beijing's relaxation of "zero-COVID" rules.<br/>
Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has shut the Zwanenburgbaan Runway to execute major maintenance works. Beginning 2 January 2023, the runway will be closed until mid-April this year. As part of the maintenance works, the runway asphalt will be entirely renewed. Zwanenburgbaan Runway was built in the 1960s, and the maintenance is said to be part of the regular maintenance that is conducted every 40 to 60 years. The project will see renewing 12,000m2 of runway markings and replacing 60km of guttering and outlets around the runway. It will also involve the replacement of runway lighting and electric cables with a more sustainable LED lighting system. Schiphol will replace 6,400 lights and 450km cabling under this project.<br/>
Cairo International Airport handled the highest passenger movement of 77,000 passengers on Friday, 30 December 2022 in line with the new year celebrations and Christmas holiday, ending 2022 on a satisfying note, Egypt’s Minister of Civil Aviation, Mohamed Abbas, said. The minister added that Egyptian airports are currently undergoing major development, highlighting that the project to develop Sharm El-Sheikh Airport cost EGP 1.20b and is estimated to reach EGP 2b, while the development cost of Sphinx International Airport was about EGP 2b. The aviation ministry’s strategy aims to ideally exploit and maximise resources while activating air traffic and attracting more investments and tourists to Egypt in an effort to increase the number of tourists coming to Egypt to 30 million annually in line with the state’s goal.<br/>
Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas Helmi said that El-Alamein International Airport would be prepared to accommodate routine flights in March. Helmi informed the media on Monday during a press conference that the airport, which serves the North Coast region and New Alamein City, is regarded as a significant regional airport. Special charter aircraft started arriving at El-Alamein International Airport in August of last year. The minister also mentioned that construction is still ongoing at many airports. According to Helmi, work on Alexandria's Borg Al-Arab Airport's Terminal 2 was supposed to be finished in March but has now been postponed to July. Helmi added that the Sphinx International Airport in Giza just opened for both domestic and international travel.<br/>
Iran's Civil Aviation Authority recently purchased four Airbus A340 aircraft that formerly flew with Turkish Airlines. Despite international sanctions, the authority confirmed the purchase, which occurred in December. The move comes as the Middle Eastern country's government is reportedly seeking newer aircraft in its fleet due to the aging equipment currently flying. The planes arrived in Tehran last week, according to social media. The four ex-Turkish Airlines birds were recently registered in Burkina Faso, according to AeroTime. On December 24, 2022, the planes departed for a scheduled flight from South Africa to Uzbekistan but disappeared from flight tracking services over Iran. Days later, satellite imagery spotted the planes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Administration of Iran announced on December 29th that the four aircraft had been purchased for use by one of Iran's airlines. With the country successfully acquiring the planes, details have not been shared about how the administration was able to avoid longtime sanctions. Iran's civil aviation is reportedly in dire need of new aircraft, according to AeroTime. Since the 1970s, the country has been under international sanctions following the Iranian Revolution and the US Embassy hostage crisis. The penalties were also extended during the war between Iran and Iraq, preventing Iranian airlines from purchasing new aircraft and increasing the difficulty of getting parts for older aircraft.<br/>
Passengers from China who arrive in the United Kingdom next week will not face compulsory COVID-19 tests on arrival, The Independent reported on Monday. Testing at Heathrow Airport will be voluntary and those who test positive will neither be quarantined nor ordered to self-isolate, the report added. Britain last week had said that passengers arriving in Britain from China would require a negative COVID test taken no more than two days prior to departure after a surge in infections in China.<br/>
The Philippines' main gateway scrambled to resume full services on Monday after a New Year power outage jolted its air traffic control and disrupted 300 flights, prompting calls from business leaders and a top senator for urgent action. A failure of primary and secondary power supplies caused the outage at Ninoy Aquino airport, and it should take about 72 hours for airlines to normalise their operations, said Cesar Chiong, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority. There were 361 flights delayed, cancelled or diverted to other regional airports on Sunday, affecting about 65,000 passengers, while may other flights were rerouted around Philippine airspace. Chiong said the airport was handling a maximum of 15 flights per hour on Monday morning, down from the usual 20. Several of the airport's four terminals were crowded on Monday, with long queues of people trying to re-book flights while other weary passengers slept on chairs or on the floor. "In the 24 hours that we've been waiting, we are now very exhausted from lack of sleep, my body is aching from all the waiting," said Kirana Mangkabong, 32, an overseas worker. The airport has been ranked among the world's worst international gateways, with flight backlogs a regular occurrence and a history of upgrades being delayed or abandoned due to disputes between airport authorities and contractors.<br/>
India has raised windfall tax on petroleum, crude oil and aviation turbine fuel, according to a government order dated Jan. 2. It raised windfall tax on crude oil to 2,100 rupees ($25.38) per tonne from 1,700 rupees ($20.55), effective on Tuesday, the order said. The federal government also raised export tax on diesel to 7.5 rupees per litre from 5 rupees, while raising the windfall tax on ATF to 4.5 rupees per litre from 1.5 rupees, the document showed. India, the world's largest consumer and importer of oil, has been buying Russian crude barrels at well below a $60 price cap agreed by the West. The country in July imposed the windfall tax on crude oil producers and levies on exports of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel after private refiners sought overseas markets to gain from robust refining margins, instead of selling at lower-than-market rates in the country.<br/>
Korea started requiring COVID-19 testing for arrivals from China on Monday, with such measures causing confusion and inconvenience at Incheon International Airport, the gateway to Korea, throughout the day. Under the new restrictions that were announced only three days ago, all arrivals from China are obliged to undergo a PCR test within the first day of their entry. They must also remain in separate facilities here until their test results are confirmed, while Korean nationals and foreigners with residency status returning here from visiting China have to quarantine at their residence after a PCR test. Beginning Monday morning, Incheon airport authorities handed out red name tags to all short-term visitors from China to identify them from travelers from other countries. Soldiers wearing blue protective clothing then escorted them to the PCR testing center located at Terminal 1. As there was no separated route for them, some travelers arriving from Singapore were mistakenly given the red name tags after standing in wrong lines. Foreigners who underwent the PCR test were asked to stay in a waiting room on the first floor of the nearby Transportation Center until their test results came out. The center where benches and simple refreshments are prepared can accommodate about 300 people at the same time.<br/>
Shares in French IT group Atos rallied on Monday, after newspaper Les Echos reported Airbus had started "exploratory talks" to take a minority share in the firm's cybersecurity unit, citing unnamed sources. Airbus said in an emailed statement that it would not comment on speculation, adding "we are in constant discussion with our partners, customers and suppliers across the industry, but these conversations remain private in nature". Atos said that as part of its strategic plan, "the company had initiated exploratory discussions with potential future minority shareholders in the scope of activities grouped under the name of Evidian". Atos shares, which lost more than half of their value last year, rose around 7% in early Paris trade on Monday.<br/>
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has undertaken a reorganisation to help it better meet the demands of the domestic and international defence market. While retaining is prevailing structure, KAI says it is working towards greater efficiency, boosting exports, and placing a greater emphasis on customers. t adds that the reorganisation saw 20% of its staff “slimmed down”, with some common functions across business units combined. To better address the global defence aerospace market, KAI has set up a new research & development arm, the ‘Future Convergence Technology Institute”. The institute will explore future aircraft technologies. In addition, a new customer service centre will be set up to following the growth of the world’s FA-50 fleet – including new sales in 2022 – as well as the planned production ramp-up of the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH). “In this reorganization, we focused on organizational synergies to strengthen business competitiveness, such as strengthening management efficiency as well as expanding exports and preoccupying future business technologies,” says CE Kang Gu-young. “We also expanded the number of young managers to select talent and build an active and energetic organizational culture.” <br/>