El Salvador’s government has begun slapping a $1,130 fee on travelers from dozens of countries connecting through the nation’s main airport, amid U.S. pressure to help control migration flows to its southern border. Since the end of October, citizens of 57 largely African countries and India have had to pay the fee, according to El Salvador’s aviation authority. Aviation officials did not say whether the measure was aimed at reducing migration and have described the tariff as an “airport improvement fee,” but El Salvador’s government acknowledged an uptick in travelers from those countries this year. Also, the US has been pressuring Central American countries to curb migration flows to its border with Mexico. US authorities say they stopped migrants there more than 2m times during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. El Salvador’s aviation authority said most passengers who have to pay the fee are headed to Nicaragua on the commercial airline Avianca. Because of its lax visa requirements, Nicaragua is a transit point for migrants from Haiti and Cuba, as well as from Africa, who are trying to reach the U.S. Earlier this year, for example, U.S. officials were surprised by an increase in Mauritanian migrants arriving at the southern border. No natural disaster, coup or sudden economic collapse could explain it. Rather, travel agencies and social media influencers were promoting a multileg trip that took migrants from the west African nation to Nicaragua. A flight itinerary of one Senegalese migrant seen by The Associated Press showed the migrant passing through Morocco, Spain and El Salvador before landing in Managua. The last two legs were aboard Avianca flights. El Salvador’s aviation authority and immigration agency both said they did not have data on how many migrants from the listed countries had transited the country this year.<br/>
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Middle Eastern airlines placed orders worth tens of billions of dollars for more than 100 passenger jets on the opening day of the Dubai air show, underscoring the rebound in the aviation industry even as regional tensions run high. Emirates, the Dubai-based carrier, placed an order for 90 of Boeing’s 777X aircraft, the world’s largest twin-engined passenger jet, valued at $52b at list prices. Its low-cost sister airline, Flydubai, followed up with an order for 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which would be the first widebody aircraft in its fleet, worth $11bn at list prices. The US aircraft maker also picked up a commitment from Royal Jordanian for its 787 jet. The flood of orders comes despite concerns over a fall in demand for air travel in the region due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Bookings for flights to the Middle East fell in the three weeks following the Hamas attacks on Israel, dropping from 13% above 2019 levels to 13% below, according to industry data provider ForwardKeys. Sales for flights from the region fell 10 percentage points. Yet demand for the industry’s biggest jets is soaring after a prolonged downturn following the coronavirus pandemic, which severely dented long-haul travel. Much of the demand is expected to be driven by Middle Eastern airlines over the next two decades. Boeing is forecasting that wide-body aeroplanes for long-haul travel will make up 45% of deliveries to the region over the next 20 years — the highest regional percentage worldwide — as it expands into an international transit hub. The US group projects delivery of 3,025 new commercial aircraft in the Middle East by 2042, including 1,350 wide bodies. “The big Gulf carriers continue to believe strongly in the superconnector model and therefore anticipate some growth,” said Edmond Rose, an aviation consultant who works in the region. “If you believe there is going to be growth in air travel because of global economic expansion then those Gulf carriers are still going to be well placed to pick up some of that.”<br/>
Passengers who faced delays in returning home due to a flight delay have been granted compensation by their airline, as the Korean Supreme Court upheld the need for the company to compensate for the passengers’ “mental damages” if the necessary measures are not taken. The Supreme Court rendered such a decision in favor of some plaintiffs in a damages lawsuit filed by 77 passengers against Jeju Air, according to the superior court on Sunday. The flight in question in this lawsuit was initially scheduled to depart Clark International Airport in the Philippines at 3:05 a.m. on January 21, 2019, and arrive at Incheon International Airport at 8:05 a.m. the same day. But a fuel supply issue as it prepared for takeoff meant passengers eventually boarded a replacement aircraft, departing 19 hours and 25 minutes later than scheduled at 11 p.m. Following the delay, passengers filed a damages lawsuit against Jeju Air, asking for compensation of 154.4m won (around 116,925) in total. The lower court ordered Jeju Air to pay between 400,000 to 700,000 won per passenger, citing potential mental distress due to the extended waiting time. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision. But the Supreme Court interpreted the Montreal Convention differently from the trial and appellate courts. The Montreal Convention is a norm governing international air transportation, and this multilateral treaty takes precedence over civil and commercial laws if both the country of origin and destination are parties to it. Article 19 of the Montreal Convention states that “The carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers, baggage, or cargo,” and there is a divergence on whether the “damage” in the provision includes psychiatric damage.<br/>
Korea Airports Corp. (KAC) and Hyundai Engineering & Construction have signed a tentative agreement to participate in a reconstruction project for Ukraine's main international gateway, the companies said Monday. Under the three-way memorandum of understanding forged with Boryspil International Airport on Sunday, KAC, Korea's state-run airports operator, will provide navigational safety equipment and airport management consulting service for the airport located east of Kyiv. Hyundai, Korea's second-largest builder, will be responsible for design, procurement and construction for the project. A signing ceremony for the memorandum was held in Warsaw, Poland, on Sunday. According to the companies, the Ukrainian airport will offer support to the Korean companies by providing various information regarding the project.<br/>
Shares of Boeing rose on Monday after a report said China was considering ending its freeze on purchases of the planemaker's best-selling 737 MAX aircraft after more than four years. This, coupled with bumper jet orders from Middle Eastern airlines at the Dubai Airshow, sent Boeing shares up 4%. Supplier Spirit Aerosystems also rose 2.7%. China is considering resuming purchases of Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft when the US and Chinese presidents meet this week at the APEC summit, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. The resumption of 737 orders from China would be meaningful to Boeing's bottom line over the next six to 18 months, said Thomas Hayes, chairman of hedge fund Great Hill Capital. Deliveries of Boeing's bestselling 737 MAX to Chinese airlines were halted following two deadly crashes. Boeing also secured orders for 125 widebody jets worth more than $50b from Emirates and its sister airline flydubai at the opening of the Dubai Airshow on Monday. Demand for the industry's biggest jets that dominated the region's airports is humming after a prolonged cyclical downturn followed by the damaging effect of COVID-19 on long-haul travel. Carriers have been placing orders with urgency as planemakers' backlogs have grown and as jet deliveries have been pushed out toward the end of the decade. "Potential reopening of the 737 in China for Boeing and the contracts at the Dubai Airshow is all kind of the perfect combination of optimism and positive outlook that the stock has been needing for many months where it has underperformed," Hayes added.<br/>
Electric air taxis could be transporting passengers from JFK Airport to downtown Manhattan by 2025 - on quiet, emissions-free journeys that take around seven minutes. Manufacturer Joby Aviation (JOBY.N) carried out an exhibition flight at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York on Sunday, the city's first-ever electric air taxi flight and the first time Joby has flown in an urban setting. The craft can recharge in about five minutes, while passengers are unloading and boarding, said CEO JoeBen Bevirt. The idea is that travelers will book their trip, similar to a rideshare app.<br/>The company aims to begin commercial passenger service in 2025 and is in the third of five stages of certification with the FAA. The cost of booking a trip has yet to be confirmed but the company has previously said it will likely be comparable to a rideshare in a car.<br/>