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US airlines say they are prepared for busier end of year holiday travel compared with the same peak period a year earlier, when storms led to thousands of canceled flights and congestion. The US FAA expects Thursday to be the busiest travel day of the week. According to the Transportation Security Administration, the official holiday period runs from Thursday through Tuesday, Jan. 2. US airline trade group Airlines for America (A4A) expects carriers to fly more than 39m passengers during the holidays, or about 2.8m passengers a day, up 16% from 2022. Airlines and airports in the United States and Canada have hired workers and upgraded equipment in some cases to avoid last year's congestion. US passenger airlines have the largest workforce in the last two decades, A4A said. In 2022, a high-profile operational meltdown at Southwest Airlines led to around 17,000 canceled flights and cost the carrier more than $1b, along with a historic penalty from the US Department of Transportation. Canada's largest airport has also increased staffing, expanded de-icing and added new advanced snowplows, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said. The airport wrestled with congestion during peak travel periods last year that led to hard limits on flights. However, United Airlines, which expects to have its busiest-ever, end of year holiday travel season, with around 9m passengers, does not currently expect weather to cause any operational interruptions, a spokesperson said. US airlines expect demand to grow for sun destinations this holiday period, with seats flown from the US to Caribbean resort destinations up 18% in 2023 on an annual basis, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.<br/>

The US Transportation Department is scrutinizing the frequent flyer programs of major US airlines for potential deceptive or unfair practices, the agency said Thursday as regulators step up oversight of the airline industry. The department has been meeting in recent weeks with passenger airlines to discuss the popular loyalty programs, including transparency practices when booking award tickets, transferability of miles and notice given before making changes, two sources told Reuters. One other key issue USDOT is looking at is the devaluation of frequent flyer miles over time that makes it harder to book award tickets, a separate source told Reuters. "We plan to carefully review complaints regarding loyalty programs and exercise our authority to investigate airlines for unfair and deceptive practices that hurt travelers as warranted," a department spokesperson said. "DOT officials are actively meeting with U.S. airlines and gathering more information on this issue." Delta Air Lines and United Airlines declined to comment, while others did not immediately comment. Frequent flyer miles are one of the most popular loyalty programs. Delta, which said in 2020 it had more than 100m frequent flyer members, last year added a record 8.5m members. The meetings come as some in Congress have raised concerns about frequent flyer programs. In October, Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin and Republican Senator Roger Marshal asked the Transportation Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about "troubling reports" of unfair and deceptive practices in airlines’ frequent flyer and loyalty programs.<br/>

The compensation system for flight attendants in the U.S. and Canada is under attack in new contract negotiations that could lead to big pay raises for cabin crews, but higher costs for airlines. Thousands of cabin crews at carriers in both countries are demanding to be paid for more of their hours at work - a fundamental change from how the industry currently compensates them by paying largely when the aircraft is in motion. As U.S. and Canadian carriers negotiate labor contracts, flight attendants are piling pressure on their unions to end the practice of "free work," such as when boarding passengers and waiting around the airport in between flights. A tentative contract agreement presented this week to cabin crews at Canadian leisure carrier Transat AT, for example, is offering pay provisions for tasks that are currently unpaid, according to a person familiar with the matter. Melius Research estimates that offering boarding pay alone will inflate the annual wage bill at US airlines by more than $700m. Holding the line on costs, however, runs the risk of fueling staff resentment and turnover that could cause travel turmoil. Flight attendants at Southwest Airlines rejected a contract deal this month that lacked boarding pay, but would have made them the highest-paid cabin crews in the industry. The carrier reached a $12b deal with its pilots on Tuesday. "We are cleaning up diapers and we are cleaning up vomit without being paid," said one Southwest flight attendant who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. She said she recently voted against the company's contract offer. "It's time to change the antiquated industry."<br/>

Airlines are hoping the latest saga around Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’s summer capacity is now finally resolved. The airport has decided to allow for more flights next summer on the condition that airlines help to reduce air traffic at peak times during the busy season. The Amsterdam hub and the Dutch state have prompted backlash from industry stakeholders with constant back and forth on capacity. Earlier this week, Schiphol said that it may have to cut capacity next summer despite the government having already walked back its plan to reduce flights by 8%. Schiphol is planning to provide capacity for 293,000 flights for the summer season and a total of around 483,000 flights for the full year, it said in a Thursday statement. Airlines are expected to voluntarily indicate how they might help reduce the number of flights during peak times. “More flights are now possible, but this is only safe and responsible provided we reduce pressure on certain peak hours,” said Patricia Vitalis, executive director of operations at Schiphol. “The busy peak times require a major effort from the entire aviation sector and the involved government partners.” The Dutch government was forced to abandon its plan to cap flights at 460,000 after facing pressure from the European Union as well as the US government, which threatened to retaliate over JetBlue Airways Corp.’s expulsion as part of the cutbacks.<br/>

High winds from Storm Pia on Thursday grounded flights in parts of the U.K., suspended train service and stopped Scottish ferries in a preview of holiday travel disruptions likely to hit northern Europe as the storm moved east. Meanwhile, in a development unrelated to weather, a surprise strike by French workers added to the travel chaos by shutting down Eurostar trains between London and Paris, leaving thousands of travelers stranded. Powerful gusts knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes in northern England, toppled a truck on a highway in Manchester, tore part of the roof off an apartment building in Sheffield and — in a bit of good news — helped generate a record amount of electricity. As wind warnings expired Thursday afternoon, the storm bore down on Europe and was expected to bring similar troubles there. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport warned that “a significant number of flights” would be delayed or canceled due to the high winds. Dutch authorities closed a number of storm barriers on major rivers as a precaution due to high water levels.<br/>

Russia has handed out more than $12b in state subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector afloat since Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine cut off supplies of key parts and maintenance services, a Reuters analysis shows. Dependent on foreign-made aircraft, Russia faces the daunting task of developing its aviation industry alone with domestically sourced parts, while buying aircraft from foreign lessors to avoid more of its fleet being seized. Western planemakers Airbus and Boeing halted supplies of services and spare parts in March 2022 and dropped regular maintenance support for flag carrier Aeroflot and other Russian airlines. Since then, Russia has spent 1.09t roubles ($12.07b) supporting the civil aviation industry, including aircraft manufacturing and financial assistance for airlines, Reuters calculations show, based on data from the Ministry of Finance and the Accounts Chamber, which oversees budget execution. The spending is almost twice as much as 547b roubles in payments made in 2020-21, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a drastic reduction in air travel, and highlights the scale of the Kremlin's effort to wrest control of a crucial industry. "Our fleet of aircraft is very overloaded ... with foreign-made planes," President Vladimir Putin said last week. "We plan to produce more than 1,000 aircraft by 2030, our own planes. Work is needed."<br/>

UAE's airports witnessed a 15% increase in air traffic during the 28th Conference of the Parties or COP28 (November 30-December 12) held at Expo City Dubai, a top General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) official said. In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of GCAA, said that Al Maktoum International Airport recorded the highest number of scheduled and unscheduled flights, such as private jets and business jets, on the first day (November 30) of the conference. This day witnessed the highest daily air traffic rate in the history of civil aviation in the UAE, with 2,848 flights. He added that the GCAA started preparing to host this significant international event early in coordination with all its strategic partners. They organised meetings and daily communication sessions to discuss plans, improve air navigation management systems to handle the expected increase and conduct simulation exercises. This was especially crucial as the conference coincided with the peak tourism season during this time of the year, he said. Al Suwaidi said that the committees responsible for aviation and airports developed necessary contingency plans to deal with the expected increase in air traffic during COP28. They launched a dedicated electronic platform to control air traffic and closely monitor incoming flights in continuous coordination with air traffic administrations in neighbouring countries.f<br/>

Hundreds of flights to and from South Korea's southern island of Jeju were canceled or delayed Thursday as a strong snowstorm hit the region, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, airport authorities said. As of 8 p.m., 143 flights had been canceled with 156 others delayed, according to the Korea Airports Corp. One flight had to return due to the blizzard. About 7,500 passengers are estimated to have been left stranded due to the blizzard, officials said. Jeju authorities have issued special weather advisories for Jeju International Airport amid the cold wave. Jeju received snowfall of up to about 20 centimeters between Wednesday and late Thursday afternoon, with the peak of Mount Halla, the highest mountain on Jeju, recording a cumulative snowfall of 59.6 cm in the same period.<br/>

The Korea Airports Corp. (KAC) aims to transform Gimpo International Airport into a business-friendly Northeast Asian travel hub to accelerate a full recovery in passenger numbers from next year, the airport operator announced, Thursday. “We plan to spur the recovery of international air travel demand by developing Gimpo airport into a 'biz port’ and expect to reach sales of 1 trillion won ($767.2m) next year,” KAC President Yoon Hyeong-jung said during a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Seoul. By the first half of next year, the company plans to introduce fast-track services for business passengers flying domestically and on international flights, which will allow them to skip queues at immigration and security screening in order to expedite travel. Additionally, the airport plans to introdmultipurposee lounge and coworking space for business travelers who need to work, hold conferences and welcome VIPs. The coworking space will also feature a multi-purpose room that can host events for K-pop fans who sometimes visit the airport. KAC also plans to introduce a premium membership system to provide passengers who visit the airport frequently with special services at airport facilities, such as parking, commercial areas and lounge use. Changi and Istanbul international airports both have a similar membership rewards system.<br/>

Singapore’s Changi is often lauded as the world’s best airport – and it’s also one of the busiest. Travel intelligence company OAG has released its annual listing of the world’s busiest international flight routes, and three of the top 10 involve going to Singapore: connecting with Bangkok (in eighth place), Jakarta (landing in seventh) and Kuala Lumpur (the very top of the list). This data is based purely on the number of seats sold on flights throughout 2023. The busiest route, from Malaysia’s capital to Singapore, had 4.9m total seats purchased. The flight, which lasts just over one hour, is popular with commuters who prefer to travel between the two neighboring countries by air, rather than by car. All but one of the top 10 busiest routes are in Asia and the Middle East, with the lone exception being the New York-London hop across the pond. OAG notes that the JFK to Heathrow trip was the only flight route in the top 10 whose total capacity went up from 2019. Asia also dominates the ranking of busiest domestic air routes, with Japan taking the lead. Flights connecting the hub of Tokyo with popular vacation getaways Fukuoka (a major foodie hub and gateway to South Korea), Sapporo (beloved for winter sports), and Okinawa (known as “the Hawaii of Japan”) were in second, third and seventh places respectively. Meanwhile, a few of the busiest routes linked major cities in larger countries, such as China (Beijing and Shanghai) and Australia (Melbourne and Sydney). There were also a few routes outside of the top 10 that OAG called out. The busiest domestic air route in the United States wasn’t New York to Los Angeles – it was Honolulu to Kahului in Hawaii, connecting the islands of Oahu and Maui. In all, 3.6m seats were sold along that route, although it’s unclear if the devastating fires in Maui contributed to a decrease in tickets sold at the end of 2023.<br/>

One of the world’s most widely used cargo planes completed an entire flight with no one on board for the first time. Lasting approximately 12 minutes in total, the flight departed from Hollister Airport, in Northern California, and was operated by Reliable Robotics, which has been working since 2019 on a semi-automated flying system in which the aircraft is controlled remotely by a pilot. The company recently announced that the 50-mile flight took place in November. The plane was a Cessna Caravan, a robust single-engine aircraft that is a popular choice for flight training, tourism, humanitarian missions and regional cargo. “Cessna has made 3,000 Caravans — it’s the most popular cargo plane you’ve never heard of,” says Robert Rose, CEO of Reliable Robotics. “Pilots will tell you it’s the workhorse of the industry. But the challenge with this aircraft is that it flies at lower altitudes and more adverse weather conditions than many large aircraft do today. So operating it is much more dangerous, and automation is going to go a long way to improve the safety of these operations.” Consultancy firm AviationValues told CNN there are currently 900 Caravans in active service, and FedEx — which has been using the type since 1985 — is the largest operator with about 200 of them. Reliable Robotics is now working with the Federal Aviation Administration to certify its technology for commercial operations, and expects that process to be complete in as little as two years.<br/>