general

The Greek government has announced plans to sell part of its stake in Athens airport through an initial public offering, as the country enjoys a boom in tourism and the privatisation of state assets is expected to gather pace this year. Athens International Airport on Monday outlined plans for a listing on the Athens Stock Exchange in February, with the Greek state planning to sell a 30% stake in the country’s largest airport, raising about E800mn, according to a person familiar the matter. Greece has enjoyed a strong rebound in tourism since the end of pandemic border restrictions, and passenger numbers at the airport hit a record 28mn in 2023, up 24% on the year before. Greece’s credit rating was lifted to investment-grade status in September for the first time 13 years, underlining the country’s economic recovery. The airport sale is expected to boost the Athens stock market and signal the country’s return to normality after its decade-long debt crisis. The listing “represents a great opportunity for international and domestic investors to participate in the success story of Greek tourism,” said Dimitris Politis, CE of The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (Taiped), the government body charged with privatising state assets. <br/>

Passenger traffic at Spain's Aena airports hit a record high last year as tourism rebounded strongly after several years of disruption caused by the pandemic. The number of passengers travelling through Spanish airports last year rose 16% from 2022 to 283m, state-controlled airport operator Aena said in a statement on Tuesday. The figure was 2.9% higher than in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic grounded flights, with December traffic up 11% from the same month four years earlier. "These air transport records are essential for Spain's economic and social development," said AENA's CE Maurici Lucena. "Airlines which were hit hard by the pandemic are now carrying more passengers than ever before." Spanish airports were among the first in Europe to exceed pre-pandemic activity as they rely more on leisure and less on business travel, which has recovered more slowly.<br/>

In 2023, Egypt reaffirmed its position as one of Africa's most-visited countries as air traffic continued to grow post-pandemic. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Aviation, the country's airports received approximately 47m passengers last year, representing a nearly 30% increase compared to the previous year. Egypt's airports have seen tremendous growth over the past three years. Between January and December 2023, the country handled over 47m passengers, an approximately 28% increase from the 37m passengers handled in 2022. Egyptian airports recorded 365,000 flights throughout the year, a 23% increase compared to 2022. Cairo International Airport was the country's busiest airport, handling about 55% of all traffic. It received 26m passengers, increasing by 30% from the 20m handled in 2022. There were about 198,000 flights to and from Cairo operated by over 65 airlines. The airport remains one of the busiest on the continent, serving as a hub for Egyptair, Air Cairo, Air Arabia Egypt, and Nile Air.<br/>

Boeing said Monday that it would make changes to quality control processes after one of its 737 Max 9 jets lost a portion of its body during a nearly catastrophic Alaska Airlines flight this month. The aircraft manufacturer said it would add additional inspections at its own factory and at that of an important supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, which installs the plug for unused exit doors, one of which blew out of the Max 9 midflight. Both companies will also open their factories to more scrutiny by the airlines that fly the 737 by inviting them to conduct more inspections of the manufacturing process, starting with those that fly the Max 9. And Boeing will bring in an outside party to review its quality control program and suggest improvements. Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Jan. 5 was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, Ore., after a door plug blew off, without any serious injuries to people on board. The FAA grounded all Max 9 planes and said it would expand its scrutiny of Boeing. Inspections of the planes led Boeing to conclude that its manufacturing practices needed improvement. “The AS1282 accident and recent customer findings make clear that we are not where we need to be,” Stan Deal, the CE of Boeing’s commercial plane unit, said in a memo to employees on Monday. “To that end, we are taking immediate actions to bolster quality assurance and controls across our factories.” The inspections so far have included examining and measuring the door plug to make sure that it is installed to specifications. United Airlines, the largest operator of Max 9 planes, said it had found some loose bolts during early inspections last week, and Alaska Airlines, the second-largest Max 9 operator, also said it had found loose hardware in the area of the door plug.<br/>

China’s aviation regulator has temporarily halted the restart of 737 Max jet deliveries to the nation, according to a person familiar with the matter, as Boeing Co. grapples with a raft of safety issues. The decision to delay the resumption of 737 Max deliveries was made after Boeing in late December recommended inspections following the discovery by one international airline customer of a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance, the person said. The delay isn’t linked to the subsequent Alaska Airlines incident where a door plug blew off a different model of Boeing jet mid-flight, the person added, asking not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. A representative for the Civil Aviation Administration of China didn’t respond to a request for comment. A Boeing representative in China declined to comment. Boeing has been largely shut out of China’s aviation market this decade, having not handed over any of its 737 Max planes directly to the country since 2019. The 737 Max was grounded globally that year following two fatal crashes. Chinese airlines do not fly the type of aircraft that was involved in the Alaska Air door plug accident.<br/>

Dense fog swathed large parts of northern India on Tuesday for the third straight day of an intense cold wave, reducing visibility to disrupt more than 160 flights. As many as 128 flights from the international airport in New Delhi, the capital, were delayed, with 33 cancelled, aviation site Flightradar24 showed, an effect that cascaded through flight schedules nationwide. Visibility at the airport stood at 50 m (164 ft) at 8 a.m., weather officials said, predicting similar conditions until the end of the week. New Delhi's lowest temperature this winter was 3.3 degrees Celsius (37.4 degrees Farenheit) on Monday, when low visibility and dense fog caused the delay of as many as 500 flights and the cancellation of 87. Angry passengers argued with airline staff in images on television and social media, with one video showing passengers eating dinner as they waited on the tarmac for a delayed flight. On Monday, the aviation minister said authorities were hastening efforts to use an additional runway, equipped with the CAT III navigation system that enables aircraft to land despite low visibility.<br/>

As airlines reclaim the skies, Changi Airport – consistently lauded as one of the best globally by travel players – surged past 90% of pre-pandemic traffic in October 2023. Lim Ching Kiat, executive vice-president of air hub and cargo development at Changi Airport Group (CAG), says the airport is working closely with airline partners to enhance its connectivity to the rest of South-east Asia and anchor itself as a premier hub in the region. “Given that the aviation industry’s centre of gravity is shifting towards Asia-Pacific, due to its rising middle-class population and strong gross domestic product growth, Changi Airport is well positioned to capture this growth as a major international air hub located in the heart of South-east Asia,” he says. The larger Asia-Pacific region is poised to become the fastest-growing zone for air travel over the next two decades, according to a December 2022 report by the IATA. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Changi Airport has welcomed four new airlines from South-east Asia – Cambodia Airways, Indonesia’s Citilink, Malaysia’s Firefly and Bangkok-based Thai Vietjet Air. It has also added a new city link, Sibu in Malaysia, operated by AirAsia. In addition, new South-east Asian carriers are set to operate from Changi in the next few months, including Aero Dili from Timor Leste.<br/>

Southeast Asia is experiencing a decline in the use of turboprops on short-haul routes, raising questions about the region’s ability to adopt zero-emission short-haul aircraft in the future. In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, turboprops accounted for 43% of “super short-haul” routes in Southeast Asia, but this dropped to 39% in 2023, according to a report published by the Aviation Studies Institute at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. The report, penned by independent aviation consultant Brendan Sobie, defines “super short-haul” as a route of less than 270nm (500km). “Given the relatively large size of the domestic super short-haul market it is surprising there have not been any commitments from Southeast Asian carriers for zero-emission short-haul aircraft. It is this segment of the market where net-zero carbon goals are achievable in the relatively not too distant future.” Sobie observes that Southeast Asian carriers have reduced their turboprop fleets in recent years, instead boosting their reliance on jets. He estimates that the amount of turboprop flights is 40% lower than in 2019, and that the number of turboprops in service with the region’s airlines has fallen to 200 aircraft from about 300 at the start of 2020. “This is a concerning trend as turboprops are generally more efficient and emit less carbon dioxide per passenger than jets on very short sectors,” writes Sobie. “The dwindling turboprop fleet in Southeast Asia is also a concern as it provides less opportunities for potential conversions to electric, hybrid-electric, hydrogen-electric or hydrogen powertrains.”<br/>