A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavik, following intense earthquake activity in the area, the country's Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Monday. "At the moment, it's a very small eruption," said Matthew Roberts of the service and research division at the IMO. He added there was no direct imminent hazard to people in the region. Traffic at Reykjavik's international Keflavik airport was not disrupted, the airport said on its website. Reykjanes Peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hot-spot southwest of the capital Reykjavik. In March 2021, lava fountains erupted spectacularly from a 500-750 metres long fissure in the ground in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system. Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months that year, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit the scene. In August 2022, a three-week eruption happened in the same area.<br/>
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Plans for a significant expansion of London City Airport have been blocked by the airport’s local authority over concerns around the impact of noise pollution and other environmental impacts from the extra flights. Newham Council on Monday rejected the airport’s bid to expand its annual passenger numbers from 6.5mn to 9mn by extending its operating hours, including an increase in weekend and early-morning flights. The airport, which is popular among business travellers because of its proximity to the City of London and Canary Wharf financial districts, has long operated under strict hours because of its location in a densely populated part of east London. It had sought to ease these restrictions to help meet the demand for air travel which has bounced back since the Covid-19 pandemic. The airport had offered local residents a “commitment” that only new and comparatively quiet aircraft would be allowed to operate during the extended operating hours. “Newham council has declared a climate emergency and is working to support residents to live happy, healthy and well,” the council said. The airport said it was “disappointed” with the decision and was “actively considering . . . next steps”. “We firmly believe in our proposals, which are carefully balanced and make best use of our infrastructure,” the airport said. The Planning Inspectorate, a government agency, has overturned local decisions blocking airport expansions at London Stansted and Bristol in recent years. Airports are racing to win permission to expand their operations. Last week, London Gatwick formally submitted proposals to increase its passenger capacity by 60%, while Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, is still considering whether to push ahead with its expansion project. The UK’s eight biggest airports have plans to fly almost 150mn more passengers a year, a rise of more than 60%, according to FT calculations. Environmental campaigners have questioned how expansion of the aviation sector is compatible with the UK’s goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, given the industry does not have a commercially-proven pathway to reach the target. <br/>
Flying within Africa is more expensive than just about anywhere else in the world. Travellers pay higher ticket prices and more tax. It is often cheaper to fly to another continent than to another African country. For a quick comparison, flying from the German capital, Berlin, to Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul, will probably set you back around $150 (£120) for a direct flight taking less than three hours. But flying a similar distance, say between Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, you will be paying anything between $500 and $850, with at least one change, taking up to 20 hours. This makes doing business within Africa incredibly difficult, and expensive - and it is not just elite travellers that are affected. The IATA argues that if just 12 key countries in Africa worked together to improve connectivity and opened up their markets, it would create 155,000 jobs and boost those countries' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by more than $1.3bn. "Aviation contributes directly to the GDP in every country. It generates work and it activates the economy," says Kamil al-Awadhi, IATA's regional vice-president for Africa and the Middle East. Adefolake Adeyeye, an assistant professor of commercial law at the UK's Durham University, agrees that Africa as a whole is missing out because of its poor air service. "It's been shown that air transport does boost the economy. As we've seen in other continents, budget airlines can improve connectivity and cost, which boosts tourism, which then creates many more jobs," she says. The poor quality of road networks and lack of railways in many African countries often makes air transport the practical choice for cargo too. The climate emergency, which has severely impacted Africa, means everyone needs to be more careful about their carbon footprint and should aim to fly a lot less. But even though around 18% of the world's population lives in Africa, it accounts for less than 2% of global air travel and, according to the UN's Environment Programme, just 3.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is in contrast to 19% from the US and 23% from China.<br/>
The summer holiday season started with a bang for China’s aviation sector, with passenger traffic at the country’s airports reaching almost 9m — about the population of Switzerland — in the first five days of July. Free from grueling Covid restrictions at last, Chinese travelers are seizing the moment. July 1-5 passenger traffic at airports was 14% higher than in the same period in 2019, before the Covid crisis, data from travel platform Trip.com show. Expensive airfares aren’t a deterrent either. The average price for domestic tickets was 21% higher on average than at the start of July four years ago, and 22% higher for international routes, according to Trip.com. It’s welcome news for the country’s airlines, which are bringing back thousands of flights and riding high on the stock markets. The so-called Big Three of Air China Ltd., China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines all logged their biggest gains in more than a year on Monday last week — the first trading day of the month — with each jumping more than 6% in Hong Kong. Other travel-related stocks also soared, including Changbai Mountain Tourism Co., which rose the 10% limit, and BTG Hotels Group Co., up 7.3%. Travel within China is the most popular — the lingering legacy of Covid and a lack of international flights, a slower economic recovery and high youth unemployment aren’t conducive to overseas holidays. That’s reflected in Southeast Asian tourism statistics showing the number of Chinese visitors to five countries in the region in May was only 14%-39% of 2019 levels. For domestic air passenger traffic, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has said it expects levels to be 7% higher this summer than in 2019. China is a massive market for global aviation. Prior to Covid, it accounted for 9% of all international air passenger demand and 25% of domestic travel, according to the IATA. <br/>
China and the Solomon Islands on Monday signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership", four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China. The police cooperation pact was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, underlining his nation's foreign policy shift. Sogavare arrived in China on Sunday for his first visit since the two countries struck a security pact last year, to the alarm of the United States and neighbours including Australia. "In just four years, the relationship between China and the Solomon Islands has developed rapidly, and we can now say that it is very fruitful," Li told Sogavare. The two countries also reached agreements in civil aviation, trade, economy, technology and sports, including a deal on "Sports Technical Assistance Project" as Honiara is hosting the Pacific Games in November. <br/>
Europe's Airbus inaugurated a new assembly line for its A321neo jetliner in southwest France on Monday, granting a new lease of life to the deserted home of the defunct A380 superjumbo as it basks in record demand for smaller jets. Speaking in the cavernous Jean-Luc Lagardere plant outside Toulouse, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire hailed the rebirth of an "industrial cathedral" as President Emmanuel Macron pursues policies of boosting manufacturing employment. Airbus says the new line will create 700 jobs by 2026, about half the full-time total when the world's largest jet was built there, while supporting a fabric of thousands of suppliers. The plant's makeover highlights a shift in the industry's attention from its largest and boldest creations like the double-decker A380 to stalwart single-aisle designs, which are enjoying a second wind due to their increased performance and efficiency. The A321neo is the largest version of the A320 series of jets, which was relaunched with new engines in 2010 - just in time for a boom in demand stoked partly by low interest rates. It is the eighth assembly line for the A320 family, with previously announced expansion plans in the United States and China due to bring the worldwide total to 10. The first plane is due to be completed in late 2023 for delivery next year.<br/>
Godrej Aerospace is in talks to build aircraft parts for suppliers to Airbus and Boeing as airlines place record jet orders, a top executive at the Indian company said. Air India and IndiGo between them have nearly 1,000 new planes on order, said Maneck Behramkamdin, associate vice president and business head at Godrej Aerospace, which means 2,000-2,500 engines would at some point need maintenance. "With so many aircraft coming into India, Airbus and Boeing need to augment their supply chain. Tier two suppliers of Airbus and Boeing are now looking at India ... we are in talks with them," Behramkamdin told Reuters. There are a lot of opportunities in supplying for the structure of the aircraft and there are also large titanium requirements, he said, adding there will also be demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft parts. Godrej Aerospace already exports some key components to engine makers General Electric and Rolls-Royce, Behramkamdin said after a media tour of its plant in Mumbai. The company expects its civil aviation business to clock revenues of E1b in the current fiscal year, making up 35% of Godrej's total revenues, he said in an interview, adding that he expects this to grow to 50% next year. India has been pushing for indigenous manufacturing as well as local sourcing of components for aerospace and defence, and companies like Airbus and Boeing have recently committed to more local manufacturing and investment.<br/>
Boeing still expects to meet its 737 delivery target this year despite facing a significant logistical hurdle imposed by the recent collapse of a railway bridge used to transport fuselages. The company has since the 1960s received 737 fuselages shipped by rail from Wichita, where the fuselages are now produced by Spirit AeroSystems, to its assembly site near Seattle. That route crosses the Twin Bridges bridge over the Yellowstone River in Montana. But on 24 June, a train on that track derailed while crossing the bridge. The bridge collapsed, and 10 rail cars – none, apparently, carrying 737 fuselages – plunged into the river, according to the Stillwater County government in Montana. Crews have since removed train cars and bridge debris from the water. The work of building a new bridge has been started, but “there is no timeline currently available regarding completion”, says the county. Despite the trouble, Boeing is optimistic it has found a solution that will enable it to meet its goal of delivering 400 to 450 737s in 2023. “Production and deliveries continue, and we don’t expect that this issue will change our full-year guidance,” Boeing tells FlightGlobal. “We are working closely with officials to minimise local disruption caused by the bridge collapse while maintaining our customer commitments.” The logistics have become complicated. Boeing says it is working with “crane and trucking services” to bypass the bridge. The fuselages are being shipped by train from Wichita to near the collapsed bridge, then transferred by crane onto trucks for transport across the river. <br/>