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The FAA is investigating how two jetliners were put on an apparent collision course as they were leaving Reagan National Airport Thursday morning, prompting air traffic controllers to frantically radio each plane to stop. Air traffic control audio recordings detail controllers shouting for a JetBlue flight to stop its takeoff run as a Southwest flight began taxiing across the runway in front of it. The two planes stopped about 400 feet apart, according to data compiled by FlightRadar24, which also shows at least the “forward fuselage” of the Southwest flight had entered the runway. A controller responsible for the runways at Reagan National had cleared the JetBlue Airways flight to take off at about 7:40 a.m., the recordings from LiveATC.net showed. At around the same time, a controller responsible for taxiing aircraft directed a Southwest Airlines jet across the same runway. About 30 seconds after clearing the JetBlue plane, the controllers shouted for both planes to stop. “JetBlue 1554 stop! 1554 stop!” the tower controller called out. “2937 stop!” the ground controller ordered. The Southwest pilot replied: “We stopped. We were cleared to cross Runway 4.” The FAA said it will investigate the incident and acknowledged in a statement to CNN that both planes were sent onto the runway. “An air traffic controller instructed Southwest Airlines Flight 2937 to cross Runway 4 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport while JetBlue Flight 1554 was starting its takeoff roll on the same runway,” the FAA said. Following the incident, the JetBlue plane taxied back to the runway threshold and then took off for Boston Logan.<br/>

EasyJet is targeting a second consecutive summer of record profits as it said the deepening conflict in the Middle East was not deterring customers from booking holidays. The low-cost airline said bookings for the northern hemisphere summer “continue to build well” in an update on Thursday, while ticket prices were at present tracking higher than last year. “We move into the summer period with confidence we can deliver another record summer performance,” easyJet’s CE Johan Lundgren said on Thursday. His comments come after the airline swung back to profit last year following a post-pandemic travel boom. Lundgren cautioned that the airline had not made any formal forecasts for the summer, but that revenue per seat, an important industry metric, was higher than a year ago. The airline made record pre-tax profits of GBP866m for the six months between April and September last year. EasyJet said it had also not seen any hit to consumer confidence from the Iranian missile strike on Israel in the early hours of Sunday, which has raised fears of a regional conflict in the Middle East. “We are looking at this on a daily basis, and there was no impact on bookings,” Lundgren said. In contrast, the start of regional tensions in October last year cost it GBP40m, as the airline cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Jordan, while easyJet estimated it lost a further GBP40m from a wider slowdown in bookings across Europe for about six weeks in the final quarter of last year. The airline had suspended flights to Israel over the summer, it said, and redeployed the limited capacity elsewhere in its network. Despite that hit, the airline on Thursday forecast pre-tax losses of between GBP340mn and GBP360mn for the six months ending in March, better than analysts had predicted and down from losses of GBP411m a year earlier.<br/>

Long-haul budget carrier Norse Atlantic Airways is opening services to the South African city of Cape Town from London Gatwick later this year. It will start operating the route on 28 October, ahead of the southern hemisphere summer. Norse, which exclusively uses Boeing 787s, says it will serve Cape Town three times weekly. The carrier says the decision to open the route “signifies a shift in consumer choice”. CE Bjorn Tore Larsen adds that it will “breaking the duopoly” on the city pair. Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have been operating to Cape Town from London Heathrow. “By injecting much-needed competition into the market, Norse Atlantic Airways aims to empower consumers with greater choice, flexibility, and affordability,” the budget airline states. Norse initially focused on transatlantic services but has branched into operations to Asia, serving the Thai capital Bangkok, and the Cape Town route will increase its network diversity.<br/>

Etihad Airways has released its preliminary traffic statistics for March 2024, showcasing impressive growth in passenger numbers and network expansion. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier welcomed over 1.4m passengers on board in March, recording a significant 43% year-on-year increase compared to March 2023. This positive trend continues when looking at year-to-date figures. Etihad has already flown 4.3m passengers in 2024, reflecting a 41% growth compared to the same period last year. Etihad's commitment to growth is also reflected in its consistent passenger load factor. Despite the increase in capacity, the airline maintained a healthy load factor of 84% in March, even though it was slightly lower than the 86% achieved in March 2023. Moreover, EY’s recent network expansion plan is also paying dividends. EY has increased its weekly flights by 34% compared to 2023, with the peak June-July 2024 season offering 866 flights per week, up from 642 in the same period last year.<br/>