The Biden administration announced on Monday that it would seek to require airlines to compensate passengers for lengthy flight delays and cancellations that are within their control. The administration said it would start the process of establishing a new rule to require airlines to provide cash payments rather than merely refunds for significant travel disruptions. No major U.S. airline currently guarantees cash compensation for delays or cancellations, according to the Transportation Department. “I know how frustrated many of you are with the service you get from your US airlines,” President Biden said at the White House, where he appeared with Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, to announce the proposal. “You deserve to be fully compensated,” Biden added. “Your time matters. The impact on your life matters.” The administration did not provide specifics about the proposal, such as how much airlines would be required to pay travelers. Biden said his administration would propose the rule “later this year.” The federal rule-making process can be lengthy, so the proposal is not likely to take effect any time soon. The new proposal adds to Buttigieg’s efforts to push the airline industry to improve the customer experience. During his tenure, the Transportation Department has imposed millions of dollars in fines on airlines for a number of violations, including for issues related to customer refunds, though some critics have pushed for him to take a harder line with the industry.<br/>
general
A year after delays at Canada’s busiest travel hub made international headlines, the airport’s top boss promised this summer will be different. “The anxiety, the uncertainty, the frustration, and the lack of control that was felt by passengers last year is one that we will never forget,” Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) President and CEO Deborah Flint said Monday. “We want Torontonians, Ontarians, and Canadians, and travellers from around the world to know that this summer will be very different and better than summer 2022.” Staffing will be key to delivering on that promise, Flint said. This year, there are 10,000 more employees at Toronto Pearson International Airport, which brings the total number of workers to 50,000. Of those new employees, Flint said 130 will be dedicated to busing, baggage handling, and terminal operations. Baggage systems at the airport, which caused headaches for many passengers last summer, are also now “more resilient” thanks to AI, which anticipates and prevents overloading and potential breakdowns, she said. Monday’s pledge is a big one, specifically because Pearson expects to take on 10% more passengers in the next few months than it did in 2022. According to Flint, Pearson saw a 70% return to 2019 passenger volumes (50m travellers) at the end of last year. This year, it expects to hit 80%.<br/>
Birmingham airport was the worst in the UK for flight delays for a second year in a row, an investigation has found. Departures from the West Midlands airport were half an hour behind schedule on average in 2022, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by the PA news agency. That was more than twice as long as the previous year, when it was also ranked last for punctuality. The airport said it is “running smoothly” this year. Doncaster Sheffield – which closed in November – and Manchester airports had the joint second poorest punctuality records in 2022, with an average delay of 29 minutes.They were followed by Luton (28 minutes), Gatwick (27 minutes) and Bristol (26 minutes) airports. East Midlands airport had the best performance, with an average delay of just 13 minutes. The average across all airports was 23 minutes. The analysis took into account all scheduled and chartered departures. Cancelled flights were not included. When flights are significantly delayed, airlines are required under consumer laws to provide passengers with assistance, which can include refreshments, a means of communication and accommodation if required. If the cause of disruption is under an airline’s control, passengers are also due compensation of up to GBP520 depending on the length of the delay and the distance of the flight.<br/>
The 22nd edition of Airport Show is opening tomorrow (May 9) at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) for a three-day trade show, showcasing a range of new technologies, innovations in airport sustainability, digitisation and urban air mobility. Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman and CE of Emirates Airline and Group, the Show will have over 150 exhibitors from 20 countries and more than 4,000 trade visitors from over 20 countries. The 22nd edition will have 100-plus buyers from 20+ countries along with four country pavilions, Italy, Germany, UK and Switzerland. Airport Show and co-located events ATC Forum, Airport Security Middle East, Global Airport Leaders’ Forum and the Women in Aviation Anniversary Conference will create business opportunities between the world’s leading airport suppliers and service providers, and regional airport decision-makers. Exhibitors from the US, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Netherlands, China, Belgium, Korea and Sweden and several other countries including the host, UAE, will showcase the latest innovative products and technologies to make the aviation industry safe and sustainable, enhance efficiency and passengers experience with the expected increase in passenger numbers and aviation industry growth.<br/>
Go Airlines India this week became the latest victim in the battle of the skies over India. It isn’t the first high-profile carrier to fail and it won’t be the last. Buoyed by an emerging middle class hankering to fly, Indian airlines ordered billions of dollars worth of planes in the past few years, creating a cauldron of competition in what is now the world’s most populous nation. Even before the industry was slammed by the pandemic, the fight for survival was intense. The lure of aviation has proven particularly attractive — and brutal — for wealthy entrepreneurs, eager to enter a burgeoning sector and wooed by the status of owning an airline. Go-Air, run by cookie-to-clothing magnate Nusli Wadia’s group, is the third high-profile carrier majority owned by a billionaire that has ceased to fly in the past 11 years. Story looks at what makes India both one of the fastest-growing and most difficult markets for operators, as well as suppliers such as Airbus and Boeing. <br/>
Airports of Thailand Plc expects to break even this fiscal year and return to profit the following year as air travel returns to pre-covid levels. AoT president Kerati Kijmanawat said on Monday that domestic air traffic had already fully returned to normal and international traffic was back at 70% and was increasing. Aviation was recovering, travel demand was growing and all airlines were operating at full capacity. The sector expected to return to pre-covid normalcy in 2024, he said. full capacity. The sector expected to return to pre-covid normalcy in 2024, he said. The International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization shared the same view, accordng to Kerati. AoT operates Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Hat Yai airports. In fiscal 2022 it reported a loss of 11.09b baht.<br/>
Australian airlines could soon be forced to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled as the government faces mounting calls to introduce laws to rein in carriers arbitrarily changing their schedules. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, consumer advocate Choice and the Australian Lawyers Alliance have all separately raised the prospect of a compensation scheme as the government considers its aviation white paper. Advocates of such a scheme claim local laws are “lagging behind the rest of the world”, pointing to the EU’s air passenger compensation laws as an ideal model for Australia to consider. In Europe, passengers whose flights arrive at their final destination with a delay of more than three hours are entitled to between E250 and E600 each, depending on the distance of the trip. Longer delays mean passengers can opt to be refunded, which must be repaid to them within seven days. If a delay means a passenger misses a connecting flight on the same reservation, the airline must also pay compensation. The compensation rules do not apply in situations where extraordinary circumstances, such as poor weather, caused the delays. In Australia, different airlines offer varying levels of compensation, and while the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) applies, there are no aviation-specific regulations forcing a minimum amount or timeframe for compensation.<br/>
Winter has come early to Australia with a cold front bringing high winds, snow and hail to the southeast in a cold snap the weather bureau says could last until the middle of the week. Snow fell in Oberon, about 120 km west of Sydney, on Monday, as the weather bureau warned sheep farmers across the southeast and in alpine areas that their animals exposed to the cold wet conditions could die. Flights were delayed in Sydney after the airport closed two runways from late Sunday to just before noon on Monday due to strong winds, a Sydney Airport spokesperson said. The cold front across the southeast began over the weekend with temperatures plunging well below the average for the month, according to the weather bureau, which forecast morning frosts would linger until early Wednesday.<br/>