A plan to expand and modernize Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas — the seventh-busiest airport in North America — received an informal go-ahead from Clark County commissioners Tuesday. The proposal, presented by County Department of Aviation officials, would increase the number of gates at the facility’s oldest terminal, improve passenger access at the 12-year-old Terminal 3, and add new parking areas and facilities for transportation services while upgrading multiple roads. Officials say it could alleviate delays in arrivals and departures. The renovation and expansion plans would allow the Department of Aviation to squeeze as much space as possible out of the landlocked airport’s existing footprint while the new Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport is created in the Ivanpah Valley just north of Primm and 30 miles south of Reid. Ivanpah was first envisioned 24 years ago through federal legislation that allowed for the sale of 6,500 acres of federally owned land. The most recent timeline has the airport pegged for completion in 2037. Reid Airport is coming off successive record-setting years, drawing 57.6m passengers last year — shattering 2022’s previous mark of 52.6m passengers. Between May and July, the airport averaged more than 5m passengers a month. The highest passenger figure came in October 2023 — 5.4m passengers.<br/>
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Airlines connecting Europe with the Middle East and South Asia are being forced to fly a more circuitous path using Egyptian and Saudi Arabian airspace as the escalating conflict in the Middle East blocks off routes over Iran and Iraq for many carriers. British Airways, Emirates, Deutsche Lufthansa and other airlines began diverting services away from Iraqi airspace around 5:30 pm in the UK on Oct. 1, when Israel’s IDF said that rockets from Iran had been fired at the country. Many carriers shifted to flying across the breadth of Saudi Arabia and over the Sinai peninsula, based on a playback of flight paths on tracking website FlightRadar24. Dutch carrier KLM also said it has re-routed some of its flights and it was avoiding the Iran, Iraq and Jordan airspace. On Wednesday morning, most airlines were giving Iraqi airspace a wide berth, although some Emirates flights to the US were still overflying Iran. Flying more circuitous routes increases flight times and fuel expenses for airlines, and complicates schedules that depend on aircraft being in the right place at the right time. <br/>
The new French government plans to raises taxes will be “disastrous” for the country’s economy and its aviation industry, said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association. The French government may significantly increase taxes on air passengers as part of a general package of new taxes aimed at closing France’s budget deficit, Walsh said in a statement. “If these tax proposals are implemented, it will be a disaster for France,” he said. “Aviation is a driver of employment and prosperity, as well as a proven accelerator of growth in other parts of the economy.” The French government on Wednesday announced plans of around E60b in spending cuts and tax hikes next year in an effort to rein in a widening budget deficit and bolster investor confidence in the country. Walsh said any new taxes will hurt the tourism industry and the aviation sector in France, which has fewer passengers and serves fewer destinations than it did before the pandemic. The measures may also cut into the massive funding needed for the transition to sustainable aviation fuels, he said. Walsh gave the example of Sweden, which responded to their sluggish growth by announcing plans to abolish their aviation tax. “The only answer for France’s deficit is to grow its economy and widen the tax base, not tax the productive parts of the economy to a standstill,” he said.<br/>
Russian design bureau Tupolev is establishing a specialised centre to explore upgrade and modernisation of the Tu-214 twinjet. Production of the Tu-214 as a passenger aircraft is being revived as part of the government’s strategy to provide domestically-built capacity to the country’s carriers. Tupolev managing director Konstantin Timofeev says the new innovation centre – for which the company is aiming to recruit designers and engineers, with a core group of 12-25 specialists – will be a “unique think-tank”. “We hope that fresh breakthrough ideas will improve our product, increase production efficiency, and move closer to creating the ideal version of our aircraft,” he adds. Personnel will seek to improve Tu-214 characteristics including weight and range, while also reducing levels of labour during assembly of the aircraft. The Tu-214, which is manufactured in Kazan, is intended to complement new types such as the Yakovlev MC-21 and SJ-100, as well as the upgraded Ilyushin Il-114-300. Russian operator S7 Airlines, which has previously relied on Airbus and Boeing types, has agreed to co-operate with United Aircraft regarding fleet expansion. S7 recently signed an agreement at the Kazan facility which covers joint work on 100 upgraded Tu-214s for the Siberian carrier. According to the Tatarstan regional government, the Kazan plant is to be modernised to enhance production processes and offer new capabilities.<br/>
More flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan have been disrupted as Super Typhoon Krathon is expected to make landfall, with Cathay Pacific Airways’ budget airline axing an additional eight. HK Express said on Wednesday night that Taipei-bound flights UO110, UO112, UO114 and UO116, and Hong Kong-bound UO111, UO113, UO115 and UO117 were cancelled. The airline said all affected passengers had already been notified and rebooked for alternative flights. “Passengers can divert to other destinations in Taiwan, China without additional charges. The change is subject to seat availability,” it added. Cathay Pacific also warned of possible cancellations and delays of flights to and from Taipei in the next 24 and 48 hours. According to the Airport Authority’s website, at least six Cathay Pacific flights to Taipei were cancelled as of 9am on Thursday. Another six jointly operated by Hong Kong Airlines and Taiwan airline EVA Air had also been axed. Five flights departing for the southern city of Kaohsiung on Thursday via various airlines including Cathay, EVA Air and China Airlines, and at least 21 Taiwan-Hong Kong routes, were cancelled.<br/>
A regional airport in southwest Japan was closed on Wednesday after a U.S. bombshell, likely dropped during the Second World War to stem "kamikaze" attacks, exploded near its runway, causing nearly 90 flight cancellations.<br/>Miyazaki Airport shut its runway after the explosion caused a crater seven metres wide and one metre deep in the middle of the taxiway next to the runway, according to a Japanese transport ministry official. A bomb disposal team from the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force later found that the cause of the explosion was an American bomb that had been buried beneath the land surface, probably dating to a wartime air raid, the official said. No injuries were reported but live cam footage showed an airplane had been taxiing nearby just two minutes before the explosion, according to local broadcaster MRT. The runway shutdown has led to the grounding of 87 flights but there is no danger of any further explosions and repair works to fill the hole should be completed by Thursday morning, said Japan's top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi. The affected flights were operated by Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and other airlines connecting Miyazaki with cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, according to the airport website. Located at the southeast end of Kyushu island, Miyazaki airport was formerly a Japanese navy base until the end of World War Two, from where hundreds of young "kamikaze" pilots set off on their final missions, according to the Miyazaki city website.<br/>
Following a fatal collision between a Japan Airlines jetliner and a Japan coast guard plane at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in January, construction began Oct 2 on new runway status lights at the C5 taxiway near the accident site. These are red lights embedded in a runway and taxiway that illuminate to alert pilots when two aircraft are taking off and landing on the same runway, or when two aircraft might be entering a runway at the same time. The system is already installed in parts of New Chitose, Itami, Fukuoka and Naha airports. Based on discussions by a committee of outside experts for accident countermeasures, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry decided to install and expand the system at these and four other major airports: Narita, Haneda, Chubu and Kansai. The work on Oct 2 began just before 1am (Singapore time 12am), during the two-day period in which Runway C is closed at night each week. Workers dug out part of taxiway C5 to a depth of about 30cm and installed three bases for the lights, about 20cm in diameter, as well as piping.<br/>
San Miguel-led New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC), the new operator of the country’s main gateway, will now start collecting higher landing and take-off fees from airlines, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said. “The increase is actually high. It is almost double, but the rates — the last increase was in the year 2000 — so for the last 24 years, there have been no increases in fees that were charged at the airport,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said on the sidelines of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Aviation Summit 2024 on Wednesday. Landing and take-off fees are charges levied for the use of airport facilities and services during aircraft landings and takeoffs. Bautista said that the imposition of higher landing and take-off fees is effective Oct. 1, or at least 15 days after the official turnover of the operations and maintenance of NAIA to its private operator.<br/>
Toyota Motor said Wednesday it will invest another $500m in Joby Aviation to support certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi. The Japanese automaker’s new funding is on top of $394m in prior investments it made in Joby and is part of a strategic alliance on commercial manufacturing. The investment will be in the form of cash for common stock, with the first tranche set to close later in 2024 and the second next year. Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) have been touted as the future of urban air mobility, though they face hurdles to win over regulators. Joby said it continues to make progress towards commercialization and certification and recently broke ground on an expanded facility in California. “We share Joby’s view that sustainable flight will be central to alleviating today’s persistent mobility challenges,” said Toyota Motor North America CEO Ted Ogawa. Toyota is already Joby’s largest external shareholder, said Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt in an interview. “This will further cement their incredible collaboration with Joby,” he said. “Both companies are very committed to shaping this next generation of transportation as we move to the air for our daily transportation needs.” Toyota engineers are working side-by-side with the Joby team in California and last year the two companies signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and other components for Joby aircraft.<br/>