The summer is about halfway over, but as extreme temperatures continue to stifle many air travellers, it could also create an impact for those hoping to travel for a vacation away from home with airline industry experts saying such heat may lead to delays or even cancellations. Just as the travel season was beginning in June, Canadian airports were anticipating droves with Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport expecting 2.2m passengers a month — a new record — and Toronto Pearson International Airport projecting 160,000 a day. Even though airports said they were ready for such numbers, extreme heat can still pose a problem. “Heat and altitude are enemies of commercial airliners,” Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, told Global News. Luton airport in London, U.K., for example, saw flights suspended in 2022 after high temperatures caused part of the runway to “lift.” Harteveldt said when it’s hot, and even more so if you’re at an airport at a higher altitude, the air is less dense. That thinner air means the engines, the wings and even the tires of a plane “don’t work as well.” Scientists at the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida say that thin air reduces lift on which planes rely for takeoff, but in addition, the engines produce less thrust during both takeoff and ascent. According to Harteveldt, when facing extreme temperatures — 45 C for example — taking off can sometimes rely on things like more powerful engines or extremely long runways to give planes more time to achieve the thrust they need. That’s not always possible, whether due to money or the capacity for maintenance of such engines, which means airlines have to find other solutions in order to ensure they can fly especially on shorter runways.<br/>
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It’s getting harder and harder, and much more expensive, to find a flight out of Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro has canceled flights to some countries that questioned his self-declared election victory, including two that in normal times are major hubs for travelers heading into or out of Venezuela: Panama, the hub of carrier Copa Airlines, and the Dominican Republic. Peru is also off-limits now. The one option remaining for a regional flight out of the country is to Bogota, but prices have skyrocketed. A flight two weeks from now from Caracas to the Colombian capital, which takes about two hours, used to cost less than $200, but it was priced at more than $800 as of Friday. The lack of options is stranding Venezuelans who live abroad but returned to vote in the July 28 election. Many had hoped they could usher in a change in leadership that would reshape the country and enable them to return permanently. Now, some say they are desperate to leave and afraid they may be trapped. Eugenia, 27, traveled to Caracas from Panama, where she lives with her husband and their three-month-old son, to vote and take the opportunity of being with family to baptize the baby. But now they don’t have a return flight. The baptism was canceled as well, after protests erupted and Maduro’s security agents cracked down on dissenters. Eugenia, who asked not to publish her last name to avoid government reprisals, knew that leaving Venezuela wasn’t going to be easy as soon as protests began the day after the election and demonstrators blocked the main highway leading to the capital’s airport. She said returning to Panama via Colombia will now cost as much as $1,500 a ticket, compared with the $330 they paid for each round trip ticket originally. “We don’t know what is going to happen,” she said. “We fear food shortages and there are rumors that there may be a new national blackout” similar to a 2019 power outage that grounded flights amid political turmoil. <br/>
The Australian government said on Monday it would introduce rules to free up more takeoff and landing slots at Sydney airport, and make it easier for new airlines to get slots as it looks to boost competition at the country's busiest airport. The move comes roughly a week after airline Regional Express Holdings cut hundreds of jobs after it entered voluntary administration, the second small airline to do so this year, further consolidating the country's aviation market. The tender process for Sydney Airport Slot Manager will start on Monday, requiring prospective firms to demonstrate how they would manage and mitigate conflicts of interest in a transparent way, Transport Minister Catherine King said. "Once appointed, they must comply with a statement of expectations including governance and transparency requirements," King said in a statement. Australia's competition regulator has been urging the government to reform how airlines are allocated flight slots, especially on busy domestic routes, which critics say are controlled by Qantas and Virgin, keeping out new entrants. The company that currently administers flight slots at Sydney Airport is majority-owned by Qantas and Virgin, which reject the accusation. Qantas and Virgin Australia together control about 90% of the country's airline market. Budget airline Bonza collapsed in April and its fleet was later repossessed by creditors. Sydney Airport slot reforms, first proposed by the government in February, will be finalised in legislation expected to be introduced in the Parliament soon, King said.<br/>
Covid-19, the energy crisis, Russia’s war - to say that the aviation industry, and its insurers, have had to face significant challenges in recent years is an understatement. However, aviation has rebounded well with several 2023 parameters showing “best ever” safety results. This year, the volume of global air passengers is expected to hit an all-time high (+10.4% year-on-year), driven by Asia-Pacific and North America. While the general outlook for the industry is positive, there are still lots of challenges to tackle, according to Allianz Commercial’s Aviation Risk, Claims and Insurance Outlook. The aviation sector produces some of the highest value and high-profile claims across the corporate insurance sector around the world, the report notes. Analysis of more than 32,000 industry claims from 2019 - 2024 with a total value of US$15b shows that collision or crash incidents (63%) and faulty workmanship or defective products (22%) are accountable for 85% of the value. Other incidents like natural catastrophes (4%), machinery breakdown (3%) or fire (1%) account for a much smaller proportion of claims by value. “The aviation market is in an interesting and possibly unprecedented place with the traditional market cycle having been interrupted by the impact of the pandemic and wars. The continual growth of the aviation sector will see premiums hit a 20-year high in 2024 of more than US$8bn,” says Tom Fadden, Global Head of Aviation at Allianz Commercial. “We see a growing interest in multinational insurance, and more enquiries for international insurance placements for entire programs across lines of business, driven by increasing geopolitical and regulatory concerns and a desire from clients for a highly managed insurance structure. Yet dark clouds continue to hover for insurers with well-publicized losses and inflation pressurizing bottom lines.”<br/>