Several flights were diverted to an airport in the city of Waco in central Texas after being buffeted by turbulence stemming from a nearby storm system late Sunday. Houston-bound SkyWest flight 5690, operating as a United Express flight, was forced to land at Waco Regional Airport after experiencing turbulence on its way from Springfield, Missouri, SkyWest Airlines said in a statement to CNN. Five passengers were transported to the hospital, SkyWest said, though the airline did not provide any more information on their conditions. The flight was carrying 28 passengers and three crew, CNN affiliate KYTV reported, citing emergency officials. It landed safely and medical personnel met and evaluated passengers, SkyWest said. The two other flights diverted to Waco Regional Airport were American Airlines aircraft bound for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. “Due to storms at DFW, two flights briefly diverted to Waco and later re-departed,” an American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to CNN, without giving further details. The inclement weather was brought on by a weak storm system moving across parts of northern Texas through the day Sunday. The storm is one of two set to move across the region this week, with the second storm to impact the South on Monday and ramp up in intensity as it moves to the Lower Mississippi River Valley on Tuesday.<br/>
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The U.S. objected to a recommendation on "sustainable" aviation fuels made at a meeting held by the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization, the State Department said on Monday. The ICAO's multinational Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection made the recommendation that Washington says "would unfairly penalize U.S. farmers and significantly benefit Brazil over the rest of the world."<br/>
Democratic Senator Ed Markey on Monday urged lawmakers to call SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and the acting head of the FAA to testify about air traffic control IT systems. Musk, a senior adviser to President Donald Trumpand the owner of satellite company Starlink, has sharply criticized the current FAA telecom system amid reports that Starlink could interfere or take over a $2.4b telecommunications FAA contract with rival Verizon. "The Commerce Committee has a responsibility to immediately hold a public hearing to investigate Musk’s claims on behalf of the American public," Markey said. A spokesperson for Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, the FAA and the White House did not immediately comment. Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, supports Markey's request for a hearing, a spokesperson said. Democratic Representative Sharice Davids said Monday that "Elon Musk’s reported interference in a competitively awarded FAA contract is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about conflicts of interest." 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. The FAA said it has not made any decision on the contract but sources told Reuters last week the FAA is reviewing the document. Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Tammy Duckworth on Friday both raised questions about the FAA potentially awarding billions of dollars to private companies controlled by Musk while he serves as a government employee. Musk on Thursday admitted he falsely accused Verizon of putting U.S. air safety at risk through a communications system that is actually operated by L3Harris.<br/>
The FAA is investigating why several flight crews on Saturday received faulty alerts of potentially nearby aircraft on arrival at Washington's Reagan National Airport. The FAA said Monday that some of the crews executed go-arounds as a result of the alerts that aim to prevent collisions and is investigating why the alerts occurred. A go-around is when a plane aborts a landing as it nears the airport. There has been intense focus on traffic at the airport after a January 29 fatal collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet near the airport that killed 67 people. Reagan National has the single busiest runway in the United States. Airplanes use alerts to warn of potential collisions, with pilots using various Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System alerts. The system functions independently of ground-based air traffic control. In October, the FAA said it was opening an audit into runway incursion risks at the 45 busiest U.S. airports. The FAA has taken a series of steps since the fatal incident including limiting helicopter traffic around the airport, barring airplanes from taking off when a presidential helicopter is present and slowing the rate of arrivals. Over the last two years, a series of troubling near-miss incidents has raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control operations.<br/>
A group representing U.S. airlines plans to urge federal aviation officials to permanently reduce helicopter traffic around Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., following a January collision by an Army Black Hawk into an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people. Airlines for America, in written testimony prepared for a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday, calls on the Federal Aviation Administration to permanently suspend some helicopter routes near the airport with limited exceptions for essential military or medical emergencies. The testimony, seen by Reuters, also calls for military aircraft to be required to use a key safety system known as ADS-B near large airports in which aircraft determine and broadcast their position using satellite navigation to avoid collisions. Airlines for America represents American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and other airlines. The FAA has temporarily barred most helicopters near the airport - located in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from the U.S. capital - since the crash pending a preliminary report due out this month from the National Transportation Safety Board. The Black Hawk, carrying a crew of three, collided with the airliner, carrying 64 passengers and crew members, on the night of January 29, with the wreckage plunging into the river. There were no survivors.<br/>
A power outage at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport caused significant flight delays and other interruptions to air travel Monday morning. Airport officials said the outage was impacting areas of the main terminal and an adjacent parking garage. Power was fully restored around noon, officials said in a social media post. More than 150 flights were delayed and dozens more were canceled earlier in the day, according to a flight tracking website. The outage was reported around 7:40 a.m. and caused by a downed power line near the airport, said Stephanie Weaver, a spokesperson for Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. She said crews were on the scene working to restore power. Airport officials advised passengers to check with their airlines about flight status. They also said some inbound flights were being diverted. In a social media post shortly before 10 a.m., officials said power was slowly being restored throughout the main terminal. They said some airlines were using air stairs to deplane passengers. Officials announced around noon that power was fully restored, but they told passengers to expect long lines at ticket counters, checkpoints and concessions.<br/>
A couple was detained at Miami International Airport on Sunday after trying to force their way onto their flight to Mexico. After being late to their flight, the couple attacked a staff member, officials from the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office said. The couple has been named as Rafael Seirafe-Novaes and Beatriz Rapoport De Campos Maia. Seirafe-Novaes has been charged with resisting an officer without violence as well as trespassing. Meanwhile, Maia was charged with two counts of battery and trespassing. According to the sheriff's office, during the altercation with staff, one of the suspects threw coffee in the face of one of the employees. Footage from the incident shows a number of police vehicles on the tarmac next to American Flight 2494 shortly before the plane was due to take off. Roughly six deputies responded to the incident, NBC 6 South Florida reported. An airport spokesperson confirmed to the local TV station that the person involved in the coffee incident was an American Airlines employee. Maia and Seirafe-Novaes had missed their flight to Cancun when they tried to force their way onto the plane, according to CBS News Miami. “Acts of violence are not tolerated by American Airlines and we are committed to working closely with law enforcement in their investigation,” the airline told the network.<br/>
Passenger rights advocates are raising alarm bells about a proposed change that would give the country’s transport watchdog new powers to penalize air travellers for breaching confidentiality rules. In an online post last month, the Canadian Transportation Agency put forward an amendment that would allow it to fine airline customers who break confidentiality on complaints they file with the regulator. Under the current complaint resolution process, customers and airlines are barred from publicly disclosing the outcome of complaints on matters ranging from accessible travel to refunds and compensation for a cancelled flight — unless both parties agree to waive confidentiality. Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group, said the would-be regulatory change adds teeth to an existing “gag order” and discourages passengers from spreading the word on what their fellow travellers could be owed. “Even if the fine was under $50, the very idea that people could be fined for exercising their freedom of expression is appalling,” he said. “What is truly exceptional is that an agency would attempt to regulate anybody who is outside the transportation sector.” The CTA said the rule would merely add standard enforcement powers to a confidentiality provision that was legislated by Parliament. It also said the move does not mean the regulator plans to flex its authority in this area, or that many complainants are discussing their case in breach of the law.<br/>
A new report from Alton Aviation Consultancy suggests that China’s airline sector is facing longer recovery than expected, due to “domestic economic challenges” like weak consumer demand. The report, which covers the aviation outlook for 2025, notes that while China and India are Asia-Pacific’s “twin engines of growth”, it is “unlikely” for China to fully recover in 2025. China’s attempts at wooing inbound travellers by waiving visa requirements “has not yet fully realised its intended impact”, the Alton report adds. While China’s domestic traffic has already surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels, its international recovery has been tepid at best. Alton estimates recovery – as at end-2024 – to only be at around 70% that of 2019 levels. On the other hand, India has seen demand for international and domestic traffic surpass pre-pandemic levels. “A growing middle class and increasing affordability of air travel, fuelled by increasing low-cost carrier penetration, are key drivers of this optimistic outlook,” the consultancy adds. The merger between Air India and Vistara, which wrapped up in November 2024, will “bring more stability” to the Indian airline sector, though the Alton report warns of an “intensifying” competitive landscape between the newly-enlarged Air India and low-cost rival IndiGo, as they “make forays into each other’s core markets”. In its outlook for the global aviation market, Alton flags supply chain woes and labour issues as “prime” challenges in 2025, even as the sector “continues its post-pandemic recovery march”. <br/>