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Brazil’s government is working on an emergency plan to help alleviate financial pressures on airlines and address the high cost of consumer litigation and a lack of competition, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The government is proposing using public funds as collateral for loans to the carriers from the country’s development bank, known as BNDES, the person said. It is expected to be issued it as a provisional measure in the coming weeks, allowing the changes to then take effect immediately. The amount of aid is still being discussed, but would not exceed 5b reais ($1b), the person said. While that is far from what companies need, it would help them to continue operating normally while they restructure debts, according to the person, who asked not to be named discussing private information. The government has been mulling a bailout for the industry for months. The plan took on added urgency after Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 25. Brazilian airlines have been struggling since the pandemic, and issues have been building amid rising fuel prices, delays in the production of new aircraft and currency volatility. <br/>

Germany’s main services union called security workers at major airports to stage a one-day strike this week, threatening to bring chaos to flight traffic in Frankfurt and regional hubs. Verdi, which represents 25,000 security staff, urged members to walk off the job on Feb. 1 after three rounds of wage talks failed to reach an agreement, according to a statement on Tuesday. It’s demanding E2.80 more pay per hour as well as higher overtime and other bonus payments over a 12-month period. Collective bargaining talks are set to resume in Berlin on Feb. 6. It’s the latest in a wave of labor action that has hobbled transport for millions of travelers in Europe’s largest economy in recent weeks. German railways started rolling again late on Sunday, when train drivers broke off a six-day strike early, agreeing to return to the negotiating table. Verdi has also called local public transport workers in towns and cities in all federal states except Bavaria to strike on Feb. 2. A shortage of skilled workers — coupled with high inflation — has emboldened employees across many industries in Germany to seek wage increases and preserve the flexibility and independence they gained during the pandemic.<br/>

Spanish airport operator Aena will be able to increase the fees it charges airlines by 4.09% to make up for inflation and rising energy prices, the Spanish cabinet decided on Tuesday in a move criticised by low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair. The Spanish government said its decision was in line with steps taken by most other European airports, which have increased airport tariffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation. Aena is 51% owned by the Spanish state. Its president Maurici Lucena recently said that despite the increase Spanish airports would charge less per passenger than before the pandemic and less than its main European competitors. In London, Heathrow has approved a 4.5% increase in tariffs for 2023, while Amsterdam's Schiphol airport has raised them by 12% in 2023 and plans to increase it again this year, the Spanish government said. Frankfurt airport is planning a 9.5% increase this year. Ryanair, the leading passenger airline in Spain, had asked for the tariff increase to be reversed. Ryanair said earlier this month it had decided to open five new bases in Spain, targeting 40% growth in the country by 2030, but that was based on its belief that charges would not go up until 2026.<br/>In 2021, Spain approved a freeze on airline fees to become more competitive and help the air transport sector recover.<br/>

Nigeria's central bank has made an additional payment of $64.44m of verified foreign exchange backlog owed to airlines, bringing total payments to $136.73m, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. Africa's biggest economy has about $7b in forex forwards that have matured, a major concern for investors as foreign currency shortages continue to weigh down the naira currency, despite assurances by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear the backlog. About $2.5b of the backlog across sectors such as manufacturing, aviation and petroleum has been paid. CBN spokesperson Hakama Sidi Ali said all the verified claims by airlines, which sold tickets in the local naira currency but have been unable to get their money out of the country, had now been cleared.<br/>"The Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, and his team were doubly committed and would stop at nothing to ensure that the verified backlog of payments across all other sectors was cleared and confidence was restored in the Nigerian foreign exchange market," Ali said in a statement.<br/>

Taiwan's government expressed anger after China "unilaterally" changed a flight path close to the sensitive median line in the Taiwan Strait, saying it appeared to be a deliberate attempt to change the status quo for possible military means. China's civil aviation administration said in a short statement late Tuesday that from Thursday it was cancelling an "offset measure" for the southbound operation of the M503 flight route, which is just west of the strait's median line. The median line had for years served as an unofficial barrier between Chinese-claimed Taiwan and China, but China says it does not recognise its existence and Chinese warplanes now regularly fly over it as Beijing seeks to pressure Taipei to accept its sovereignty claims. China also said it was opening routes from west to east - in other words in the direction of Taiwan - on two flight paths from the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou which are close to the Taiwanese-controlled island groups of Kinmen and Matsu, which have regular flights to Taiwan. Taiwan's civil aviation administration and China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council both labelled the moves as "unilateral" and that they strongly protested it. The Mainland Affairs Council said China was ignoring flight safety, disrespecting Taiwan and trying to "package" civil aviation for political or military considerations to potentially change the status quo in the strait. "If the mainland side clings obstinately to its course, it must bear any serious consequences affecting cross-strait relations," it said. Chieh Chung, a military researcher at Taiwan's National Policy Foundation, said the new route would be about 7 km from the median line, which would squeeze the pre-warning and reaction time for Taiwan's air defences. "It is trying to completely eliminate and deny the existence of the median line," he said. China's Taiwan Affairs Office described the changes as "routine" and to help alleviate pressure on air space. The M503 route is mostly used by Chinese airlines and also by foreign airlines going to and from cities like Shanghai to Southeast Asia.<br/>

Boeing’s use of multiple record-keeping systems to log work during final construction of its 737 Max jets may have played a role in the manufacturing lapse that led to a panel exploding off an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month. The twin logs — one which officially tracks actions taken as the plane is put together, and another less formal one — appear to have led to confusion at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, said two people familiar with the incident who asked not to be named while US investigators are still investigating the incident. The NTSB is due to report preliminary findings on the accident soon. The agency hasn’t concluded what caused the near-disaster on the almost-new plane, but investigators have said they’re trying to determine whether four bolts securing the door were installed improperly or missing altogether. The NTSB hasn’t yet released information about the logs’ role in the accident. A finding that record-keeping played a role in the mishap would be even more problematic for Boeing after years of quality issues at the planemaker. Inspectors at Boeing were responsible for checking that the panel, which covered an unused exit door on the Max 9 jet used on Flight 1282, was properly secured before the plane left the factory. The door plug is installed by Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., which builds most of the 737’s frame at its main factory in Wichita, Kansas. Although it’s not a standard part of the assembly process, Boeing workers on occasion open or remove the panel when the plane is being assembled in its factory near Seattle, said three of the people. The panel that failed on the Alaska flight was opened by Boeing workers, one of them said.<br/>

Less than four weeks after a hole blew open on a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet during a flight, company executives face a thorny question: Should they emphasize safety or financial performance? The issue is looming as Boeing prepares to report its Q4 earnings on Wednesday amid its most significant safety crisis in years. With the Jan. 5 incident on a Max 9 flight still under investigation, executives are grappling with how much to discuss quality control while also reassuring shareholders that the company is protecting their investment, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The NTSB is expected in the coming days to release a preliminary report on the incident, which occurred on an Alaska Airlines flight. The report could shed more light on how a panel blew off the Max 9 and will almost certainly ramp up scrutiny of Boeing by lawmakers, airlines and safety groups. Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s CE, is expected to speak about safety during the company’s call with investors on Wednesday morning after the release of its earnings report, one of the people said. But it is not clear what balance he and other executives will strike in their comments as they try to contain the fallout from the Max 9 incident. The subject has taken on new significance after news accounts, including a report in The New York Times, that Boeing workers opened and then reinstalled the panel, known as a door plug. The plug tore away from the Alaska plane shortly after takeoff from Portland, Ore. That revelation suggests that the incident — which terrified passengers and forced the pilots to make an emergency landing — may have been caused by lapses at a Boeing factory in Renton, Wash. Some aviation experts and executives have long said Boeing’s safety problems and its financial performance are intertwined. The company, these people say, has for many years put too much emphasis on increasing profits and enriching shareholders with dividends and share buybacks, and not enough on investing in engineering and safety.<br/>

Brazilian planemaker Embraer reported on Tuesday deliveries of 75 jets in Q4, making both its executive and commercial jets slightly miss the full-year delivery guidance. The company delivered 49 executive jets in the last three months of the year, bringing the annual total to 115 aircraft, compared to its guidance of a range of 120-130 jets. The business "continued its sales momentum with sustained demand across its entire product portfolio," the company said. Commercial aircraft delivered in the quarter reached 25 units, taking the yearly figure to 64, also below Embraer's guidance of between 65 and 70. Embraer, the world's third-largest planemaker behind Boeing and Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab, said it "continues to face supply chain delays which have affected 2023 deliveries." The company had previously said some deliveries scheduled for Q3 had to be moved to the next one due to supply chain issues. Despite the miss, total deliveries grew 13% to 181 in 2023, including two aircraft from its defense and security unit. Its firm order backlog grew by $1.2b from 2022, ending the year at $18.7b, the highest since the first quarter of 2018, Embraer said. "Delivery figures were a bit short of our expectations," analysts at JPMorgan said in a note to clients. However, they expect "a positive reaction as deliveries were above Cirium and buy-side consensus data, while backlog also reached the highest level since 2018 with all segments showing a year-on-year increase."<br/>