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A record number of passengers traveled through US airports over Thanksgiving weekend, the TSA said Monday. The TSA said it screened just over 2.9m passengers on Sunday, surpassing the previous record of 2.88m set on June 30. That was 10% more than the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year. Travel was relatively smooth despite the crowds. On Sunday, just 55 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were cancelled, according to FlightAware, a tracking service. Nearly 8,000 flights were delayed, including several hundred that were impacted by snow in Denver and Chicago. Airlines were eager to avoid the meltdowns that marred travel last December, when severe winter storms knocked out thousands of flights and left millions of passengers stranded. Southwest, which canceled nearly 17,000 flights last year, said it purchased additional deicing trucks and updated its crew-scheduling technology. The airline was under particular scrutiny; the government recently threatened to fine Southwest for failing to provide enough help to passengers who were stranded last year. The government also stepped up operations, hiring more air traffic controllers and opening new air routes along the East Coast ahead of the holiday travel season, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week. Brett Snyder, president of the airline industry blog Cranky Flier, said Thanksgiving was a “remarkably good weekend for the country’s airlines.” Between Tuesday and Sunday, no airlines canceled more than 1% of their flights, he said. Snyder said airlines have figured out that they need to increase staff ahead of the holidays. But mild weather in most of the country also helped, he said.<br/>

European airlines are ramping up investments and signing agreements to secure supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) needed to meet targets set by the European Union aimed at curbing the aviation sector's carbon footprint. The adoption of alternative fuels made from bio-based materials could cut carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional fuel, and is seen as a route to help the sector reach its net zero emissions goal by 2050. On Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic will aim to highlight the importance of the alternative fuel's use with a 100% SAF-powered flight from London to New York City. SAF currently makes up less than 0.1% of aviation fuel used globally and costs three times as much as regular jet fuel when made from waste oils, but other versions made from green hydrogen can cost more. Story lists deals signed by European airlines so far. <br/>

Angola’s government is seeking interested parties to manage the new Luanda Antonio Agostinho Neto international airport under a 25-year concession. The ministry of transport recently opened a formal tender process for the concession, and has set a deadline of 16 February next year for proposals. Parties aiming to obtain the concession – which could be extended by a further 15 years – must have operated at least one international airport for three years. The airport must have had minimum annual traffic volume of 10m passengers at some point spanning 2018-22. If the bid is submitted by a consortium, the airport operating party must hold a share of at least 45%, according to the tender documentation, and bidders must have access to $150m to finance operations. The tender document states that the successful bidder will be selected according to the “economically more advantageous proposal”. Luanda’s new airport – named after the country’s first president – has been developed as a hub for domestic, regional and international connections. It is situated 45km southeast of the capital, in the commune of Bom Jesus, and has its own rail station. The airport’s infrastructure includes a passenger terminal, with an annual capacity of 15m, plus a 130,000t cargo terminal and 82m control tower. Maintenance hangars are under construction. According to the ministry of transport the terminal can be expanded in phases to accommodate 65m passengers. Its two parallel runways – a northern and southern – are respectively 3,800m and 4,000m in length, with the southern able to handle aircraft up to the size of Airbus A380s.<br/>

Airline operators in Korea will be required to warn passengers against indiscriminately opening aircraft emergency exits, the government said Tuesday, following a recent mid-air plane door opening incident. The transportation ministry said such a measure was included in a draft amendment of the operating guideline for airline operators made available for public review until Dec. 14. Currently airlines are required to announce warnings against in-flight smoking, use of electronic devices and actions that interfere with the duties of the cabin crew, and that such behavior can become subject to criminal prosecution. Passengers who tamper with plane entrances, emergency exits or devices that hinder the security or operation of an aircraft could face imprisonment for up to 10 years under aviation security laws. The measure came following an incident in May in which a 30-something man opened an aircraft door on board an Asiana Airlines flight just minutes before landing at Daegu International Airport in Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul.<br/>

Singapore’s Changi Airport is testing an artificial intelligence-driven system that could potentially halve time spent on passenger security checks, the Straits Times reported Sunday. The trial at Terminal 3 uses AI and machine learning to screen and interpret images from X-ray machines that check cabin baggage at the boarding gate. This reduces time needed to process these images and chances of human error, the newspaper said, citing the city-state’s airport operator. Initial results show the new system is performing as well as, or better than, human security screeners in flagging some prohibited items, according to the report. The development is still in its early stages with an eventual goal to raise the level of automation. Tests for the AI screening system comes as the number of travelers to the financial hub is expected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels by next year, and continue to increase thereafter. Singapore is currently building its fifth airport terminal, while its high-speed rail linkage with Malaysia’s southern state of Johor is expected to be ready in a few years.<br/>

Singapore’s Changi Airport will reopen Runway 2 for operations, amid ongoing airport expansion works. The airport’s second runway will reopen on 1 December, a move that will see the concurrent closure of Runway 3, says operator Changi Airport Group. Changi closed off Runway 2 in December 2020 for infrastructure works. Work on the in-development Terminal 5 project is set to resume in 2024, with the mega-terminal ready by the mid-2030s. Terminal 5 will be able to handle up to to 50m passengers annually when fully operational. Plans to construct Terminal 5 were first announced in 2013 amid a boom in travel demand, with planning beginning a year later. The Covid-19 pandemic put pause to the construction and prompted a review of the project. <br/>

L3Harris Technologies is selling its commercial aviation solutions business to private equity firm TJC L.P. for $800m, the defense company said on Monday. The deal includes a $700m cash purchase price and a $100m earnout based on the achievement of certain financial performance targets for this year and 2024. The commercial aviation solutions business of L3Harris offers pilot training, flight data analytics, avionics and advanced air mobility products and services and has around 1,450 employees. "Aligned with our capital allocation priorities, we plan to use the proceeds from this transaction to repay debt, which will accelerate our timeline to reach our debt leverage objective," L3Harris said. Morgan Stanley and Moelis & Co were financial advisers to L3Harris, while J.P. Morgan Securities LLC advised TJC L.P. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.<br/>

Comac unveiled two variants of its single-aisle C919 jet at an airshow in Shanghai last week, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Chinese planemaker looks to broaden the model’s reach to more customers. Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd., as Comac is officially known, displayed a jet capable of carrying 210 passengers in a two-class configuration, and a smaller version tailored for high-altitude airports, the people said. The larger version is similar to Airbus SE’s A321 and not yet close to entering production as it is a development concept, one of the people said, declining to be identified discussing private information. The plane would need higher performance engines and could be designated “LR” for long range, the person added. The so-called plateau variant for smaller high-altitude airports would seat 140 passengers. It is also in the concept phase of development, the person said. A representative for Comac didn’t respond to requests for comment. Comac Chairman He Dongfeng said in September the follow-up development of the C919 would include stretched and shortened versions, local outlet Securities Daily reported at the time. The state-owned manufacturer has delivered only two C919s to launch customer China Eastern Airlines Corp., though the Shanghai-based carrier topped up its commitment with an order for 100 more C919s in September. Comac started developing the plane in 2008 and production began in late 2011. It only received official certification to fly in September 2022, paving the way for deliveries to start.<br/>