More expensive business class flights, levies on stock and bond trades and a $5-a-ton tax on fossil fuel emissions. These are just some of the ideas being pitched by influential leaders at the COP29 summit as a way to raise much needed cash to help the world battle climate change. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has emerged as one of the leading international voices on climate finance, is spearheading efforts to find new funding for developing nations and small island states. The task has become more urgent as extreme weather risks rise and it becomes clear that these countries can’t rely solely on the goodwill of their richer peers. At COP29, Mottley once again called for countries to further examine innovative sources of finance. She said that placing levies on shipping companies, airlines and some financial trades, as well as taxing fossil fuel extraction, could raise at least $350b a year — more than three times what rich nations mobilize annually through public sources. The proposal is a continuation of Mottley’s campaign to raise more climate finance that started under the Bridgetown Initiative in 2022. “These decisions are not beyond us politically,” Mottley said in Baku on Tuesday. “The elephant in the room for financial services cannot continue to be avoided, even if we’ve been unsuccessful in the past.”<br/>
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The climate-damaging vapours left behind by jet planes could be easily tackled, aviation experts say, with a new study suggesting they could be eliminated for a few pounds per flight. Jet condensation trails, or contrails, have spawned wild conspiracy theories alleging mind control and the spreading of disease, but scientists say the real problem is their warming effect. Researchers argue these smoky trails essentially double the amount of heating that’s caused by aviation's use of fossil fuels. The problem will be discussed at the UN climate conference, COP29, in Baku for the first time. Contrails form in the sky in the same way that your breath goes misty on a chilly morning. When a plane passes through cold humid air, the contrails form as the vapour from the engines condenses on unburned fuel fragments in the exhaust stream. While the causes of contrails have been known about for decades, it’s only in recent years that the climate warming impact of these human generated clouds has been recognised. “They create an artificial layer of clouds, which traps the heat from the Earth that’s trying to escape to outer space,” said Carlos Lopez de la Osa, from the Transport & Environment campaign group, which has carried out a new study on the solutions to contrails. “The scale of the warming that's associated with them is roughly having a similar impact to that of aviation carbon emissions.”<br/>
The FAA Tuesday banned U.S. civilian flights to and from Haiti for 30 days after a Spirit Airlines airplane was struck by gunfire trying to land in Port-au-Prince a day earlier. The FAA’s ban also prohibits U.S. flights from traveling under 10,000 feet in Haiti’s airspace. On Monday, Spirit Airlines Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, diverted to Santiago in the Dominican Republic at around 11:30 a.m. after it was damaged by gunfire, the airline said. Spirit said one flight attendant on board “reported minor injuries” and that no passenger injuries were reported. American Airlines said one of its flights from Port-au-Prince to Miami was hit by gunfire on Monday and that it landed uneventfully, with no injuries reported. “Out of an abundance of caution, a post-flight inspection was completed, indicating the exterior of the aircraft had been impacted by a bullet,” American said in a statement. American has suspended flights to the Haitian capital through Feb. 12. JetBlue Airways has also paused service to Haiti.<br/>
A U.S. judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Port of Oakland from using "San Francisco" in the Oakland airport's name, finding the name change would likely cause consumer confusion and harm the city of San Francisco. U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson said in the decision that changing the name of Metropolitan Oakland International Airport in nearby Oakland to "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport" would likely mislead consumers into thinking it is connected with San Francisco. A spokesperson for the Port of Oakland said the port is "continuing to review the recent ruling and considering all available options." Spokespeople for San Francisco did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. The Port of Oakland announced plans in March to change the name of its airport, which its board of commissioners unanimously approved in May. San Francisco sued Oakland for infringing its airport's trademarks in April, arguing the Oakland airport's similar new name would confuse travelers. It asked in September for a preliminary order forcing the port to stop using the new name, which Hixson granted on Tuesday.<br/>
An airport has seen passenger numbers rise by nearly a quarter following the introduction of additional routes to European destinations. Bosses at Norwich International said 316,000 passengers flew from the airport between April and October this year, a 23% increase on the same period in 2023. It said 63,000 passengers had flown on new Ryanair routes to Alicante, Faro and Malta since April, surpassing the budget carrier's initial forecast of 60,000. Airport managing director Richard Pace said: "We’re looking forward to a busy 2025 and continuing to offer passengers great choice with the ease and convenience of flying from their local airport." Ryanair decided to continue operating flights to Alicante over the winter season until March 2025. The airport, about 2.5m north of the city centre, has the capacity to handle 1.2m passengers each year. In August,Pace said it was currently operating at just under 500,000. Earlier this year it was rated one of the top three airports in the UK for customer service in a national consumer survey. The airport is owned and operated by Regional and City Airports.<br/>
A toxic haze enveloped India's national capital on Wednesday morning as temperatures dropped and pollution surged, reducing visibility in some parts and prompting a warning from airport authorities that flights may be affected. Delhi overtook Pakistan's Lahore as the world's most polluted city in Swiss group IQAir's live rankings, with an air quality index (AQI) score of more than 1,000, considered "hazardous", but India's pollution authority said the AQI was around 350. Officials were not immediately available to explain the variation. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the pollution had reduced visibility to 100 metres (328 feet) in some places by around 8 a.m. (0230 GMT). "Low visibility procedures" were initiated at the city's Indira Gandhi International Airport, operator Delhi International Airport Limited said in a post on social media platform X. "While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected," the authority said. CAT III is a navigation system that enables aircraft to land even when visibility is low. The IMD said the city's temperature dropped to 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday morning from 17.9C on Tuesday, and may fall further as sunlight remains cut off due to the smog.<br/>
Three Australian airlines have cancelled flights to and from Bali after a volcanic eruption near the Indonesian holiday spot created a dangerous ash cloud. The groundings affected Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving passengers stranded. The emergency began on Sunday when Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupted, spewing an ash column 9km high. The event in East Nusa Tenggara province, which is about 500km from Bali, killed nine people and prompted the evacuation of more than 15,000 people close to the crater. A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said the Lewotobi Volcano, has continued to erupt over the past fortnight. Easterly winds have brought volcanic ash over Denpasar airport as well the airspace to the south of the airport, and is due to hit Bali and parts of northern Australia across Wednesday, according to the BoM. “Volcanic ash is expected to move over Bali and adjacent maritime environment to the south including parts of northern Australian airspace until dissipating late tonight. Flights in and out of Denpasar, Bali have been disrupted today due to volcanic ash currently approaching Denpasar airport and airspace. Airlines and airport operators continue to conduct their own risk assessment of the situation.” <br/>
Boeing said on Tuesday it delivered 14 commercial jets in October, less than half of the 34 jets it handed over to customers during the same month in 2023, after a weeks-long strike halted most of its aircraft production. The U.S. planemaker is requiring all of its West Coast factory workers to be back at work on Tuesday after the strike ended on November 5, but added in a statement that it will be several weeks before airplane production gets fully underway. Boeing is facing heightened oversight by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it resumes output of its strongest-selling 737 MAX jets, along with 767, 777 and 777x models, after their production was halted during the strike which started on Sept. 12. The planemaker is trying to grow 737 production to hit a rate of 38 a month to generate needed revenues, after the strike weighed on its September and October deliveries. Boeing 787 production in South Carolina was not affected by the strike. The planemaker delivered 34 jets during October 2023, when it struggled to correct a manufacturing defect in the 737 MAX. Boeing was already operating a slower 737 MAX assembly line since a Jan. 5 in-flight blowout of a door plug on a near new model heightened regulatory scrutiny. Boeing said it will continue monitoring production to ensure safety and quality and will ensure employee training certifications are current.<br/>
Spirit AeroSystems said Tuesday that planemaker Boeing will pay up to $350m in advance payments to the firm, providing the struggling supplier a lifeline as it continues to burn cash after four consecutive years of losses. Reuters had reported last week that Spirit and Boeing were close to reaching a funding agreement as Spirit Aero is juggling financial and production challenges, having issued a "going concern" warning last week. The fuselage supplier expects to burn around $450m to $500m over the last three months of 2024 and first half of 2025, according to filings. "This agreement helps improve our liquidity. We continue to pursue a range of options to address our financial and spacing storage constraints and are working with our customers on these matters," Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino said. Spirit said the advanced payments are to produce Boeing products at the rates required by the planemaker, and "to address Spirit's high levels of inventory and lower operational cash flows, decrease in expected deliveries to Boeing and higher factory costs to maintain rate readiness, and lingering effects brought on by the recent strike by Boeing employees." Boeing said it continues "to work closely with our valued supplier to stabilize our production system and help us deliver for our customers."<br/>
Airbus is poised to finalise an agreement as early as Wednesday with struggling aerospace supplier Spirit Aerosystems on fresh funding and revised payment terms, a person familiar with the matter said. Spirit Aero, which said last week it was negotiating possible advances from its customers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company announced earlier it had reached a deal for new advances from Boeing. An Airbus spokesperson said it had “no comment on any potential support we may provide to our suppliers”.<br/>
European planemaker Airbus defended free trade on Tuesday as the aerospace industry faces a growing cluster of economic tensions. The CEO of the planemaker's China operations said Airbus was "very much pro free trade" and its presence there was a showcase of good cooperation between Beijing and Europe. Trade ties between the European Union and China have been marred by a dispute over electric vehicles, while Airbus also faces a potential new transatlantic rift after Donald Trump won U.S. elections with a pledge to impose widespread tariffs. Asked whether Airbus was worried about the possibility of tariffs arising from intensifying trade tensions between China and Europe, Airbus China CEO George Xu said the European group saw free trade as vital for global prosperity. "We’re looking forward to seeing if there is some progress in these discussions," he said, referring to ongoing talks between Beijing and Brussels over a European Union move to slap tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. "We are not afraid of competition and we want to focus our resources to develop the China market and develop partnerships with Chinese partners." Airbus has overtaken Boeing as a supplier to Chinese airlines during a trade rift between Washington and Beijing that began during Donald Trump's first term. The two plane giants were embroiled in an 18-month trade war over aircraft subsidies between the EU and the U.S. involving mutual tariffs that spilled over to other sectors such as food and luxury goods before a five-year truce was declared in 2021.<br/>
Avia Solutions Group, which leases aircraft and provides related services, has ordered 40 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets, with an option to order 40 additional jets, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. The 40 jets will be valued at about $2.17b, according to Reuters calculations based on estimated delivery prices from Cirium Ascend. Avia Solutions which has 11 air operator certificates expects delivery of 737 MAX jets to start in 2030. Production delays by aircraft manufacturers have boosted carriers' demand for leased planes to meet a spike in travel demand. The need to service older planes and for additional pilots and crew members has also benefited Avia, which provides aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. Avia expects to expand its fleet to 600 aircraft by 2027, from 220 currently, Gediminas Ziemelis, Chairman of Avia Solutions Group previously told Reuters in an interview.<br/>
China's aerospace ambitions took centre stage on the first day of the Zhuhai air show, with COMAC announcing Air China as the first customer for its C929 widebody jet, while a model of the country's first commercial uncrewed spaceplane was on display. China's Bayi aerobatics team, a flight of four J-20 stealth jets, and the public debut of the country's J-35A stealth fighter were among the aircraft soaring overhead as attendees strolled across the airfield tarmac. State-owned COMAC also said its regional jet, previously known as the ARJ21, had been improved and rebranded as the C909 for better branding uniformity across its aircraft. "After careful consideration, a long gestation and asking opinions of many involved parties, we chose to use C909 as the new commercial name to build the brand," Zhang Xiaoguang, COMAC's marketing director, told reporters. The C909, unveiled at China's biggest airshow painted in white with a blue tail, has also reduced weight, resistance and noise as well as some improvements in flying costs compared to the ARJ21, staff at COMAC's air show booth told Reuters. COMAC did not disclose the number of C929s that flag carrier Air China would purchase or planned delivery dates. But it announced that Hainan Airlines had placed a firm order for 60 C919 narrowbody jets and 40 C909s. Colorful Guizhou Airlines has signed a purchase agreement for 30 C909 planes, 20 of which were firm and the remainder provisional, it added.<br/>
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) is positive on the outlook for 2025 as it assembles for its annual meeting. “As far as the key metrics that airlines keep in mind, we are already back to business as usual,” says Subhas Menon, director general of the AAPA. “Load factors are higher than pre-Covid levels and even though yields are coming down quite fast, they are also higher than pre-Covid.” Menon feels that international RPKs will grow 10% in 2025. He made the remarks in Bandar Seri Begawan, where the AAPA is holding its 68th Assembly of Presidents. The event is an annual fixture for the region’s airline leaders. Despite the growth, airlines continue to grapple with supply chain issues that impact aircraft availability. While lessors can help fill capacity, leased aircraft are equally prone to supply chain challenges. Late deliveries of aircraft are also a problem. This is a particular issue for airlines in fast growing countries like India. While carriers in India boast significant orderbooks, it is a challenge for them to boost capacity in the absence of timely deliveries. As for specific markets, Menon says that inbound traffic into China has largely recovered, mainly due to Beijing’s easing of visa requirements.<br/>
It’s a forlorn scene: after a long flight, you watch as each and every passenger departs the baggage area while you stand idle, waiting for your suitcase to appear on the belt. A walk to customer service takes place soon after. Many people have experienced landing at one destination, while their bags end up in another. About 6.9 bags per 1,000 passengers were mishandled in 2023, according to SITA, an IT provider for airlines. Of those mishandled bags, about 5% were reported as lost or stolen. Now, Apple wants to help you find your lost luggage. Apple is unveiling a new feature where users will be able to share an Air Tag’s location with third parties, like airlines. In the Find My application, users will be able to generate and share a link to an Air Tag’s location as part of the “Share Item Location” feature. The new service will be integrated into airline customer service at 15 carriers, including Delta and United, according to an Apple news release published on November 11. Passengers who attach an air tag to their luggage will be able to share its live location with the airline, helping people track their luggage while flying — and find it if lost. Usually, an Apple user can see the location of their Air Tags in their Find My application. Now, users will be able to create a live-updating link that they can share with others. The link will lead to a website that will display the Air Tag’s live location on an interactive Apple map. Users can disable the link at any time, and it will automatically expire either when the user is reunited with their Air Tag, or after seven days.<br/>