Spain's airport operator Aena said on Monday 50 flights due to take off from Barcelona's El Prat airport were cancelled or severely delayed after a rainstorm hit the area. The airport operator diverted 17 flights that were due to land at El Prat on Monday morning to alternative airports, Aena said on its X account. A rain and hail storm hit the Barcelona area in eastern Spain on Monday, less than a week after the country's worst flash floods killed at least 217 people in the Valencia region, 300 kilometres (186 miles) to the south. The rain stopped late on Monday morning and the airport was operating again, a spokesperson told Reuters.<br/>
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Ireland’s High Court has agreed to pause the implementation of Dublin Airport’s passenger cap for summer 2025, after airlines Ryanair Holdings Plc and Aer Lingus made an urgent application to the court saying it would negatively impact their access to slots. The passenger limit of 25m for next summer, proposed by the Irish Aviation Authority and set to comply with 2007 planning regulations on the roads surrounding the airport, would have serious consequences not only for the carriers, but for the public and the broader economy too, Justice Barry O’Donnell ruled Monday. Airlines have run into plans to restrict capacity at hubs across Europe as cities try to balance out concerns raised by local residents about noise and congestion, with the rapid rebound of travel from the ebbs of the pandemic. The Dutch government in in Amsterdam airport scrapped similar curbs at Amsterdam after opposition for airlines and the travel industry. Airlines for America, the trade group which represents carriers including Delta Air Lines and United Airlines Holdings Inc, had also made a filing to the court, saying in an October statement that the decision to apply a restriction on passenger numbers for operations at Dublin Airport was a violation of the US-EU Open Skies agreement. Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary called the cap “outdated” and “absurd” in a statement Monday. A separate cap imposed on winter slots starting this year will also be challenged by Ryanair and Aer Lingus, in a case due to be heard in the first week of December. Dublin’s airport authority, daa, is challenging the winter decision too, although on different grounds to the airlines, as it wants further cuts to the winter slots to ensure it can comply with the cap in 2024.<br/>
Airport strikes in Italy and France are set to disrupt holiday travel plans as key groups of airport workers plan to strike in November and December. Passengers at Italian and French airports can expect delays, canceled flights, and longer wait times as air traffic controllers, baggage handlers, and airline staff protest for improved working conditions and wages. In Italy, air traffic controllers at six major airports, including Rome Fiumicino, Bologna Marconi, Lampedusa, Naples, Perugia, and Pescara, are scheduled to strike on November 12 from 13:00 to 17:00. This action is likely to impact flights across the country. Additional disruptions are expected at airports in Bologna, Catania, and Rome, where baggage handlers are set to go on strike the same day. Later in the month, Milan airports will face further delays as baggage handlers strike on November 29. WizzAir employees in Italy have also planned a 24-hour strike for that day, leading to additional nationwide delays. France is facing its own wave of travel disruptions as easyJet employees continue a strike that began in September, protesting against the airline’s plan to close its Toulouse hub. The ongoing strike, scheduled through December 16, affects easyJet flights across France. While specific strike dates are yet to be announced, travelers are advised to prepare for potential delays and cancellations.<br/>
Changi Airport Group (CAG) has lost an appeal to have a tax break for S$273m spent on assets over three years. In dismissing the appeal, Justice Choo Han Teck said the assets – two runways and various taxiways and aprons at Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Changi Airport – were structures and not tools of trade. He added that he did not agree with CAG that the decision made by the Income Tax Board of Review was unreasonable and that it erred in law. According to a judgment dated Nov 1, CAG, which was formed in 2009, made claims for capital allowances in 2011, 2012 and 2013 for capital expenditure on the assets, amounting to $272,575,162 across the three years. Capital allowances are deductions claimable for the wear and tear of certain assets. CAG and the Comptroller of Income Tax agreed on the characteristics of the assets – that is, they were designed to facilitate and ensure the safe landing, taxiing and taking off of aircraft.<br/>
Boeing’s more than 32,000 striking machinists on Monday will vote for the third time on a contract proposal. If a simple majority approve the offer, it would end the more than seven-week work stoppage that has halted most of the struggling company’s airplane production, another curveball in what executives had once cast as Boeing’s turnaround year. Results are expected late Monday night after polls close at 7 p.m. PT. The proposal includes 38% raises over four years, up from the 35% increase Boeing proposed and workers rejected late last month, extending the strike. The deal that kicked off the strike in September had 25% raises, while the union had originally pushed for pay increases of about 40%. Boeing said machinist pay will average $119,309 at the end of this contract proposal. Workers have complained about the skyrocketing cost of living in the Seattle area, where most of Boeing’s aircraft are produced. But the union, upon unveiling the proposal last Wednesday, warned this deal might be as good as workers are going to get. “In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything that we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 said in a statement. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”<br/>
Air Transport Services Group said on Monday investment firm Stonepeak was taking it private in a deal valued at $3.1b, including debt, sending the aircraft lessor's shares 27% higher before the bell. Stonepeak will pay $22.5 per share for the company, representing a 29.3% upside to Air Transport's closing price on Friday. Reuters reported on Sunday that Stonepeak was in advanced talks to take over ATSG, whose primary business involves acquiring used passenger aircraft and converting them to freighters to lease to customers. As of June 30, ATSG had 114 freighter aircraft in service, with the significant majority being Boeing's 767 model. It also operates freighters for Amazon.com's air cargo network. The online shopping giant holds warrants to purchase shares in the lessor. The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year, ATSG said. In August, it reported an 8% fall in Q2 revenue, driven by a reduction in its aircraft leasing as well as cargo services segments. It leased fewer 767-200 freighters in the quarter from a year earlier. However, the company expects its full-year adjusted EBITDA - earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization - to be approximately $526m, an increase of $10m from its previous forecast, as it continues to see more interest for its newly converted freighters. The takeover transaction has fully committed equity financing from funds affiliated with Stonepeak, along with fully committed debt financing.<br/>
German air-taxi maker Lilium said on Monday it would file for insolvency "soon", after efforts to solve its cash-crisis failed to yield results. The move highlights the difficulties faced by startup aviation firms in an industry that is capital intensive and has high entry barriers. It also comes as air-taxi makers navigate challenges in developing batteries powerful enough for their aircraft and convincing the public of their safety, even as they deal with an evolving regulatory environment. Lilium was one of the few electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) makers that debuted on stock exchanges in the U.S. earlier this decade following multi-billion dollar mergers with blank-check firms. EVTOLs are seeking to revolutionize urban travel by developing battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically. U.S.-listed shares Lilium, which received a delisting notice from Nasdaq last week, were down 8.8% in morning trading. Founded in 2015, Lilium sought to target the regional transport market with a 250 km-rangejet that can carry up to six passengers, unlike many rivals, which are mainly looking at shorter trips between cities and suburbs. However, the company ran into hurdles raising cash as it was developing aircraft that are yet to receive approval to carry passengers. Last month, two of its subsidiaries in Germany decided to file for insolvency following unsuccessful talks with state and federal governments to raise more money to keep them afloat. At that time, Lilium had said it was reviewing whether there were grounds for its own insolvency as well. "Financing and other strategic alternative options have been pursued without success and it has become apparent that funding for the company is not feasible," Lilium said in a securities filing on Monday.<br/>