U.S. airlines have canceled 1.6% of all flights this year despite record summer travel and significant disruptions in July sparked by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, the Transportation Department said on Thursday. USDOT said the cancellation rate through Tuesday this year is slightly above the 1.5% cancel rate for 2023 but lower than any other year since 2017 when it was 1.4%. The TSA said last week that U.S. summer travel has set a new record and is forecasting record passenger levels for the Labor Day travel period that marks the end of the summer season. The TSA is forecasting it will screen 17m air travelers between Thursday and Sept. 4, up 8.5% over the same holiday period last year. Airlines for America, a trade group, said carriers plan to have 3.3% more seats departing U.S. airports through Monday over 2023. FlightAware and the airline group said carriers canceled less than 100 flights on Thursday -- or less than 0.5% of flights, but the Federal Aviation Administration warned afternoon weather may cause delays at some airports. The TSA screened 3.01m airline passengers on July 7, the highest number ever on a single day and the first time it surpassed 3m. The software update last month by global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike triggered system problems for Microsoft customers, including many airlines, and led to thousands of flight cancellations. Delta Air Lines canceled about 7,000 flights over five days, affecting 1.3m customers and taking much longer than other carriers to recover.<br/>
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As the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend is expected to send a record number of travelers to the skies, a cyberattack is forcing one of the nation’s largest airports to go back to basics. Computer systems at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport went down Saturday, and officials say they still don’t have an estimate for when they will be restored. “We’re working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts for passengers,” aviation managing director Lance Lyttle said in a news conference Sunday. The attack was focused on the Port of Seattle, which operates the airport. Online communications were affected, including the website used by the airport to advise passengers of their flight’s status, although there was a workaround web page with basic information up and running Wednesday. Airport Wi-Fi and the baggage processing system are down and the port’s email system went offline, officials said. Port of Seattle officials have not revealed any details about how the cyberattack was carried out, except to say that “nefarious characters” were involved. “That is the question that is on everybody’s mind, and all of our staff are working to figure out what exactly occurred,” airport spokesperson Perry Cooper said in a Monday news conference. The computer system outage comes as the TSA said it’s prepared to screen a potentially record-setting 17 million people over the holiday travel period and weeks after the global airline industry was hobbled by a CrowdStrike software issue that led to massive flight delays and cancelations.<br/>
Nigeria on Thursday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Boeing that will enhance Nigerian airlines' ability to lease new aircraft and get maintenance and technical support. Boeing, which supplies 60 airlines with 500 airplanes throughout Africa, projects the continent will need 1,170 airplanes over the next two decades. The MOU signed in Seattle on Wednesday by Nigerian aviation minister Festus Keyamo and Boeing executives will see the manufacturer provide planning workshops, training, technical support and assessments to Nigerian airline operators. Under the terms of the MOU, Boeing Airports Engineering team will provide consultation to open or expand airport capabilities across Nigeria and offer advisory services on the development of local aircraft maintenance facilities. "This partnership with Boeing represents a significant milestone in our efforts to modernise and enhance the capabilities of Nigerian airlines," Keyamo said.<br/>
Disruptions of train services and flights continued across a wide area of Japan on Friday due to a typhoon that has been weakening but remains over the southwestern main island of Kyushu. JR Kyushu will suspend most of its shinkansen bullet trains on the island throughout Friday, while the high-speed train service will be limited in many sections between Hakata, northern Kyushu, and Tokyo via Shin-Osaka, the operators said. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines said they will cancel or reschedule many flights to and from airports in the southwestern and western regions Friday, and the irregular scheduling will affect the airlines into the weekend. The Japan Meteorological Agency called Typhoon Shanshan "very powerful" before it made landfall in Kyushu on Thursday morning, but dropped the descriptive phrase in the afternoon. It also downgraded a rare special typhoon warning issued for most parts of Kagoshima prefecture.<br/>
South Korea said on Friday it aims to ensure all departing international flights use a mix of about 1% of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2027.<br/>The step aims to prepare for a carbon offset, and reduction scheme that becomes mandatory for members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) starting from that year, the industry and transport ministries said. "As the world's No. 1 exporter of aviation fuel, South Korea needs bold policy support to prepare for the SAF market as a promising new growth engine in response to global demand expansion," they said in a statement. Six South Korean airlines, including flag carrier Korean Air, have begun, or plan, to mix 1% of SAF in the fuel for a single international route once a week starting from this year, the ministries added. SAF, an alternative to petroleum jet fuel, is produced from agricultural and waste feedstocks. Demand for SAF is expected to grow to 18.35m tonnes in 2030 from 240,000 tonnes in 2022, the ministries said, citing data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).<br/>
Brazilian planemaker Embraer's average delay to deliver aircraft is around one to two months, the firm's chief financial officer said on Thursday, highlighting it as shorter than the delays larger peers face. The aviation industry has grappled with supply issues since the pandemic, forcing plane manufacturers to delay deliveries and constraining a capacity increase that would help airlines meet higher travel demand. Engines continue to be Embraer's biggest supply-constraint problem, CFO Antonio Carlos Garcia told reporters, but the company has avoided excessive extensions to delivery deadlines. "We only commit to our clients when we can deliver. So there can be a delay, but one to two months maximum this year," Garcia said. "While for Boeing and Airbus it may top a year, depending on the client." The two rival manufacturers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Brazilian firm's niche is the regional market for planes smaller than Boeing's and Airbus' best-selling 150-seat-plus market. Embraer's E2 jets, however, directly compete with Airbus' A220. Embraer has experienced strong demand for its small narrowbody aircraft, such as the next-generation E2, as carriers face a shortage of larger single-aisle planes due to Boeing's and Airbus' extended delivery timelines.<br/>