general

Hong Kong-Taipei is the busiest international flight route, according to a report released Tuesday by aviation intelligence company OAG. The route — which last held that position in 2019 — again tops the list despite seat capacity remaining 15% below pre-pandemic levels, according to OAG’s report. Seven of the 10 busiest international routes in the world are in Asia-Pacific, though seat capacity on many of those routes still haven’t recovered to 2019 levels. However, two routes on the list — both in the Middle East — show significant growth since 2019. The second busiest route, Cairo to Jeddah, has around 5.5m available seats, which is 62% higher than 2019 levels, according to OAG. The third busiest route — Seoul Incheon to Tokyo Narita — also showed significant growth (68%) from pre-pandemic levels. Several factors explain why, said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG. “Firstly, with the Chinese international market still slowly recovering, airlines have had to allocate aircraft to other markets. And Japan is a very popular destination at the moment,” he said. “On top of that ... a few new carriers have entered the market, including airlines such as Eastar and Air Japan. And finally ... Haneda airport is effectively full so that new capacity has had to go to Narita.”<br/>

Many of the reported drone sightings that have gripped the U.S. appear to be of commercial, hobby and law enforcement drones as well as aircraft or stars, U.S. officials said on Tuesday as they moved to bolster areas with more detection capabilities. Fewer than 100 of the more than 5,000 reported sightings in New Jersey and other northeastern U.S. states merit an investigation, officials at the U.S. Defense Department, U.S. Homeland Security Department, FBI and FAA said. The sightings, which began in mid-November, have created a social media frenzy. A Facebook group entitled "New Jersey Mystery Drones - let's solve it" had nearly 75,000 members as of Monday, with people posting theories ranging from extraterrestrials to foreign actors. U.S. officials reiterated that there was no security or personal safety risk from the spate of reported drone activity. The Biden administration is set to give members of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee a classified briefing on the issue later on Tuesday, a Punchbowl reporter said on X. Representatives for the panel could not be immediately reached to comment on the report. The latest statement from the officials, who have repeatedly said most of the large fixed-wing sightings involved manned aircraft, came after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday called for more federal comment on the reported sightings. "We recognize the concern among many communities," the officials wrote in a statement. "We have sent advanced detection technology to the region. And we have sent trained visual observers."<br/>

U.S. Department of Justice antitrust head Jonathan Kanter said on Tuesday that he will step down on Friday, capping off a three-year tenure in which he aimed to reinvigorate competition law in the U.S. Kanter and his counterpart at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, have sought to revive antitrust enforcement in the U.S. as a check on corporate power, drawing praise from Democrats and some Republicans. “Plutocracy is its own kind of dictatorship,” Kanter said in a farewell address on Tuesday. “When companies larger and more powerful than most world governments threaten individual liberty with coercive private taxation and regulation, it threatens our way of life,” he said. Some attorneys and business groups have criticized Khan and Kanter’s agenda and supported a return to a more limited view of antitrust that has prevailed for four decades. But President-elect Donald Trump’s antitrust picks are not seen as likely to drastically curtail enforcement. Gail Slater, an aide to incoming Vice President JD Vance, is poised to take over for Kanter once she is confirmed. Before being tapped as Trump’s running mate, Vance praised Khan’s efforts and said that corporations can engage in “tyrannical” behavior. At least until Trump takes office, Kanter’s deputy Doha Mekki will lead the antitrust division. After that point, Trump could appoint a different acting head of the division.<br/>

The woman who stowed away on a plane from New York City to Paris late last month was arrested on Monday after trying to leave the country again, this time on a bus bound for Canada, two law enforcement officials said. The woman, Svetlana Dali, had been released and ordered to wear an ankle monitor after a Dec. 5 federal court hearing in Brooklyn on a charge of stowing away aboard a Delta Air Lines plane to Paris from Kennedy International Airport. Dali, 57, a U.S. permanent resident who emigrated from Russia, was supposed to stay at a friend’s apartment in Philadelphia, one of the officials said. But she cut off her monitor and made her way to upstate New York, where she rode a bus toward the Canadian border, the official said. Dali had a ticket for that ride, the official said, unlike the flight to Paris. She was charged with sneaking aboard that flight without a boarding pass or a passport. On Monday night, Dali was in custody in Buffalo, Barbara Burns, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of New York, said. Dali is scheduled to appear in court there on Tuesday afternoon before Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and then to be returned to custody in Brooklyn, Burns said. Phone and email messages left for the lawyer who represented Ms. Dali in court in Brooklyn, Michael Schneider, were not returned.<br/>

However, Air France announced yesterday that it is extending its suspension of Israel flights from the end of the year until January 9. Six airlines will be resuming flights to Israel over the coming week. Tomorrow, Romanian low-cost airline Biz Airlines, which only began its Israel route in August, renews flights to Ben Gurion airport after suspending services for several weeks. In the next few days Spanish carrier Air Europe and Hungarian low-cost airlines Wizz Air, also resume flights although until mid-January Wizz Air will only operate flights to Cyprus. At the end of this week Polish airline Lot and Air Baltic will renew Israel flights while at the start of next week Bulgaria Air will recommence its Israel route. However, Air France announced yesterday that it is extending its suspension of Israel flights from the end of the year until January 9. The announcement was made shortly after sirens were sounded at Ben Gurion airport and flights were stopped just before an incoming missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted before it reached Israel.<br/>

Multiple airlines have had to cancel or divert their scheduled flights to and from Vanuatu after a massive earthquake struck its capital city Port Vila on Tuesday, according to Xinhua. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Port Vila on Tuesday, causing “considerable damage” to some buildings, including a shared diplomatic mission, and at least one person was reported dead. Australia’s national airline Qantas diverted a flight bound for Port Vila from Brisbane, instead sending it on a return trip to New Caledonia’s capital of Noumea, said the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).<br/>The airline said on its website that due to an earthquake near Port Vila, it is currently assessing its operations and will provide a further update as soon as possible. “Due to earthquake activity in Vanuatu and reports of possible damage to Port Vila Airport infrastructure, our return flight between Sydney and Port Vila will not operate on Wednesday (Dec 18, 2024),“ said Australia’s Jetstar on its website. Virgin Australia has also cancelled its flights scheduled to and from Port Vila on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the flight information displayed on its website. The airline advises guests booked to fly to and from Vanuatu on Tuesday and in the coming days to closely monitor their flight details. <br/>

Embraer said on Tuesday that Luxembourg-based Luxair has placed a firm order for two more E195-E2 jets, bumping up its 2023 order of four aircraft and helping to drive shares of the Brazilian planemaker higher. The first Luxair E2 is expected to be delivered in 2026, the Brazilian company said in a statement, adding that the new firm order provides the carrier with additional delivery slots for 2027. Luxembourg's flag carrier still holds delivery positions for three other jets, Embraer said in a statement, which could be converted into orders for the smaller E190-E2 airplane if needed.<br/>Embraer's shares were up around 2.5% in early Sao Paulo trading, among the top gainers on Brazil's Bovespa stock index, extending their year-to-date jump to 154% as demand for the firm's aircraft remains strong. The companies did not provide a price tag for the deal, but analysts at JPMorgan said that it should add around $170m to Embraer's backlog considering list prices for the E195-E2, likely increasing the firm's commercial aviation backlog by 2%. "We view today's announcement as slightly positive for Embraer given the continued backlog growth, which is at a record high of $24b, with all segments having a book-to-bill above 1:1," JPMorgan analysts said in a note to clients.<br/>