general

Global airline passenger traffic in the first month of this year rose 67% compared with January 2022 and reached 84.2% of pre-pandemic levels for the corresponding period in 2019, according to IATA. International traffic more than doubled over January of last year, led by strong growth among Asia-Pacific carriers as markets reopened, reaching more than three-quarters of pre-Covid levels. Domestic traffic rose 32.7% year-on-year in January and reached 97.4% of the January 2019 level. “Air travel demand is off to a very healthy start in 2023,” says IATA director general Willie Walsh. “The rapid removal of Covid-19 restrictions for Chinese domestic and international travel bodes well for the continued strong industry recovery from the pandemic throughout the year.” Walsh adds that the airline industry has “not seen the many economic and geopolitical uncertainties of the day dampening demand for travel”. Total ASK capacity in January was lifted 35.5% year-on-year, resulting in an overall load factor of 77.7%. The biggest increases in both traffic and capacity were seen in Africa and Asia-Pacific. North American carriers added the least capacity – 19.6% more than in January 2022 – though that was off a relatively high base. Latin American airlines had the lowest traffic growth at 24.3%,while traffic growth in Europe was 53.2% on a 27.1% increase in capacity. The strongest domestic growth in January was in the Australian market, followed by India and then Japan, IATA’s data shows. China’s domestic RPKs rose 37.2% in January, which IATA says represented the first month-over-month annual increase since August 2022.<br/>

The US CDC confirmed on Wednesday it plans to end mandatory COVID-19 tests for travelers from China, joining other countries in eliminating the requirements. Reuters and other outlets on Tuesday reported that the CDC plans to drop the testing requirements imposed in early January on Friday. The CDC said on Wednesday that the "public health measure was put in place to protect US citizens and communities as we worked to both identify the size of the (China COVID) surge and gain better insights into the variants that were circulating." The CDC said it will continue to monitor cases in China and around the world. Last week, Japan dropped a requirement that everyone take a test for the virus upon arrival from China. The United States in early January joined other countries in taking new measures after Beijing's decision to lift its stringent zero-COVID policies. It required air passengers ages 2 years and older to get a negative COVID test result no more than two days before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macao.<br/>

The TSA unveiled cybersecurity rules on Tuesday for the largest, most vital airport and aircraft operators, the second time in less than a week that the Biden administration has acted on its push for cyber rules for critical infrastructure. It also marks the latest set of cyber rules for the aviation sector imposed by TSA. The newer set of rules requires the pertinent airports and operators to develop security plans for defending things like who has access to networks, then seek TSA approval for them. TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a news release that “[p]rotecting our nation’s transportation system is our highest priority,” and TSA will work closely with industry to boost cybersecurity. The latest mandates arrive after Friday’s Environmental Protection Agency rules for the water sector, and less than a week after the Biden administration released a national cybersecurity strategy that reflects the administration’s shift toward embracing regulation to secure critical infrastructure.<br/>

Two US senators on Wednesday asked US officials to detail which airlines are in jeopardy of not meeting deadlines to retrofit planes to avoid potential 5G wireless interference. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan cited a Reuters story that said many airlines will be unable to meet looming US deadlines after the world's biggest airline trade body warned the issue could impact the summer international travel season. "We are concerned that airlines that do not meet the retrofit deadlines could negatively impact consumers - both due to flight cancellations or delays and by impeding access to needed connectivity," the senators wrote to acting FAA head Billy Nolen and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and asking for details on which specific airlines could be impacted. Nolen told Blackburn at a hearing Wednesday "we have identified a risk to the (national airspace) -- one that must be addressed. We believe we have given the right amount of time to do that and so we have no plans at this point to change the timing." International Air Transport Association (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 FAA in January proposed requiring passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or approved filters by early 2024.<br/>

An airport shootout in Chile’s capital killed a security officer and an alleged robber Wednesday in what authorities said was an attempted heist of more than $32m in cash aboard a plane from Miami. Around 10 heavily armed robbers were able to skirt security measures to reach the runway at the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, where a Latam airlines aircraft had $32.5m in cash that was being transferred to an armored truck, Interior Subsecretary Manuel Monsalve said. There was a shootout between the would-be robbers and security officials that killed an employee of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGAC, as well as an alleged assailant. The other robbers fled. Two burned vehicles were later found nearby. “The brave action by the DGAC officials frustrated the robbery,” Monsalve said, noting that the would-be robbers were “highly organized” and “very armed.” Video posted on social media appeared to show bullet holes in a Delta plane that was parked next to the Latam aircraft that was targeted. Another video appears to show a moment in the shootout during which a lot of gunshots can be heard. “There was no risk to passengers,” DGAC chief Raúl Jorquera said. The attempted heist targeted the $32.5m that were set to be transferred to an armored truck to then be distributed to several banks in the South American country. The attempted robbery “will undoubtedly lead us to revise processes, protocols that must be improved … it forces us to rethink many things,” Jorquera said. <br/>

Passenger traffic across the European airport network in January came the closest ever to a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels, the group Airports Council International (ACI) said on Wednesday. The monthly report showed passenger traffic across the European airport network increased by 69% in January compared with the same month last year, when Omicron-related travel restrictions halted the recovery. When compared with January 2019 levels, passenger traffic in 2023 stood at -11%, the best monthly performance and thus closest to a full recovery since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACI said. About “42% of Europe’s airports have now recovered their pre-pandemic traffic volumes,” said ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec, adding the group expects more airports “to hit the same milestone in the coming months.” “For now, our immediate focus is on getting ready for the peak Summer season,” he added. The EU+ Market - which includes the European Union, the UK, Switzerland and EEA countries - led the growth with passenger traffic growing 82% in January compared with the same month last year. The highest increases were recorded in the United Kingdom (+128%), Ireland (+115%) and Cyprus (+111%). Compared with pre-pandemic levels, 11 national markets achieved or exceeded a full recovery in January, the report showed, with airports in Portugal and Cyprus ranked first, while Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Germany stood at the bottom. “This reflects a mix of factors including the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lack of penetration or loss of Low Cost traffic,” ACI said, though traffic at airports in Armenia (+70%), Georgia (+49.2%), and to a lesser extent Turkey (+47.9%) benefited from war-related traffic shifts.<br/>

France’s DGAC civil aviation authority has asked airlines to cancel 20% of flights at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport on Thursday and Friday. Airlines are expected to further reduce flights this week as unions continue to protest against government pension reforms. Up to 30% of flights at France’s smaller airports, including Paris-Orly and those in Lyon and Toulouse, may be cut as well, according to a statement. Turnout to Tuesday’s protests, the sixth this year, surged to 1.28m, the highest yet, according to government figures. <br/>

Heathrow airport will be forced to cut its landing fees after demand for flying recovered from the pandemic faster than expected and airlines successfully lobbied against a significant increase in charges. The UK aviation regulator on Wednesday said landing fees at the UK hub airport should fall from the current GBP31.57 per passenger to GBP25.43 from next year. Heathrow and airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, had engaged in a years-long row over whether the airport should be allowed to increase its fees following the pandemic and the fall in traveller numbers. The charges are typically passed straight on to passengers through ticket prices. Heathrow pushed to be allowed to charge much higher fees — as much as GBP40 per passenger — and warned that investment in the airport was at risk. But in an increasingly acrimonious dispute, airlines accused the airport of price gouging and deliberately underestimating the speed of the recovery in its passenger forecasts in order to win a better settlement on prices from the regulator. Senior industry executives warned the dispute would rumble on, with Heathrow and the airlines both given six weeks to appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority, the competition watchdog. Both Heathrow and British Airways owner, International Airlines Group, said they were considering their options, with neither side left satisfied. The airport said the Civil Aviation Authority had cut charges to their lowest levels in real terms in a decade, and that instead it should be “incentivising investment to rebuild service”. Luis Gallego, CE of IAG, said high charges “risked undermining [the UK’s] competitiveness” and that the regulator should have cut them further.<br/>

China logged 39.72m entry and exit trips between Jan. 8 to March 7, according to National Immigration Administration data, showing the revival in travel after COVID-19 restrictions were dismantled. The numbers were up 112.4% year-over-year. Data showed 122,000 visas and residence permits for foreigners were issued by immigration administration agencies nationwide by March 7, up 33.1% from before the policy U-turn. Chinese citizens flocked to travel sites and airports after the country re-opened its borders, allowing people to take advantage of travel after being cut off from the rest of the world. During the recent Lunar New Year in late January holiday trips surged in the country. The number of people entering and leaving the country hit 1.013m on Feb. 25, exceeding 1m in a single day for the first time since 2020, said the National Immigration Administration.<br/>

From long immigration lines and luggage waiting times to the now out-of-commission aerotrains, players in tourism and hospitality say Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) needs a serious revamp to attract more tourists. While KLIA has served Malaysia well since it opened almost 25 years ago, stakeholders feel it has lagged behind rivals such as Singapore’s Changi Airport, said Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents president Tan Kok Liang. Common complaints from tourists were of the long lines at immigration, the state of the toilets and amenities, transportation between the main terminal and satellite building, as well as the waiting and sitting areas, added Tan. “Changi already has four world-class terminals and is working on its fifth. We have no plan at all, and our KLIA is already more than two decades old. An airport is always the face and the first impression of a country. If the services such as immigration and the aerotrains are not warm and welcoming, it reflects badly on its people. In the long run, it will affect tourism because travellers will choose airports that have better connectivity and transit facilities.”<br/>

The US FAA is ramping up oversight of Boeing and plans to add nearly 300 employees to its safety office following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in recent years, the agency's acting head said on Wednesday. Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen told the Senate Commerce Committee that the aviation safety office, which currently has 7,489 employees, plans to have 7,775 by the end of September. The committee held a hearing on FAA safety reforms that Congress directed in 2020 after the 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. The FAA currently has 107 full-time staff members providing regulatory oversight on Boeing, up from 82 just a couple of years ago, Nolen said. Additionally, he said the FAA has augmented its Boeing oversight team with the equivalent of 35 full-time employees from across the agency to support oversight activities. A 2020 House of Representatives report said the two fatal 737 MAX crashes "were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA."<br/>