US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg met on Monday with his Mexican counterpart to discuss a number of sticking points regarding Mexico's aviation industry. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has increasingly exerted control over the industry and handed over civilian aviation duties to the armed forces, causing frictions between the two countries. Buttigieg and Mexican Transportation Minister Jorge Nuno discussed Mexico's plan to maintain a recently recovered US air safety rating, given back to Mexico in September after it spent more than two years on a lower rating, Mexico's transportation ministry said. Aviation analysts have said that several issues, including a legal challenge of a major overhaul to Mexico's aviation law, could put the recovery at risk. The two also discussed Mexico's move of cargo flights out of the Mexico City International Airport to the military-run Felipe Angeles International Airport, which opened last year and sits farther away from the capital. The US government had previously expressed concern over the move - appearing to pause a tie-up between US carrier Allegiant and Mexico's VivaAerobus as a consequence - and meeting with cargo carriers to hear their worries. Buttigieg and Nuno also talked about strategies to reduce flight saturation at the AICM, the busiest in the country, the ministry said. Lopez Obrador has exhorted commercial airlines to move flights from the AICM to the AIFA. Government-mandated flights cuts at the AICM are set to take effect in January, slashing slots from 52 per hour to 43 per hour despite outcry from airlines.<br/>
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Airline bosses have criticised a Dutch plan for an EU-wide phaseout of fossil fuel subsidies, saying such a move will be fanciful until there are affordable greener travel alternatives. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and Lufthansa CE Carsten Spohr were among European airline executives who said at a briefing last week that train fares remained too expensive to replace air travel, and policymakers’ plans to make aviation more sustainable by cutting support would backfire. The Dutch government announced last month that it spent up to €46.4bn in 2023 supporting the use of fossil fuels, either through direct subsidies or tax schemes that indirectly led to more polluting energies being used. More than €3.6bn went to airlines, as fuel supplied for use in aviation is currently fully exempt from taxation in the EU. Rob Jetten, the Dutch climate minister, told the Financial Times that reforming the tax system and cutting subsidies was “crucial” to delivering the clean transition, and that governments should “redesign the rules of the market”. He added, however, that fossil fuel subsidies, particularly ones that resulted from international agreements such as for airlines and shipping, “need to be tackled from the EU level”. But O’Leary, the Ryanair boss, said: “Until you have some affordable alternative that you can offer to voters and to consumers across Europe, it’s all just pie in the sky.” Ourania Georgoutsakou, managing director of the industry body Airlines for Europe, added that increasing fuel taxes for airlines would increase costs which “at some point will impact the passenger”. Fuel is one of the single biggest expenses for airlines, and accounts for about 25% of their operating costs. Aviation is also among the toughest sectors to decarbonise, with alternatives to jet fuels still at an embryonic stage. The airline industry last week reiterated calls for more support to increase production and lower the cost of so-called sustainable fuels, which are significantly less polluting than kerosene.<br/>
The CE of regional carrier KLM Cityhopper has warned of the potentially serious impact of introducing a transfer tax at Schiphol airport, while stating his belief that the commercial aviation sector and the Dutch government will “find each other again” and achieve better outcomes at the hub. Speaking at the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) General Assembly in Innsbruck on 11 October, Maarten Koopmans cites the “good” collaboration historically achieved between the country’s aviation stakeholders and the government, saying he believes that relationship can be re-established. That is particularly important to regional unit Cityhopper, which ranks as the busiest airline at Schiphol, operating 55% of KLM’s flights at the facility, making it particularly exposed to recently introduced policies that will restrict operations at the hub. “When you look at the situation of today, we need to rejuvenate that collaboration… I don’t think we do that in the best way at the moment,” he states. “We built a great hub at Schiphol [and] I think we will find each other again.” Nevertheless, Koopmans warns that proposals being discussed in recent weeks by “some of the politicians” to introduce a tax on transfer passengers at Schiphol – in excess of €100 ($105) on a return flight – would “kill the network” for KLM by making the hub even more uncompetitive. “I think they will realise that is not a good idea,” he says. Such a move – which is a proposal at this stage – would exacerbate the challenges brought about by policies introduced by the current government, including caps on flight numbers and night operations at the KLM hub, which are already making the airline group “less able to make a transition” towards a more sustainable future by weakening its financial prospects. <br/>
Venice may be known as La Serenissima, but for those who have encountered her resident seagulls, the experience can be anything but serene. The gulls are infamous for stealing food from anyone naïve enough to be eating outside, swooping down onto café terraces, breaking crockery, grabbing sandwiches out of walkers’ hands, and happily biting any fingers that get in the way. Now, the winged criminals have gone one stop further, causing an hour-long shutdown and two hours of chaos at the city’s airport. Venice Marco Polo Airport, located north of the city, with a runway adjacent to the lagoon, is the fifth busiest airport in Italy, and the largest in the north of the country outside the Milan area. But on Friday morning, things ground to a halt when a flock of gulls congregated at the end of the runway. Flights were grounded between 9.54 a.m. and 10.45 a.m., a spokesperson for the airport confirmed to CNN. Twenty incoming flights were diverted to other airports in northern Italy: Treviso, Verona, Trieste and Milan. While Treviso is an easy 30-minute bus ride away, those diverted to Trieste and Milan would have faced journeys of two to three hours to get to Venice. As the airlines’ “big birds” were diverting to gull-less airports, staff from SAVE, the airport management company, were enacting their standard anti-seagull routine. Venice airport employs a resident falcon, who was dispatched by a falconer to disperse the 200-odd birds. “Fauna-friendly acoustic deterrents” were also used, according to a statement by the airport.<br/>
Russia's sanctions-hit aviation industry has been plagued by multiple jet incidents in recent weeks, adding to President Vladimir Putin's woes during his full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Analysis by Agentstvo, a Russian investigative site launched in 2021, found that in the last two weeks, one of the country's Rossiya Airlines' Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional aircraft was involved in four emergency incidents. Russia's aviation industry has been hard hit by Western sanctions imposed over Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian-operated planes have been sanctioned by the U.S. government, and plane makers have stopped delivering spare parts and new aircraft to the country. More than a year and a half into the war, Russia's aviation industry continues to try to work around Western sanctions and look for ways to substitute Western-made spare parts and equipment for its aircraft to keep the industry afloat. A Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100-95B was involved in two incidents on October 13. The first occurred during a flight from St. Petersburg to Murmansk Oblast, and the second happened a few hours later. Both times, crew members reported problems with the aircraft's wing mechanization, Agentstvo reported, citing the Aviaincident Telegram channel and data from the Flightradar24 service. A few days earlier, on October 9, the Shot Telegram channel reported that the same aircraft made an emergency landing in Samara after its wing flaps jammed. Agentstvo said that according to Flightradar24 data, the plane circled before landing, and returned, presumably without passengers. Story has more.<br/>
Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) Terminal A will begin operations on November 1, thus bringing a major increase in passenger capacity to the UAE capital and strengthening the emirate's standing as a global aviation hub. Etihad Airways will operate a ceremonial flight on October 31, ahead of the terminal's opening to the public on November 1. The new terminal will enhance travel experiences through state-of-the-art facilities made available to passengers and airlines in the region. When fully operational, Terminal A will be a shopper’s paradise covering 35,000 sq m with 163 retail concessionaires and food & beverage, offering passengers a wide variety of shopping and dining opportunities to enjoy. For relaxation and rejuvenation prior to flying, there are two health and beauty spas along with a high-quality 138-bedroom hotel plus a modern open-air lounge offering renowned Arabic hospitality, it stated. Abu Dhabi Airports said the airlines will transition into Terminal A in 3 phases over a period of 2 weeks: after Etihad’s ceremonial flight on October 31, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and 15 other international airlines will fly from the new Terminal on November 1. <br/>
The Chinese-invested Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport in Cambodia was put into commercial operation on Monday and is expected to become a major gateway to the world-renowned temples of Angkor. The airport is the first overseas international airport delivered under the Build-Operate-Transfer model by Chinese enterprises. It has been invested in by an affiliate of China's Yunnan Investment Holdings and is operated and managed by Yunnan Aviation Industry Investment Group. The airport opened as China and Cambodia celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations and China welcomes the 10th anniversary of the inception of the Belt and Road Initiative. "The airport is expected to help promote Cambodia's economic growth and social development. The completion of the airport has been an achievement of Cambodia's national development strategy and the BRI, which bears a demonstrative significance," said Yang Danzhi, a senior researcher of national security at Renmin University of China. The first flight to arrive at the airport was operated by Bangkok Airways and departed from Bangkok.<br/>
Rolls-Royce is to cut up to 2,500 jobs across its business, as its CE prepares to reveal his long-term strategy for the company. The jet engine manufacturer is expected to reveal between 2,000 and 2,500 job losses as early as Tuesday, with the UK expected to be affected, two sources said. Tufan Erginbilgiç, a former BP executive, took over Rolls-Royce in January and immediately rattled staff by describing it as a “burning platform”, suggesting big changes would be needed to prevent one of Britain’s most venerable and complex manufacturers from falling further behind its rivals. Rolls-Royce’s financial performance has improved markedly in the past year, mainly thanks to the recovery in global air travel after the coronavirus pandemic. Although its focus on long-haul travel has meant it has lagged behind rivals who make engines for short-haul planes, its share price has more than doubled since the start of 2023 – albeit remaining short of its pre-pandemic level in 2019. The company’s civil aviation revenues are heavily dependent on selling maintenance services for the engines it makes, meaning it was hit particularly hard during the pandemic. It cut 9,000 jobs then to reduce costs in what was described by its leaders as an existential threat to the business. Government officials were briefed on the latest redundancy plans on Monday evening, in accordance with statutory requirements relating to job cuts, according to Sky News, which first reported the cuts. Erginbilgiç previously highlighted to reporters that Rolls-Royce was duplicating work in several areas of the business. It is thought that the cuts will mainly be back-office roles, rather than engineers who work directly with technology.<br/>
Rolls-Royce has successfully run its Pearl 15 and Pearl 10X engines on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in a series of ground tests conducted at its Dahlewitz site in Germany. In addition to validating the SAF compatibility of the two engines – powering the Bombardier Global 5500/6500 and Dassault Aviation Falcon 10X, respectively – Rolls-Royce ran the same Pearl 10X back to back with conventional jet fuel and the waste-derived alternative to asses the latter’s environmental performance. These evaluations confirmed SAF’s “cleaner combustion”, producing lower levels of particulate matter; previous studies have shown soot particles are a major factor in contrail formation, a large contributor to atmospheric warming. “In combination with the low NOx combustor technology of the Pearl 10X and its additive manufactured combustor tiles, a reduction of all emissions was achieved,” says Rolls-Royce. Meanwhile, the engine manufacturer has celebrated the 10th anniversary of its round-the-clock operational service desk for business aviation customers. Located in Dahlewitz, the customer support operation has, since its 2013 introduction, helped Rolls-Royce achieve an average missed trip rate of 99%.<br/>
Bombardier is celebrating a major milestone for the Global 7500 programme, with the Canadian airframer having handed over the 150th example of the ultra-long-range jet. Delivered in September to an undisclosed customer, the landmark was reached almost five years after the twinjet entered service in December 2018. Eric Martel, Bombardier CE, praises the milestone delivery, adding: “It is performing amazingly well.” To date, the in-service fleet of Global 7500s has racked up a little over 100,000 flight hours. Cirium fleets data records five deliveries of Global 7500s in September – MSN150 to MSN155 – to customers including NetJets. Bombardier retains the programme’s first five aircraft. Meanwhile, the in-development Global 8000 remains on track for service entry by the middle of the decade, says Martel. “I am repeating that commitment because right now we have no reason to believe that we will not be in a position to deliver that airplane in the second half of 2025,” he told a pre-NBAA press conference on 16 October. The certification prototype has accumulated 150 flight hours so far, plus 1,000h of rig tests, Martel adds. Launched in May 2022, the Global 8000 can fly another 300nm (555km) over the 7,700nm-range Global 7500 on which it is based. Existing Global 7500 operators will be able to convert their aircraft into the Global 8000 through a Bombardier service bulletin costing around $3m. Both jets are powered by twin GE Passport engines.<br/>
The aircraft unit of Honda Motor Co. revealed Monday that its new small business jet will be named the "HondaJet Echelon," with the company aiming for its first flight in 2026. The 11-seater jet, categorized as a "light jet" that is bigger than the existing HondaJet that can carry up to eight people, is designed to be the first single-pilot light jet capable of flying across the United States without refueling, Honda Aircraft Co. said.<br/>The US-based company said it is aiming to obtain flight certification from US aviation authorities in 2028. "The HondaJet Echelon was born to create a new category that transcends the travel experience on conventional light jets," said Honda Aircraft President and CEO Hideto Yamasaki. The new jet will have one engine on each wing and will be 20% more fuel efficient than its rivals, it said. The new aircraft will be assembled at the company's factory in North Carolina, with early build processes scheduled to begin in 2024, it said. The price of the light jet has not been determined and it has yet to decide whether to sell it in Japan, according to the company.<br/>