The Trump administration this week fired employees who were building a system to manage satellite traffic in space, weakening a badly needed effort championed by the U.S. space industry and the president's first administration, according to people familiar with the move. Roughly a third of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 25-person Office of Space Commerce, a little-known body relied heavily upon by the space industry, were given a few hours' notice of their termination on Thursday by acting NOAA chief Nancy Hann and were forced out of the office by the end of the day, two of the sources said. Their termination, the sources said, threatens to undermine efforts to complete what is essentially an air traffic coordination system for space, currently operating in a trial phase as growing global demand for crucial satellite services sharply increases the number of spacecraft in Earth's orbit. A NOAA spokesperson declined to comment on personnel matters. The layoffs were among hundreds of employees fired Thursday at NOAA, which also provides the U.S. government's weather forecasts and hurricane warnings. The chief of the Traffic Coordination System for Space, Dmitry Poisik, was among the employees fired, according to one of the sources. He could not be reached for comment. Cutting staff from the space traffic program, which currently alerts satellite operators of potential collisions with debris or other spacecraft, complicates a years-long effort to migrate those alerting duties out of the Pentagon and could cause confusion among early users of the system, two of the sources said. Donald Trump, as president in 2018, released a space policy directive calling on the Office of Space Commerce to create its own traffic management system, acknowledging an increasingly congested orbital environment.<br/>
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A growing number of U.S. lawmakers are raising questions about the potential for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to interfere or take over a $2.4b FAA telecommunications contract with rival Verizon. Musk, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump who owns satellite company Starlink, has sharply criticized the current FAA telecom system. "Elon Musk’s tweets suggest he’s trying to interfere in the Air Traffic Control system – including trying to cancel FAA's $2.4b competitively awarded telecommunications upgrade contract in favor of a sole source installation of his Starlink services – and sure seem to raise serious red flags," Senator Maria Cantwell said late Friday. The FAA in 2023 awarded Verizon a contract worth up to $2.4b over 15 years to design, build and operate the FAA’s new next-generation communications platform. On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that the FAA was close to canceling the $2.4b 15-year contract awarded to Verizon to overhaul a communications system and awarding the work to Musk's Starlink. The FAA said it has not made any decision on the contract but sources told Reuters the FAA is reviewing the contract. SpaceX and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<br/>
If you’re currently in the process of having an airline complaint resolved by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), you’d best keep the final result to yourself. Proposed changes to the Canada Transportation Act would make sharing it publicly a violation punishable by a fine. Last year, the Canadian Transportation Act was amended such that when an order is handed down from a CTA air travel complaints resolution officer, the agency requires the carrier to make public certain details — the flight number, departure date, the nature of the delay (if applicable) and whether it provided “compensation or a refund” as dictated by their contract terms. But if asked by the complainant or carrier, the CTA can “decide to keep confidential any part of an order” other than the details listed above. Anything else about how the matter was settled, unless agreed upon by both parties, can’t be disclosed. “Applicants can discuss publicly the details of their travel journey/experience. What is confidential is the Complaint Resolution Process,” agency spokesman Jadrino Huot told the National Post via email. Last year’s update was decried at the time by Gabor Lukacs, founder and president of the Air Passenger Rights’ group and its Facebook page, who called it “unconstitutional” and felt that passengers should be permitted to share the rulings as it could inform other people in similar situations. He likened it to Canadian small claims court decisions, available for all to read online, being kept confidential. “Once mediation turns into binding decision-making, that cannot be kept confidential unless there are some very, very important issues like protecting victims in sexual assault cases,” he argued.<br/>
Hong Kong aviation authorities have launched an investigation after a collision alert was triggered when two cargo planes took off at the same time from the airport and have removed the air traffic control staff involved from frontline duty. The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said on Friday the staff might have failed to follow take-off protocols. "The CAD is highly concerned about the incident and has immediately initiated an investigation and follow-up actions according to procedures," a spokesman said. "Preliminary information indicates that the incident may involve non-compliance by ATC [air traffic control] personnel with established procedures for arranging aircraft for take-off. The relevant ATC personnel have been temporarily removed from frontline ATC duties." Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Friday her bureau paid great attention to aviation safety.<br/>
Hong Kong police have arrested three men from mainland China for allegedly stealing more than HK$8,000 (US$1,029) in cash from a passenger’s backpack on an inbound flight from Bangkok. The force said on Monday that it received a report from a passenger who discovered that the money in his backpack, which he had stored in the overhead compartment during the flight, had gone missing. After preliminary investigations, officers arrested three mainland men, aged between 29 and 37, on suspicion of stealing foreign currency amounting to about HK$8,400 from the victim. The trio were still in custody for investigation and the case was being handled by airport police. The force said it would continue to carry out publicity and education work, and cooperate with relevant stakeholders, including the Airport Authority and airlines, to prevent and combat cabin theft. It would also strengthen intelligence exchanges with airlines to identify higher-risk routes, and remind airlines to pay attention to such routes through regular crime prevention lectures to raise awareness among crew members. Hong Kong recorded 169 cases of in-flight thefts involving HK$4.32m worth of valuables in the first 10 months of 2024. The figure exceeded the annual number of reports in each of the tourism boom years of 2018 and 2019, which recorded 103 and 147 such cases, respectively.<br/>
South Korea tightened rules on carrying lithium batteries on planes from Saturday, highlighting a growing risk to flights worldwide from the batteries used in cellphones and e-cigarettes which can malfunction to produce smoke, fire or extreme heat. Last year three incidents a fortnight of overheating lithium batteries on planes were recorded globally by the U.S. FAA, compared to just under one a week in 2018. Aviation has long recognised the increasingly used batteries as a safety concern, and rules are periodically tightened in response to accidents. From Saturday, passengers on South Korean airlines should keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin bins. Devices should not be charged on board, and battery quantity and strength limits will be enforced. Passengers will be permitted to carry up to five 100-watt-hour portable batteries, while batteries over 160-watt-hours won't be allowed on board. The batteries will also need to be stored in clear plastic bags, according to the transport ministry. South Korean travellers flying out of Incheon International Airport, the country's largest airport, told Reuters on Saturday that they were "relieved" by the new rules. "I feel safe since we have new guidelines that can protect us. I was also advised to carry (these batteries) with me when I'm on board, that makes me feel relieved that we can find out immediately when something happens," said 37-year-old Kim Jae-woung. Korean authorities said the measures were in response to public anxiety about fires after an Air Busan plane was consumed in flames in January while waiting to take off.<br/>
In 2023, the aviation industry had just achieved a historic milestone: its safest year on record. But by the end of the following year, disaster struck. On Christmas Day 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was downed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Several days later, on December 29, came the Jeju Air crash in South Korea, which claimed 179 lives. While air travel is still statistically the safest mode of transport, the International Air Transport Association's latest annual safety report saw the global fatality risk double from 0.03 in 2023 to 0.06 in 2024. Global aviation fatalities more than tripled, rising from 72 in 2023 to 244 in 2024, marking the deadliest year in six years. This number does not include accidents in conflict zones, such as the Azerbaijan Airlines crash. "Even with recent high profile aviation accidents, it is important to remember that accidents are extremely rare," said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). But with the Asia-Pacific region set to dominate the future of global air travel, experts say the industry will have to overcome challenges like staff shortages and congested airports to ensure strict safety standards are upheld. Powerhouse markets such as China, India and Vietnam were fuelling a post-pandemic travel boom, especially among the Asia-Pacific's rising middle class, said the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director-general Subhas Menon. "Unlike in other regions, people here need to fly for business, to visit family, and for economic opportunities more regularly," said Menon, who worked at Singapore Airlines for more than 30 years. "Asia-Pacific aviation has been growing strongly for a very long time, but it got a major boost when China opened up," he said. "Today, China is the second-largest aviation market in the world after the US." By the end of 2024, passenger demand in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 26% year-on-year, according to IATA, but remained 8.7% below 2019 levels, indicating that full recovery had yet to be achieved. Qantas and Air New Zealand last month rejoined AAPA, ending a long period without South Pacific airline representation in the organisation. Story has more.<br/>
A FedEx cargo plan made an emergency landing at a busy New Jersey airport on Saturday after a bird strike caused an engine fire that could be seen in the morning sky. The plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport during the emergency, said Lenis Valens, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There were no reported injuries, and fire on the cargo plane was contained to the engine, Valens said. Audio recorded by LiveATC captured a person calmly saying the aircraft needed to “shut down for a possible bird strike” immediately. “We need to return to the airport.” Moments later, another person is heard saying: “We believe we saw their engine fall off the right wing.” The audio indicates the strike happened when the plane was several hundred feet off the ground. The emergency landing caused air traffic to be briefly halted as a precaution, and operations resumed shortly after, Valens said. The emergency landing happened just after 8 a.m. Three people were on board, and all got off the plane safely, Valens said.<br/>
Spirit AeroSystems reported a $577m fourth-quarter operating loss on Friday, swinging from $215m in operating income a year earlier, which was helped by a funding agreement with key customer Boeing. The major supplier to the U.S. planemaker reported $2.1b in net losses for 2024, and it "will need to obtain additional funding to sustain operations, as we expect to continue generating operating losses for the foreseeable future," the company said in its earnings announcement on Friday. Its two key customers -- Boeing and European rival Airbus -- already agreed in the fourth quarter to provide cash infusions: $350m in advance payments from Boeing and up to $107m in non-interest bearing credit from Airbus. In November, Spirit warned that there was "substantial doubt" it would be able to continue as a going concern. Boeing is in the process of acquiring its Wichita-based former subsidiary in a deal expected to close by mid-year, said President and CEO Pat Shanahan in a statement. Spirit Aero reported free cash flow, a metric closely watched by investors, of $91m during the quarter compared with $42m a year earlier. Revenue declined 9% to $1.65b during the quarter. Spirit, which produces aerostructure parts for both Boeing and Airbus, said its deliveries were up on models for both planemakers during the quarter. “Deliveries were up twofold on the 737, 37% on the A220 and 15% on the A350 compared to the prior quarter,” said CFO Irene Esteves in a statement. “We believe this progress demonstrates that, with the right customer support, we are able to meet current demands while also investing for future production rate increases.”<br/>
Heated or cooled seats. Ultra-high-definition TV screens. Benches. Convertible beds. All-aisle access. And of course, the coveted privacy door. Ever-more luxurious first- and business-class cabins that have hundreds of parts and require regulator approval are the latest hold-up as new airplanes arrive late to customers, according to the heads of the world’s biggest airplane manufacturers. Boeing has 787 Dreamliners, a twin-aisle jetliner used on some of the world’s longest flights, on the ground at its South Carolina factory “that are held up for delivery for the seats, which obviously go in pretty late in the assembly process,” CEO Kelly Ortberg said at a Barclays industry conference on Feb. 20. Part of the problem is airlines’ rush to win over high-paying customers by offering comforts and more of the scarce space on board — even if a few extra inches. “It’s getting the seats certified, and it’s not actually the butt part of the seat,” Ortberg continued. “It’s the cabinet and the doors ... for first class and business class. These are pretty complex systems, and getting those certified has taken both the seat suppliers and us longer than anticipated.” Similar issues are hitting Boeing’s main rival Airbus, the CEO of the European manufacturer, Guillaume Faury, said on an earnings call the same day. “We have delays in seats” as well as cabin “monuments” like galleys and closets that are “delaying the time at which we can deliver a plane fully completed,” Faury said. Together the companies account for the vast majority of the commercial airplane market. Story has more.<br/>
Tui, Europe’s largest travel operator, has outlined plans to sell more seats on other airlines’ aircraft, betting on a “low risk” model to generate growth amid fears of a dent in consumer confidence. Tui has traditionally sold flights on its own planes or bought seats in bulk from other airlines to sell on to consumers through its package holidays. But the German group told the Financial Times it would expand so-called “dynamic packaging deals”, having made partnerships with airlines including Ryanair and easyJet in the UK. The arrangements allow consumers to choose from a range of providers’ flights and hotels when booking trips. CE Sebastian Ebel said he was keen to agree such arrangements with more airlines. He hoped to roll out the approach — similar to those of online travel agents such as Booking.com and Expedia — in the Nordic countries, Spain and the Americas. Tui’s cautious approach comes as it navigates uncertainty in the travel sector, amid more unstable travel demand. “The reason why we have been more conservative on the capacity was because we anticipated that there was maybe more risk capacity growth than the market growth,” Ebel said. There was a “good opportunity” to grow with a low-risk model, he said, pointing out the high costs of growing via its traditional routes. “If we put another aircraft . . . it’s a E30mn, E50mn investment,” he said. While few major airlines have reported a dent in demand for travel, there are some signs that customers have become more price-conscious. In a recent European travel survey by AlixPartners, 67% of consumers said they intended to spend the same amount or more on travel in 2025 than they did in 2024. But almost half of respondents claimed to have less money to spend this year.<br/>