Google is working to fix false contact information for some major airlines on Google Maps after a Twitter user found a phone number actually connected callers to scammers. Phone numbers appeared to be altered on Google Maps listings for multiple airlines’ locations at John F Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York. Impacted airlines included Delta, American, Southwest and Qantas, the user claimed in a widely viewed post. The Twitter user detailed his experience trying to contact Delta after a canceled flight left him googling for a help line to rebook. After calling the listed number, he got a call back from what seemed to be a Delta customer service agent – but from a line with a French country code. “By providing him with my confirmation number and name, he was able to look up my trip information on Delta. He found [an] alternative flight from Newark, leaving later in the evening. But he needed me to confirm,” Shmuli Evers posted on Sunday. Sensing something was off, Evers ended the conversation. “He tried to text me after that, and he tried his best for so long to help me get on a flight… He wanted me to pay him 5 times the price of the original ticket cost.” Scammers looking to trick unsuspecting customers are able to edit phone numbers of major companies’ local business listings on Google results, an issue that the tech giant says it is working to combat.<br/>
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A first round of strikes planned by baggage handlers working with easyJet at London's Gatwick airport has been suspended after a better pay offer, their union said on Tuesday, warning that other walkouts will still go ahead. The announcement will provide relief to some holiday-goers because the industrial action had been planned to coincide with the busy summer holiday season at Gatwick, a key hub for leisure flights to southern European beach destinations. Around 600 DHL workers who fulfil contracts for Gatwick's biggest airline easyJet have called off strikes planned for 28 July to 1 August and will now be balloted on the new pay offer, trade union Unite said. "As an act of good faith, Unite’s Gatwick DHL members have agreed to suspend their first set of strikes while they are balloted on the new offer," Unite Regional Officer Dominic Rothwell said. If members were to reject the deal, the union said it would set out fresh strike dates. It did not elaborate on what the new wage offer was. Strikes planned by around 450 ASC, Menzies Aviation and GGS staff, who work for other airlines including British Airways, are still scheduled to take place from July 28 to Aug. 1 and from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8. Gatwick, about 48 kilometres south of London, has said that it would support airlines with their contingency plans to ensure as many flights as possible operate as scheduled.<br/>
The Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 16.5mn passengers in the first half of 2023, an increase of over 18 times from a low base during the same period in 2022, data from the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) showed Tuesday. HKIA handled 3.3m passengers in June, representing a 6.9% growth compared with the passenger throughput in May. Cargo throughput and flight movements saw month-on-month increases of 1.4% and 0.7% to 355,000 tonnes and 22,365, respectively. Compared with the same month in 2022, passenger volume and flight movements increased over 10 times and doubled, respectively. All passenger segments experienced significant growth year on year, with traffic to and from Southeast Asia, the Chinese mainland and Japan recording the most significant increases. Steven Yiu, executive director of airport operations of AAHK, said passenger traffic at the airport has recovered to about 60% of pre-pandemic levels, and saw a peak of over 127,000 passengers on June 25, a record high since the COVID-19 pandemic. HKIA is working closely with airlines and other business partners to welcome more passengers during the summer travel season, and to reinforce the airport's status as an international aviation hub, Yiu said.<br/>
For years, flying taxis have represented an exciting but distant dream, fueled in part by industry hype. Now they have a rollout plan and a target arrival date: 2028. In a document published on Tuesday, the FAA outlined the steps that it and others need to take to usher in a competitive air taxi market in at least one location by 2028 with limited operations starting as early as 2025. The vehicles look like small airplanes or helicopters and can take off and land vertically, allowing them to operate from the middle of cities, whisking people to airports or vacation destinations like the Hamptons in New York or Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The FAA’s plan is notable because it reflects confidence that the technology is only a few years away, and because it comes from the agency that will oversee certification of the aircraft as well as the rules that pilots and companies must follow. “These things will be coming on the scene, and our job is to try and be ahead of the curve,” said Paul Fontaine, an assistant FAA administrator who oversees the modernization of the air transportation system. The plan is intended to serve as a guide for introducing the aircraft in a way that is predictable and routine, the agency said. Creating the conditions for air taxis to zip above one or more cities by 2028 will be no small task, and aircraft manufacturers will need the help of many others besides the FAA, including other federal agencies and state and local governments. Air taxis are likely to face resistance from local officials and residents who fear that they will be safety hazards or a nuisance. Legislation and lawsuits seeking to block their use in cities and neighborhoods could set up pitched battles. But first the aircraft must be certified. Many are designed to be fully electric, though some could be powered by hydrogen or a combination of jet fuels and batteries. The aircraft are still under development by various companies and can carry only a handful of passengers. <br/>
Vertical Aerospace Ltd’s electric flying taxi has successfully completed its fully detached maiden flight, bringing the UK startup one step closer to carrying out a piloted test outing. A prototype of the VX4, an electric vertical take-off and landing craft, flew at about about 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour during the test. The flight, which took place at Cotswold Airport in southwest England, was controlled remotely and powered by electric batteries, Vertical said. The flight marks another milestone for Vertical, which completed a smaller tethered hover test with the VX4 in September last year. Vertical said it will continue to test the aircraft with the intention of performing a piloted flight in the future. The company previously said it would achieve certification by 2025 but pushed this back to the end of 2026 after reviewing the program’s timeline. As the aviation industry attempts to decarbonize, eVTOL startups are proposing to transport passengers in battery-powered aircraft which produce zero emissions. But the technology and infrastructure for eVTOLs have yet to receive often complex regulatory approval, meaning it could potentially take years before any enter commercial service. Aerospace firms including Rolls-Royce Holdings, Honeywell and GKN Ltd are working with Vertical to create the eight-propeller VX4. Vertical has raked in more than 1,400 pre-orders with customers such as Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, American Airlines Group Inc., and Avolon Holdings Ltd.<br/>