It was less than a week into the job running one of Europe’s biggest airports that Ruud Sondag realised that inviting climate protesters to visit might have been a mistake. “I saw a big advertisement in the paper from Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace saying they were coming to visit the airport,” says Sondag, the CE of Amsterdam’s Schiphol at the time. “We basically said: ‘Come on over. Don’t make a mess, but you’re welcome. Express your thoughts’,” Sondag recalls. “And that worked pretty well until the moment that they chained themselves to the private jets. The disruption was part of long-running protests against the aviation industry and its impact on the environment. That pressure is moving into the political mainstream, with policymakers in Europe asking themselves whether airlines and airports should be forced to reduce flight numbers in order to slow emissions growth. “It is a conversation that was absent from public debates and policymakers’ agendas until recently,” says Jo Dardenne, aviation director at Brussels-based environmental NGO Transport & Environment. “But the aviation industry has to face the fact that growth is contrary to their climate objectives.” Last week Spain followed France in unveiling a limited ban on short-haul flights. The Netherlands, Denmark and France have pushed ahead with plans for higher taxes on flying, while the Dutch government previously tried to impose a hard cap to lower the number of flights at Schiphol. But policymakers also need to acknowledge the public popularity of cheap flying and confront the lack of viable alternatives. The European Court of Auditors, which assesses EU policy, said in a 2018 report that there was “no realistic long-term EU plan for high speed rail.” In a later report it added that of E54b required for eight cross-border transport “mega-projects”, the EU had only spent E3.4b. “The core network is unlikely to be operational by 2030,” it concluded, although efforts to improve the rollout have been made since then.<br/>
general
Airport operator Aena said on Thursday it expects more than 300m passengers to pass through its Spanish terminals in 2025, reaching that volume a year earlier than it had forecast in 2022. Traffic at Spain's airports, which are all operated by Aena, rose 16% to a record 283.2m passengers last year, 3% more than in 2019, as tourism rebounded after years of pandemic-related disruptions. Aena's passenger numbers are recovering more rapidly than those of other airport operators in Europe, and it expects to manage around 1m per day by 2026. The group, however, said that last year's passenger traffic at Spain's two biggest airports, Madrid and Barcelona, did not surpass pre-pandemic numbers recorded in 2019. Aena expects a full recovery of these figures in 2024. The positive outlook is further cemented by the Spain passenger forecast of around 294m for 2024, bolstered by summer season projections of about 7% more scheduled flights than last year. As a result, Aena forecast a more than 20% surge in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from 2023 to 2026. The group, which also manages terminals in Latin America and Britain, expects 48% growth in its commercial revenue in 2026 compared to 2019. The anticipated passenger growth is in line with its investment plan, which aims to double investments relative to recent years from 2027 to 2031.<br/>
Thai customs officials rescued a red panda, snakes, monkeys and chameleons from checked-in luggage at the country's main airport this week after arresting six Indian nationals for attempted smuggling.<br/>A total of 87 reptiles and mammals were found in the baggage, including chameleons, snakes, a large-beaked parrot, red-eyed squirrels, bats and monkeys. Some animals were wrapped in paper, others in plastic containers, photos from customs at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport showed. The six, bound for Mumbai, were arrested on Monday, authorities said in a statement. Thailand, which borders four countries, has seen its fair share of illegal wildlife trafficking and customs officials at Suvarnabhumi often seize reptiles and small animals in luggage. There is high demand for animal products in countries including China, Myanmar and Thailand, where they are used in traditional medicine or consumed directly.<br/>
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating an United Airlines, Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight last month that experienced “stuck” rudder pedals during the landing rollout, the agency said on Thursday. The NTSB said in a preliminary report on the Feb. 6 flight that the plane taxied to the gate at Newark Airport without incident and there were no injuries to the 161 passengers and crew. It reported that the captain said that during the landing rollout, the rudder pedals did not move in response to “normal” application of foot pressure while attempting to maintain the runway centerline. Boeing said it worked with United “to diagnose the rudder response issue observed during two 737-8 flights in early February. With coordination with United, the issue was successfully resolved with the replacement of three parts and the airplane returned to service last month.” Boeing said this is only report of this issue in the 737 MAX fleet. The rudder pedal system is identical to the prior generation 737 NG and the plane maker is aware of two similar occurrences in 2019 on NGs that were resolved through component replacements. United did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Federal Aviation Administration referred questions to the NTSB. Boeing has been under scrutiny in recent months after a Jan. 5 mid-air blowout on another plane model, a Boeing 737 MAX 9. Last month, the FAA formally mandated inspections in Boeing 737 MAX airplanes for loose bolts in the rudder control systems after the plane maker recommended them in December. The NTSB report said the captain said that in the MAX 8 flight last month the pedals remained “stuck” in their neutral position and the captain used the nosewheel steering tiller to keep the airplane near the runway centerline while slowing to a safe speed before exiting the runway onto a high-speed turn-off.<br/>
Boeing said on Thursday it is overhauling how it pays employee bonuses to emphasize quality and safety, with this year's operational goals exclusively focused on these two components. This announcement comes as the planemaker has scrambled to explain and strengthen safety procedures after a door panel detached during a Jan. 5 flight on a brand new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. Under the new annual incentive plans, which will cover executives, managers and employees, safety and quality metrics will now account for 60% of the payout at Boeing's commercial unit, the company said in an email to Reuters.The Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) unit manufactures commercial aircraft, including the 737, 767, 777 and 787. "It's very, very important to drive the outcomes that we're all committed to, and that's to deliver a safe and quality product to our customer," Boeing COO Stephanie Pope told employees in a webcast. These operational safety and quality metrics will include employee safety, traveled work, rework and completing work needed to deliver airplanes in inventory, Boeing said. Earlier at the BCA, financial incentives comprised 75% of the annual award, while the remaining 25% was tied to operational objectives including quality and safety. Boeing said all employees will be required to complete training courses on product safety and quality management as a pre-condition to receiving any annual incentives. In Boeing's other two units, defense and services, financial metrics will still determine 75% of bonuses. But quality and safety will be the only factors to determine the operational scores, the company said.<br/>