A group of 32 senators say federal mediators should speed up labor negotiations between airlines and their flight attendants and other workers, even granting them permission to go on strike “as necessary.” The lawmakers said Wednesday that airlines feel no pressure to reach contract agreements quickly because federal law makes it difficult for airline workers to strike. That causes talks to drag on for years, they said. The senators — 31 Democrats and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont — joined House Democrats by weighing in while flight attendants at American Airlines and United Airlines are trying to gain more leverage at the bargaining table. Before they can legally strike, airline workers need permission from the National Mediation Board, which must determine that more negotiations are hopeless. The board has already turned down a request by American’s flight attendants. The lawmakers complained in a letter to the board that without new contracts, airline employees can go years without a raise, “while airline carriers make record-breaking profits.” They asked the board to use all its powers, including granting permission to strike “as necessary,” to settle long-running negotiations.<br/>
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Florida has declared a state of emergency for southern parts of the state as record downpours disrupted flights at major airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale and prompted the partial closing of the I-95 freeway. Governor Ron DeSantis declared the emergency in counties including Miami-Dade, Broward, Collier, Lee and Sarasota, citing forecasts of additional heavy rain and thunderstorms over the coming days that would exacerbate ongoing flood conditions. On Wednesday afternoon, more than 50% of the flights in and out of Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were either delayed or canceled, with similar figures for Miami International Airport, according to Flight Aware. Already, several daily rainfall records were set on Tuesday, including 6.47 inches (16 centimeters) in the Sarasota-Bradenton area and 3.3 inches in Fort Lauderdale, the National Weather Service said. Miami International Airport got 3.59 inches, just shy of the all-time high for that date. <br/>
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration will tell the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday that the agency will maintain its increased on-site presence at Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems "for the foreseeable future." FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker will tell senators the agency's decision to boost inspections after the Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 in-flight emergency is now permanent, according to a copy of his written testimony seen by Reuters. Whitaker will say the FAA has added "additional inspections at critical points of the production process." Whitaker will also say that, following lessons from the Jan. 5 incident, "the FAA changed its oversight approach and those changes are permanent. We have now supplemented our audits with more active, in-person oversight — the 'audit plus inspection' approach."<br/>Boeing did not immediately comment. On May 30, Boeing delivered a comprehensive quality improvement plan delivered to the FAA after Whitaker in late February gave Boeing 90 days to develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues." Whitaker said in his testimony "there must be a shift in the company’s safety culture in order to holistically address its systemic quality assurance and production issues." He added the FAA wants "to make sure Boeing implements the necessary changes and has the right tools in place to sustain those changes in the long term."<br/>
Apollo Global Management Inc and other investors are seeking to raise as much as US$500mil in an initial public offering (IPO) of Grupo Aeromexico SAB, the Mexican carrier that emerged from bankruptcy protection more than two years ago, according to people familiar with the matter. The alternative asset manager, which owns about 22% of Aeromexico, and other selling shareholders are aiming to raise about US$400mil to US$500mil in the Mexico City-based carrier’s listing, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The timing for launching the IPO remains unclear amid the volatility across Mexican markets following elections, one of the people said. Representatives for Aeromexico and Apollo declined to comment. Aeromexico is working with Barclays Plc, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Evercore Inc and Apollo Global Securities on the IPO, according to a preliminary prospectus filed on May 13. Aeromexico filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2020 amid a downturn in air travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Apollo ended up with an equity stake in the firm after helping keep it afloat amid the restructuring.<br/>
Airports have criticised the government’s sudden re-introduction of 100ml limits on liquids in hand luggage last weekend. The Airport Operators Association (AOA) said it had left airports "frustrated" and created uncertainty and confusion for passengers as the busiest time of year approached. After installing high-tech new scanning equipment, some regional airports had scrapped liquid restrictions. Major hubs had not yet switched to the new rules, but are rolling out the machines. The transport secretary has insisted the re-imposition of the old limits is "temporary’" but it’s unclear how long the situation will last. The government requires all UK airports to upgrade to "next generation" security. New scanners which produce 3D images should mean liquids up to two litres and laptops can be kept in hand luggage to go through security. The likes of Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester were allowed to miss the latest deadline for installing them – 1 June this year - after various logistical challenges.<br/>
The number of passengers Turkish airports served in the first five months of the year rose to 82m, the country’s transport and infrastructure minister said on Tuesday. The total count was up 12.7% compared to the same period last year, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in a statement, citing State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMI) data. Some 37.1m passengers took domestic flights, up 11.1% year-over-year, and 44.9m passengers took international flights, 12.7% above last year’s figure, during the five months. The cargo traffic reached 1.7m tons in the same period, the minister said. Türkiye's biggest and one of the biggest civil aviation hubs in the world, Istanbul Airport, hosted 31m passengers in the five months, up 8% annually, and 207,800 planes, 5% more than last year’s figure.<br/>
The airports of the Aena network in Spain closed the fifth month of 2024 with an all-time record for passengers, aircraft movements and cargo in the month of May. Aena welcomed 28,287,870 passengers in the fifth month of the year, 11% more than in the same period of 2023; handled 238,062 aircraft movements, 10.6% more than in 2023; and transported 108,380 tons of cargo, 23.7% more than last year. Of the total number of passengers in May, 28,237,562 were commercial passengers: 19,609,240 traveled on international flights, 13.1% more than in May 2023, while 8,628,322 traveled on domestic flights, 6.7% more than last year. During the first five months of 2024, 114,708,138 passengers passed through Aena’s airports (11.4% more than in 2023); 983,770 aircraft movements were recorded (+8%); and 502,743 tons of cargo were transported, 18.4% more than in the same period of 2023.<br/>
Boeing told the US Justice Department it did not violate a deferred prosecution agreement after fatal crashes involving the 737 MAX, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. The U.S. planemaker was responding to a Justice Department determination in May that Boeing violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). The DPA had shielded the company from a criminal charge arising from fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. "We'll decline to comment on any specific communications with the Justice Department, however, we continue to engage transparently with the Department, as we have throughout the term of the agreement," a Boeing spokesperson told Reuters. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The Justice Department found in May that Boeing had failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations," according to a court filing. However, Reuters earlier this month reported that Boeing executives are unlikely to be criminally charged over fatal crashes as the statute of limitations has likely passed. Prosecutors have until July 7 to inform a federal judge in Texas of their plans, which could include proceeding with a criminal case and negotiating a plea deal with Boeing, according to a person familiar with the matter, court filings and correspondence that Reuters reviewed. Short of a prosecution, the Justice Department could also extend the DPA a year.<br/>
Europe's Airbus Wednesday highlighted the impact of growing trade tensions after Europe followed the United States in increasing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Asked to comment on a European Commission decision to impose extra duties of up to 38.1%, a spokesperson for the world's largest jetmaker did not comment directly on the move but said that trade tensions were challenging for global businesses. "We see increasing tensions on trade around the world and these are testing the resilience of global companies such as Airbus," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.<br/>"We sell to customers globally. Trade tariffs increase complexity and costs for our supply-chain, Airbus and for our customers," the statement added. Airbus has recently been in talks with China over a major potential airplane order, Reuters reported in April. Speaking before the EU announcement, two people familiar with the matter said the two sides had been exploring a potentially historic deal for as many as 600-750 aircraft. But analysts note that bulk plane orders from China's state buying agency tend to include a mixture of new business and repeat announcements and that the timing of such announcements reflects the ebb and flow of trade relations. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said earlier the EU's action would damage China-EU economic cooperation. A third industry source, speaking after the EU announcement, said an imminent sale to China appeared increasingly ambitious amid the trade spat and political uncertainty in Europe. <br/>
Airbus has told workers at its Montreal-area A220 factory that it wants to impose mandatory overtime on weekends to catch up on delayed production of the money-losing jet, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Members of Airbus's Canadian division are meeting the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union on Wednesday to discuss the plan, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. The discussions comes as concerns mount over supply problems at the world's largest planemaker. Reuters reported last month that Airbus faces a new wave of industrial pressures from parts and labor shortages with several dozen aircraft expected to enter the assembly process with additional delays in the second half. Industry sources have said the single-aisle A220, which has roughly 110 to 130 seats, is already among the models most heavily affected by production delays. The effect of recent delays on Airbus' overall delivery target of 800 planes this year remains unclear. Analysts say Airbus sets its delivery targets conservatively but the buffer against any further industrial setbacks appears to be dwindling. Reuters reported that productivity slipped in March at the Montreal-area Airbus factory, one of two A220 manufacturing sites, as the plant's 1,300 workers engaged in pressure tactics during contract talks. The A220 workers reached a deal in May. Airbus is trying to grow production of the A220 jets to a combined 14 planes a month in 2026, spread between the factory in Mirabel, Quebec, and a plant in Mobile, Alabama. That would be up from six a month in December 2022, the latest publicized rate.<br/>
FedEx Corp. plans to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in Europe, the latest move by the package-delivery giant to streamline its global workforce and rein in costs. The courier plans to remove and consolidate roles across its back-office and commercial operations, according to a statement Wednesday. The changes won’t impact customers or delivery service, FedEx said. The plan will generate annual savings of up to $175m beginning in fiscal 2027, FedEx said. The company anticipates pretax costs of as much as $375m from severance and related expenses from the layoffs. The moves, subject to country-level consultations, add to sweeping workforce reductions since FedEx revealed a plan last year to restructure its delivery networks and save billions in costs. The company in March of this year acknowledged that headcount had shrunk by almost 22,000 jobs over the prior year through attrition and cuts. <br/>