general

Demand for international flying has fallen in recent weeks, according to new data, with a significant hit to bookings to the Middle East in the first signs that the war between Israel and Hamas is affecting air travel. Global flight bookings made in the three weeks after the October 7 Hamas cross-border raid on Israel were 20% below 2019 levels, according to travel industry data company ForwardKeys. The decline reverses a trend in which demand had been increasing sharply after international air travel plummeted during the pandemic. Before the attack, bookings were tracking at 15% below 2019 levels, the last year before Covid-19 disrupted the industry. Airlines have reaped bumper profits over the past six months on strong demand for travel at high ticket prices, but have faced persistent questions over whether bookings will weaken into the northern hemisphere winter. Few airlines have reported a slowdown in demand, although several, including Ryanair, have warned their outlooks were dependent on geopolitical events. Olivier Ponti, a senior executive at ForwardKeys, said the war had “jeopardised the strong recovery trend in demand” seen throughout the year. “This war is bound to put people off travelling to the region, but it has also dented consumer confidence in travelling elsewhere too,” he said. Many airlines had cut flights to Israel following the attacks and heightened fears of a broader regional war. But the flight data offers one of the first indications of how the geopolitical uncertainty appears to have affected air travel more broadly. The data is drawn from the industry-wide ticketing database from the IATA, and includes big national carriers in Europe, the US and Gulf. However, it does not have sales from low-cost carriers such as Ryanair or easyJet.<br/>

The FAA said on Thursday it is naming a pilot mental health committee to provide recommendations to address barriers preventing pilots from reporting mental health issues. The issue has taken on new urgency since an off-duty Alaska Airlines ALK.N pilot last month was charged with trying to disable the engines of a jet in flight and told police afterward he was suffering a nervous breakdown. "Mental health care has made great strides in recent years, and we want to make sure the FAA is considering those advances when we evaluate the health of pilots,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. The FAA said it would also work to address uncompleted recommendations from a July inspector general's office report on pilot mental health, which found the FAA’s "ability to mitigate safety risks is limited by pilots’ reluctance to disclose mental health conditions." National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said Thursday the board is planning to hold forums on Dec. 6 pilot mental health. She said the FAA oversight of pilot mental health is in need of significant reform. "The current system is broken and has been for a really long time," Homendy told reporters, saying pilots are fearful "they could lose their job if you mention you are going to talk therapy."<br/>

The nation’s understaffed and overworked air traffic controller workforce has grown by only six fully trained controllers over the last year, the workers’ union president told Congress. National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Rich Santa told a Senate subcommittee Thursday growth in the thousands is needed. The FAA’s controller ranks are about 3,600 short of the 14,000-plus controller staffing goal, he said. It would take more than a decade of hiring at maximum levels to catch up, he noted. “We are not healthier than we were last year, controller-wise,” Santa said. “I think FAA’s own numbers indicate we have potentially six more air traffic controllers than we had last year systemwide. That is not an expansive increase of what we need.” While The FAA did not refute the workforce grew by 6, it said in a statement the situation needs context. The FAA said it hired 1,500 controllers this year and is on pace to hire 1,800 in 2024. “We have 2,716 trainees making their way through the system right now. Most of the trainees are already partially certified on positions.” Nearly 1,000 of those trainees, the statement said, are already certified controllers who have moved from smaller facilities for training at a larger and busier sites – an 8% increase from 2022. Additionally, there are 4% more operational supervisors who can control traffic. “The certified professional controller number at one point in time does not paint a full picture,” the FAA said. ”The number of certified controllers will always fluctuate because controllers retire, resign, are promoted to supervisory positions, or transfer to other facilities and require retraining. So far this year, more than 340 certified controllers transferred to other facilities or positions and were reclassified as controllers in training.”<br/>

Operations at Canada's largest airport were disrupted for several hours Thursday morning after airline staff accidentally led arriving passengers through the wrong door. The mistake resulted in thousands of passengers at Toronto Pearson International Airport to be grounded as transborder flights in Terminal 1 were delayed. "A ground handler contracted by one of the airlines directed passengers arriving from a flight to the wrong area of the airport," Sean Davidson, a spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), told CP24 earlier on Thursday. Operations at Canada's largest airport were disrupted for several hours Thursday morning after airline staff accidentally led arriving passengers through the wrong door. The mistake resulted in thousands of passengers at Toronto Pearson International Airport to be grounded as transborder flights in Terminal 1 were delayed. "A ground handler contracted by one of the airlines directed passengers arriving from a flight to the wrong area of the airport," Sean Davidson, a spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), told CP24 earlier on Thursday. "These passengers are now mixed with passengers who are heading to the U.S., so while there is no imminent security threat here at the airport, U.S. customs now needs to do some work to figure out exactly who has been screened and who hasn't and unfortunately that just takes a bit of time." Images sent to CP24 showed hundreds of passengers waiting in the terminal, along with airline staff, police, and members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP).<br/>

Denmark's government on Thursday proposed imposing an average tax of 100 Danish crowns ($14.35) on air travel to help finance a green transition of the airline industry that will enable all domestic flights to use 100% sustainable fuels by 2030. About half of the expected yearly proceeds of 1.2b crowns will help finance an ambition of having all domestic flights using only green fuels by the end of the decade, it said. Green technologies such power-to-X, hydrogen and bio fuels will be eligible for state support, it said. The other half of the proceeds will be used for cash handouts to elderly people, the government said. Under the proposal by the majority government, the passenger tax will be gradually phased in from 2025. By 2030, the tax will be around $9 for travel inside Europe, $34 for medium-distance flights, and $56 for long-distance. "The aviation sector in Denmark must – just like all other industries – reduce its climate footprint and move towards a green future," said Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard in a statement.<br/>

The Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that several Dublin-registered international aircraft lessors are entitled to certain documentation from insurers who have allegedly refused to provide indemnity for the loss of planes detained in Russia. The aircraft in question, valued at more than a billion euro, were not returned when the companies sought their returns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The actions have been brought in six sets of proceedings by groups of companies, including SMBC Aviation Capital Ltd, Global Aviation Ltd and Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Ltd, BOC Aviation Ltd, Silver Aviation Ltd, CDB Lease Finance DAC and GY Aviation. Their actions are against several international insurers who declined to cover losses under either “all risks” or “war risks” policies. The insurers include Lloyds, Swiss Re International, Chubb European Group, Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers (Europe) SAS and AIG Europe, Tokio Marine Europe, Taiping General Insurance Zhejiang Branch Co Ltd. The insurers deny the war risk cover was engaged following the invasion.<br/>

In the two years before the war in Ukraine, a private Boeing 737 linked to Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov criss-crossed the globe, taking in the French Riviera, the Maldives and Seychelles along with world capitals and financial centres. This year, instead of traditional playgrounds of the well-heeled, the jet has visited ex-Soviet states Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Belarus a handful of times, along with China, flight tracking data by Flightradar24 shows. In a sign of both the limitations and reach of Western sanctions in place since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, some of Russia's rich and powerful are finding ways to keep personal jets airborne, Reuters reporting shows, but the restrictions have sharply curtailed where the planes can travel. The Boeing linked to Yevtushenkov was among at least 50 private jets re-registered under the Russian flag since the February 2022 invasion, according to previously unreported national aircraft registry data up to early August reviewed by Reuters. Several of the repatriated private jets were associated with prominent politicians and business figures, according to two senior Russian aviation industry sources, who were not authorised to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. The two sources said Yevtushenkov personally used the Boeing-737, which until last year bore the logo of the company he founded, telecoms-to-timber conglomerate AFK Sistema, pictures on website Jetphotos show.<br/>

Airlines have deep demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but the energy industry needs to invest in capacity to ensure a sufficient supply. Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, argues that investments in SAF infrastructure are urgently needed to ensure sufficient quantities of SAF are produced to help airlines reduce emissions.<br/>“Achieving sustainability goals is critical to the future success of the international air transport sector and its continuing role as an agent for social and economic development,” says Menon. “Extreme weather events and record temperatures in 2023 nearing global warming thresholds set by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, are a clarion call for all industry players, especially governments and fuel suppliers, to step up efforts on sustainability, and to ensure that aviation is able to achieve its net zero carbon emissions goal by 2050.” Menon made the remarks to media at the AAPA 67th Assembly of Presidents that is taking place in Singapore. Menon adds that the airline sector is “agnostic” as to what feedstocks go into making SAF, as this depends on the local situation. SAF can be produced anywhere, but feedstocks differ between geographies. “We have fossil fuels that can only be tapped in certain parts of the world, whereas when you talk about feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuels, they are found everywhere.” He gives the examples of municipal waste, agricultural residue, and forestry residue. These are available in all parts of the world in different quantities. “But we need the refineries and we don’t have enough,” says Menon. “We need the oil majors who have the wherewithal and skillsets to provide the transition. We need them to come into the game, and we need governments to give the necessary support framework in terms of the incentives and subsidies to make this dream a reality.”<br/>

InterGlobe Enterprises, which backs India’s top airline IndiGo, and U.S.-based Archer Aviation will launch an all-electric air taxi service in India in 2026 that will be “cost-competitive” with on-road services, the companies said Thursday. The partnership, should they get regulatory clearances, aims to capitalise on a growing need for transport solutions in the world’s most populous country that is battling severe ground travel congestion and pollution in its main cities. Archer Aviation, backed by the likes of Chrysler-parent Stellantis, Boeing and United Airlines , makes electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that have been touted as the future of urban air mobility. These ‘Midnight’ e-aircraft can carry four passengers and a pilot for up to 100 miles (roughly 161 kilometers). The service aims to start with 200 aircraft and begin in Delhi, the national capital, Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, and Bengaluru, known as India’s Silicon Valley. The companies said that a trip that typically takes 60 to 90 minutes by car in Delhi, for example, will take about 7 minutes in an air taxi. InterGlobe Enterprises, which owns nearly 38% of IndiGo-parent InterGlobe Aviation as well as hospitality and logistics businesses, also plans to use the e-aircraft for cargo, logistics, medical, emergency and charter services.<br/>