When James Davis traveled from his home in Tucson to a family reunion in Pensacola, Florida, via Dallas in July, he only had one major request of American Airlines. “They informed me that my scooter would be available at each turn. I went from Tucson to Dallas and Dallas to Pensacola, and it was supposed to be available in both,” he said. “I depend on my scooter.” But despite registering his device with the airline in advance and being told he would have access to his scooter during his layover, the mobility device was checked through to Pensacola instead. “I was able to get someone to get me a wheelchair so I could get something to eat, drink, so I could take my medication,” Davis said, but added he was still dependent on airport staff to move him around during the layover and to get him to his next flight. “I was stuck sitting where I’m at,” he said. <br/>
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Archer Aviation said on Thursday a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corp had secured the right to place orders for up to 100 of its electric air-taxis worth $500m. Shares of Archer Aviation rose 7% in morning trading. If placed, the order from the joint venture, Soracle, would include pre-delivery payments based on Archer achieving certain milestones ahead of aircraft delivery, the companies said in a statement.<br/>A handful of airlines have placed orders for air-taxis, or electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, betting on rising demand for urban travel. However, the industry faces funding, technology, infrastructure and regulatory hurdles before such aircraft can carry passengers in cities. Certification timelines have slipped to the second half of this decade from the first, as regulations governing air-taxis are still taking shape in the West. German air-taxi maker Lilium, which went public in 2021 through a $3.3b reverse merger, said earlier this week it would file for insolvency after running into a cash crisis. "I think it reinforces that what we are doing is very hard," Archer CEO Adam Goldstein told Reuters in an interview when asked about the impact of Lilium's insolvency on the industry. Archer, which is backed by automaker Stellantis, is developing its air-taxi 'Midnight' that can carry four passengers and a pilot. Archer has said the aircraft is optimized for back-to-back short-distance trips of around 20 miles, with "minimal charging time" in between.<br/>
A total of 34 passengers on two flights carrying a group of high school students from Guam to Japan fell ill with symptoms of suspected food poisoning, local emergency service officials said Friday. According to the Narita airport office and the authorities from Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, 16 were on Japan Airlines Flight 942 and 18 were on United Airlines Flight 873, which both landed at Narita airport Thursday night. Among the passengers affected by symptoms such as vomiting, 14 needed to be taken to hospital after landing. Some passengers reported feeling sick before boarding the flight, and Japan Airlines told airport officials it did not believe inflight meals to be the cause.<br/>
A Qantas Airways flight bound for Brisbane suffered an engine failure after take-off on Friday and circled for a short period of time before returning safely to Sydney Airport, the Australian airline said.<br/>Passengers heard a loud bang from one of the aircraft's two engines, Australian media reported. A journalist with national broadcaster ABC was on the flight and said there was a "sharp shudder" on the plane after the loud noise, his news outlet reported. "It was apparent something had happened with one of the engines, then the plane seemed to labour to get off the ground or get any altitude," ABC journalist Mark Willacy said. Qantas said its engineers had conducted a preliminary inspection of the engine and confirmed it was a contained engine failure, meaning the internal engine parts stayed within the protective housing designed to keep them safely enclosed. Uncontained engine failures, where engine fragments fly out of this housing, can result in serious damage to the main body of an aircraft. Qantas flight QF520 took off from Sydney at 12:35 p.m. (0135 GMT), circled a few times and diverted to land at Sydney, tracking data from Flightradar24 showed. The aircraft's departure coincided with a grass fire breaking out alongside Sydney Airport's parallel runway that was brought under control by teams from the aviation firefighting rescue service, the airport said in a statement. "It's not clear at this stage if the two incidents are linked and investigations are continuing," the airport added.<br/>
A New Zealand permanent resident has been sentenced to an 18-month community correction order in Australia after pleading guilty to assault on a Wellington flight to Sydney. Taninrut Saklor, who lives in Wellington, appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday after the incident on Qantas flight QF162. The court was told that on disembarking the flight on Wednesday, another passenger sat next to him attempted to get a bag from the overhead bin but dropped it accidentally on Saklor. The Thai national then lashed out, kicking the other man in the face twice, hitting both his eyes. Saklor was transiting to Thailand, reported the Daily Telegraph. Magistrate Brett Thomas called it “a complete overreaction” as he convicted Saklor. Assault occasioning actual bodily harm can carry a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment. Australian Federal Police Acting Superintendent Damien Full said there is a “zero tolerance for violent or abusive behaviour. Aggressive action in an enclosed space can be extremely frightening for everyone. “The AFP works closely with the airline industry to intervene if anyone’s behaviour impacts the wellbeing of other passengers.”<br/>