The Biden administration said Thursday it will take steps toward requiring airlines to pay cash compensation and cover lodging and meals for passengers who are stranded when an airline causes flights to be canceled or changed. Such a rule would go far beyond the current requirement for airlines to pay ticket refunds. It would make U.S. policy more closely resemble airline consumer protections in Europe. But with less than seven weeks until President Joe Biden leaves office, the fate of additional regulations on airlines will be left in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump's administration. The industry trade group Airlines for America said the Biden administration's proposal would drive up ticket prices. “In this highly competitive industry, carriers don’t need further incentive to provide quality service,” the group said in a statement. “This proposal is simply one in a long string of ill-conceived and rushed rules from an administration intent on reregulating the U.S. airline industry.” Biden's Transportation Department said it will seek public comment on requiring airlines to pay cash compensation — starting at $200 — when a flight is canceled or significantly delayed because of a mechanical problem with the plane or an airline computer outage. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his department is considering new passenger protections at this late date because air travel is breaking records.<br/>
general
Spanish airport operator Aena's fees for 2025 will be unchanged, competition watchdog CNMC said on Thursday, rejecting the company's bid for an increase. The CNMC said the adjusted annual maximum revenue per passenger would stay at 10.35 euros ($10.90). Aena had proposed an increase of 0.05 euros per passenger for 2025, approved by its board in July, but CNMC deemed that unnecessary, prioritising fare stability and balancing service costs with revenue. The regulator said Aena's initial 2025 traffic forecast was overly conservative and had since been adjusted. Airports charge airlines fees for services including the use of their terminals, runways, aircraft parking, security and baggage handling. The fees have an impact on the price of airline tickets purchased by passengers.<br/>
German airport operator Fraport Thursday said it is close to completing the sale of its 25% stake in St. Petersburg airport Pulkovo to Middle East-based investor Orbit Aviation LLC. The proceeds from the deal, which according to Fraport are in the mid-double-digit million euro range, will be used to reduce debt. Fraport suspended its investment in Pulkovo and all activities linked to the investment immediately after the war in Ukraine started. Russian President Vladimir Putin put the airport under the temporary management of a newly set up Russian holding company in December 2023, wresting control from investors from Germany, Qatar and other Gulf states.<br/>
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans to encourage US airlines to undertake the first-ever direct flights to Thailand, as Thai carriers seem unlikely to add the routes, following regulators reopening the flights from next year. According to the Transport Ministry, the US FAA gave a favourable evaluation of Thailand's aviation safety standards following its inspection, and is expected to upgrade the status of the country from Category 2 to Category 1, enabling airlines to expand operations to the US. Thai Airways halted direct flights from Bangkok to Los Angeles in 2015, the same year the country was downgraded by the FAA, because the route was unprofitable. Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, TAT's deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, said Thai Airways would be a priority airline to bring long-haul visitors to the country. However, the airline remains in the rehabilitation process and must utilise its aircraft on the most profitable routes amid a global aircraft shortage.<br/>
Korean airlines are suffering a significant blow in the stock market in the aftermath of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived imposition of emergency martial law, which has been leading to a high exchange rate, coupled with the perception of Korea as a travel-risk country by major nations. The high exchange rate is a direct hit for airlines, as most fixed costs such as aircraft leasing fees and fuel expenses are paid in dollars. In addition, the elevated rate typically suppresses outbound travel demand. Historically, during periods of elevated exchange rates, the number of outbound travelers has tended to decrease or has shown slower growth rates. “Even with the passage of the National Assembly’s resolution to lift martial law and its eventual repeal, heightened political instability in the country makes the depreciation of won inevitable,” KB Kookmin Bank analyst Lee Min-hyuck said. “With the aftermath of emergency martial law amplifying risk aversion, exchange rate volatility is likely to remain high.” Hana Securities analyst Ahn Do-hyun noted that, although martial law was lifted, concerns persist as countries like the United Kingdom and Israel have issued travel warnings for Korea, and nations such as the United States and Japan have also urged their citizens to exercise caution. “The high exchange rate in the 1,400-won range is likely to persist for the time being. The elevated exchange rate negatively affects airlines from both demand and cost perspectives,” Ahn said.<br/>
In a rare move, a federal judge on Thursday rejected Boeing’s proposed agreement with the Justice Department to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government in connection with two fatal 737 Max crashes, according to court documents. The plea agreement, reached in July, has been a flashpoint for controversy. It would have required Boeing to admit to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration about critical safety issues tied to a flight control software implicated in both accidents. The crashes, a Lion Air flight in 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight in 2019, killed a total of 346 people. Judge Reed O’Connor, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, raised concerns on several levels about how the agreement had been handled, including a question about the independent monitor who was to determine if Boeing was abiding by the terms of the agreement. All parties have 30 days to decide how to proceed. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department said the agency was reviewing the opinion. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Judge O’Connor’s ruling is another setback for Boeing and its shareholders, adding one more layer of uncertainty to the company’s future as it struggles to move past its legal issues stemming from the 737 Max crashes. The rejection of the settlement puts Boeing’s hopes of closing this chapter on hold. Among the issues raised by Judge O’Connor during an October hearing in Fort Worth, Texas, was that accepting the proposed deal would stop him from levying penalties beyond those already laid out in the deal.<br/>
The head of the FAA said on Thursday that Boeing has not yet resumed producing 737 MAX airplanes following a machinists strike, but plans to begin later this month. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker this week met with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and toured Boeing's 737 plant in Renton, Washington, as it boosts oversight following the strike, which ended Nov. 4. Whitaker said Boeing's plan is to slowly restart production later this month and he plans another meeting in January as the company ramps up. "The thing that I was most struck by was we're four weeks post-strike and they're still not producing airplanes, because they're focused on their workforce, the training, making sure they have the supply chain sorted out," Whitaker told Reuters in a wide-ranging interview. Boeing, whose shares closed down 1%, did not respond to a request for comment. The 737 is Boeing's top-selling airliner, making the production restart vital to the aircraft maker's financial future. Whitaker capped production at 38 737 MAX planes per month in January after a door panel missing four key bolts flew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 during a flight that month, exposing serious safety issues at Boeing. He declined to say when he thought the FAA would restore Boeing's ability to produce more than 38 planes per month, but said he would be surprised if it was less than multiple months before they get close to the 38 maximum. "We really get great visibility on that journey up from 0 to 38 to see how they're doing," Whitaker said.<br/>
A global blueprint for modern air travel struck 80 years ago this week faces fresh tests managing change and rising air traffic in the developing world, a senior official at the UN's aviation agency told Reuters. On Thursday, the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is bringing together regulators and industry executives including from Boeing and Airbus in a special session at the Chicago site marking its birthplace. With no policing powers, ICAO uses consensus to set standards on everything from runways to seat belts. The agency was created after the United States invited more than 50 allies to agree in 1944 to a common air navigation system. The signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation on Dec. 7, 1944, underpinned support for the creation of ICAO and its reliance on multilateralism to manage the skies. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Wednesday at a reception at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, formerly the Stevens Hotel where the convention was adopted, that ICAO helped ensure air travel as the safest mode of transportation. "The safety record is a marvel of collective action, responsible choices, policy and regulation and standards that sometimes is as unglamorous as it gets, but it makes everything else possible," Buttigieg said. That post-war cooperation is now being tested by a rise in populism, even as ICAO confronts challenges unforeseen in 1944, like concern over emissions from global aviation. "We are going to celebrate the past, of course, but we want to take this opportunity, this celebration to look forward," said ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano in an interview this week at the agency's Montreal headquarters.<br/>