Rocket launches in Florida will cause fewer disruptions to airline flights after federal aviation regulators shrunk the area it will close while space vehicles lift off. The FAA on Thursday announced the steps to lower the impact created by the rapid growth in launches from Cape Canaveral, which had previously blocked a route to nearby Orlando International Airport. The agency conducted a risk analysis showing it could leave more room for jets without compromising safety, it said in a release. It estimated that under the change, 36 flights that would previously have been rerouted could proceed normally, cutting 300 minutes of delay and as much as 1,500 extra miles flown. The FAA, which oversees commercial space operations, approved 74 launches last year, up from 14 in 2015, as demand for lifting satellites and humans into orbit grows rapidly. Most of that activity has been in Florida, and typically launches block at least some routes along the eastern side of the state. <br/>
general
The aviation industry is split on whether it can meet its climate targets with almost a third of its sustainability executives predicting it will miss a mid-century deadline, a survey commissioned by GE Aerospace suggested on Thursday. Published ahead of the Paris Airshow, the global survey showed just below half - or 46% - of the 325 executives surveyed believe the industry will meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050, while 32% believe it will not and 22% are unsure. Most believe the industry will meet its objectives by 2055, however. "Respondents are split as to whether progress is happening at the right pace, with 51% saying it is too slow, adding a sense of urgency to a longer-term target," GE Aerospace said. The aviation industry set a 2050 goal of net zero emissions in 2021. The main path is widespread use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, which so far makes up 0.1% of airline fuel consumption. Environmental critics say the targets are unrealistic due to the low level of SAF available and argue the only way to reach them is to substantially reduce flying globally. Rising costs and supply issues are among the biggest hurdles and the industry needs more support, GE said in a poll summary. "The survey is trying to show that this is ambitious, (but) it's not going to be easy," Allen Paxson, vice president of commercial programs strategy at the US engine maker said, adding he believed the target would be met. "It's a sign that people are taking it really seriously. The fact that some people forecast differently than other people is okay: let's get our heads around it and get on with it."<br/>
Mexican farmers on Thursday ended a protest at an airport in the northern state of Sinaloa and agreed to meet with the local governor after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would not negotiate with the demonstrators. Baltazar Valdez, president of the United Farm Workers of Sinaloa, said the hundreds of farmers who have protested at the international airport in the city of Culiacan since Tuesday decided to leave to avoid angering airport users. "We can't go on because we'll lose the sympathy of civil society, and for us that's very important," Valdez said. He added that a delegation would meet with Ruben Rocha, the governor of Sinaloa, which is a major corn-producing state. Producers have urged Mexico's government to guarantee prices for corn, wheat and sorghum to counteract a fall in international prices, and since Tuesday have protested at highways, government offices and the Culiacan airport, where dozens of flights were canceled.<br/>
Sudan’s civil aviation authority has extended the closure of Sudanese airspace until June 30, Khartoum International Airport said on Thursday. Humanitarian aid flights and evacuation flights that obtain permits are exempted.<br/>
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it had summoned a Canadian diplomat in Moscow in protest over the confiscation of an Antonov plane in Toronto, and warned that Russian-Canadian relations were on the "verge of being severed." Canada on Saturday ordered the seizure of a Russian-registered Antonov-124 cargo plane at Toronto's airport, its first such asset seizure aimed at putting pressure on Moscow over the Ukraine invasion. Russia told Brian Ebel, the deputy head of Canada's embassy in Moscow, that it viewed the plane seizure as "cynical theft," according to a statement from the foreign ministry. Canada's "Russophobic policy will entail the most serious repercussions for Russian-Canadian relations, which are on the verge of being severed through the fault of the Trudeau administration," the Russian ministry's statement said. A spokesperson for the Canadian foreign ministry acknowledged Moscow's concerns, and reiterated Ottawa's "unwavering" support for Ukrainians. "We have been explicitly clear. Those who have enabled, supported and profited from Russia's war in Ukraine will be held accountable," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Canada announced the aircraft seizure while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Kyiv, where he announced $500m in new military aid for Ukraine. NATO member Canada, which has one of the world's largest Ukrainian diasporas, is among the most vocal backers of Ukraine and has imposed sanctions on hundreds of Russian officials and companies as well as wide-scale trade bans.<br/>
Overseas travel bookings from mainland China are currently at just over half of pre-pandemic levels but are on course to return to the 2019 numbers by the end of this year or early 2024, the head of online travel agency Agoda said on Thursday. China was the world’s largest outbound tourism market before the pandemic with annual spending of $255b. The country reopened earlier this year after removing most of its pandemic restrictions, giving a big boost to outbound travel. “China recovery is expediting, a little higher than half way versus 2019 levels,” Omri Morgenshtern told reporters on Thursday, adding that was “still some way off” the 2019 figures for the first five months. “They will close the gap by end of the year or early next year,” he said. A major beneficiary of that reopening was Thailand, one of Asia’s most popular travel spots. The top overseas destinations for Chinese tourists were Hong Kong, Bangkok and the Thai island of Phuket, Agoda data showed. The Bangkok-based company is a unit of online travel giant, Booking Holdings. Tourism is a crucial driver of Thailand’s economy and accounted for 12% of the economy before the pandemic. In 2019 the country recorded nearly 40m foreign tourists who spent 1.91t baht ($54.89b).<br/>
South Korean jet fuel exports to the United States in June are headed for a near two-year high as oil traders cash in on stronger U.S. demand as Asia's aviation sector is still recovering, industry sources said. Jet fuel cargoes loading from South Korea in June for U.S. ports may rise to 500,000 metric tons, according to estimates from shiptracking firm Kpler, up 42% from May and the highest since August 2021. Of that, 217,000 metric tons will load from the ports of Ulsan or Yeosu, where South Korea's top refiners SK Energy and GS Caltex are located, and head for the U.S. West Coast, Kpler data showed. TotalEnergies and Cargill are among the companies shipping fuel to the US, the data added, though companies don't typically comment on their trading activities. The slower return of air travel in Asia is pushing excess jet fuel supplies from the region toward the US where demand is expected to rise this summer, said the sources and analysts. In terms of adding airline seat capacity, "compared to North America, Asia is starting from further behind as the region has been relatively slow to emerge out of COVID's shadow, especially due to China's late abandonment of its Zero COVID policy," said Ellis Taylor, Asia editor at aviation analytics company Cirium. Surging jet fuel exports from one of Asia's leading oil product exporters may tighten supply in the region and support prices and refining margins.<br/>
After a four-year hiatus, the world’s biggest international aerospace gathering, the Paris Air Show, opens next week, with industry executives expecting a spate of multibillion-dollar aircraft deals. It will be the first time the industry has gathered in Paris since the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Organisers expect close to 2,500 exhibitors from 47 countries to attend the show amid a global rebound driven by resurgent passenger demand for air travel. The recovery is underpinning a buying spree from across the globe, from low-cost European airlines as well as Asian and Middle Eastern carriers. Order books at Boeing and Airbus are so full that carriers are having to wait until the end of the decade to receive the most popular single-aisle aircraft. Meanwhile, defence executives will be meeting with a renewed sense of purpose. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a global race to re-arm, as western governments have pledged to increase defence spending after years of shrinking budgets. At the same time, headwinds, including soaring inflation, shortages of components as well as labour constraints, have continued to make an impact on aerospace and defence supply chains. “It’s hard to recall a time when we’ve had the level of demand for aircraft that we have today,” said John Plueger, CE of Air Lease, one of the world’s biggest aircraft lessors. <br/>
Boeing’s largest supplier is racing to avoid a potentially crippling strike, a disruption that would jeopardize the US planemaker’s effort to hike production of its cash-cow 737 jetliners. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings is preparing to make a so-called best-and-final offer this week to about 6,000 unionized employees at its Wichita, Kansas, home base. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers plan a June 21 vote on the proposal and, depending on the outcome, could go on strike at midnight on June 24. The sides are at loggerheads over wages, mandatory overtime and a management plan to gut traditional health-care insurance, said Cornell Beard, president of IAM’s District 70, which represents IAM members across Kansas. “The company is again telling us what a bad position they’re in,” Beard said in an interview. “Every time there’s a sacrifice to be made, we’re the ones to make it.” A work stoppage could have far-reaching implications for Boeing and its European rival Airbus SE — also a customer of cash-strapped Spirit — at a time when their factories are straining to keep pace with soaring jet sales. After 15 years of labor peace at aerospace manufacturers in the US, investors may be tuning out the risks of a strike, said Kristine Liwag, an analyst with Morgan Stanley. <br/>
On a bright morning in March this year, a small blue and white aircraft took off from an airfield at Moses Lake in central Washington. It flew for 15 minutes at an altitude of about 3,500 feet before safely returning to its base. The flight may have been brief but, according to the plane’s developer, Universal Hydrogen, it was nothing short of revolutionary. The aircraft, a De Havilland Dash 8-300 turboprop dubbed Lightning McClean, had one normal engine and one that was far more unusual: an electric motor fed by a hydrogen fuel cell. During the flight, the plane flew largely on the one hydrogen-powered engine — making it, according to Universal, by far the largest aircraft to cruise principally using hydrogen power. For the US company, founded in 2020, it was also another step on the journey to prove that hydrogen power is a viable way to decarbonise air travel. “Our first flight, [of] by far the largest hydrogen fuel cell airplane ever to take to the skies, is an important proof point for the industry, and especially for the next ‘clean-sheet’ airliner from both Airbus and Boeing,” says Universal CE, Paul Eremenko. It came just two months after Anglo-US start-up ZeroAvia had achieved a successful test flight of a smaller propeller aircraft partially powered by hydrogen fuel cells, in skies over Gloucestershire, south-west England. Now, these two companies are among a handful of disrupters trying to make their mark in an industry where Airbus and Boeing still dominate. Their hydrogen plans are ambitious: aviation is one of the most difficult industries to decarbonise. The sector is responsible for roughly 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, excluding non-carbon effects such as nitrogen oxide and contrails — the vapour trails left in an aircraft’s wake. So far, manufacturers and airlines have committed to hitting net zero carbon emissions targets by 2050 through a mix of new fuel technologies, including the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and hydrogen, as well as more efficient aircraft, engines and air traffic management. But some argue that green hydrogen, produced by splitting water using electrolysers that run on renewable power, is the only technology capable of delivering true zero-emissions flight. Story has more. <br/>
Four air navigation services providers (ANSPs) have conducted the world’s first multi-regional, trajectory-based operations (TBOs) with the Boeing 787-10 ecoDemonstrator Explorer aircraft. The project saw the aircraft fly from Seattle to Tokyo on 11 June, from Tokyo to Singapore on 13 June, and Singapore-Bangkok on 14 June, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). From Bangkok it will return to Seattle. CAAS, along with its Japan, Thailand, and USA counterparts are behind the project in cooperation with Boeing. “The demonstration flight is part of a three-year collaboration programme aimed at improving flight efficiencies and reducing carbon emissions, with the potential of cutting an aircraft’s fuel burn by up to 10%,” says CAAS. “When flying through multiple Flight Information Regions, ANSPs tend to act separately and independently. Under a TBO concept, ANSPs actively share information relevant to a flight such as weather, airspace closures, and other traffic. The flights aim to validate lab work that was concluded in May 2022. TBO has the potential to give pilots and other stakeholders, such as an airline’s dispatch team, far more situational awareness about conditions that could affect a flight’s routing, and provides ample time to request adjustments to improve efficiency and speed. The CAAS held an event at Changi Airport to highlight the potential of TBO. The four ANSPs and Boeing also have a joint declaration to promote TBO globally. Han Kok Juan, director general of the CAAS, observes that sustainable aviation fuel is seen as the key factor in reducing aircraft emissions, but stresses that sustainable air traffic management will also play a role. “The amount of carbon emitted from a flight is a function, not just of the type of fuel it burns, but also of the route it takes,” he says. “If an aircraft can take a more direct and quicker route and avoid delays and detours, not only do passengers benefit by getting to their destinations faster, but airlines can also save on operating costs, and we can cut fuel burn, in turn helping the environment.” <br/>