More than 220m people across the United States are facing dangerous cold that will also open the door for a potentially historic and crippling winter storm that could deliver snow as far south as Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. The storm, in combination with frigid air, will bring snowfall, freezing rain, icy roads and other major travel disruptions from late Monday into Wednesday morning in Southern cities from Texas to South Carolina where harsh winter weather is rare. The governors of Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi have declared states of emergency, while Texas authorities have directed state agencies to mobilize resources due to the threat of snow. Houston’s major airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport will be closed Tuesday. “I’ve been convinced that we are about to experience a very serious and dangerous weather episode,” John Whitmire, the mayor of Houston, said at a Sunday news conference. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, is pretreating roadways and airfield surfaces in preparation for the winter weather, according to spokesperson Andrew Gobeil. “The Emergency Operations Center will activate at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning and will remain operational throughout the event,” Gobeil said Monday. “Passengers are urged to arrive in the airport at least two and a half hours prior to domestic departure times unless otherwise directed by their airlines.”<br/>
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The head of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration was forced out of office on Monday and will be replaced by President Donald Trump's new administration. TSA Administrator David Pekoske, who oversaw a workforce of 60,000 employees providing security at U.S. airports and other transportation hubs, left office on Monday. He said in a memo confirmed by Reuters and first reported by CNN that he was advised by Trump's transition team "that my time as your administrator will end at noon ET today." Pekoske, a former vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security official, was first appointed to a five-year term by Trump in 2017 and reconfirmed for a second term in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden. Some Republicans have raised concerns about reports that the TSA briefly placed former lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard on a flight watch list known as "Quiet Skies." Gabbard has been nominated by Trump to serve as director of National Intelligence.<br/>
The US TSA revealed that it had intercepted a total of 6,678 firearms at airport security checkpoints last year – with almost all of them being loaded at the time of discovery. This statistic was released by TSA on Wednesday, with the agency reporting that staff had prevented the firearms from getting into secure areas of the airport and onboard aircraft. The total is only a slight decrease from the number intercepted in 2023, which stood at 6,737 firearms discovered at airport security checkpoints. In 2022, this number was at 6,542. Approximately 94% of the firearms found throughout 2024 were loaded. TSA said it screened more than 904m people last year, meaning that the agency intercepted 7.4 firearms per million people. While the number has decreased from 2023, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said that “one firearm at a checkpoint is too many”. “Firearms present a safety risk for our employees and everyone else at the checkpoint. It’s also costly and slows down operations. “If individuals who carry a firearm intend to travel, we remind them that the firearm must be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case, declared to the airline at the check-in counter and transported in checked baggage,” he added.<br/>
Ministers are preparing to give the go-ahead to a major expansion of Gatwick, the UK’s second-largest airport, as part of a broader push to nurture economic growth. The government is also keen to approve an expansion of Luton airport if concerns about noise pollution from passenger jets flying over rural areas can be addressed. And chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to reaffirm her support for Heathrow, the UK’s largest airport, to build a contentious third runway in a speech about economic growth later this month, according to officials. But such a project could be a long way off being realised. Ministers are planning to unveil more proposals to aid growth. The UK economy expanded by 0.1% in November, following 0.1% contractions in both October and September, according to official data. Investor fears about stagflation — when sluggish growth combines with persistent price pressures — contributed to a sharp rise in UK government borrowing costs at the start of the year, although gilt yields fell last week amid expectations of more interest rate cuts. The expansion of Britain’s airports has long been a controversial issue, given jets contribute to noise and air pollution, as well as climate change, but two government decisions are expected soon. <br/>
French President Emmanuel Macron is proposing to name Philippe Pascal as the new chairman and CE of French airports company ADP, the presidency said in a statement. If the appointment is confirmed, Pascal - currently ADP deputy CEO in charge of finances, strategy and administration - will replace Augustin de Romanet, who held the position since 2012. The French state owns a 50.6% stake in ADP.<br/>
Pakistan’s largest airport, funded and built in the country’s restive southwest by Beijin g, has become operational, officials said Monday. Gwadar airport is in the province of Balochistan, which has for decades been the scene of an insurgency by separatists demanding autonomy or outright independence. Pakistani Defense Minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, and Chinese officials were among those attending a ceremony at Gwadar airport and watched the arrival of the Pakistan International Airlines inaugural flight from the southern city of Karachi. The ceremony came months after Chinese Premier Li Qiang and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif virtually inaugurated the airport, which has a capacity of handling 400,000 travelers annually. Beijing has invested heavily in the coastal city of Gwadar. Besides the airport, which has an estimated cost of $230m, China has also constructed a deep seaport as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative to increase trade by building infrastructure around the world. This aims to also give Beijing direct access to the shipping lanes of the Arabian Sea through Pakistan via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.<br/>
Chinese planemaker COMAC plans to raise production capacity for its homegrown C919 single-aisle planes to 50 this year, a COMAC executive told a media outlet supported by the Shanghai government. COMAC Deputy General Manager Shen Bo also said the Shanghai-based state-owned firm aims to manufacture 30 C919 aircraft this year, in an interview with The Paper published on Saturday. COMAC is seeking to compete internationally with leading Western planemakers Airbus and Boeing, which produce dozens of their single-aisle A320neo family and 737 MAX jets per month. Scaling up production and obtaining certification from foreign aviation regulators are key to the Chinese planemaker's growth strategy. The C919 entered commercial service in 2023 and around 16 of the planes are currently in operation with Chinese airlines, flying within the mainland and since this month to Hong Kong. Aviation consultancy Cirium said it expects another 27 C919 jets to be delivered this year. China's three leading state-owned airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines, are expected to operate a fleet of at least 100 C919s each by 2031, according to their announced orders. In 2023, a COMAC official said the company had a target of achieving an annual production capacity of 150 C919 aircraft within the following five years.<br/>
China's drive to break into foreign aviation markets with its homegrown COMAC jets has intensified, with a push to persuade Vietnam to authorise its planes in the country, according to two people with knowledge of the talks and documents. COMAC's actions in Vietnam demonstrate how the state-owned firm has in the past year embarked on a more deliberate marketing approach to regulators and airlines as it seeks to compete internationally with leading Western planemakers Airbus and Boeing. After months of talks, Vietnam's top private airline VietJet was supposed to start on Jan. 15 the short-term lease for a domestic route of two C909 regional jets operated by crew from China's Chengdu Airlines, according to documents seen by Reuters that provide insight into its strategy. But Vietnam's aviation regulator has yet to authorise the deal, cautious about greenlighting a plane currently certified only by China and Indonesia, the two people and a third person said. The lease had been reported by Vietnamese media, however the approval delay, VietJet's longer-term strategy for COMAC jets and the planemaker's efforts to win regulatory approval, including offering favourable financial terms and training, have not been previously reported.<br/>