More than a dozen relatives of people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes plan to speak Thursday at a federal court arraignment for the planemaker in Texas, according to a court filing. US District Judge Reed O'Connor last week ordered Boeing to appear to be arraigned on a 2021 felony charge after families of those killed in the two crashes objected to a 2021 plea deal. Boeing won immunity from criminal prosecution as part its $2.5b January 2021 Justice Department deferred prosecution agreement over a 737 MAX fraud conspiracy charge related to the plane's flawed design. Boeing declined to comment on Monday. The families argued that the Justice Department "lied and violated their rights through a secret process," and asked O'Connor to rescind Boeing's immunity from criminal prosecution. O'Connor ruled in October that people killed in the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally considered "crime victims," and family members had urged him to require Boeing to be arraigned on the felony charge. The crashes in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which cost Boeing more than $20b, led to a 20-month grounding for the best-selling plane and prompted the US Congress to pass legislation reforming airplane certification. Among those who plan to speak at the arraignment is Paul Njoroge, who lost his three children, his wife and mother-in-law in the crash, and Nadia Milleron and Michael Stumo, who lost their daughter, Samya Rose Stumo, according to the filing.<br/>
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A co-worker who saw an Alabama airport employee nearly knocked over by exhaust from a jet tried to warn her to stay back, but moments later the employee walked in front of one of the engines and was pulled in, killing her on Dec. 31, federal investigators said Monday. Another ground worker on the other side of the plane had backed away after a pilot leaned out the window and said the engines were still running. Throughout the incident, rotating beacons on the plane appeared to be illuminated, warning that engines were still running, investigators said. The National Transportation Safety Board provided new details about the fatal accident involving an American Eagle jet in a preliminary report that relied on video surveillance and witness accounts. The board did not state a probable cause for the incident — that step usually follows an investigation that can take a year or longer. The flight from Dallas to Montgomery Regional Airport with 63 passengers and crew was operated by Envoy Air, an affiliate of American Airlines. An auxiliary power unit used to power the plane without using the engines was not working, according to the safety board, and pilots decided to leave both engines running for a two-minute engine cool-down period while they waited to for the plane to be connected to ground power. The NTSB said the ground crew huddled shortly before the Embraer jet arrived at the gate to note that engines would remain running until the plane was connected to ground power, and the plane shouldn’t be approached until the engines were shut down and pilots turned off the beacon light.<br/>
The operator of Berlin’s largest airport expects strike action to bring all regular flight traffic to a standstill on Wednesday as ground crews, services staff and security personnel walk off the job. Passengers scheduled to fly to or from Berlin-Brandenburg airport on Jan. 25 should inform themselves about the status of their flights, the operator said in a statement on Monday. Some 300 takeoffs and landings, carrying about 35,000 passengers, were originally planned for Wednesday, it said. Labor union Verdi called the warning strike, citing dissatisfaction with proposals made in three rounds of collective bargaining negotiations by the airport’s management. It’s demanding an increase of €500 ($543) a month for ground services employees over a 12-month period as well as higher bonuses for air security personnel who work weekends and public holidays. Berlin-Brandenburg opened in 2020 after eight years of construction delays. More than 19m passengers passed through the airport in 2022, according to the operator’s website.<br/>
Nervous fliers face even more daunting take-offs under plans being considered to reduce noise pollution around airports. In a three-part review published on Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was looking at the viability of steeper climbs in a bid to limit the time planes are audible above nearby houses. An “increased minimum climb gradient” would help to reduce aircraft noise disturbing people who live near airports, the CAA said, but could run down engines more quickly and emit more carbon. “One of the most significant environmental impacts associated with the airspace, particularly at lower altitudes near airports, is aircraft noise,” the CAA said in a consultation published on modernising Britain’s airspace. Different airports currently have varying minimum gradients. Heathrow, for instance, mandates that planes climb to 1,000 feet during the first 6.5km covered after going airborne. Raising the take-off gradient would help planes reach higher altitudes sooner, reducing the time aircrafts are in earshot of local residents. “This has potential operational benefits and also some noise benefits as, in general, noise experienced on the ground reduces with height,” the CAA said.<br/>
London’s Heathrow airport was forced to cancel some departures on Monday amid thick fog and freezing temperatures. There may be “minor changes” to the schedule as a result of poor visibility at the airport as well as across the southeast of England, a Heathrow spokesperson said in an email. Airlines are working to rebook passengers on alternative services later in the day, with the fog expected to begin clearing at 10 am. About 30 flights, or 5% of Heathrow’s departures, were canceled, with British Airways being the most affected, according to data from tracking website FlightAware. <br/>
Asia-Pacific aviation could see faster recovery in terms of passengers this year, fuelled by China's reopening, as well as achieving a small profit in 2024, while pent-up demand from the mainland could help compensate slowing Western markets, according to the IATA. Philip Goh, regional vice-president for Asia-Pacific at IATA, said this year the region could see a good ramp up in recovery, yet the pace would depend on certain factors. Those include how much additional flight capacity airlines are able to restore to China, the number of inbound and outbound passengers in China, and how fast airlines can deploy manpower and aircraft back to service. China will permit tour groups to visit 20 countries from Feb 6, after lifting the quarantine requirement on arrival since Jan 8. China has been a significant market for intra Asia-Pacific travel, especially Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, said Goh. However, even with the mainland's reopening, the entire region might not gain profit this year as most carriers still haven't secured a good performance, said Goh. "It will take at least one more year, maybe in 2024 we might see some small profit," he said. Only a few would be able to gain profit, such as Singapore Airlines and Korean Air.<br/>
Amazon on Monday announced it’s bringing its air cargo operations to India, marking fresh growth for the company’s logistics arm even as it looks to cut costs in other divisions. The e-retailer is using two Boeing 737-800 aircraft flown by Quikjet Cargo Airlines to ship packages between Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. Amazon Air will enable the company to offer faster deliveries to customers in India, said Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, in a statement. The launch of Amazon Air in India comes as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is undergoing a broad review of the company’s expenses as it stares down a worsening economic outlook and slowing retail sales. Last week, Amazon began the latest phase of the largest layoffs in its 28-year history, which are expected to result in 18,000 employees being laid off. Jassy has looked to slash costs in other ways, including instituting a hiring freeze across Amazon’s corporate workforce, axing some projects and pausing warehouse expansion. Even as he looks to trim expenses, Jassy has previously said the company intends to keep pursuing long-term opportunities and continue to invest in its stores, advertising and cloud-computing businesses, among others. Amazon Air, which debuted in 2016, outsources operations to several airlines. The service allows Amazon to have greater control over the speed and cost of deliveries, which the company has worked to accelerate from two days to one- and same-day in more parts of the US. Amazon Air launched in the US, then expanded to Europe. India is the third market and Amazon Air’s first operation in Asia.<br/>