general

Global airline traffic recovered to 68.5% of pre-pandemic levels last year and surged 64.4% from 2021, according to figures published by global aviation body IATA on Monday. Airlines lost tens of billions of dollars in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the first signs of relief as travel started to return in 2022, particularly during the summer months. With China's recent reopening, that recovery is set to go on, the head of IATA said. "This momentum is expected to continue in the new year, despite some governments' overreactions to China's reopening," said Willie Walsh, IATA's DG. China previously said it would resume overseas group tours organized by tour agencies and online travel companies for Chinese citizens starting from Monday. European carriers saw full-year traffic jump 132.2% compared to 2021, while North American airlines saw a 130.2% rise year-on-year, according to the data. But analysts and executives have long said that recovery to full pre-pandemic levels depends on how quickly travel to and from China can bounce back. "It is vital that governments learn the lesson that travel restrictions and border closures have little positive impact in terms of slowing the spread of infectious diseases in our globally inter-connected world," Walsh added. Many countries, like France, introduced mandatory COVID testing for those flying from China, sparking protests from the aviation sector.<br/>

The head of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will warn lawmakers on 7 February about the risk of a potential looming “catastrophic” airline accident at a US airport. The warning from NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy will come during a House hearing three days after what appears to have been an incredibly dangerous runway incursion event involving Southwest Airlines and FedEx jets at Austin. Homendy will also highlight the need for improved cockpit voice recorders, noting that recordings from two other recent runway incidents had been unavailable to investigators. That is according to Homendy’s written testimony to a 7 February hearing of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Several aviation leaders will testify at the meeting, which lawmakers called to address the Federal Aviation Administration’s next budget bill. Homendy’s written testimony, reviewed by FlightGlobal, does not cite the FedEx-Southwest near miss at Austin on 4 February. But it mentions several previous serious runway incidents involving commercial jets. Those include an Air Canada aircraft that nearly landed on a San Francisco airport taxiway in 2017, and two 2022 incidents involving large jets landing on runways different from those assigned. “Although there were no injuries or damages due to these two incidents, they, along with the Air Canada event… illustrate the potential for a catastrophic accident,” the testimony says. This year, US commercial jets have been involved in at least two other serious airport incidents.<br/>

Many airlines will be unable to meet looming US deadlines to retrofit airplane altimeters to ensure they are not susceptible to 5G wireless interference, the world's biggest airline trade body warned authorities, saying it could impact the summer international travel season. In a letter to the FAA and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, seen by Reuters, IATA DG Willie Walsh said "many operators will not make the proposed July 2023 (and in some cases the March 2023) retrofit deadline owing to supply chain issues, certification delays, and unavoidable logistical challenges." The letter from the IATA, which represents more than 100 carriers that fly to the United States, was dated Feb. 2 and also sent to the CEs of Boeing, Airbus and other aerospace manufacturers. "It is critical that we acknowledge and accept that fact and move collectively to change our approach to this issue now, before many carriers are unable to continue to serve the US market during the peak summer travel season," the letter added. The FAA last month said it was proposing a requirement that passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or approved filters by early 2024. Concerns that 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters, which give data on a plane's height above the ground and are crucial for bad-weather landing, led to disruptions at some US airports last year involving international carriers. The Transportation Department did not comment, while the FAA said in response to request for comment on the letter "the FAA has made its position clear."<br/>

Europe's aviation regulator has ruled out an industry push to allow planes to be crewed by just pilot by 2030 but said it is considering allowing limited single-person operation for parts of flights as early as 2027. The regulator is weighing a pitch from European planemakers Airbus and Dassault Aviation for solo flying in the cruise phase, which is less demanding than take-off and landing, when at least two pilots would still have to be in the cockpit. The proposal included such limitations as barring pilots with medical conditions or too few hours of experience from being solo in the cockpit, Andrea Boiardi, a manager with the regulator, the EASA, told Reuters, revealing previously undisclosed details. The aviation industry wants solo flying to help ease a challenging labor shortage, since the relaxation of regulations would allow pilots to rest during long-haul trips without replacements being aboard. However, Boiardi said an earlier proposal from the industry for totally single-pilot flying by 2030 was "absolutely not realistic", because automation had not advanced far enough and solo flying required a level of safety equivalent to existing operations. Solo flying, even in cruise, needs approval from the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization, individual airlines and their pilot unions. The UN agency is expected to begin studying the issue early this year. Boiardi said only the most advanced planes, equipped for a higher level of safety than required by minimum certification standards, could be used for solo flying in cruise. They would include Airbus A350s and potentially Boeing 787s and 777Xs.<br/>

After high-profile scenes of delayed passengers and mounting baggage piles dominated news in the early part of the last summer, European airports believe improved staffing levels and advanced planning give them heart for a quieter summer out of the headlines. That was the sentiment as aviation industry leaders discussed the challenges ahead at the UK Airport Operators Association’s annual conference in London at the end of January. ”Last year we faced significant operational challenges; that’s because the volume surge took us a little by surprise, beating expectations,” Olivier Jankovec, director general of airports body ACI Europe, said at the start of the event. ”If you look at traffic between January to August, you see some markets had to face really exponential growth and it was not easy to cope with that. It was not easy because we faced acute staff shortages, impacting all actors in the ecosystem. Some markets were more impacted than others, notably the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland, that resulted in significant disruption and impact on passengers.” Major hub airports like Amsterdam Schipohl, Dublin and London Heathrow were among the hardest hit, with the UK and Dutch hubs implementing caps on departing passengers in an attempt to avoid further disruption. ”I think it’s clear that there is no magic wand to solve this, and this also reflects differences in the way states chose to support – or not to support – airports and ground handlers [during the pandemic],” says Jankovec. This was a point Heathrow airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye hlghlighted later in the day. “It was quite telling that in France, where they had government financial support in their sector and they have a big market, Charles de Gaulle didn’t cut as deep as we did and they were able to recover a little quicker,” he notes. Handling at airports came particularly under pressure. <br/>

The airport in the southern Turkish province of Adana was closed for flights until further notice following major earthquakes in the area on Monday, the private Demiroren news agency said. No further details were immediately available. <br/>

Italy intends to use funds coming from the European Union under the so-called REPowerEU plan to completely wean itself off Russian gas and turn the country into energy hub for the bloc, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement. Meloni - who met on Monday with relevant ministers and the CEOs of energy groups Eni, Enel, Snam and Terna - mentioned the need to cooperate with Africa on energy supplies. With total funds close to E300b ($321.36b), the REPowerEU plan is aimed at ending the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels and tackling the climate crisis. It includes about E225b of untapped loans made available under the NextGenerationEU pandemic recovery plan launched in 2021. The EC also proposed to fund it through additional E20b in grants from the sale of EU Emission Trading System allowances (ETS). Launched in 2005, the ETS system compels manufacturers, power companies and airlines to buy permits to cover each tonne of carbon dioxide they emit. The CE of Italian gas grid operator Snam told Reuters last week the group would seek EU support to invest E2.5b to boost the capacity of domestic network. Money coming from the RePowerEU could also be devoted to build the so-called SoutH2 Corridor, a link to bring hydrogen that would be produced in northern Africa to northern Europe, one source with knowledge of the matter said.<br/>

South Korea has recovered up to 58% of international passenger volume, led by a “significant” ramp-up of traffic to and from Southeast Asia following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Data from the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) shows that Southeast Asia passenger traffic recovered to about 66% of pre-pandemic volumes in January – among the highest recovery rates across regions. In recent months, South Korean carriers – especially low-cost operators – have ramped up flights to Southeast Asia. T’way Air, for instance, operates its Airbus A330s on flights to Singapore and Bangkok from Seoul Incheon. Compatriot Jin Air has also launched flights to points in the Philippines and Malaysia in 2022. MOLIT also points out the return of traffic to and from neighbouring Japan, which also eased its border restrictions in October 2022. The ministry’s latest data shows there were 1.3m passengers from Japan, a large uptick against August 2022’s 160,000 passengers. As for China, which in pre-pandemic years was a significant source market for travellers, MOLIT notes that recovery remains tepid, despite “expectations of recovery” after Beijing dropped its ‘Zero-Covid’ policy on 8 January. South Korea imposed quarantine measures on all Chinese arrivals amid an explosion of coronavirus infections in China after leader Xi Jinping’s ‘zero-Covid’ policy was scrapped. The move has led to Beijing imposing retaliatory quarantine measures on South Korean arrivals. MOLIT data shows that passenger volume to and from the Chinese mainland in January was merely 8% pre-pandemic levels, at around 100,000 passengers. <br/>

One of Amazon’s key air cargo operators said Monday that the e-commerce giant is scaling back on flights this year, citing lower demand and slower economic growth. Air Transport Services Group, which runs a significant portion of Amazon’s air cargo fleet, said it expects to operate Boeing 767 freighters dedicated to servicing Amazon and DHL at reduced schedules and less flight time per aircraft. “Both companies are adjusting their ground and air distribution and fulfillment networks in the United States to conform to reduced US economic growth and consumer spending levels in the first half of 2023,” ATSG said. Air cargo rates, which surged in recent years due to port congestion and high demand for fast deliveries, have slumped. The Baltic Air Freight Index was down more than 33% on Jan. 30 from a year earlier. The IATA said last month that air cargo demand in November was down nearly 14% from the year-ago period, while capacity fell 1.9%. Meanwhile, passenger airlines have said travel demand has held up as consumers prioritize trips and other experiences. But coming off Amazon’s weakest year for growth in its quarter century as a public company, CEO Andy Jassy has taken steps to curtail expenses. That includes cutting more than 18,000 jobs, pausing warehouse expansion and shuttering some projects. Amazon built out its fulfillment and logistics network at a frenzied pace during the Covid pandemic, as demand for e-commerce surged. Since then, rising inflation and a slowdown in consumer spending has forced Amazon to downsize. The company has weighed selling excess space on its cargo planes to other airlines, Bloomberg reported last December. ATSG said Monday that Amazon may not extend its leases on five Boeing 767-200 freighters, which are due to expire between May and September. Amazon opted to continue leasing four 767-200s into 2024, it added.<br/>

Sydney Airport's lost property auction has returned after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, with 3000 unclaimed passenger valuables to be sold off for charity. With millions of people travelling through Sydney Airport each month, personal items and valuables sometimes get left behind. While more than 4000 lost items have been returned to passengers in the last year, thousands of unclaimed property is donated to local charities or auctioned off. Laptops, phones, cameras, designer bags, jewellery, perfume and sunglasses will be available for bids starting at A$5, with the auction closing this Sunday. Theodore Bruce Auctioneers will host the 2023 airport auction for the first time. "The technology auction is sure to be a hit with over 120 laptops, 60 headphones and more than a dozen cameras available," said James Badgery, auction house director. Sydney Airport CE Geoff Culbert has described this year's haul as a "treasure trove", with money raised going to Bayside Women's Shelter. "Not only is this auction a great chance for shoppers to grab a bargain but it's also a wonderful way to support an organisation that's making a meaningful difference in the community," said Culbert.<br/>