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A brief nationwide ground stop for United Airlines flights was lifted Tuesday, the FAA said. “Earlier today a software update caused a widespread slowdown in United’s technology systems,” United said in a statement. “We briefly held aircraft at their origin airports and resumed normal operations around 12:45 p.m. CT.,” the airline said. “Our teams are working to get customers to their destinations as soon as possible.” The ground stop lasted slightly more than an hour and did not affect aircraft already in flight when it was called. United is investigating the cause of the slowdown but does not believe it is a cybersecurity issue. United’s stock price closed more than 2% lower Tuesday.<br/>

The number of Canadian pilots seeking to fly in the United States tripled in 2022, according to previously unreported US government data, raising fears of deepening shortages in Canada as pilots seek higher wages.<br/>Some 147 Canadian pilots applied for licenses to fly commercial jets in the United States in 2022, up from 39 in 2021, according to FAA data. The number of overall foreign applications roughly doubled to 1,442. High travel demand in the United States, where pilots are securing historic wage increases, is attracting foreign aviators, despite delays and high costs of immigrating, according to lawyers, unions and pilots. While small, the increase in US applications is worrisome for regional Canadian carriers, which like their US counterparts, are wrestling with staffing shortages as they lose pilots to larger airlines, industry experts say. It could also put pressure on Air Canada during negotiations with its pilots, whose contract expires on September 29. Air Canada said this week it would halt six non-stop flights from Calgary at the end of October because of "resource pressures" due to an industry wide shortage of regional pilots. "It's definitely a concern," said John Gradek, a faculty lecturer in aviation management at McGill University in Montreal. At Sunwing Airlines, at least 10% of the roughly 490 pilots are applying to work in the US, said Mark Taylor, president of the Unifor union local, which represents aviators at the company. Taylor said he has raised the issue with Sunwing, which didn't return requests for comment. Sunwing has been acquired by WestJet Airlines, which likewise did not respond to requests for comment. Two Sunwing pilots, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they have not advised their employer of their plans, said they have obtained licenses to fly in the U.S. and are awaiting immigration paperwork to move, due to the higher pay and the high cost of living in Canada's large cities. Attorney Jean-Francois Harvey said about 29% of the 560 foreign pilots he's helped over the last 12 months are Canadian and fly for Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing. Air Canada said it could not comment on "individual pilot career choices," but said it does not "have difficulty attracting pilots" to its main carrier.<br/>

Air Canada says it has apologized to two passengers who were escorted off a plane by security after protesting that their seats were smeared in vomit. The airline said Tuesday that the passengers “clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled.” The incident during boarding for an Aug. 26 flight from Las Vegas to Montreal was described in graphic detail by another passenger, Susan Benson of New Brunswick, who said she was in the row behind two women and a man. “There was a bit of a foul smell but we didn’t know at first what the problem was,” Benson wrote on Facebook three days later. “Air Canada attempted a quick cleanup before boarding but clearly wasn’t able to do a thorough clean.” Benson said workers sprayed the area with perfume to hide the smell. The passengers assigned to those seats told a flight attendant that the seat and seatbelt were wet and they could still see vomit. The attendant and a supervisor told them that the flight was full, and they would just have to sit there. The women were attempting to use blankets and wipes to settle in when one of the pilots showed up, Benson wrote. She said the pilot told the women, who were on their way to Vienna, that they could leave and book new flights at their own expense “or they would be escorted off the plane by security and placed on a no fly list!” Benson said the pilot accused the women of being rude to the flight attendant, which she disputed — “they were upset and firm, but not rude!” Security then escorted the women off the plane.<br/>

Airlines will need all of the world’s synthetic aviation fuel, meaning there won’t be any left for cars, the head of Europe’s biggest airline group told Germany’s automakers. Deutsche Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said so-called sustainable aviation fuels offer the only workable path to decarbonizing air travel, though supplies are tight. “With no technology in sight to replace fuels, we really need all the sustainable aviation fuel in the world,” Spohr said at Germany’s biggest auto industry gathering in Munich. “Oliver can maybe have some for his 911, but we really need the volumes,” Spohr said, referring to Porsche AG CEO Oliver Blume’s push to get exemptions from combustion engine bans. Germany’s automotive sector, which employs about 800,000 workers in Europe’s biggest economy, has successfully lobbied for an exemption for e-fuels from the European Union’s 2035 combustion engine ban. As a result, the ban will not cover cars run exclusively on the liquid fuels that are made by combining hydrogen and carbon dioxide that was already in the atmosphere. So-called SAF is seen by aviation executives like Spohr as the only viable way to decarbonize air travel. While battery-electric vehicles work for road travel, cells lack the energy density for the foreseeable future to lift a commercial planeload of passengers and cargo into the sky.<br/>

Lufthansa Group has dropped the Eurowings name from its newest leisure unit as part of a rebranding which will support Discover Airlines’ growth with six more aircraft over the coming year and expansion at Munich airport. Eurowings Discover began operating flights for Lufthansa under its own AOC in the summer of 2021, initially focusing on leisure routes of Frankfurt. Lufthansa will now rebrand the carrier as Discover Airlines, deploying its first flight under its new colours tomorrow after taking delivery of an Airbus A320 in the new livery. Discover Airlines CE, Bernd Bauer, says: “We have built up our airline in a record time of two years, hired around 2,000 employees, phased-in 22 aircraft, and today are flying to over 60 destinations around the world. The fact that we are already profitable after two years is thanks to the enormous commitment of the team. This same enthusiasm is now driving us forward. The start-up phase is behind us and we are working on sharpening our profile as well as a clear positioning in the segment of higher-value leisure travel. This is also expressed by the brand identity which at the same time underlines our affiliation with the Lufthansa Group.” While the lower-case branding of Discover remains the prominent name, the livery features “Member of Lufthansa Group” written on both sides of the fuselage. Discover will add five more A320s and one A330 this year to take its fleet to 28. The five Airbus narrowbodies will be used to add routes from Munich, from where it expects to serve 23 leisure destinations next summer. The additional A330 will take to 13 the number of widebodies it will operate next summer from Frankfurt, alongside 10 A320s. Discover plans to begin long-haul flights from Munich from the start of 2025.<br/>

Scandinavian carrier SAS is leasing a batch of Embraer 195 regional jets from Florida-based lessor Azorra Aviation. SAS is undergoing a restructuring programme – known as ‘SAS Forward’ – while under US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Among the various aspects of this programme is an overhaul of the airline’s fleet composition, with lease revisions and agreements having to be approved by the court. Several filings refer to the lease of four E195s. The filings identify the aircraft as having serial numbers 401, 425, 437 and 452 and reveal Azorra to be the lessor. Two of the aircraft have already been brought into service with regional operator SAS Link. The details of the leases have been kept confidential, with the court filings referring to the “sensitive economic terms” and other information, such as maintenance and insurance requirements. Disclosure of the information would put SAS and Azorra “at a disadvantage” in future leasing transactions, owing to the “highly competitive” nature of the leasing market, the filings add. All four E195s were originally delivered new to Spanish carrier Air Europa.<br/>

Egypt on Tuesday resumed direct commercial flights to Sudan for the first time since a devastating war broke out between Sudan's rival general nearly five months ago. Flight MS865, operated by Egypt's national carrier EgyptAir, departed from Cairo early Tuesday, and arrived in Sudan's eastern city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, with 120 passengers on board, according to the carrier. Sudanese authorities welcomed the Egyptian plane by spraying it with water in a ceremonial "water salute" upon touchdown. Sameh Farouq, Egypt's consul general in the city was also present. A return flight, carrying 115 passengers, landed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo on Tuesday afternoon, EgyptAir said. Farouq said EgyptAir would operate a weekly round trip to Port Sudan, according to the Egyptian state-run MENA news agency. They were the first commercial flights to and from Sudan since the African nation descended into war in mid-April. The conflict has pitted Sudan's military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The resumption of flights came a week after Burhan met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in the Egyptian city of el-Alamein on the Mediterranean on his first trip abroad since the fighting erupted. Sudan reopened the airspace in the east of the country in mid-August, according to the country's civil aviation authority. Port Sudan, which is controlled by the military, has been largely spared the fighting and has become Sudan's main entry point for humanitarian flights and aid shipments.<br/>

Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and low-cost carriers have shifted to emergency mode to attract as many passengers as possible to cope with soaring fuel costs and other operating expense increases, according to industry officials, Tuesday. The number of passengers has been on a rapid recovery track this year, but surging fuel costs are casting dark clouds over the earnings outlook of the nation's largest carrier. According to data from market tracker, FnGuide, Korean Air is forecast to continue reporting a double-digit decline in its operating profit in Q3 of this year, because airlines operating long-haul international flights are more vulnerable to the price volatility of aviation fuel. Korean Air reported an operating profit of 468b won ($365.27m) in Q2, down 36% from a year earlier, due to rising fixed costs triggered by a faster-than-expected recovery in passenger loads following protracted COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Reflecting growing demand for air travel, Korean Air's sales increased 6% during the same period. But it appears too early to expect a major earnings turnaround soon, as rising fuel costs will likely keep pulling down Korean Air's revenue even in the latter half of this year, according to data from the market tracker. FnGuide forecast the carrier's Q3 operating profit to drop 24.8% year-on-year. Officials at other airlines also said they intend to minimize possible losses by generating more revenues from increased passenger traffic. "We will focus on reviving profitability by attracting more passengers for our cash-cow flight routes to China," an official from Asiana Airlines said.<br/>