Aviation officials from Asia are making a case for global action to reduce injuries from turbulence, with recent high-profile incidents driving calls to improve forecasting across borders at a Montreal gathering of regulators starting Monday. While turbulence does not frequently cause fatalities, it is the leading cause of accidents, according to data from the U.N.'s aviation agency, and severe weather patterns brought about by climate change could lead to more incidents, experts say. It's one of several issues being tackled by global regulators at the International Civil Aviation Organization's air navigation conference which runs through Sept 6. Concerns about turbulence on planes have heightened since a Singapore Airlines flight from London in May encountered a severe incident leading to one death and dozens of injuries. Countries like Japan, Korea and Singapore want turbulence added as a category in ICAO's 2026 Global Aviation Safety Plan, which outlines industry priorities, according to event working papers. ICAO said a decision will be taken by its 193 member states at its triennial assembly next year. Japan and other countries would like ICAO to improve real time coordination of weather and turbulence data sharing across borders as countries take steps to make alerts more user friendly for pilots, an official with the country's civil aviation bureau said. Some countries in Asia are taking early steps to make that information, now usually sent in text format, more visually accessible. Turbulence accounted last year for around 40% of all accidents involving large aircraft in scheduled commercial operations, according to ICAO's 2024 Annual Safety Report.<br/>
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An apparent cyberattack disrupted internet, phones, email and other systems at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a third day on Monday as Port of Seattle officials worked to investigate the outages and restore full service. “We're working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts to our passengers,” the airport's aviation managing director Lance Lyttle said in a press conference Sunday. Lyttle said the airport is investigating with the help of outside experts and is working closely with federal partners, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Officials have not released details about the full scope of the outage, but Lyttle said it was not affecting TSA's ability to screen passengers. Some airlines, including Delta and Alaska Airlines, reported no service interruptions from the outage. Both of the airlines use Sea-Tac as a hub. Still, the outage did affect the Port of Seattle's baggage sorting system, prompting airlines to warn passengers to avoid checking bags if possible to avoid potential delays, as well as its lost and found system. The airport also warned travelers to allow extra time at the airport and to use airline mobile applications to get boarding passes and bag tags when possible. Still, many travelers faced security lines that were longer than normal and long waits at baggage claims and checking. Terminal screens were also out throughout the airport, making it difficult for some to determine their assigned gate. In a Facebook post, the airport said passengers should look for airport staff in green for assistance.<br/>
Many children have gone back to school in the U.S., and the days are getting shorter, but there is still one more excuse to use the swimsuits and beach towels before packing them up: Labor Day. Airports, highways, beaches and theme parks are expected to be packed for the long holiday weekend as a lot Americans mark the unofficial end of summer the same way they celebrated the season’s unofficial start: by traveling. The TSA anticipates screening more than 17m people between Thursday and next Wednesday — a record for the Labor Day period. AAA says bookings for domestic travel are running 9% higher than last year for the holiday weekend, while international trips are down 4%. American Airlines plans to have its largest Labor Day weekend operation ever and expects a 14% increase in passengers compared to last year. Story features rundown of what travellers need to know.<br/>
A suspected case of mpox in a passenger at Brazil's main international airport is likely chickenpox, a Sao Paulo hospital said on Monday, as health officials remain on alert for a new mpox variant that has caused global concern. State-owned infectious disease hospital Emilio Ribas said chickenpox was the main hypothesis for the reported case, and that laboratory tests should confirm the patient's ailment in the coming days. Brazil's health and sanitation regulator Anvisa earlier said that a passenger, who had been in an area of Sao Paulo airport cordoned off for people waiting to request refugee status, presented "signs and symptoms compatible with mpox." The World Health Organization (WHO) this month declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years as a new variant of the virus spread rapidly in Africa. Brazil's health ministry said more than 700 confirmed or probable cases of mpox had been reported in the country this year, although none of them were of the new variant. Neither Anvisa, which said no other suspected cases were found in the airport, or Emilio Ribas provided details on whether the potential case could be of the new variant. While it did not report where the passenger had traveled from nor their home country, Emilio Ribas said in a statement the person did not come from mpox-endemic areas.<br/>
IGA Istanbul Airport, which opened just six years ago in 2018, has been revealed as the world’s best-connected airport, according to new data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Occupying a prime East-meets-West location in Turkey, Istanbul Airport operates an impressive 309 nonstop flights to destinations around the world. Most of those are with Turkish Airlines, which serves more countries than any other airline. Around 90m passengers a year pass through this global hub, making it the seventh busiest airport in the world, and it has an annual capacity of 200m. That could prove handy, as air traffic in the first half of 2024 has exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began. “Our strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia allows us to serve as a vital hub for international travel,” Selahattin Bilgen, the airport’s CEO, said in a statement to CNN. “We have also proven to be the most resilient airport, recovering the fastest ever after the Covid-19 pandemic and reaching our pre-pandemic passenger numbers before any other airport in the world.” Three European airports are next on the list: Frankfurt at No. 2, Paris Charles de Gaulle at No. 3 and Amsterdam Schiphol at No. 4. Frankfurt is a financial hub and a base for German flag carrier Lufthansa, one of Europe’s biggest airlines. Schiphol is well located at the heart of Europe, which gives it an advantage over somewhere such as London Heathrow, on an island at the edge of the continental action and with expansion plans hampered by its densely populated location.<br/>
U.S. planemaker Boeing said on Monday it expects China to need 8,830 new planes through 2043, as the country's aviation industry expands and modernizes to meet growing demand for passenger and cargo air travel.<br/>This compares with its previous 20-year forecast last year when it said Chinese airlines will need to buy 8,560 new commercial planes through 2042.<br/>
Advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, as well as aviation and maritime connectivity, are new areas that Singapore and India have added to a high-level platform for discussing ways to enhance bilateral cooperation. These two additions to the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable are areas of significant opportunity for both countries, as well as their companies, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told reporters at Shangri-La Singapore after the roundtable concluded on Aug 26. Calling the ministers-only meeting “productive”, Dr Balakrishnan said it also sets the stage for an official visit to Singapore by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will “occur shortly”. Dr Balakrishnan said on Aug 26 that both countries want to collaborate on advanced manufacturing and semiconductors – a sector that India wants to expand significantly, and one where Singapore punches well above its weight. India is also likely to see tremendous growth in aviation in the coming years, having ordered more than 1,000 planes in the past year alone. In February, Air India ordered 470 planes from Boeing and Airbus, breaking a record for the largest-ever plane deal that had held for over a decade. The record was broken again in June when IndiGo, India’s largest carrier, placed an order for 500 Airbus jets.This represents great opportunities for services such as maintenance and air operations in the coming years – another niche area where Singapore and its companies are globally competitive, said Dr Balakrishnan. “A country with more than 1.4b people is now embarking on a major upgrade of its aviation sector,” he said. “This is a once in a two, three decade opportunity, and it’s good that we are, in a sense, in the front seat and have a chance (to collaborate).”<br/>
Airlines will have to report their on-time performance each month and face greater scrutiny over airfares under changes proposed by transport minister Simeon Brown. Addressing an aviation conference, Brown said the on-time performance report will provide insight into arrival and departure times along with cancellations, giving both the industry and New Zealanders a clearer picture of how well airlines are performing. Many other countries, including Australia, already publish such a report. The ministry intends to publish its first one in early September. “In addition to this, officials are exploring options to introduce public reporting on airfares,” Brown said. “This would further enhance transparency in the sector, empowering consumers with the information they need to make informed decisions and encouraging greater competition within the market.” In July, Consumer New Zealand said the cost of Air New Zealand flights had soared up to 300% over the past five years. The ministry is also considering changes to airport security, with Brown saying it “has become clear to me that AvSec (the Aviation Security Service) is not operating as efficiently as it should”. Under current legislation, AvSec cannot outsource staff when a plane arrives outside normal hours or at a smaller airport.<br/>
NASA's decision to send Boeing's Starliner capsule home without astronauts follows years of missteps by the planemaker in its space business and raises doubts over the future of the unit, analysts and industry sources said. Taking NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) was to have been a turning point for Starliner after years of delays, technical glitches and supply chain mishaps. Starliner has cost Boeing $1.6b in overruns since 2016, according to a Reuters analysis of securities filings. The astronauts were to stay at the ISS for about eight days, but problems with Starliner have extended that to eight months. Starliner's propulsion system malfunctioned and NASA deemed the troublesome thrusters unsafe for the return journey. So Wilmore and Williams will be brought home in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule next year, the latest humiliation for Boeing at the hands of Elon Musk's dominant space company. The mission was meant to be a final test before NASA could certify Starliner for routine flights. Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg now must decide whether to keep pouring money into Starliner, which analysts doubt will ever be profitable, or to unravel the capsule business and focus on rebuilding the tarnished reputation of its core planemaking division. Elsewhere in its space business, U.S. government watchdogs have repeatedly reported Boeing is years behind schedule and several billions of dollars over budget as main contractor on NASA's giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, a centerpiece vehicle of America's moon program. And the aerospace giant is already trying to sell a separate rocket launching firm it jointly owns with Lockheed Martin, Reuters reported last month.<br/>