The past 12 months have been an unpredictable time for airlines, with multiple global issues impacting the aviation industry, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine resulting in overflight bans, the removal of most travel restrictions, China ending inbound quarantine, Boeing's 737 MAX delivery catch ups, and more questions about the future of two new versions of the 737 MAX. The year ahead looks more promising, though uncertainty is still massive. IATA, the trade association for most airlines worldwide expects airlines to return to profitability in 2023 after a loss making 2022, mostly the result of a Covid-19 shutdown hangover, but also the rise in fuel prices. And long-awaited new airplanes could also be taking to the skies, helping usher in the next era of commercial aviation. Risks remain though. Wars, global and regional recessions, Covid resurgence, changed travel patterns, the climate crisis, and many other factors are outside aviation's control. Story lists what this means for travelers in 2023.<br/>
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The first major US winter storm system of the year dumped a frosty mix of snow, freezing rain and sleet from the Northern Plains to the Upper Great Lakes region on Tuesday while posing a tornado and flood threat to a large swath of the South. The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast 1 to 3 inches of snow would fall an hour, accompanied at times by thunder, and more than a foot would accumulate in parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota on Tuesday. Drifting and blowing snow from strong, gusty winds was expected to make road travel virtually impossible in some areas, while snow fog, mist and freezing rain created treacherous driving conditions in others, the NWS said. Winter storm warnings, ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were posted in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota as freezing rain swept north through the region, followed by bands of heavy snow, according to the NWS. Nearly 200 flights through Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport were canceled on Tuesday, according to flight tracker FlightAware.<br/>
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday renominated a number of stalled picks for a slate of federal posts including nominees to head the Internal Revenue Service, FAA, ambassador to India and a Federal Communications Commission member, the White House said. The selections did not get approved by the US Senate which was split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking ties. The new Senate convened on Tuesday. Democrats since January 2021 have been unable to command a majority of the five-member FCC, the telecommunications regulator, preventing them from moving forward on some key priorities including reinstating landmark net neutrality rules revoked under former President Donald Trump. The FAA has been without a permanent administrator since March 31. The Senate Commerce Committee has yet to hold a hearing on Biden's pick to head the FAA, Denver International Airport CE Phil Washington. Washington had faced criticism from Republicans after he was named in a search warrant tying him to corruption allegations at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Washington, a former CEO of the Los Angeles public transport system, has denied wrongdoing. The FAA's top aviation safety official, Billy Nolen, has been running the agency on an interim basis.<br/>
European air navigation body Eurocontrol sees “huge challenges” for the region’s air traffic network this summer when it comes to matching capacity with demand, even as it projects economic headwinds are likely to prevent a full recovery to pre-pandemic flight activity until 2025. Eurocontrol had in its June outlook expected a full restoration of flight activity in Europe to occur during 2024. However, in an October outlook it put that back to 2025 under its base scenario as a result of economic headwinds and capacity challenges in European aviation this coming summer. It has reiterated this view in a fresh review of 2022 and outlook for the year ahead. “The recovery to 2019 levels is now expected to take place during 2025 – one year later than forecast in June 2022,” it says. “The base scenario is based on GDP remaining weak for most European states, inflation (including the jet fuel price) impacting demand, and lower passenger confidence/propensity to fly on economic grounds.” While its more optimistic higher-case scenario – which assumes higher GDP growth, a lower impact on demand from inflation and stronger passenger confidence – envisages pre-pandemic levels reached as soon as this summer, Eurocontrol notes that its base scenario has so far proved the most accurate trajectory since the pandemic hit. A lower-case scenario, which includes the potential for the periodic re-imposition of Covid-related travel restrictions, would not see parity in flight activity with 2019 reached until 2028. European flight activity across 2022 stood at 83% of pre-pandemic levels, but strengthened as the year progressed and has been consistently at 86-88% since May. Story has more.<br/>
Most European Union countries favour introducing pre-departure COVID testing for travellers from China, the European Commission said on Tuesday, as Beijing plans to lift travel restrictions on its citizens despite a wave of COVID infections. The common EU approach emerged after a meeting on Tuesday of the Health Security Committee, an EU advisory body of national health experts from the EU-s 27 countries and chaired by the Commission. "The overwhelming majority of countries are in favour of pre-departure testing," a Commission spokesman said. "These measures would need to be targeted at the most appropriate flights and airports and carried out in a coordinated way to ensure their effectiveness," he said. The Commission on Tuesday prepared a draft proposal for the talks, which included a recommendation for mask wearing on flights from China, wastewater monitoring for aircraft arriving from China, genomic surveillance at airports and increased monitoring and sequencing and increased EU vigilance on testing and vaccination. "This will now be revised and adopted based on the input of (EU) Member States," the Commission spokesman said, adding more talks on the measures would take place at another meeting of EU health officials on Wednesday afternoon. The spokesman said all EU countries agreed they needed a coordinated approach to the changing situation in China and to deal with implications of increased travel from China to Europe after China lifts its stringent pandemic polices on Jan 8th. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last week it did not currently recommend measures on travellers from China.<br/>
Global insurers face a testing 2023 as reinsurers hike rates on key business lines by as much as 200% from Jan. 1 and pull back from underwriting risk in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, reinsurance brokers' reports showed on Tuesday. Reinsurers insure insurers, and Jan. 1 is the most important date for reinsurers to renew and adjust pricing of 12-month policies in light of major economic or geopolitical changes, such as the war in Ukraine which broke out in February. Reinsurers have suffered sharp losses from the conflict and from natural catastrophes such as Hurricane Ian in Florida, which broker Howden described as the second-most expensive natural catastrophe ever in terms of insured losses. "The sector is experiencing its most acute, cyclical price increases since the 2001-2006 period, if not before," said David Flandro, head of analytics at Howden in a report. Reinsurers are cutting their exposure to US hurricane risk, with US property reinsurance rates rising by as much as 150% in worst-hit areas at Jan. 1, Gallagher Re said in a separate report. Aviation reinsurance rates, heavily impacted by hundreds of stranded aircraft in Russia, rose by as much as 200%, Gallagher Re said. Hurricane Ian and other natural catastrophes caused an estimated $115b of insured losses globally last year, well above the 10-year average of $81b, reinsurer Swiss Re estimated last month. Climate change is partly to blame for the increased losses, industry sources say. Any rise in rates demanded by reinsurers is likely to be passed on by insurers to their corporate clients, risking insurance becoming more expensive and harder to buy, industry sources say. The market has also added exclusions, which means that from Jan. 1 "it is very difficult to find cover" for Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Gallagher Re International chairman James Vickers told Reuters. Some insurers have already backed away from providing cover in those countries due to risk of sanctions or of steep losses.<br/>
The Philippines’ main airport will continue to have flight delays Tuesday as airlines reel from a technical glitch on New Year’s Day that stranded thousands of passengers and caused a backlog at the flag carrier that could take weeks to clear. Operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the capital region are expected to fully normalize Wednesday or Thursday, said Bryan Co, senior assistant general manager at the agency that manages the gateway. There will be no more cancelled flights but delays are expected, he told CNN Philippines Tuesday. A power supply problem caused the Manila airport’s traffic management system to go offline for several hours on Sunday, which Co said disrupted holiday travel plans of more than 65,000 passengers. The Department of Transportation has launched a probe and senators are also planning an investigation. Philippine Airlines will likely clear the backlog caused by the glitch “in a few weeks,” spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said in a separate CNN Philippines interview, adding that the national carrier has deployed bigger planes and additional flights to normalize operations. Cebu Air is also working on the recovery of its network, the airline said in a Facebook post Monday. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, which runs and maintains air navigation facilities, is coordinating with airlines to ensure safety of passengers. “All procedures are in place, including for contingency, so we will be ready to respond just in case it happens again,” Edgardo Diaz, deputy director at the aviation authority said separately on state television. The agency is prepared to answer questions from lawmakers when they conduct an inquiry into the incident, Diaz said.<br/>