After being stuck at Toronto Pearson Airport for over a year, an Antonov An-124 aircraft — owned by Russian cargo firm Volga-Dnepr — is to be confiscated and transferred to Ukraine as part of a new package of sanctions against Russia from Canada, which target Volga-Dnepr in particular. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal shared the news in a Facebook update on April 16, following meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. The An-124 has been parked at Pearson airport and unable to leave since it arrived in Canada on Feb. 27, 2022, from Khabarovsk, Russia, via Anchorage, Alaska, to deliver a shipment of Covid-19 rapid tests. The same day the plane arrived, Canada’s Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, closed Canadian airspace to Russian-owned, chartered, or operated aircraft. This was in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The war is ongoing. Several countries have since imposed sanctions against Russia, with many targeting the country’s aviation sector. In addition to Russian-registered aircraft being unable to use Canadian, U.S., and European airspace, the sanctions have resulted in lease cancelations and major airframe OEMs halting the supply of parts and support for Russian airlines. Currently, four An-124s belonging to Volga-Dnepr — which owns Volga-Dnepr Airlines — are stuck in other countries, including the aircraft grounded in Canada. <br/>
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Paris airports operator Aeroports de Paris estimates it lost around 470,000 passengers in the January to March period due to the strikes against French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform, the company said on Monday. In March alone, passenger losses were around 390,000, it estimated. President Macron on Saturday signed into law a deeply unpopular bill to raise the state pension age, infuriating unions that called for months of mass protests, which started in January this year, to continue. Nevertheless, ADP said passenger traffic at its Parisian airports rose 44.6% year-on-year in Q1 to 21m passengers, standing at 88.7% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Excluding the impact of the strikes, traffic would have been up 47.8%, it estimated, at 90.7% of pre-pandemic levels. For the whole network, which includes airports in Turkey and India among others, traffic rose 45.1% over the quarter to 69.4m passengers, or 95.2% of 2019 levels.<br/>
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank said on Monday it has extended a E140m loan to the operator of Turkey’s Antalya airport to improve its existing runway capacity and terminal infrastructure. The capex bridge loan is the AIIB’s first non-sovereign backed financing transaction in the airport industry, the statement said, and the financing package is provided in partnership with the International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank Group, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. <br/>
The Jet Zero Council has announced an action plan for the next two years to reach net zero in UK aviation by 2050. The plan sets out how the council, which is comprised of industry, academic, and government leaders, will help to accelerate the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) by investing in first-of-a-kind SAF plants, supporting scientific research on a larger scale, and helping to drive down production costs. “This government is a determined partner to the aviation industry – helping accelerate new technology and fuels, modernise their operations, and work internationally to remove barriers to progress,” said Transport Secretary Mark Harper. “Together, we can set aviation up for success, continue harnessing its huge social and economic benefits, and ensure it remains a core part of the UK’s sustainable economic future.” The announcement comes in tandem with the publication of a new report, called ‘Developing a UK SAF industry’. The independent evaluation – commissioned by the Department for Transport in October 2022 – assesses what conditions are necessary to create a successful UK SAF industry. The report, written by Philip New, former CEO of the Energy Systems Catapult and BP Alternative Energy, sets out a number of recommendations to help stimulate SAF production in the UK. <br/>
Domestic flights in Nigeria were being disrupted on Monday, local airlines said, as aviation employees in Lagos blocked roads to the country's busiest local airport to begin a two-day strike in protest over working conditions and wages. The strike is likely to add to problems in a sector that regularly faces jet fuel shortages, which often ground local flights and where international carriers struggle to repatriate revenue from ticket sales due to dollar shortages. Air Peace, which also flies international and regional routes and has the largest fleet, told passengers that "flights across our network will consequently be disrupted" due to the strike. It did not say how many flights were delayed or cancelled. United Nigeria said passengers in and out of the commercial capital of Lagos would be disrupted but hoped for a quick resolution to the impasse. In Lagos, chanting workers blocked roads to the domestic terminal, creating a traffic jam and forcing passengers to finish their journey on foot. International flights were not affected. Police and army personnel watched from a distance. Lagos handles dozens of local flights daily. "It is time for us to release aviation workers from the bondage of this imperialist aviation management that we have been having for years," Abdulrasaq Saidu, secretary general of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, said. The Ministry of Aviation said it was trying to meet the workers' demands and urged them to return to work, adding the strike would "affect flight schedules, lead to economic losses and negatively impact on our rating globally." Unions for pilots, engineers, control tower operators and other airport workers say they are protesting against unpaid wages, government failure to implement an industry minimum wage and plans to demolish the Lagos offices of some aviation agencies to allow for expansion of the airport.<br/>
South Korea's largest airport is aggressively investing in smart cargo-handling infrastructure with the goal of consolidating its position as a global logistics hub, its logistics chief told Nikkei Asia. The airport is expanding automated systems to more efficiently process incoming shipments from e-commerce companies and reduce the need for human staff, thereby warding off labor shortages, Lee Sang-yong, executive director of Incheon International Airport Corp.'s Logistics Group, said in a recent interview. "Logistics is the main function of increasing competitiveness," Lee said. "Including trans shipments, our aim is to be a logistics hub for the whole area around the airport -- China, Japan and Southeast Asia." The airport, located on an island off South Korea's northwestern coast, opened in 2001 and won Skytrax World Airport of the Year awards in 2009 and 2012. It is owned by Incheon International Airport Corp., a government body under the country's transport ministry. While airports did not suffer as much as airlines from the pandemic-driven drop in passenger traffic, they nevertheless did record big losses due to their high fixed costs. The pandemic-related boom in e-commerce, however, came with increased shipments of food and electronics as consumers sought meals and entertainment at home. In 2021, Incheon International recorded a rise in cargo volume, handling 3.3m tonnes to rank second in the world after Hong Kong. Incheon's total volume that year marked an 18.6% increase from the previous year and was up 22.9% from 2019, the last year before the pandemic, according to Airports Council International. Movements at the facility -- about an hour's drive from central Seoul -- are consistent with changes at air hubs around the world, as operators brace for a future where air traffic volume is unpredictable. A February report by consultancy McKinsey said that airports ought to "consider new ways to diversify their revenue streams and sustain their operations for the long term."<br/>
Nearly 100 flights were grounded on the southern island of Jeju on Tuesday due to dangerous wind conditions. The weather authorities issued alerts for high winds and wind shear, which refers to sudden changes in wind direction and speed, for the island. As of 8:50 a.m., Jeju International Airport had reported the cancellation of 97 domestic flights to and from the airport. In addition, an airplane from Singapore, scheduled to arrive at Jeju at 6:45 a.m., was diverted. A total of 480 flights were scheduled for Tuesday. In the early morning, wind gusts of 12.8 meters per second blew in areas surrounding the airport. The wind is forecast to range between 10.3-15.6 mps in the afternoon. The strong winds also disrupted sea transportation with 43 passenger ships to and from Jeju canceled. <br/>
Vietnam's local airfares have risen sharply due to increased fuel prices, the exchange rate of US dollars, and interest rates, resulting in higher airline costs, according to the country's Aviation Business Association. Airlines have resumed international routes after the pandemic, but cannot increase domestic flights like in 2022 due to the need to balance manpower and aircraft, resulting in limited domestic flights and ticket prices being pushed up, local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Monday, citing Bui Doan Ne, vice chairman of the association. The price of flights has increased sharply as thousands look ahead to the national holiday, which lasts for five days from April 29 to May 3, the newspaper reported. Round-trip airfares for some routes from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to tourist destinations such as Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Hue, Da Nang and Nha Trang are currently very high, ranging from 4m to 8m Vietnamese dong (US$169-339) including taxes and fees. A representative of the country's national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, explained that the tickets at low prices have been almost sold out, and only tickets at high prices are left, but this price is still within the ticket price framework of the Ministry of Transport. Bamboo Airlines, a local private airline, said commercial aviation is seasonal. During peak periods such as April 30 to May 1, travel demand spikes, while the supply of airlines is limited, leading to high ticket prices.<br/>
Australians looking to escape winter and fly to Europe for a summer holiday are facing fares almost 50% higher than the same period last year as airlines keep prices high despite the supply of available seats and fuel prices improving in recent months. The average price for a return economy air fare from Australian cities to European destinations such as London, Paris and Milan for travel between the beginning of June and end of September has grown to $2,571, according to data compiled by booking site Kayak.com.au from searches made since early January up to last week. The figures mark a 46% increase on average air fares for the European summer in 2022, and are 63% above comparable pre-pandemic fares. Soaring air fares are more pronounced in certain months. Return economy tickets between Australia and Europe in June are averaging $2,841. Across the June to September period, Frankfurt is the cheapest European city to fly to, with an average return fare of $2,371, while Lisbon is the most expensive with an average return ticket at $2,963, according to the Kayak booking data. David Beirman, an adjunct fellow at the University of Technology Sydney specialising in tourism, said the considerable increase in fares since 2022 should not come as a surprise. “Airlines for a long time were making next to no money on international flights, especially for economy passengers.” Beirman said most carriers were still working to financially recover from the steep losses of Covid, even if some such as Qantas have been posting record profits of late. “Those two years of lost revenue is what consumers are paying for now.” He added that airlines did not have much in terms of cash reserves and that “Covid was an extreme lesson” in what could happen when things go wrong.<br/>
A manufacturing problem with Boeing Co's (BA.N) 737 MAX jets that led to a pause in some deliveries threatens to disrupt plans by U.S. carriers to boost capacity to capitalize on a busy summer travel season. It is expected to result not just in lost revenue, but will likely also drive up airlines' operating costs, industry experts said. Carriers are already grappling with shortages of pilots, air traffic controllers and new planes, making it harder to add more flights. They are leaning on bigger planes that can accommodate more passengers to get around operational challenges. Boeing's latest problem, identified last week, affects a portion of the 737 MAX family of airplanes, including the bestselling MAX 8. The MAX 737-8 planes tend to have higher seating capacity compared with jets of previous generations. The delays in their delivery will only compound airlines' operational headaches, said Addison Schonland, partner at consulting firm AirInsight. "The timing is awkward," Schonland said. "You're going into the peak (travel) season. They need the bigger capacity."While it is not deemed to be a safety of flight issue and in-service planes can continue to operate, aircraft will need to be fixed before delivery. The impact on airlines could be even more pronounced if the FAA mandates an emergency fix to in-service planes as opposed to allowing jets to be modified during scheduled maintenance, said Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard. Airlines are still scrambling to get all the details and assess the impact on delivery schedules. Boeing declined to comment on how many planes will be affected. CEO David Calhoun is expected to provide further details at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.<br/>