general

Baggage fees alone were worth an estimated $33.3b to airlines last year. That's according to a report from IdeaWorksCompany, a consultancy for airline ancillary revenues, and car rental firm CarTrawler. IdeaWorks' report analyzes revenue disclosures from around 120 major airlines around the world, before collating a global estimate. The fees are mostly for checking baggage, as well as added costs for heavy bags and larger carry-ons. Last year's estimate is up almost 15% from 2022, and it's the first time it's crossed $30b since before the pandemic. Back in 2019, baggage fee revenue was worth 3.7% of airlines' revenue, whereas last year it was estimated at 4.1%. Total ancillary revenue — meaning the money airlines make from add-ons like choosing a seat or buying food — was estimated at $117.9b globally. However, carriers could be set to make even more this year. Several US airlines have upped their checked bag fees in the past few months. American Airlines announced last Tuesday its first increase since 2018. Passengers now have to pay at least $35 to check their bags on a domestic flight. That's $5 more than before. The fee rises to $40 if you pay in person rather than online, and to $45 for a second bag. United Airlines followed suit last Friday with a $5 increase for economy passengers on domestic flights. Alaska Airlines also upped fees by $5 for passengers who booked after January 2. But JetBlue had the highest increase, upping its fees by $10 for those who check their bags within 24 hours of departures.<br/>

Members of Congress urged the US Transportation Security Administration to quickly identify and close any security risks posed by public charter carriers that let passengers skip crowded airports and long security lines. TSA and the FAA began reviewing last year whether standards for such carriers should be revised after the FAA said their rapid expansion would pose “an increased risk to safety if left unchecked.” The letter sent Tuesday to TSA Administrator David Pekoske was signed by 57 members of the US House of Representatives. Public charter carriers offer regularly scheduled flights from smaller, private terminals. Such operators can handle passenger screening on their own and hire pilots who don’t have the minimum 1,500 flying hours required for large scheduled carriers. Debate over the issue has split the nation’s largest airlines. “There should not be varying security standards for the operation of aircraft with more than 9 seats, operating scheduled service, and selling individual tickets,” the letter said. Different levels of scrutiny “makes no sense and creates glaring security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by those who wish to cause harm.” TSA is poised to propose changes in the next few weeks to standards governing such charters, Bloomberg News reported on Feb. 23. The suggested changes, which potentially could threaten the business model, won’t be made public because they’re considered sensitive security information.<br/>

Mexico City International Airport on Tuesday said airlines have canceled 22 domestic and international flights to carry out safety checks after planes encountered ash from the Popocatepetl volcano while flying toward the capital. In a post on X, the airport said it remains open and in operation. "Specialized teams and management remain on alert and are evaluating the ash conditions," the airport said. "At this time, the volcanic ash cloud is heading toward the Gulf of Mexico." The airport advised travelers to stay informed through their airlines and official airport channels. The government has issued a "yellow alert" for activity from the nearby volcano, whose name in the Aztec Nahuatl language means "Smoking Mountain." Authorities earlier on Tuesday said a column of smoke from the volcano was blowing to the north-northwest and could bring ash over the capital.<br/>

Europe's fight to curb CO2 emissions is increasingly being take to the continent's skies. Now one of its biggest economies, Spain, is following France in an attempt to curb the impact of polluting aircraft. Under an agreement struck by Spain’s coalition government, the country is pushing to ban domestic plane routes where passengers are instead able to take a train in less than two and a half hours. It could affect routes for several major Spanish airlines, and maybe even the country's fleet of gas-guzzling private jets. However, critics argue specific clauses in the ban would mean it had little effect while hurting Spain’s competitiveness, and leaves the country on a war path with its airlines and its money-stretched citizens. Spain’s proposal, which was first brought to the table last year, is a clear statement of intent as the country aims for net zero emissions by 2050. The country has invested heavily in high-speed rail infrastructure for the last few decades, meaning a 2 ½ hour train will go further than in many other countries. Air links connecting the capital Madrid to major cities like Barcelona, Valencia, and Alicante are all geographically in the firing line. A study carried out by the environmental group Ecologistas en Acción suggests a full implementation of the ban would affect 3m people and almost 21,000 flights, local publication 20 Minutos reported.<br/>

A six-month inquiry into plans by Gatwick Airport to use its emergency runway for routine flights has begun. The airport hopes to double capacity to 78m passengers by making use of its existing northern runway. It said plans would create 14,000 jobs and provide a GBP1b economic boost - but campaigners have voiced opposition. Before the inquiry in Crawley, 10 councils have also raised concerns that the proposals will not ensure noise and air quality levels are not exceeded. In a joint statement on Monday, the authorities surrounding the airport added: "We also do not consider that the transport network has the capacity to meet the sustainable needs that will arise from the almost doubling of passengers using the airport. We have been working together to ensure that if the proposal were to be approved, the required controls, mitigations and where appropriate, compensations are put in place to limit the environmental impacts and to maximise the economic and community benefits."<br/>

The planes taking off and landing at London’s six airports expose the city’s inhabitants to the equivalent of 3.23m cars’ worth of harmful nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions every year. In Tokyo and Dubai, residents are exposed to 2.78m cars’ worth of emissions from air traffic. These three cities are the world’s worst affected by air pollution from aviation, according to new research tracking the air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions of cargo and passenger flights from airports around the world. It found the largest 20 airports, taken together, produced as much carbon emissions as 58 coal-fired power stations. “Pollution around airports is growing year on year,” said Jo Dardenne, the aviation director at Transport & Environment, the thinktank which helped produce the research. “It affects millions of people, who breathe in toxic emissions and develop health conditions as a result, yet policymakers are brushing the problem under the carpet. “Exponential growth of the sector and airports is incompatible with their climate goals, especially considering the slow uptake of clean technologies. The sector led us to believe that they would bounce back better after the pandemic. They’ve certainly bounced back – but without action, the sector’s climate and health impact isn’t going to get any better.” The 2024 Airport Tracker, produced by the global affairs thinktank ODI in partnership with T&E, updates research first published in 2021. For the first time it includes the carbon impacts of air freight as well as passenger flights, covering the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from 1,300 airports.<br/>