Despite a frightening sky of dark smoke, fast-moving flames and winds surpassing 75 miles per hour, airports and major airlines in heavily populated Southern California reported only slight disruptions from normal operating schedules on Wednesday afternoon. At Los Angeles International, which, as one of the world’s busiest airports, served 75m passengers in 2023, nearly 88% of the departed flights left on time on Wednesday, according to the aviation data provider Cirium. Some 627 departures were scheduled for the entire day. An airport spokesperson said there had not been any operational disruptions. Long Beach Airport said in a social media post that it had “not yet experienced significant impacts from the ongoing fire and wind emergencies.” An outlier was Hollywood Burbank Airport, where Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier. Mike Christensen, a spokesman for the airport, said that more than half of the 70 departures scheduled for Wednesday had been canceled. Carriers including American Airlines and Alaska Airlines reported few wildfire-related disruptions to their routes. “We’ve seen no disruption at LAX or in the area today despite the wildfires,” wrote Ethan Klapper, a spokesman for American, in an email. “Our team continues to closely monitor conditions during this dynamic situation with the safety of our customers and team members the top priority.” American and Alaska, as well Southwest, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines, have issued flight waivers, allowing passengers to rebook travel without incurring any extra fees. Forceful winds aren’t necessarily a major impediment to air travel. Modern airport runways are built to align with prevailing winds, which means pilots can often land and take off even under rough conditions. When crosswinds are too strong for safe operations, the FAA may use ground stops to limit departures from and to specific airports, an agency spokesperson said. If an airport is required to use a nonpreferred runway, it may reduce arrival and departure rates.<br/>
general
A winter storm that brought snow to Dallas and threatens the US South with ice and sleet has grounded more than 2,400 flights and is raising the risk of power outages through the region. As of 4:20 p.m. Dallas time Thursday, 2,409 flights were grounded across the country, with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and nearby Dallas Love Field accounting for roughly 70% of them, according to FlightAware. Some flights into DFW were halted temporarily, according to the Federal Aviation Administration website, and American Airlines Group Inc. said ice was being removed from runways. Aircraft also were being de-iced before leaving. The ground stop was extended to 7 p.m. Dallas time, according to the FAA. Precipitation ranged from snow around and north of Dallas, to rain and sleet in areas south of city. As much as 2 to 5 inches (5 to 13 centimeters) of snow were expected through the rest of the day, with isolated areas north of the metro area expected to get as much as 8 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Schools were closed across North Texas. A powerful low-pressure system from the Gulf of Mexico will track across the South before moving off the Carolina coast early Saturday and out to sea without threatening the Northeast, said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the US Weather Prediction Center. North of the storm’s track a wide area of snow, sleet and ice is expected to fall, while heavy rain will drench the Gulf Coast. Houston that may get as much as 2 inches of rain.<br/>
President Joe Biden's administration expects to release short-term guidance on clean fuel tax credits on Friday and leave final decisions to President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration, according to two sources familiar with the plan. With the news, biofuel companies and their legislative backers will have to wait to see if Trump will back the plan on the highly anticipated guidelines on new clean fuel production tax credits aimed at the airline and biofuel industries. Trump has vowed to repeal Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which launched the program, to pay for the extension of his tax cuts. The Biden administration believes companies can rely on the interim guidance if or when a final rule is proposed and completed by the Trump administration. That casts uncertainty in a program and forces companies to engage in a new round of lobbying. U.S. Treasury did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<br/>
The Biden administration succeeded Thursday in temporarily blocking accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from entering a guilty plea in a deal that would spare him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It is the latest development in a long struggle by the U.S. military and successive administrations to bring to justice the man charged with planning one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States. It stalls an attempt to wrap up more than two decades of military prosecution beset by legal and logistical troubles. A three-judge appeals panel agreed to put on hold Mohammed’s guilty plea scheduled for Friday in a military commission courtroom at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In an unusual move, the Biden administration is pushing to throw out a plea agreement that its own Defense Department had negotiated with Mohammed and two 9/11 co-defendants. Mohammed is accused of developing and directing the plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another of the hijacked planes flew into a field in Pennsylvania.<br/>
On 8 January 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FAA announced over $332m in funding for 171 grants across 32 states as part of the Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) programme. This comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocates $25b over five years to enhance airport and air traffic control infrastructure. The AIG funding can be used for various purposes, including airport planning, development, sustainability efforts, terminal expansions, baggage system upgrades, runway safety improvements, and noise mitigation projects. “We are using funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make historic investments in our nation’s airports to address a backlog of needs and accommodate growing air travel demand,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These investments—some already completed and many more still underway—ensure the travelling public will have safer and more accessible and efficient airports for decades to come.” <br/>
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned airlines to steer clear of several cities in Russia following the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet that was likely shot down by Russian forces. EASA advised carriers to avoid five Russian regions in the south and west of the country, including Moscow and St. Petersberg, the two biggest cities. The new safety bulletin is aimed at non-European carriers, as most of those within Europe suspended Russian overflights in 2022. Azerbaijan Airlines halted flights to two cities in southern Russia after a passenger plane to the area was diverted across the Caspian Sea and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing dozens. Azerbaijan’s president has said the plane was accidentally shot down by Russia. Israeli airline El Al has canceled flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow route through March, while FlyDubai in the United Arab Emirates extended suspensions to two Russian cities until late January, according to its website. In 2024, commercial aviation suffered its deadliest year since 2018 after the Azerbaijan Air crash and Jeju Air Co. disaster in South Korea drove up the toll in late December. In the Jeju accident, all but two of the 181 people on board died.<br/>
Turkey is planning to start flights to Syria's Damascus in the coming days, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Thursday. "We are planning a flight from Turkey (to Damascus) in the coming days ... When the connection from Damascus to Istanbul is established, we will have solved a great need. Our efforts continue on this issue," Uraloglu said. In an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV, Uraloglu said the initial flights would be visually guided due to a lack of technology but regular flights connecting Istanbul to Damascus are planned after the radar system is operational at the airport.<br/>
Fresh weather warnings have been issued as the UK continues to be hit by icy weather. Yellow weather warnings for ice have been issued for large parts of the UK on Thursday and Friday as poor weather brings travel disruption and school closures. The majority of Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as large parts of the east of England, are covered from 4pm on Thursday until 10am on Friday. A separate warning covering south and west Wales down to Plymouth from 3am to 11am tomorrow is also in place. The Met Office has warned to expect icy patches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, as well as scattered wintry showers. Manchester Airport closed both its runways on Thursday morning “due to significant levels of snow” but they were later reopened. The airport warned that some flights may be delayed, and advised passengers to check with their airline for the latest information. At least 14 departures and five arrivals scheduled to operate at the airport on Thursday have been cancelled.<br/>
Extra night flights to and from Birmingham Airport have been approved. Councillors in Solihull, where the airport is based, agreed to increase the number of night flights in a vote of seven in favour, two against. This will see an increase from 5% to 7.3% in flights arriving or leaving between 23:30 and 06:00 GMT, thought to average about 21 flights a night. The airport has argued increased night flying is necessary to continue its growth and deliver benefits to the region's economy but some Warwickshire councillors expressed anger at not being consulted and a public consultation saw a 642-strong petition against the plan and 243 objections. Barston parish councillor Jeremy Emmett asked for the application to be rejected adding the health effects of sleep deprivation were well documented. "The roar of aircraft disrupted this (tranquillity) every hour," he said. "Peaceful nights are already a distant memory." David Sandells, a Hampton-in-Arden parish councillor, said: "The World Health Organisation defines eight hours as a typical night time sleep period. The existing night time flight policy already reduces this to six-and-a-half, this is already generous to the airport."<br/>
A Chinese tourist has been apprehended for illegally filming Jeju International Airport on the southern Jeju Island, classified as a top-level national security facility, with a drone, police said Friday. The Jeju Provincial Police Agency said it was investigating the Chinese national, whose identity was withheld, on charges of violating the Aviation Safety Act. The suspect is accused of flying an unauthorized drone about 2 kilometers from the Jeju airport's runway on the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2024, and filming the airport. The police, together with the National Intelligence Service and the airport authorities, are reportedly questioning the Chinese national about suspicions related to terrorism or espionage. Drone flight is banned within a 9.3-kilometer radius of Jeju International Airport for national security purposes. In a separate incident last year, an object suspected to be a drone was spotted over the Jeju airport, leading to the suspension of flights and causing inconvenience to airport users.<br/>
Indian capital Delhi was shrouded in thick fog on Friday, reducing visibility to zero in some areas and disrupting flights at the main airport. India's weather office issued an orange alert for Delhi on Friday, the second highest warning level, predicting dense to very dense fog in many areas which could affect airports, highways and railway routes in the region. Airport authorities said on social media site X that airline departures were impacted by dense fog and warned that flights lacking the CAT III navigation system that enables landing despite low visibility could face difficulties. "Dense fog across the northern belt is impacting flights taking off and landing in Delhi, and some flights may need to be cancelled as the day progresses," India's largest airline IndiGo said in a social media post. Delhi, which has been battling smog and poor air quality since the beginning of winter, ranked second among the world's most polluted capitals in Friday's live rankings by Swiss group IQAir. The region's air quality was rated "severe", with an index score of 408 at 0905 am local time, the country's pollution control body said. Levels from zero to 50 are considered "good".<br/>
Airbus delivered 766 airliners in 2024 and looked certain to maintain leadership of the jetmaking industry for a sixth year as arch-rival Boeing recovers cautiously from a prolonged internal crisis, company data showed on Thursday. The European planemaker fell fractionally short of a headline target of "around 770" jets but was expected to claim victory after leaving itself a margin for error as global supply chains remain hampered by parts and labour shortages. the widely watched deliveries, confirming a provisional tally of 766 jets reported by Reuters, marked a slowdown in Airbus' industrial recovery from the pandemic, with annual growth more than halving to 4% from 11% a year earlier. Although Boeing has yet to report annual data, a cautious ramp-up and regulatory curbs following a mid-air blowout on an Alaska Airlines jet one year ago had already left an unbridgeable gap between Boeing and Airbus deliveries for 2024. Analysts say the two planemakers continue to compete aggressively for new orders, however. Airbus posted 878 gross orders or a net total of 826 after cancellations, down 61% from a record 2023. By end-November, Boeing had 370 net orders after cancellations.<br/>
The Federal Aviation Administration has mandated that airlines inspect Boeing 767s to prevent an issue that could cause the type’s main landing gear to collapse. The move marks the regulator’s response to a problem that Boeing addressed with a bulletin sent to operators in February last year. In a newly finalised airworthiness directive (AD), the FAA says a 767 suffered a main landing gear failure after having undergone maintenance involving improper use of a grinder. “A grinder was used outside of its input parameters, resulting in possible heat damage to the outer cylinder of the [main landing gear],” says the AD, which takes effect on 12 February. It applies to 574 US-registered 767s, including 767-200s, 767-300s and 767-300 Freighters. The AD, which finalises a proposed rule released by the FAA in June last year, says heat damage could leave the gear unable to sustain intended load limits. It requires operators address the risk by completing steps detailed in Boeing’s February operator bulletin.<br/>
Boeing is donating $1m to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, a spokesperson for the U.S. planemaker said on Thursday. Boeing is joining many major U.S. companies including General Motors, Ford, Microsoft and Meta in donating for the Jan. 20 event. The planemaker previously donated $1m to the last three presidential inaugurations, including Trump's first in 2017. American Airlines separately confirmed on Thursday it is also donating $1m. In 2016, Trump extracted a promise from Boeing that the cost of replacing Air Force One would not exceed $4b, and the company has since lost more than $2b on the significantly delayed program to deliver two new presidential aircraft. Boeing also faces continuing tougher oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration, a year after a door panel missing four key bolts flew off a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in mid-air. Trump's nominee to head the Transportation Department, Sean Duffy, told Reuters last month he wanted to make sure "we have safe planes coming out of Boeing." The FAA announced a new audit of Boeing in October. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Duffy on Wednesday.<br/>
A long-running production shortfall by planemakers will underpin supply and demand dynamics that are boosting airline and lessor profits for at least another decade, the head of the world's second-largest aircraft leasing company Avolon said on Friday. Aircraft manufacturers and suppliers have struggled to keep up with a post-pandemic recovery in travel due to rising costs, labour and parts shortages, issues that have been exacerbated by safety woes at Boeing and a strike by its staff last year. Avolon's annual outlook report predicted that airlines' net profit would rise by 16% to over $36b in 2025, driven by low fuel prices, strong revenue and the fact that plane shortages have allowed them to prioritise the most profitable routes. "That production shortfall underpins the supply and demand balance, not just for the next three or four years, but for at least another decade," Avolon CE Andy Cronin told Reuters. Cronin said Avolon's view that the supply and demand balance would be "firmly in our favour" over that time period spurred it to order 200 aircraft in 2023. It added 118 more aircraft last year through the acquisition of smaller rival Castlelake Aviation Limited, bringing its total fleet to 1,129 aircraft. The Dublin-based lessor said Boeing and main rival Airbus will continue to struggle to hit their targets to ramp up production despite increasing their deliveries. Avolon, which is a subsidiary of China's Bohai Leasing Co Ltd, also predicted that orders from Chinese firms will rise sharply to 800 aircraft in 2025, citing growth in travel demand and a need to replace an aging fleet.<br/>
European aerospace companies are bracing for “very strong” protectionism in the United States under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, the head of plane maker Airbus said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters as head of France’s GIFAS aerospace industry association, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury also said supply chains had yet to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Airbus is expected to announce later on Thursday that it made 766 deliveries in 2024, up 4% from the previous year, coupled with a slowdown in orders from record highs in 2023. The industry faces a cocktail of strong aerospace and defense demand, except in the European space sector, combined with supply chain difficulties, geopolitical tensions and growing competition from India and elsewhere, Faury said. Days ahead of Trump’s inauguration, the European industry is preparing for a shift to protectionism that has yet to be defined but is likely to be pronounced, Faury said. Trump has threatened tariffs on foreign goods as part of an economic agenda to “put America first.” Europe’s aerospace sector is benefiting from strong demand for commercial jets and increased defense spending, while facing overcapacity and thousands of job cuts in satellites. Faury said European defense companies face what he described as unjustifiable shortages of financing from the banking sector, given the war in Ukraine. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the sector has said defense should represent a greater percentage of portfolios, while sustainable investors in Europe have remained opposed.<br/>