The FAA said on Monday it was naming the acting head of aviation safety to the permanent job, as the United States grapples with a series of troubling air safety near-miss incidents. David Boulter, a long-time FAA official and pilot, has been tapped to serve as the FAA’s associate administrator for aviation safety. The FAA said Boulter "is well qualified to carry on the important work of protecting the traveling public as we continue the FAA’s mission to make the world’s safest form of travel even safer." The statement said that an increase in incidents "reminded us that we can never take our safety record for granted." The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating seven runway incursion events since January, including an Aug. 11 near miss in San Diego. A Southwest Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet nearly collided after an air traffic controller cleared the Cessna to land even though the Southwest plane had already been told to taxi onto the same runway and await instructions to depart, the FAA said. A source told Reuters the Cessna passed over the top of the Southwest airplane by about 100 feet. The FAA said last week it was holding runway safety meetings at 90 airports and issued a safety alert to airlines over ground safety. In March, the FAA said it was taking steps to improve its air traffic control operations after near-miss incidents, telling employees: "There is no question that we are seeing too many close calls." The agency has been without a permanent administrator since April 2022. Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has criticized the number of senior FAA positions without permanent officials.<br/>
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Tampa International airport will be closed on 29 August due to fast-moving Tropical Storm Idalia, which is expected to gain force and become a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall in Florida. Idalia is likely to become the latest major weather-related disruption to airline operations caused by severe summer weather in North America. Residents are currently evacuating low-lying areas of the Gulf Coast, as Florida governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 46 counties. Idalia is currently moving from the Caribbean toward Florida at about 9mph (15kmh), says Joe Carr, an aviation meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It is expected to continue on its path for the next 24h before making landfall on the northwest coast of Florida “as a major Category 3 hurricane” early in the morning of 30 August. “As far as impacts to airports, sometime tomorrow we’ll start to see the wind pick up, and some rain showers and possibly thunderstorms moving to airports like Naples and Fort Myers – and, very late in the day, perhaps Tampa,” Carr says. “Tomorrow night, we anticipate that Orlando and Gainesville airports will be impacted by the weather.” Tampa International will close early on the morning of 29 August, the airport says on social media, reminding residents that it is “not a shelter” during hurricanes. Elsewhere on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Sarasota-Bradenton International airport is to “remain open and operational” on 29 August, the airport says on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Spirit Airlines, which is headquartered in South Florida, has a travel advisory in effect 29-31 August for Fort Myers, Orlando, Pensacola and Tampa – in addition to Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The carrier has waived fees for modified or changed tickets through 6 September for those destinations.<br/>
The European Union is scouting Africa to back clean jet fuel projects under its Global Gateway infrastructure fund, an EU official said, ahead of an anticipated boom in demand for environmentally sustainable air travel. The EU has pledged to dedicate half of its E300b infrastructure plan, seen as a rival to China's Belt and Road Initiative, to Africa. The fund has already backed renewable plants, green hydrogen initiatives, vaccines and education projects in Africa, and the official said it was now looking into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). "In the context of the Global Gateway, the Commission is currently looking into possible co-financing mechanisms and guarantee instruments," said Stefan De Keersmaecker, a European Commission spokesperson. "SAF production in the African continent has great potential." SAFs are low-carbon fuel alternatives for the aviation industry and can be made from various crops among other feedstock sources. The EU will launch a E4m capacity-building project by Dec. 31 to support SAF feasibility studies and certification in 11 African countries and India. Following feasibility studies, selected projects could draw funds from the Global Gateway, De Keersmaecker said. The aviation industry contributes more than 2% of global energy-related emissions, and the EU is mandating emissions reduction targets that will require airlines to use more SAF. That will help create annual global demand of 450b litres of SAF by 2050, according to the International Air Transport Association, and has made Africa's vast swathes of under-utilised agricultural land increasingly attractive.<br/>
Beijing and Ottawa are in talks aimed at increasing flights between China and Canada, following American deals and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, but diplomatic spats and the aviation sector’s gradual pace of change could prolong the turbulence. “It’s a political problem; I don’t think it’s a one-day solution or that we’ll have the green light right away,” said Glynnis Chan, a longtime Vancouver travel agent. She says economy-class flights to China are costing her clients three times the price they paid in 2019. “They’re very frustrated,” she said. Transport Canada says the weekly number of flights between the two countries has dropped drastically, from more than 100 per week in the summer of 2019 to just 10 per week this season. The existing Canada-China air transport agreement allows each country 76 passenger flights per week, for distribution among their respective airlines. At the peak of the summer 2019 travel period, Transport Canada said Chinese airlines operated 76 flights to Canada per week from various cities, while Air Canadaoperated 35 flights per week to Beijing and Shanghai combined as the sole Canadian carrier flying to the country at that time. But now, Air Canada operates just four flights a week to Shanghai, while Chinese airlines fly six weekly passenger flights to Canada. The decline stems from China’s strict COVID-19 rules, which up until January included caps on foreign flights and frequent quarantines and testing for visitors. Helane Becker, an airline analyst for investment firm Cowen, says those “very onerous” rules made global airlines break up their flights, making stops in places like South Korea, Hong Kong or the Philippines to rotate crews. That way, staff could stay on the plane without entering the terminal.<br/>
Airlines were forced to cancel hundreds of flights and delay hundreds more on Monday after Britain’s air traffic control service experienced a “technical issue” that caused widespread disruption on one of the country’s busiest travel days of the year. More than 200 flights departing from Britain were canceled, according to Cirium, the aviation analytics company, along with 271 that were scheduled to arrive in the country on Monday. Many other flights would be delayed by more than eight hours, “which will inevitably result in a cancellation,” Cirium added. NATS, Britain’s National Air Traffic Service, said a technical problem had affected its ability to automatically process flight plans, which meant that the information had to be entered manually, slowing down the process. While British airspace was not closed at any time, NATS restricted the number of flights departing from and landing at airports in order to maintain safety while its engineers tried to fix the problem. At about 3 p.m. local time, NATS said it had resolved the issue, but noted that air traffic remained disrupted. Britain’s government has a 49% stake in NATS, which is a public-private partnership. The delays hit during a particularly heavy travel period, as people returned from summer vacations or extended weekend trips on Monday’s “bank holiday,” or national day off, in Britain. Thousands of holidaymakers spent hours stuck in departure lounges or on runway tarmac, facing long delays and uncertain departure times. <br/>
Airline passengers have been warned that flight disruption could persist for days, after a technical meltdown in UK air traffic control left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded or delayed on the summer bank holiday. Returning holidaymakers and those hoping to travel out of UK airports faced cancellations and delays of up to 12 hours after takeoffs and inbound flights were suspended due to a “network-wide” computer failure. A limited number of flights were able to operate but air traffic was severely restricted as engineers struggled to locate and rectify the problem. With controllers forced to input flight plans manually, about 500 flights were cancelled and others delayed for hours even before Nats, the national airspace controllers, announced at 3.15pm that it had “identified and remedied” the issue that arose almost four hours earlier. Passengers at airports in the UK and around Europe reported being left in limbo with travel plans wrecked and check-in desks closed, while airlines were unable to confirm if their flights would leave. The unusually long outage is likely to cause disruption for several days, with knock-on delays from crew and planes left out of position. British Airways said passengers due to travel on Monday or Tuesday could move their flights free of charge, while Heathrow on Monday evening urged passengers to come to the airport only if flights were confirmed as operating. At Gatwick, where about 150 flights were scrapped, easyJet cancelled virtually all departing international flights on Monday afternoon. The airline could not yet confirm what flights would operate on Tuesday but it is understood to expect some continuing impact on its schedules.<br/>
Hundreds of disgruntled passengers were facing a night at Dublin Airport after a glitch in UK air traffic control had a knock-on effect across the network. More than 100 flights to and from Ireland were cancelled as a result of the glitch which knocked out the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) computer system for more than three hours on Monday. The issue affected not only flights between Britain and Ireland but flights that use UK air space. There were long queues at the Ryanair desk on Monday night as passengers waited to change flights or source accommodation in Dublin. One Ryanair passenger tweeted that there won’t be another flight for him until Wednesday and he has yet to be able to book a transfer or find a hotel.<br/>
The head of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has flagged potential “cutbacks” in travel spending in the near term, even as the region’s airlines continue to see strong demand. AAPA director general Subhas Menon points to “uncertainties in the wider macroeconomic environment, in addition to increased living costs” as reasons for travellers cutting back on spending. He adds: “The outlook for Asian airlines remains positive, as carriers continue to grow networks to meet travel demand and return gradually to profitability, whilst maintaining their dedication to safety and sustainability.” Menon’s outlook comes as the association releases its monthly traffic figures for July, which showed “further growth” and continued recovery towards pre-pandemic levels. Asia-Pacific airlines carried over 27.2m international passengers during the month, up more than two-fold year on year, or around 81% of pre-pandemic levels. Traffic also doubled year on year, “reflecting the relative strength on regional routes”, notes the AAPA. As for capacity, it nearly doubled compared to the year-ago period. Says Menon: “The start of the second half of the year showed a continuation of the strong recovery trend for Asian airlines, with sustained growth in major Asian economies fuelling the appetite for international travel.” Meanwhile, the AAPA notes the “continued weakness” in the cargo market in July, with freight-tonne kilometres falling for the seventeenth consecutive month. Adds Menon: “[Amid] a weakness in demand for both consumer and intermediate goods, Asian airlines experienced an 8.4% drop in international air cargo demand during the first seven months of the year.” <br/>
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with Poland in bid to enhance cooperation in air transport services between the two countries. The bilateral deal seeks to establish regulatory frameworks and strengthen the civil aviation sector strategy, expanding the operational network of national carriers and promoting international relations in the field of civil aviation between the kingdom and other countries, reported SPA. This agreement is expected to improve communication, increase flights between the two countries, support tourism and trade, and strengthen Saudi Arabia's position as a global logistics hub, said Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al Jasser, the Minister of Transport and Logistics Services after signing the deal with Polish Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk Monday in Riyadh. According to Al Jasser, these objectives align with the Saudi Vision 2030, where enhancing the country's logistical capabilities is a key focus. Furthermore the agreement will also contribute to the National Transport and Logistics Strategy's goals, said the SPA report.<br/>
Standard Chartered Plc agreed to sell its aviation finance business to a unit of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund for $3.6b and inked a separate deal to offload a portfolio of loans as part of efforts to boost returns. AviLease, a jet lessor owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, will acquire a portfolio of 100 narrowbody aircraft and become servicer for another 22 jets, according to a statement. The combined platform will own and manage 167 planes. Separately, Apollo Global Management Inc.-backed PK Airfinance agreed to buy the majority of a $920m portfolio of secured aviation loans from Standard Chartered. Affiliates of Apollo will buy the rest of the aviation loans. Both deals are expected to close before the end of the year. Standard Chartered had earmarked its aviation business for sale earlier this year and hired advisers for the process. Dublin-based Standard Chartered Aviation Finance owns and manages more than 120 aircraft and offers services including jet fuel hedging and re-marketing of aircraft. It also includes a debt-financing business to finance the purchase of airplanes. AviLease, founded last year, is among a number of companies the Saudi sovereign wealth fund has bankrolled as it pushes deeper into sectors from sports to tourism through a series of high-profile acquisitions. “This acquisition will propel AviLease and will in turn support Saudi Arabia’s aviation ecosystem,” AviLease Chairman Fahad Al Saif said in the statement. The deal is part of a push by the country to become a global trade, logistics and tourism hub, and help diversify its economy away from a reliance on oil sales. The kingdom has launched a new national airline and plans to develop one of the world’s biggest airports in its capital, Riyadh.<br/>