The FAA lifted a ground stop for flights bound for New York’s LaGuardia airport due to smoke but has delayed some flights on the ground. Flights into Philadelphia are also being impacted because of the wildfire smoke, the FAA says. It reported the average delay is about a half-hour. A similar delay to the one at LaGuardia is in place in Newark. “The FAA has slowed traffic to and from the New York City area airports due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke,” the FAA told CNN in a statement. “The agency will adjust the volume of traffic to account for the rapidly changing conditions.” As of 2:45 p.m. ET, airlines in the US have canceled 120 flights and delayed another 1,928, according to data from tracking site FlightAware. The FAA says the extreme wildfire smoke haze lingering over the Northeast US due to Canadian wildfires could delay flights through Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg tweeted Wednesday that, “Smoke from Canada’s wildfires is affecting visibility in our airspace and leading to delays. The FAA is fully prepared to modify operations as needed.”<br/>
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US aviation regulators on Wednesday unveiled their first framework for how to train pilots for the expected new breed of electric-powered urban air taxis designed to revolutionize short-hop travel in cities. The FAA published a proposed set of regulations that attempt to create an orderly process for building a pipeline of pilots on the devices, which don’t currently fit into existing regulations. It would allow flight crews trained on existing aircraft to take credit for that experience as they transition to the new devices known as electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVOTLs, the FAA said in a statement. It also creates a pathway for pilots to receive FAA sign-off for specific new aircraft and attempts to merge the new technology into existing rules as much as possible, the agency said. “These proposed rules of the sky will safely usher in this new era of aviation and provide the certainty the industry needs to develop,” David Boulter, FAA’s acting associate administrator for aviation safety, said in the release. The proposal is a key step in allowing the new aircraft — which take off vertically like helicopters, but can fly with the efficiency of fixed-wing planes — to be introduced into the US aviation system. The agency has estimated that it will approve a handful of the devices as early as 2025. But many steps remain before these small aircraft are routinely hopping over urban areas carrying passengers for hire. The FAA must also sign off on the safety of the aircraft designs, manufacturing facilities and individual new operators, among other things. Industry officials and the public will have 60 days to comment on the FAA’s proposed training regulations. The agency will review the comments before finalizing the rules, which can take a year or more. <br/>
Crash investigators face a difficult task dissecting what happened aboard the private jet that cruised up and down the US East Coast on Sunday with an incapacitated pilot, especially if the cause was a lack of oxygen. The Cessna 560 Citation V carrying a Hamptons real estate agent, her daughter and a nanny flew for about two hours without responding to radio calls before finally slamming into mountainous terrain in Virginia at high speed. Especially if there are no crash-proof recorders on the jet — none were required — investigators may only be able to outline the most likely scenarios without being able to pinpoint their origins, according to aviation experts and prior accidents reviewed by Bloomberg. “It’s very difficult,” said Roger Cox, a former investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board who was an airline pilot. “When you have a high-energy impact, there’s so little evidence remaining that you usually can’t find anything useful in the wreckage to help explain the accident.” A pilot of a fighter jet that intercepted the Cessna because it traversed some of the most sensitive government sites near Washington without permission saw its pilot slumped over, according to preliminary information from the NTSB. That suggests either he suffered a medical issue or lost consciousness because there wasn’t enough oxygen in the cabin as the jet flew at 34,000 feet (10,366 meters). A health emergency seems less likely because there is no evidence the passengers tried to intervene, Cox said. But there’s no way to test bodies for a lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, after an accident.<br/>
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is traveling to Mexico Wednesday to meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and members of his cabinet on the importance of the US-Mexico transportation relationship, the department said Wednesday. The FAA, which is part of the Transportation Department, in May 2021 downgraded Mexico’s air safety rating and Mexico has been working to recover the top rating. The downgrade to a Category 2 safety rating means that Mexican airlines have been unable to open new routes to the United States and marketing agreements between carriers have been limited. <br/>
President Joe Biden is nominating former Florida Governor Charlie Crist to serve as US ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the White House said on Wednesday. Crist, a former House lawmaker who lost an election in November to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a bid to return to his old job, if confirmed by the US Senate would replace C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, the commercial pilot who safely landed an Airbus A320 on New York's Hudson River in 2009 after hitting a flock of geese and stepped down in July 2022. The United Nations civil aviation body in October agreed to a long-term aspirational goal for net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, despite challenges from China and other countries aligned largely with airlines amid pressure to curb air pollution. The 193-nation ICAO holds an assembly held every three years. ICAO cannot impose rules but countries that approve decisions usually abide by them. An ICAO preparatory meeting in July had laid the goal's groundwork after years of talks. Airlines last year adopted a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 in a de facto dress-rehearsal that drew reservations from Chinese carriers, reflecting Beijing's more cautious stance on multilateral action.<br/>
Passenger traffic at European airports in April was the closest to a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic of any month so far despite sharp hikes in air fares, Airports Council International (ACI) Europe said on Wednesday. The trade association representing European airports said passenger traffic rose 21.1% in April from a year earlier. That was still 7.6% below April 2019, ACI said, but an improvement on the 10.6% decline across Q1 from pre-pandemic levels. The news will likely please airport operators such as Aeroports de Paris and airlines such as Air France and Lufthansa, which took a hit from pandemic-related travel curbs. The ACI said April marked the “closest yet” to a full recovery in traffic from the pandemic, helped by demand over the Easter holidays. “This is quite remarkable when the increase in air fares is more than 6 times above consumer price inflation,” ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said. Nevertheless, European airports’ performances varied significantly, with less than half of them fully recovering their pre-pandemic passenger volumes. While Icelandic, Cypriot, Greek, and Portuguese airports among others exceeded pre-COVID levels, those in Slovenia, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were the furthest from fully rebounding. <br/>
Thousands of security staff at London’s Heathrow airport will stage a month’s worth of strike action this summer in a continuing pay dispute with its owners, putting at risk holidaymakers’ plans on some of the busiest days of the year for travelling. Unite the union said on Wednesday that 2,000 of its members, about 40% of all security workers at the UK’s hub airport, would walk out on 31 days from June 24 in a “summer of strife”. The strikes will cover most weekends between June 24 and the end of August as well as some extended stoppages, including action for 96 hours from July 21, when most schools in England close for summer. Some 7.75mn passengers passed through Heathrow in July 2019, the last summer before the start of Covid-related disruption. Staff at Terminal 3, which serves airlines such as Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Qatar Airways, will join picket lines for the first time since the dispute over pay began in March this year. They will join two groups of employees who participated in previous strikes — workers at Terminal 5, which serves national carrier British Airways, and “campus security” staff, who supervise movements between the airport’s air side and land side. The two groups walked out in late May, during the busy half-term holiday period for English schools, and in March, as part of a big wave of strikes by public and private sector workers amid the cost of living crisis. Wayne King, regional co-ordinating officer for Unite, warned that the stoppages would make flight delays, disruption and cancellations “inevitable”. He said the airport had been given “numerous opportunities to make an offer [on pay] that meets our members’ expectations” but “stubbornly refused” to take them. Heathrow is offering a 10.1% rise, but Unite has dismissed that as below the rate of retail price inflation, its preferred measure, now at 11.4%. Consumer price inflation, a more widely used measure, is running at 8.7%. The airport said it was offering workers an above-inflation pay increase and that passengers could “rest assured” it would seek to minimise disruption.<br/>
Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said it had opened a consultation on proposals from Gatwick Airport, the country’s second biggest, to extend its current operating plan by four years to 2029. The proposals from Gatwick, which is owned by France’s VINCI , includes a revised pricing plan for airlines. The CAA said it is seeking views on the proposals until 19 July.<br/>
China’s foreign minister has told the head of the United Nations civil aviation body that Beijing appreciates its “correct position” over Taiwan, and urged the agency to continue to support the one-China policy.<br/>During a meeting with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) secretary general Juan Carlos Salazar in Beijing on Tuesday, Qin Gang stressed that the issue of Taiwan participating in the body “must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle.” “China appreciates the ICAO’s correct position on Taiwan-related issues and hopes the ICAO will continue to give China firm support,” Qin said, according to state news agency Xinhua, adding that the Taiwan question was at the heart of China’s core interests and Beijing has been “consistent and clear” on its stance. The meeting came months after the United States passed a bill promising to support the island’s participation in the organisation’s events, including a failed attempt to have Taiwan allowed to participate in an ICAO assembly. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which undertook to recognize the representatives of the government of People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. Countries that have diplomatic ties with Beijing, including the US, acknowledge the existence of the one-China principle that holds Taiwan be part of China, but may not explicitly agree with it.<br/>
New Zealand’s busiest airport plans to double the fees it charges airlines over the next four years as it funds NZ$5b ($3b) of terminal and other infrastructure improvements. Auckland International Airport’s aeronautical charges are set for a four-year period commencing July 1 and ending in 2027, the company said Thursday. The increase is part of a regulated procedure and is subject to review by the Commerce Commission. Auckland Airport’s planned infrastructure investment during that period includes developing a new domestic terminal, to be integrated into the international terminal. The charge increases meet about half of those costs, with the company using debt and potentially new equity to meet the full cost. “We don’t think any travelers would say we are making the move to upgrade the airport too soon,” CEO Carrie Hurihanganui said. “We know travelers are fed up with the domestic travel experience — they’ve told us that clearly. The pandemic meant we had to put much of this investment on hold and we are now in catch-up mode.” Auckland’s prices are lower than comparable airports in the region, Hurihanganui added. The charge for a domestic jet will rise progressively to NZ$15.45 per passenger by 2027 from NZ$6.75 currently, the company said. The cost to land an international jet will rise to NZ$46.10 by 2027 from NZ$23.40. “These changes have not been introduced lightly, particularly in the current economic environment,” Hurihanganui said. “We are very mindful of cost to our airline partners and ultimately travelers.” Air New Zealand and Qantas Airways, the two biggest operators at the terminal, called on the airport to reconsider its approach. They oppose the scale of the redevelopment and warned that the price rises will put pressure on the cost of travel, according to a joint statement. <br/>
Airbus delivered 63 aircraft in May, up 34% from the same month last year, bringing its total for the year to 244 jets, the company said on Wednesday, confirming Reuters reports. It booked no new net orders during the traditional lull immediately before the upcoming Paris Airshow. But it reshuffled orders for 17 planes including 16 removed from the list of outstanding orders for India's Go First, days before the airline sought bankruptcy protection last month, according to a monthly data sheet from the company. Airbus declined to elaborate on the published data. Go First could not immediately be reached for comment.<br/>