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The U.S. Transportation Department said on Monday that seven major airlines are eligible to apply for five new daily roundtrip flights from Washington Reagan National airport. On May 16, President Joe Biden signed legislation creating the new flights at the busy airport in Arlington, Virginia, outside the nation's capital. Applications must be filed by July 8 and comments on applications must be submitted by July 17. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Air Canada and Alaska Airlines are eligible to apply, the Transportation Department said. USDOT said it encouraged airlines "to provide no more than one backup service proposal in their applications," citing the law requiring the new flights to begin by mid-July. The Washington region has three major airports, but Reagan National is the closest to the U.S. Capitol and downtown. Because of its short runways, its main runway is the busiest in the country. By passengers, Reagan is the 23rd-busiest U.S. airport. Delta said earlier it would apply for a new flight between Seattle and Reagan and if successful would compete with Alaska Airlines which operates the two current daily flights between the airports. Delta heavily lobbied for the change - and had pushed for adding far more daily flights - while United opposed it. Southwest said it will apply for a new daily flight between Washington and Las Vegas, which has only one flight per day on American Airlines. American wants to start a new daily flight between San Antonio and Washington, which would connect the seventh-largest U.S. city to the DC airport. Alaska wants a new daily flight to Reagan from San Diego, the largest market without direct flights to the DC airport.<br/>

The number of air travelers moving through U.S. airports hit a record Sunday, and the new mark might not last through next weekend. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 2.99m people at airports Sunday, breaking the record of 2.95m set on May 24, the Friday before Memorial Day. TSA forecasts that it will break the 3m barrier on Friday, when many people will be getting an early start on their July 4 holiday travel plans. “We expect this summer to be our busiest ever and summer travel usually peaks over the Independence Day holiday,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said. TSA expects to screen more than 32m people between Thursday and July 8, the Monday after the holiday, for a daily average of 2.67m. That would be a 5.4% increase over the July 4 period last year. Airlines for America, a trade group representing the largest U.S. carriers, predicts that air travel this summer will rise 6.3% over last year.<br/>

A Japanese transport ministry panel on Monday proposed a number of air traffic control measures to boost safety, more than six months after a fatal collision between a Japan Airlines jetliner and a coast guard plane at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. The panel recommended hiring more air traffic control staff at the country’s major airports, and introducing supplementary alert systems on the runway and in the traffic control room. The proposal was released in an interim report compiled by a panel of experts commissioned by the ministry, which said that additional staff would reduce air traffic controllers’ heavy workloads. Their responsibilities include monitoring runways, communicating with pilots and coordinating with other air control staff. The recommendations includes hiring more air traffic control staff at Haneda, one of the world’s busiest airports, and seven other airports, including New Chitose, Narita, Kansai and Naha. The Jan. 2 collision occurred when Japan Airlines Flight 516, carrying 379 passengers and crew, landed right behind the coast guard aircraft preparing to take off on the same seaside runway, engulfing both aircraft in flames. All occupants of the JAL’s Airbus A350-900 airliner safely evacuated in 18 minutes. The captain of the coast guard’s much smaller Bombardier Dash-8 escaped with burns but five crew members died. The investigation into the collision has focused on what caused the coast guard flight crew to believe they had a go-ahead for takeoff. A partial release of the air traffic control transcript has shown no clear takeoff approval was given to the coast guard plane. Investigation of the collision by the Japan Transport Safety Board is still pending. On Monday, the report also called for introducing an alert system called Runway Status Lights, or RWSL, with lights embedded in the pavement of runways and taxiways. They are designed to automatically alert pilots and vehicle operators when it’s unsafe to enter, without having input from controllers. The system is already used widely in the United States and at a few airports in Japan, but not Haneda.<br/>

A cyber attacker compromised Indonesia's national data centre, disrupting immigration checks at airports, and asked for an $8m ransom, the country's communications minister told Reuters on Monday. The attack disrupted several government services, most notably at airports last week, with long lines forming at immigration desks. Automated passport machines were now functioning, the communications ministry said. Minister Budi Arie Setiadi said the attacker used a new variant of existing malicious software called Lockbit 3.0, without giving further details. The Lockbit cybercrime group is notorious for using malicious software called ransomware to digitally extort its victims. "We are now focusing to restore the services of the affected national data centre such as immigration," Budi said. He did not say whether any ransom had been paid. Ransom software works by encrypting victims' data. Hackers can offer a key in return for payments, typically to be made in cryptocurrency, that can run into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. If the victim resists, hackers can then threaten to leak or delete confidential data in a bid to pressure the person or organisation.<br/>

Family members of victims killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes on Monday asked a U.S. judge to name a corporate monitor to examine the planemaker's safety and corporate compliance procedures. In a court filing, the family members asked U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor to impose the independent monitor saying "Boeing presents an ongoing threat to public safety." Among the reasons the families cited were: the U.S. Justice Department's recent determination that Boeing breached a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement; the Jan. 5 mid-air emergency of a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9; and "an almost daily barrage of news reports about Boeing aircraft malfunctioning and internal whistleblowers disclosing Boeing’s regulatory violations." O'Connor in February 2023 had declined to name a monitor saying there was no "factual record" to justify that Boeing presents "an ongoing threat to public safety". Boeing and the Justice Department did not immediately comment. Last month, the Justice Department said 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", violating the agreement that shielded the planemaker from criminal prosecution over fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Boeing filed a response denying it violated the agreement. The Justice Department must decide by July 7 whether to prosecute Boeing and it could seek to require a monitor as part of any settlement with the planemaker. A lawyer for the department said Friday in an email that no decision had been made on whether to prosecute Boeing. O’Connor ruled in October 2022 that the 346 people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 were legally “crime victims” and said the Justice Department had not complied with its victim notification obligations under the law.<br/>

Airbus cut its earnings and aircraft-delivery goals for the year as persistent supply-chain issues continue to deprive the European planemaker of vital components, dealing a setback to the company at a time when demand for its jets is at a record. The company now expects to hand over 770 aircraft this year, down from a previous goal of 800, it said in a surprise announcement after European markets closed on Monday. Speaking on a call with reporters, CEO Guillaume Faury said the situation isn’t getting any better, requiring the company to adjust its goals. Airbus has long warned of supply-chain issues and a lack of skilled workers, after the pandemic first grounded the global aviation industry and then left it unprepared once air travel came roaring back. Demand for its aircraft has been particularly strong in the last two years as airlines clamor for modern models, further exacerbating the shortfall in required equipment and labor. The European planemaker now expects adjusted earnings before interest and tax of E5.5b ($5.9b) this year, down from a previous goal of as much as E7b. The company also cut its outlook for free cash flow before customer financing to about E3.5b. <br/>