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Airlines canceled more than 2,000 US flights Tuesday as winter weather continued to disrupt travel for millions of travelers. Storms in the Northeast contributed to nearly 6,000 delays and snarled operations at major airports serving New York and Washington, D.C., according to flight tracker FlightAware. Flight disruption improved from Monday, when severe weather contributed to more than 10,000 delays across the US. The Northeast storm dropped just more than an inch of snow in New York City’s Central Park, according to the National Weather Service, snapping a more than 700-day streak since the park had seen over an inch of snow on a single calendar day. Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport saw almost two inches of snow accumulation. Major airlines said travelers flying into dozens of airports in the storms’ paths can change their flights without paying fare differences. Airlines canceled or delayed about 70% of flights at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. At nearby Newark Liberty International Airport, a hub for United, more than 45% of flights were canceled or delayed. Reagan Airport saw more than 60% of its flights canceled or delayed. Southwest Airlines had the most delays of any US carrier, with about 1,000, and canceled another nearly 450, or 14%, of its schedule. Airlines also canceled or delayed about 30% of flights at Denver International Airport as the area recovered from a Monday storm and wind chills that reached as low as 25 degrees below zero. <br/>

European authorities are proposing a broad ground-handling regulation aimed at increasing safety and consistency of processes while preparing for flight departure and dealing with flight arrival. Ground-handling has been “largely self-regulated”, says the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, with operational arrangements – including safety tasks – contained in bilateral agreements with carriers. But the desired level of standardisation of procedures and training is “not yet consistently achieved”, it states. It adds that responsibility for safety of handling services has tended to lie with airlines, rather than the handling provider – and aircraft operators should “no longer bear alone” this burden. EASA’s proposal seeks to establish a “level playing-field” for provision of handling, ensure a “safety baseline” and set minimum training standards. It will establish a legal framework to support development of a safety culture and enable effective exchange of safety information. These measures are intended to reduce the “high number” of industry audits performed each year in the handling sector, adds EASA – perhaps as many as 600 for a single handling organisation with 100 stations. “The resources spent on so many audits that produce the same results are counterproductive,” it states. “The efficiency of verifying a [ground-handling] organisation’s compliance with the requirements and with the operational procedures should be improved.”<br/>

Shareholders in Heathrow accounting for a 35% stake intend to sell their shares alongside Ferrovial, opens new tab, the Spanish firm said on Tuesday, effectively putting on the bloc 60% of shares in one of the world's busiest airports. Two months ago, Ferrovial agreed to sell its 25% stake in Heathrow for $3b to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ardian in a deal that allows other shareholders to "tag-along" and divest their shares at the same price as Ferrovial. The conditions mean that Ardian and PIF, which originally agreed to buy 15% and 10% stakes, respectively, now need to increase their planned investments in the airport or find a partner to complete the acquisition. PIF is not interested in increasing its stake, while Ardian would be open to increasing its stake by no more than 10%, a person with knowledge of the situation said. Ferrovial said there was no certainty that the transaction will be completed.<br/>

India's aviation regulator has issued an advisory to airlines after dozens of people took to social media to complain about flight delays and cancellations. The regulator has asked airlines to cancel flights "sufficiently in advance" and inform passengers about delays in real time. Airlines have blamed the cascading effect of fog in Delhi for the chaos. But furious passengers have accused airlines and airports of inadequate communication. A man was arrested and later released on bail after he was accused of assaulting a co-pilot of IndiGo airlines. The man's flight on Sunday had been delayed for more than 10 hours. A viral video showed the passenger lunging at the co-pilot as he made an announcement on the plane. Another video showed passengers eating food while sitting on the tarmac at the Mumbai airport, where their flight from Goa to Delhi had been diverted after hours of delay. Hundreds of domestic flights have been delayed since Sunday after a thick fog engulfed Delhi, which is home to one of India's busiest airports. It is also the main hub for major airlines such as IndiGo and Air India. While fog is an annual occurrence, reports say the situation is worse this year at the Delhi airport due to other factors including parking shortages due to grounded aircraft and a runway being shut for maintenance.<br/>

Boeing on Tuesday appointed retired Admiral Kirkland Donald to serve as a special advisor while the company grapples with the fallout from an Alaska Airline midflight accident on a 737 Max 9 and the subsequent grounding of that plane type. Donald will lead a review of Boeing’s quality management system and provide a report to CEO Dave Calhoun as well as the aerospace safety committee of Boeing’s board of directors, the company said in a press release. “I’ve asked him to provide an independent and comprehensive assessment with actionable recommendations for strengthening our oversight of quality in our own factories and throughout our extended commercial airplane production system. He and his team will have any and all support he needs from me and from across The Boeing Company,” Calhoun said. The FAA grounded Boeing 737 Max 9s earlier this month so the jets could undergo inspections after a door plug blew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 5. The FAA said in a statement Friday that the grounding would remain in place while it reviews data from inspections of the aircraft. Donald served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear trained submarine officer for almost 40 years before retiring in 2013. His last assignment was as the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.<br/>

Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems will put in place additional inspections for its 737 fuselage production line following the mid-air cabin panel blowout of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet, Spirit's CEO said on Tuesday. The new inspections will replicate what airlines will do to return Boeing Co's MAX 9 to service, CEO Pat Shanahan wrote in a letter to Spirit employees, which was seen by Reuters. "One important takeaway is that we can take steps now to improve our first-pass quality," he wrote. "We must work in lock step with Boeing to enhance quality assurance and controls across our production system." In addition to the inspections, Spirit will use the Federal Aviation Administration's safety management practices to guide manufacturing planning and audits, and issue visual instructions to employees to cut down the chance of rework, Shanahan said in the letter. Spirit will also increase communication with its employees about its own quality management system, he said. Spirit spokesman Joe Buccino declined further comment, saying, "This was an internal letter intended for the Spirit workforce." The FAA grounded 171 MAX 9s earlier this month after a door plug manufactured and installed by Spirit was blown out during an Alaska Air flight.<br/>