Air travel got more miserable last year, if the number of consumer complaints filed with the U.S. government is any measure. The Transportation Department said Friday that it received nearly 97,000 complaints in 2023, up from about 86,000 the year before. The department said there were so many complaints that it took until July to sort through the filings and compile the figures. That’s the highest number of consumer complaints about airlines since 2020, when airlines were slow to give customers refunds after the coronavirus pandemic shut down air travel. The increase in complaints came even as airlines canceled far fewer U.S. flights — 116,700, or 1.2% of the total, last year, compared with about 210,500, or 2.3%, in 2022, according to FlightAware data. However, delays remained stubbornly high last year, at around 21% of all flights. So far this year, cancellations remain relatively low — about 1.3% of all flights — but delays are still running around 21%. More than two-thirds of all complaints last year dealt with U.S. airlines, but a quarter covered foreign airlines. Most of the rest were about travel agents and tour operators.<br/>
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More than five years after two fatal 737 MAX crashes, Boeing faces a fresh legal reckoning now that prosecutors have concluded the company flouted an earlier settlement addressing the disasters. The aviation giant had been on a Friday night deadline to accept or reject a Department of Justice proposal that would require it to plead guilty to fraud during the certification of MAX airplanes, sources told AFP. There had been no public comment either way by the evening, and a lawyer for the families of the 737 crash victims, Robert Clifford, told AFP that he believed the deadline would be extended over the weekend if Boeing asked for more time. Boeing's latest legal predicament was triggered by a DOJ determination in mid-May that the company ignored a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) by not meeting requirements to improve its compliance and ethics program after the MAX crashes. Under a proposal presented by the DOJ to families of MAX crash victims, Boeing would pay an additional $243m penalty and agree to have an external monitor, said Tracy Brammeier, an attorney at Clifford Law who represents families of MAX victims. "The guilty plea is significant. No one wants to be a convicted or admitted felon," said Brammeier, who nonetheless described family members as dissatisfied with the proposal. The DOJ has said it will notify a US court on how it will proceed no later than July 7, with the agency expected to announce steps to prosecute Boeing should the company reject the settlement. Boeing, which has previously said it honored the terms of the DPA, declined comment.<br/>
A Los Angeles International Airport passenger was arrested early Saturday morning after he became irate and ran out of Terminal 4 onto the tarmac, according to airport police. The passenger appeared to be experiencing a mental health crisis, said Capt. Karla Rodriguez. “Police responded and during their attempt in taking the suspect into custody, a use of force occurred,” she said. The man, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of battery against a police officer and trespassing on airport property, she said. He was taken to a nearby hospital for a mental health evaluation. A video obtained by CBS shows a shirtless man in black shorts running on the tarmac past an American Airlines jetliner with a police officer in pursuit. The officer soon tackles the man and pushes him down on the pavement.<br/>
The high season for summer travel has been abysmal for European airline shares so far. Air France-KLM and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA both gave investors warnings this week about business conditions ahead that suggest the industry will continue to face tough times. Strikes, high costs and issues with aircraft deliveries have also plagued Europe’s carriers. A UBS Group AG basket tracking the region’s airline stocks fell to the lowest since November this week and is down by about 13% since the start of the year, a bigger drop than the worst-performing sector in the benchmark Stoxx 600 index. “European airlines have recently warned of lower fares or weaker-than-expected unit revenues as market capacity has continued to grow,” said Ruairi Cullinane, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets. Air France-KLM said on Monday that its French operations face lower revenue as travelers avoid Paris during the bustle of the Olympic Games. Then on Thursday, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA cut its profit outlook for the full year, citing higher costs, lower demand and delays in aircraft deliveries. The stock plunged 16%, the biggest drop since 2021. To be sure, Stephen Furlong, an analyst at Davy, said airline stocks tend to fare better at the end of the year and the current run of weak performance isn’t unusual. “The most important quarter is to come,” he said, adding that he expects the shares to recover in the coming months. Plus, there’s some evidence that bargain hunters are emerging. The UBS basket of airline shares jumped 3.7% on Wednesday, helped by news that Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s E325m ($350m) investment in Italy’s ITA Airways won approval from the European Union.<br/>
The owners of three British airports were granted a court order on Friday to stop environmental protesters from potentially disrupting flights over the summer holidays. East Midlands, Manchester and Stansted airports applied for an injunction to prevent "persons unknown" from trespassing on their land, in an effort to prevent disruptive protests. Protest group Just Stop Oil has said it plans to target airports in Britain during the summer, the airports' lawyer Timothy Morshead told London's High Court. He referred in particular to a June incident when two protesters spray-painted planes at London's Stansted airport having cut a hole in a perimeter fence with an angle grinder. "The criminal law can only work in hindsight and, where you are dealing with something as sensitive as an airport, that's problematic," Morshead said. Just Stop Oil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The group has said it uses disruptive actions to raise awareness of the effects of climate change. Judge Rosalind Coe granted the three airports a 12-month injunction following a hearing at which no protest group was represented.<br/>The judge said that "there is clear evidence that there is a threat and intention to target airports" which required a court order to prevent disruption. The airports' move follows similar applications for injunctions by public bodies and government agencies in response to high-profile protest actions in recent years.<br/>
Travelers headed to Sicily and Stromboli in southern Italy are facing disruptions due to volcanic activity. Eruptions at Italy's Mount Etna and the smaller Stromboli volcano spewed hot ash and lava, raising alert levels on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and forcing a temporary shutdown of Catania Airport on Friday. Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has seen intense activity in recent days, lighting up the sky near the city of Catania, while Stromboli off the northern Sicilian coast has spilled lava into the sea. The eruption is only affecting Sicily and its nearby islands. Italy's civil protection agency issued its top, red alert for Stromboli, warning the situation could deteriorate. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and island just off the northern coast of Sicily, Stromboli attracts tourists for its volcanoes and beaches. The island has been battling overtourism over the past few years, as an average of 2,000 visitors arrive by boat to the island's only pier each afternoon. Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said Stromboli was "under surveillance," adding that authorities were making sure evacuation plans were ready in case of emergency. Catania's Mayor Enrico Trantino issued an ordinance on Friday prohibiting the use of cycles and motorcycles for 48 hours and placed a speed limit of about 18 miles per hour "following the copious fallout of volcanic ash." The fire brigade said they had preemptively doubled the number of firefighters on the island. Around Catania, on the eastern coast of Sicily, residents and authorities moved to clean up the city after streets and cars were left smothered in black volcanic ash, while the nearby airport was closed temporarily. Catania Airport is Sicily's busiest airport and Italy's 6th busiest airport, with nearly 9m passengers each year.<br/>
Milan's main airport will be renamed after former Italian prime minister and business tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday. Berlusconi, who died last year aged 86, led four governments at the helm of his centre-right Forza Italia party, and was one of Italy's most divisive figures of modern times. Speaking at a conference in southern Italy, Salvini said the civil aviation authority had approved a request by the Lombardy region around Milan to rename Malpensa airport in honour of Berlusconi, who hailed from the country's financial capital. "Seeing as the final decision rests with the transport minister, I really think it will go ahead," said Salvini, leader of the rightist League party and a long-time Berlusconi ally. "In memory of my friend Silvio, a great businessman, a great Milanese citizen and a great Italian," Salvini later posted on social media platform X above a photo of Berlusconi and Malpensa airport.<br/>
Boeing faces new perils if federal prosecutors revive a criminal charge against the aviation giant and the company decides to plead guilty, a process that was set to resolve by this weekend. A plea deal could get rejected by a judge. Big fines will have to be paid. And perhaps the biggest danger is the effect that a conviction may have on Boeing’s already-battered bottom line. Criminal convictions can foreclose or suspend a company’s right to contract with the federal government and frustrate its ability to secure loans, according to Eddie Jauregui, a white collar defense attorney with Holland & Knight and former federal prosecutor. Those consequences have particular meaning for Boeing, which counts the federal government as its largest customer. It also happens to be the country’s largest exporter. The matter could end up with an executive agency known as the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC), which holds power to discuss government-wide suspensions and debarments that can end or disrupt a company’s business with the US government. "The considerations are many, and they are weighty," Jauregui said. "I think the government contract work is probably an extremely important component for Boeing." The question that will be resolved by Sunday is whether Boeing's actions leading up to a January door plug blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines (ALK) Boeing 737 Max 9 cause top DOJ officials to officially revoke legal protections extended to Boeing in a January 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.<br/>