Major U.S. aviation groups and unions urged Congress to address persistent shortfalls in funding for Federal Aviation Administration facilities after a series of reports raised alarm about aging air traffic control facilities. "Necessary maintenance of existing systems is being neglected," said the letter signed by Airlines for America, Aerospace Industries Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Air Line Pilots Association and others warning a failure to address funding needs "will mean reduced airspace operational efficiency -- negatively affecting the traveling public and other civil and military users of the system." The FAA did not immediately comment. In March, President Joe Biden proposed spending $8b over the next five years - beginning with $1b in 2025 - to replace or modernize more than 20 aging air traffic control facilities and 377 critical radar systems. The letter noted that a quarter of all FAA facilities are 50 years or older adding the effects of underinvestment "are becoming strikingly clear." The letter cited the failure of a pilot alerting database in January 2023 that resulted in a halt to all departing passenger airline flights in the United States for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001. An independent report in November cited FAA air traffic control facilities with leaking roofs, broken heating and air conditioning systems, and old surveillance radar systems that must soon be replaced at a cost of billions of dollars. It called for "urgent action" to bolster the FAA after a series of close calls involving passenger jets. The report said the FAA's communications system has been outdated for years and the agency can no longer get spare parts for many systems.<br/>
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John F. Kennedy International Airport’s new Terminal 6, scheduled to open in 2026, will host installations by 18 contemporary artists hailing from seven countries, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced on Tuesday. The $4.2b facility in Queens will showcase the largest number of works of any New York airport by major figures from the United States, including Nina Chanel Abney, Teresita Fernandez, Charles Gaines and Barbara Kruger, alongside emerging international talents such as Felipe Baeza from Mexico, Kerstin Brätsch from Germany, and Uman, born in Somalia (all now living in New York). Over the last four years, a broad range of public artworks have been unveiled by the Port Authority in new terminals at La Guardia Airport in Queens and Newark Liberty International Airport, in New Jersey, as the agency continues to expand its popular art program. La Guardia’s Delta Terminal C has six permanent artworks that celebrate the city’s energy and diversity; Terminal B has five installations, and Newark has two large works that reflect the landscape of New Jersey. “The lessons and the positive feedback we’ve gotten from both the La Guardia terminals and at Newark have really hit home,” said Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority, which runs the major New York area airports, citing surveys of its new facilities showing improved ratings for ambience and passenger experience at La Guardia’s Terminal B and Terminal C and Newark’s Terminal A. “What you’re seeing at J.F.K.’s Terminal 6 is the increased recognition of the impact and the importance of the art.” The art budget for Terminal 6 is $22m, about double what was spent on art in each of La Guardia’s new terminals. Terminal 6, including the art, is funded entirely by JFK Millennium Partners, a consortium of private developers led by the Vantage Group, which is also the one of the major investors and developers at La Guardia’s Terminal B. The Port Authority has made art a requirement of all private developers it has contracted to build its new airport terminals.<br/>
Statistics Canada says airfares rose 2% year-over-year in June, and continued to soar above pre-pandemic levels. Figures from the consumer price index show the increase follows a 4.5% year-over-year bump in May and a fairly flat April. Prices also stood nearly 19% above what travellers paid for their plane tickets in June 2019. The pricier fares stem partly from limited competition and flight capacity among airlines, which more than offset softening demand since the post-pandemic travel boom. National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen says fares have risen for most of the year -- including on key domestic routes -- following an 11-month stretch of year-over-year declines, mainly in 2023. However, he says WestJet may need to lower its prices in the short term to lure back customers after a two-day mechanics strike that prompted more than 1,300 flight cancellations and upended plans for at least 170,000 travellers.<br/>
The deal "was finalised today between three representative unions and ADP management," said the airport company, which is 50.6% controlled by the French state. "We're lifting the strike warning, there's a majority deal" among unions who threatened the walkout, said Rachid Eddaidj, secretary general of the CFDT union's branch at Paris Airports (ADP). Unions had called for a stoppage on Wednesday to press for bigger Olympics bonuses and staff recruitment. They have now secured a "standardised bonus for every worker at ADP" as well as extras for those helping with Olympic delegations and their baggage, management said. Along with Paris' train stations, ADP-operated Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports will be the main gateways into France for foreign visitors to the Olympics, as well as athletes and their equipment. The company has spent E50m upgrading its infrastructure and French authorities are deploying extra resources to make the experience as smooth and safe as possible. Charles de Gaulle is expecting peaks of 300,000 travellers passing through in a single day, well above the summer daily average of 200,000. The busiest days are expected to come after the Olympics closing ceremony on August 11 when spectators, officials and most of the 10,000 athletes will head home. Once out of the terminals, regular travellers will find multi-lingual "welcome teams" offering advice on travel and buying tickets at the train stations.<br/>
After significant price increases in Germany last year, holidaymakers enjoyed 3.1% lower prices for flights abroad in the first six months 2024 compared to last year's period, the statistics office said on Tuesday. Economy class tickets in particular were significantly cheaper, with passengers paying 15.8% less for flights to Central America, 12.3% less to Asia and Australia, and 7.4% less to North America, the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) said. Tickets to destinations within Europe, on the other hand, were 2.7% more expensive and to destinations in Africa 4.1% costlier. Prices for domestic flights increased 0.2%. Overall, prices for international flights have remained high since the end of the COVID-related travel restrictions: they were 20.9% higher in the first six months this year than in the same period two years ago, Destatis said. Airfares around Europe and Asia have started to plateau or fall, signaling that a prolonged post-COVID travel boom is waning and delivering a setback for airlines struggling with higher costs and limited aircraft availability.<br/>
The government is taking administrative action against Saudi Arabian airline Saudia for suspending its direct flights to Korea without permission from aviation authorities, according to officials Wednesday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a prior notice of administrative measure to Saudia on Monday. Saudia has been asked to submit their reasons for the suspension and their future plans by July 30. The ministry will convene an administrative review committee to discuss the level of penalties, which may include the suspension of operations or a fine of 100m won ($72,361). Under the Aviation Business Act, all airlines operating flights to domestic airports must follow a business plan approved by the ministry. Changes to the plan, such as suspending flights, are only allowed with an approval. Saudia had received approval to operate three weekly flights between Incheon and Riyadh from March 31 to Oct. 26 this year. The company has not been operating the flights since June 27.<br/>
Joint liquidators of Russian-affiliated lessor GTLK Europe have initiated a sales process covering five Airbus A220-300s. The process – which commenced on 16 July – involves five 2019 airframes, all of which are based in the Netherlands. Interested parties are being invited to submit expressions of interest to IBA, the exclusive remarketing agent for the jets, by 30 July. International sanctions imposed as a result of the conflict in Ukraine ultimately forced the liquidation of Dublin-based GTLK Europe, which was a division of Russian state lessor GTLK. Teneo Restructuring Ireland, which is overseeing the liquidation, says the A220s will be sold lease-unencumbered and offered in “as is, where is” condition. According to the joint liquidators, Damien Murran and Julian Moroney, the aircraft are a “premium offering” given their “excellent condition”, and they expect the sale process to conclude by the end of this year. “We are confident this sales process will be a successful one, adding to the positive interest we have received in other aircraft launched for sale since the start of the summer,” they add. “Our ability to continue recovering assets and bring them to market reflects the progress we are making with the liquidation process, working in conjunction with regulators and operating within the sanctions regime to realise the best possible asset value for GTLK Europe’s creditors.”<br/>
The global aircraft repair industry will see more growth in the next six years as airlines keep flying their jets longer because of a shortage of new planes, said Mahesh Kumar, the CEO of Malaysia-based aviation services firm Asia Digital Engineering (ADE). New deliveries have dropped sharply in recent months amid supply chain disruptions and rising labour costs, driving carriers to retain aircraft maintenance, repairs and operations (MRO) services for longer to keep older planes in the air, Mahesh said. "It's a boom for the MRO business," he told Reuters in an interview on Monday. ADE, a unit of Capital A, which also operates budget airline AirAsia, has seen rapid growth since it began operations in September 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which conducts line maintenance as well as more comprehensive base maintenance checks, in 2023 doubled its annual revenue to 574m ringgit ($122.91m), amid a surge in flying activity. Its slots are fully booked until the end of 2025, including at its new 14-line maintenance hangar near Kuala Lumpur International Airport that will be Malaysia's largest when it opens in August, Mahesh said.<br/>While AirAsia remains its biggest customer, ADE expects to attract more third-party airlines and expand its services to cover a wider range of aircraft, including potentially Chinese planemaker COMAC, which aims to rival Boeing and Airbus.<br/>