Viral videos of vulgar, intoxicated and violent airplane passengers have become common, but it is not just a social media trend: statistics confirm cases are on the rise. The surge in incidents comes as the aviation industry is bouncing back from the Covid pandemic, with airlines expecting to fly a near-record 4.35b passengers this year. According to the airline industry trade group IATA, one in every 568 flights had an incident linked to an unruly passenger in 2022, compared to one flight in 835 flights in 2021. "Although non-compliance incidents initially fell after the mask mandates were removed on most flights, the frequency began to rise again throughout 2022 and ended the year some 37% up on 2021," IATA said recently. The most common incidents involved passengers smoking or vaping in the cabin or toilet, refusing to buckle their seatbelt, failing to respect baggage limits and storage instructions and consumption of their own alcohol on board. While incidents of physical aggression remain rare -- only one flight in 17,200 in 2022 -- that represents a 61% jump from the previous year.<br/>
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After returning to New York from Oslo in late May, Harley Hendrix noticed her suitcase containing a cherished Alexander McQueen dress had been diverted to Copenhagen. Also rotting in Denmark: packs of cheese that Hendrix had stuffed into the suitcase to bring back home. While she hadn’t visited Copenhagen, Hendrix knew the bag was there because, like many people these days, she had tucked an AirTag inside. Delta first told her it was at John F. Kennedy International, then Dallas. But the tracker was pinging from Denmark. It took a week for Delta and its European partner KLM to find the suitcase and forward it to New York. A year after air travel stormed back from pandemic lows, overwhelming the system with airport chaos and luggage pileups, airlines are still struggling to keep up. Just last month, bags stacked up from Newark Liberty to Los Angeles International after storms scrambled airline schedules in the northeast US. At Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, some 10,000 bags were lost in one day, which KLM CEO Marjan Rintel blamed on the hub’s outdated systems. Passengers are meanwhile arming themselves with Bluetooth devices in ever greater numbers, exposing a balky bag-handling system that’s often a step behind customers – and putting pressure on the industry to catch up. Airlines and baggage-handling firms say they’re better equipped than last year to keep customers’ goods from getting lost. The industry is also working on a plan to incorporate the trackers into existing systems, and seeking assistance from technology firms. One challenge is to create a standard for interoperability between airlines and device manufacturers – a starting point for eventual solutions. “There is a huge benefit in complementing the airlines’ tracking data with the Bluetooth tracker information,” said Getnet Taye, senior manager of global baggage operations at the IATA, the industry’s main lobbying group. Current bag-handling tech is largely bar-code based, logging items intermittently on their journey but not continuously. <br/>
A cluster of severe thunderstorms pounded the US Northeast including New York City on Sunday, unleashing deadly flooding in Pennsylvania, halting operations at several airports, and prompting tornado watches across New England. In Chicago, air quality has reached unhealthy levels as smoke drops down from Canadian wildfires. At least five people died and two children were still missing after floods ripped through Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia on Saturday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The saturated soil from Saturday’s rain could make flooding worse on Sunday across a swath of the East Coast, said Ashton Robinson Cook, a forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center. “There is a moderate risk of excessive rain from Jersey through southwestern Maine that includes Philadelphia, New York City and Boston,” Robinson Cook said. Flood watches and warnings were in effect from Virginia to Maine, with tornado alerts for states including Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where a NASCAR event was postponed due to severe weather. All three major New York City-area airports had ground stops — or a temporary pause on operations — on Sunday afternoon because of the thunderstorms, as did an airport on Long Island. Boston’s airport also temporarily stopped operations because of weather. Hundreds of flights have been canceled and delayed at those airports, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking and data platform. <br/>
The US House of Representatives is set to vote next week on legislation to raise the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age to 67 from 65 and make other aviation reforms, Republican House leaders said Friday. The House bill, approved 63-0 by the Transportation Committee in June, would reauthorize FAA aviation safety and infrastructure programs for the next five years. Current authority expires Sept. 30. The pilot age proposal faces opposition from unions and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who worry it could complicate operations. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) says it could cause airline scheduling and pilot training issues and require reopening pilot contracts. Even if approved, current international rules would still prevent pilots older than 65 from flying in most countries outside the United States. Buttigieg told Fox News Radio Friday that "I would want to see a lot more data before we could feel comfortable with any kind of change" to the pilot age rules. The Regional Airline Association (RAA) supports the pilot age hike saying it "allows retention of more experienced captains, who can in turn fly alongside and mentor new first officers, helping to stabilize attrition." The House bill would also bar airlines from charging family seating fees but would not impose new rules sought by President Joe Biden to compensate passengers for delays. A draft Senate version would boost runway safety, track high-altitude balloons and double US fines for aviation consumer violations.<br/>
Hundreds of flights across Italy were canceled Saturday, forcing travelers at the peak of tourist season to make alternate plans, after air transport unions went ahead with a planned work stoppage two days following a train strike that paralyzed rail service. Summertime in Italy is often the peak season for transport strikes, stranding commuters and tourists alike as unions press demands for better work contracts and conditions. This year, the strikes are taking their toll amid a tourism boom following two years of pandemic losses. National carrier ITA said it canceled 133 flights, most of them domestic but a few to European destinations such as Madrid, Amsterdam and Barcelona. Low-cost airlines Ryanair and Vueling canceled dozens of other flights due to the strike from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Striking workers included pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers and airport personnel. The website of Naples’ airport showed dozens of flights canceled starting at 10 a.m., a similar scene at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport. ”Yeah, it got canceled. It was ITA Airways to Catania,” lamented Stefania Spatola from Philadelphia, who was traveling with 35 members of her family. “All our flights got messed up. It’s horrible. It’s really, really horrible.” Labor unions Filt Cgil, Uiltrasporti and Ugl Trasporto said they called the strike over “absolutely unsatisfactory” contract disagreements with Malta Air, which operates Ryanair flights. Ryanair posted a note on its website apologizing for cancellations and other disruptions due to the strike that is “beyond our control.”<br/>
Almost 1,000 workers at London’s Gatwick airport will strike for eight days in July and August in a dispute over pay, putting at risk holidaymakers’ plans at the peak of the summer travel season. Unite the union said on Friday that 950 ground staff would walk out between July 28 and August 1 and between August 4 and August 8, affecting airlines including British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Tui, WestJet and Wizz. Gatwick, the UK’s second-busiest airport, is a major hub for flights to Europe and some intercontinental routes. Most schools in England close next week and demand for travel is expected to surge. Unite said it had been in talks over pay with employers ASC, Menzies Aviation, GGS and DHL Services since January, but that all had “failed to make offers that meet the workers’ expectations”. The union told the Financial Times that ASC had offered a pay rise of 7.9% for 2023 and an increase of 4% in 2024. DHL offered 8.5% for 2023, while GGS offered 10% over three years alongside a productivity bonus of 2%. Menzies said it had offered a rise of 11% for 2023.cDominic Rothwell, the union’s regional officer, said the stoppages would “inevitably cause severe delays, disruption and cancellations” but blamed the companies for declining to “make our members a fair pay offer”. The move by staff at Gatwick comes weeks after more than 2,000 Unite members working as security staff at Heathrow called off a “summer of strife” after agreeing a revised pay offer from the UK’s hub airport. Workers across the public and private sectors have staged a historic wave of industrial action since last year amid demands for higher pay to offset rising living costs. In a push to end some strikes, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday announced an increase of between 5 and 7% for public sector employees for 2023-24. Unite is also balloting members for a separate walkout at three other Gatwick-based companies. It said voting was expected to close at the end of this month, and that workers could begin striking by mid-August.<br/>
Claims that airport expansion will help grow the UK economy should be treated with scepticism, according to a report that finds air travel does not increase productivity or growth. Declining business travel and lower wages in aviation undermine claims made by the industry for the value of increased air connections, say researchers at the New Economics Foundation. A report by the NEF due to be published this week says that despite booming air travel in the past few decades, only one in 12 flights in 2022 was taken for business purposes – half the proportion in 2013 – while the number of associated jobs was lower than in 2007. Wages fell faster in real terms between 2008 and 2022 than in any other UK sector. Far more passengers are flying on holiday abroad than into the UK, with the NEF report finding a £32bn “travel deficit” in net spending between outbound and inbound tourism in 2019. Airports around the UK are seeking to expand, despite the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee that there should be no additional capacity to meet the country’s 2050 net zero targets. Britain’s biggest airport, Heathrow, has permission to build a third runway, although it says the plans are under review. Last week, Gatwick submitted an application to develop a second runway for full-time use. London City, Luton and Bristol are among other airports planning to expand, while terminal redevelopment at Manchester and Birmingham will also bring more passengers. Gatwick says its growth plans would “inject £1bn into the region’s economy every year”, while Bristol claims that extra flights will create up to 5,000 jobs in the region and provide a £430m economic boost. According to government-endorsed figures in the Airports Commission’s report, Heathrow’s runway would add £61bn in growth over six decades.<br/>
Most of the nation’s most popular domestic flights and some short-haul European destinations could be completed cheaper and faster by train, according to a new report. Of the 23 most popular flights to UK and Europe destinations, 70% were faster by rail and 57% were cheaper or the same price, research by the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) found. On top of the time and money savings, switching just a quarter of those domestic flights for rail journeys would save 171,377 tonnes of carbon emissions - equivalent to taking 117,900 cars off the road, researchers found, while switching half of the flights would equate to taking 283,000 cars off the road. Public transport lobby the CBT is calling for airlines to provide "realistic travelling times" for domestic flights as part of its Fewer Flights Charter aimed at reducing aviation’s carbon emissions. Its research showed that flying from London Heathrow to Edinburgh costs between GBP60 and GBP300 by air versus GBP24.90 to GBP145.70 by rail. Accounting for travel and processing time in the station or airport, taking the train to the Scottish capital would be 20 minutes quicker than via plane, it found, while the carbon emission for the flight per passenger was 132.35kg versus 14.53kg by train.<br/>
A recent discovery of significant quantities of water-contaminated fuel within an aircraft has resulted in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) commencing an investigation across the country's airports and fuel suppliers to identify the root cause of this issue. However, the NCAA has alerted airlines operating flights to and from Nigeria to be vigilant about refueling aircraft in order to ensure fuel quality is up to the industry standard. The issue was first discovered when a Max Air Boeing 737-300 earlier this month experienced the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) shutting down due to fuel contamination. This happened while the aircraft was on the ground at Yola International Airport (YOL). The Independent reports that fuel was dumped onto the airport apron, during which time multiple drums of water were collected from both aircraft tanks. Since the airline, prior to the discovery, had purchased fuel from Lagos, Abuja, and Kano airports, the NCAA requires fuel suppliers to carry out water checks. Reports suggest that while the NCAA is investigating the source of the contaminated fuel, it will additionally examine the browsers and fuel procedures of Max Air to ensure the airline was following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place.<br/>Furthermore, it is reported that any party identified as having issues will have their license to operate suspended. As an additional precaution, the petroleum regulatory agency in Nigeria will also be consulted to ensure the problem has been solved.<br/>
Tropical storm Talim strengthened into a typhoon early on Monday and is set to be the first this year to make landfall in China, the national weather forecaster said, while authorities cancelled flights and urged residents to stay at home. China Meteorological Administration issued an orange alert, saying the typhoon was expected to increase in intensity to become a severe typhoon by the time it makes landfall at night along the southern coast from Guangdong to Hainan. China has a four-tier colour-coded weather warning system under which orange is the second highest alert. Talim is set to be the fourth typhoon this year but the first to make landfall in China, according to weather predictions. Early on Monday, the meteorological centre said Talim was located 375km south-east of Zhanjiang City in Guangdong province, moving at a speed of 20km per hour. The national forecaster urged authorities in Guangdong and Hainan to be on standby to respond to the typhoon. Markets in Hong Kong halted trade for the day as the city's observatory put in place storm signal No. 8 for Talim, while all court hearings in the city were adjourned. The meteorological centre forecast gale force winds in the seas near the southern provinces and regions and exceptionally heavy rains of 250-280mm (9.8-11 inches) in the southwestern coast of Guangxi and northern Hainan Island.<br/>
A HSBC Global Research report has identified the “significant” opportunities for Indian carriers to grow internationally, but warns that the country’s “inefficient” hubs are losing traffic to competitors in the Gulf region and Southeast Asia. In its market report on India, HSBC notes that Indian international traffic is growing at a slower rate than domestic, and this is due mainly to Indian carriers’ lower international presence. It draws a comparison with the Chinese travel market, noting that Indian airlines flew only around 15% of their total traffic in the year ended 31 March on international routes. This compares to Chinese airlines which operated up to 35% during the same period. “China is almost 10 years ahead of India in terms of traffic and if we assume that international traffic from India will reach the same sort of level as China in 2032-33, that implies an annual growth of almost 12-13%,” the report adds. HSBC warns that the loss in traffic is due mainly to “inefficient hubs and the lower number of available connections from India”. To this end, it notes that the Indian government is planning to redevelop major airports like Delhi and potentially Bangalore and Mumbai into international hubs, The report adds: “[It] suggests that India could enjoy a huge traffic spike which should be significantly positive for the Indian aviation industry, especially for Air India which is the market leader in the international market but also for IndiGo which is planning to expand sharply in the international market.” <br/>
Indian tourists are streaming into Southeast Asia, cementing the world most populous country's position as a key growth market for a travel and tourism sector that is feeling the pinch of China's slower-than-expected re-opening. From airlines like IndiGo and Thai Airways to hospitality chains offering thousands of rooms, companies are tapping into India's burgeoning middle-class and growing spending power, executives and analysts said. "Southeast Asia is obviously very well positioned for a lot of the growth that is inevitably going to come from India," aviation analyst Brendan Sobie told an industry conference last month. The travel and tourism industry is critical for several Southeast Asian economies and contributed about 12% of the region's gross domestic product before the COVID-19 pandemic. It also employs more than 40m of the region's people, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. For a decade or so, the sector was fuelled by China but official data from four Southeast Asian countries shows a weak recovery with the number of Chinese visitors in May at least 60% lower than the same month in 2019. A long-term increase in Indian tourists would lead to a recalibration of airline capacity, hospitality offerings and tourism operators - early signs of which are underway, according to industry members.<br/>
Asia-Pacific carriers added to their Japan networks, with a particular focus on Nagoya, while Jetstar Asia outlined plans for a return to Okinawa and Osaka. Hong Kong Airlines commenced a four-times weekly service to Nagoya’s Central Japan International Airport (CJIAC), which will become a daily service in August. The new route adds to its existing Japan network of Fukuoka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Osaka Kansai, and Sapporo. In mid-July, the carrier will increase flights to Japan to 73 weekly, hitting 97% of pre-pandemic levels. “With the launch of Hong Kong Airlines’ service, the number of flights connecting Hong Kong and the Chubu region has increased to 21 flights per week, returning to the pre-pandemic levels,” says Riki Inuzuka, president and CE of CJIAC. “This represents a recovery of 60%.” South Korean low-cost carrier Jin Air also plans to launch a twice-daily service on the Seoul Incheon-Nagoya route from 15 September using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The addition of Nagoya will increase Jin Air’s Japanese network – operated from Seoul Incheon and Busan – to seven destinations. Singapore-based LCC Jetstar Asia also plans a return to Japan, with the launch of a three-times-weekly service to Okinawa from 30 November. It will be the only carrier on the Singapore-Okinawa route. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the carrier operated charter services to Okinawa in 2014, and scheduled services from 2017. Jetstar Asia will also resume a Singapore-Manila-Osaka Kansai service from 24 November, operating the service five times weekly. The carrier estimates that the two new services will carry over 180,000 passengers between Singapore and Japan annually. <br/>
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAA) has sent a report to the Transport Ministry, drawing attention to the challenges Vietnamese airlines are encountering in retaining their allocated slots at several international airports, specifically those in China, India and the United Kingdom. Before the pandemic, in 2019, travel between Vietnam and China was a thriving corridor, with 14 airlines operating flights across the two nations. However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced airlines to halt passenger transport operations, with only a small number of cargo flights persisting. In a new turn of events, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, in early March 2023, unveiled its slot policies. These dictate that to secure their slot allocation for the 2023 summer scheduling season, international airlines must adhere to the 80-20 slot rule. This stipulation demands airlines operate at least 80% of every planned slot sequence, rooted in the principle of reciprocity. According to the CAA, the aviation market’s resurgence with China is noticeably slow, causing distress for Vietnamese carriers.<br/>
The green energy tycoon Dale Vince is planning to launch Britain’s first electric airline in a move designed to prove polluting industries can decarbonise. Ecojet, styled as a “flag carrier for green Britain”, will launch early next year with a 19-seater plane travelling on a route between Edinburgh and Southampton. The planes will run initially on kerosene-based fuel for the first year, before being retrofitted with engines that convert green hydrogen into electricity. Vince founded the UK’s first green energy company, Ecotricity, in 1995 and has spent his career launching low-carbon and ethically minded ventures across energy, transport, food and football. He is the chair of League Two’s Forest Green Rovers, known as the “world’s greenest football club”. Vince told the Guardian: “We want to prove that one of the last frontiers [of decarbonisation] can be broken and that it’s not insolvable. A lot of people seem to think that people who are eco-conscious want everyone to live a life of self-denial in a cave. Green living is not about giving things up – everything we like to have in this life can be done in a net zero life.” The airline will launch with several green-striped 19-seater planes capable of travelling for 300 miles. Vince hopes to expand the number of routes out to cover all of Britain’s big cities. Staff will wear environmentally friendly uniforms, and serve plant-based meals. A second phase, 18 months later, will result in 70-seater planes capable of flying to Europe being introduced. The company is in the process of applying for a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority and securing takeoff and landing slots at airports. However, the process of launching an airline is regarded as slow, and Ecojet will not launch as an electric plane operator, starting by using kerosene-based fuel instead.<br/>