Airports across the Eastern United States grounded numerous flights because of the threat of severe weather on Monday afternoon, leading to thousands of flight delays and cancellations that extended into the evening. The FAA issued the temporary ground stops on Monday afternoon for airports in a busy travel corridor linking major U.S. cities, including Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Reagan Washington National Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Dulles International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport, as well as La Guardia Airport and Kennedy International Airport in New York. The grounding of flights was later extended in Baltimore, New York and Washington as storms moved through those areas. Many flights were delayed or canceled at the airports where ground stops remained in place on Monday evening, causing a ripple effect of delays across the country, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight information. The FAA said in a post on social media that it was “rerouting aircraft around the storms heading to the East Coast as much as possible.” Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta had nearly 400 canceled flights and close to 1,000 delayed flights, making it the airport that was most affected by the severe weather threat as of Monday evening, according to FlightAware. La Guardia Airport in Queens, N.Y., was the second most impacted airport, with more than more than 200 canceled flights and nearly 300 delays by Monday evening, according to FlightAware. Reagan Airport in Arlington, Va., followed closely, with more than 200 delays and nearly 200 canceled flight, the tracking site said.<br/>
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Major US airlines on Monday asked the Federal Aviation Administration to extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports and a Washington airport, citing a lack of adequate air traffic control staffing. The FAA in March agreed to the request of Delta and United Airlines to temporarily return up to 10% of slots and flights at New York-area airports and Washington National Airport through Sept. 15. Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers, in a letter seen by Reuters, asked that the cuts be extended through Oct. 28, saying air traffic staffing levels in a key northeastern sector have not "meaningfully improved." The FAA said Monday it was "is in the final stages of review and will decide soon." Airlines can lose their slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. In the Airlines for America letter, the group said air traffic control staffing and extreme weather "are unique circumstances beyond our control." The group added: "Granting relief for the rest of the summer season is in the best interest of the flying public because it will minimize disruptions and provide greater predictability for airlines and consumers." Last month, Chicago-based United said it would drop to about 395 daily flights from 410 at Newark Liberty International Airport after planning 438 on peak days before the FAA waiver. In June, a government audit said the FAA faces critical air traffic staffing shortages and "lacks a plan to address them." The audit said New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) staffing was at 54% compared with optimal levels; it had eight supervisors but was authorized for 30.<br/>
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet approved a surprise tax on the “extra profits” of banks this year. The levy was slipped into a huge package of measures that ranged from taxi licenses to foreign investment. The tax could bring over E2b into state coffers, according to Ansa newswire. Italy agreed on a “40% withdrawal from banks’ multi-billion euro extra profits” for 2023 which is set to finance tax cuts and support for mortgages for first-time owners, deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said at a press conference in Rome where he appeared without Meloni. The unexpected move came during Meloni’s final late-night cabinet session before the summer break. The announcement was left to Salvini, leader of the League party and the ruling coalition’s most vocal member on populist issues. Italian banks’ profit surged in the first half, as rising interest rates boosted income from lending. Last month, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and UniCredit SpA raised their full-year guidance for the second consecutive quarter on the back of the European Central Bank’s rapid policy tightening. Meloni used the last cabinet meeting to ratify various items of unfinished business. <br/>
A group of airlines operating in Italy on Monday criticised government plans to curb ticket prices at the height of the summer season, saying they could breach European Union free market rules. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet was set to approve later on Monday a decree law covering a range of subjects including support for strategic industries, taxi licences, a blue crab invasion as well as airline prices. The draft decree, still subject to change, forbids companies from raising fares for Sicily or Sardinia beyond a level that is “200% higher” than the average price for such routes. Ticket prices to Italy’s two main islands have soared in recent weeks. The Italian Board of Airlines Representatives (IBAR) and Assaereo trade associations complained in a joint statement that the government never discussed the issue with them, saying it could have led to “less punitive solutions.” They also said the price controls “appear to be in conflict with the applicable sector regulations,” which generally allow carriers operating in the EU “to choose the routes on which to operate and to freely set passenger and cargo fares.” Sicily and Sardinia, have poor connections to the mainland, leaving both residents and tourists little choice but to use air transport to reach them, even when prices are sky-high during peak seasons. Companies including Lufthansa, EasyJet, American Airlines and Delta are members of the IBAR, the association’s website shows. The groups called on the government to reconsider its decision, warning that “any attempt to restrict the freedoms of the sector and the competition that characterises it” could negatively impact supply and ticket prices, as well as employment levels in the airline sector and related industries.<br/>
Airlines were forced to divert some flights after Niger restricted its airspace on Sunday night, making it more difficult for planes to fly across parts of Africa. British Airways was one of the carriers affected by Niger’s partial closure of airspace, with at least five flights to and from its London hubs diverting — including services from Nairobi, Cape Town and flights to and from Johannesburg. Air France, KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa also saw services diverted or delayed. BA confirmed in social media posts that some flights, including one from London Heathrow to Johannesburg, had been diverted because of the airspace closure over Niger. “We’ve apologised to those customers affected for the disruption to their journeys,” BA said in a statement. “Our teams are working hard to get them on their way again as quickly as possible.” An Air France spokesman said via email that the airline has suspended all services to Niger until further notice, and to Mali and Burkina Faso until August 11. The carrier also said longer flight times of between 15 minutes and 2 hours were to be expected to and from several sub-Saharan destinations. The sudden airspace closure in Niger makes it harder for airlines flying between Europe and southern Africa, adding an hour or more on to certain routes, according to tracking service FlightRadar24. There are also airspace restrictions over Sudan and Libya, meaning commercial aircraft cannot fly over. This means airlines need to extend flight times and cater for more fuel. Some flights were already en-route when the airspace closed, causing them to make a diversion or reroute, per FlightRadar24. Niger’s junta restricted access to the country’s airspace Sunday, citing warnings of an attack from foreign powers as a deadline issued by West African neighbors — warning they could intervene to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum — expired.<br/>
Western Global Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection with plans to slash its debt load after the cargo airline faced a cash crunch. The airline listed assets of as much as $500m and debt of as much as $1b in a Chapter 11 petition filed in Delaware. The filing allows Western Global to keep operating while it seeks court approval of a restructuring plan that will ease its debt burden by more than $450m, according to a statement. Western Global, based in Estero, Florida, provides air cargo services to airlines, logistics companies and the US military. The closely held company struck a deal with creditors to restructure its debt via bankruptcy in late July, Bloomberg reported. In June, founder and CEO Jim Neff bought the airline’s secured debt at a steep discount as he sought to keep the company alive through a restructuring. The debt purchase irked some investors because Neff’s status as a loan holder puts him ahead of unsecured bondholders in the repayment line. He’s also helping provide more than $77m of bankruptcy financing alongside a group of creditors. Now that the company is in bankruptcy, Neff has “agreed to forego some of the statutory rights that he would otherwise maintain as the holder” of Western Global’s loan, according to a company statement. The cargo airline was burning cash as it struggled to address its financing needs amid cooling demand and labor shortages that blocked certain routes to Asia, leading to increased fuel costs, according to a March note from Moody’s Investors Service. The company’s ability to raise new financing was limited because all of its $400m in aircraft assets and 21-plane fleet were encumbered as of September, according to the ratings firm. The filing comes nearly three years after the airline tapped the junk bond market for the first time in summer 2020 amid the pandemic-era boom in online shopping and cheap credit.<br/>
The pandemic surge in demand for executive jets has not softened and Brazilian planemaker Embraer still has a two-year backlog for the aircraft, an executive told Reuters. Embraer expects to deliver as many as 130 private jets in 2023, a 27.5% jump from last year to the highest since 2010. Private aviation boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as wealthy travelers sought to minimize exposure to the coronavirus. But even after that threat receded, Embraer has maintained a book-to-bill ratio of more than 2.5, said Latin America head of sales Gustavo Teixeira in an interview before the annual LABACE air show in Sao Paulo. Many charter clients are now looking to buy their own aircraft, he said. "We've been increasing production to meet this high demand," Teixeira said, noting that about 30% of Embraer's clients are purchasing their first private jet. "They used to fly commercial, then executive by charter and now are going for their first plane," he said. These customers will remain private plane owners and upgrade to more expensive jets from here, he said. Embraer's jets range from entry-level, such as the Phenom 100EV, to super mid-size, such as the Praetor 600. Its best-selling Phenom 300E is the global leader in the light jet class, and Embraer recently won a huge 250-plane order from Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets for its mid-size Praetor 500 aircraft. The business jet boom was a lifeline for the company during the pandemic, when orders for commercial aircraft dried up as global travel restrictions hit that market heavily. Executive aviation as a share of Embraer revenue peaked at 28.5% in 2020, up from 22.3% in 2018. It stands around 27% now as commercial aviation gets back on track. The firm has delivered 38 executive planes so far in 2023, but that figure will jump in the second half for seasonal reasons.<br/>