The FAA said Wednesday that upgrading the aging U.S. air traffic control system will require multiple technologies and companies as it tests Starlink systems at several agency sites. "That is why we are testing multiple communication technologies, including satellites, fiber and wireless to ensure the safety of the national airspace system. Beyond that, no decisions for other deployments have been made," the FAA said. Some Democrats have suggested the FAA could cancel a $2.4b FAA contract with Verizon and give it to Trump adviser Elon Musk's Starlink unit. Musk has criticized the current FAA telecom system. The FAA reiterated on Wednesday it has not made any decision on the contract but sources told Reuters last week the FAA is reviewing the document. Lawmakers criticized the antiquated air traffic system at a House hearing Tuesday. The Government Accountability Office says the FAA must take urgent action to address aging air traffic control systems, saying that one third are unsustainable. Last week, the FAA said it was testing three Starlink terminals at a government facility in Alaska to restore stable access to weather information for pilots and the FAA’s flight services stations. The FAA also said Wednesday it is testing Starlink and multiple other technologies including wireless at FAA facilities in Oklahoma City and Atlantic City. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox Tuesday that Starlink is "part of the solution" but not the entire answer. "There's some terminals, like up in Alaska, where it's hard to access fiber wires. There's some facilities that Starlink can be helpful," Duffy said, adding "we want to make sure we have fiber connected systems in place so (Starlink) can play some part of it, but not all of it."<br/>
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Elon Musk's satellite company SpaceX said Wednesday its Starlink unit has no intent to take over any Federal Communications Commission telecommunications contract, rejecting media reports. "Starlink is a possible partial fix to an aging system. There is no effort or intent for Starlink to 'take over' any existing contract," SpaceX wrote on X. "SpaceX is working with L3Harris and the FAA to identify instances where Starlink could serve as a long-term infrastructure upgrade for aviation safety."<br/>
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to vote next month to explore alternatives to GPS after national security concerns have been raised about relying on a single system crucial to modern life. GPS, short for global positioning system, is a network of satellites and receiving devices used for positioning, navigation and timing on Earth in everything from ships and planes to cars. "Continuing to rely so heavily on one system leaves us exposed," FCC Chair Brendan Carr said. "We need to develop redundant technologies." There have been reports of a rise in GPS interference around the world, particularly since 2023, known as spoofing raising fears of an increased risk of accidents if planes veer off-course. "Disruptions to GPS have the potential to undermine the nation’s economic and national security. And the risks to our current system are only increasing," Carr said, noting President Donald Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have called for action for years. The FCC will vote on March 27 an inquiry to explore other Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems that can be complements or alternatives to GPS. "We hope this effort will engage stakeholders across government and industry to encourage the development of new PNT technologies and solutions," Carr said. GPS is one of the more important navigation tools in aviation, which has replaced expensive ground devices that would transmit radio beams to guide planes towards landing but is fairly easy because GPS relies on signals broadcast from satellites in medium Earth orbit and are vulnerable to disruptions.<br/>
An airport in southwestern Haiti is ready to receive international flights for the first time, officials said Wednesday, adding a safer option for commercial airlines that have halted all flights to the main airport in Port-au-Prince, where gang violence persists. The Antoine Simon Airport in the coastal city of Les Cayes, named after a Haitian president who led a rebellion in the early 1900s, operated for almost two decades before renovations began in 2013 to extend its runway. It is now Haiti’s third international airport, a development that is expected to boost the local economy and provide a new way for some nonprofits to distribute sorely needed aid. “It’s really exciting,” said Wynn Walent, executive director of the Colorado-based nonprofit Locally Haiti, which operates in Haiti’s southwest. “For understandable reasons, folks are focused on the challenges in Port-au-Prince, but there is so much that can be done in the south. This could be a big step in that direction.” Hugh Aprile, Mercy Corps’ regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, celebrated the new runway, saying it’s possible more organizations will base their teams in Les Cayes instead of Port-au-Prince. “Much of the needs are in the southern peninsula,” he said. “For us, this will be helpful.” Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti's transitional presidential council, traveled to Les Cayes to unveil the renovated airport Wednesday, saying it would help develop sectors including tourism.<br/>
Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie. Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40% in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months. Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend."We're making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values," said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic. Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10% to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season. WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean. The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24% year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12%, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights. Canadians’ sudden aversion to their southern neighbour marks a backlash to the crippling tariffs against Canadian goods — dangled as a threat since Trump's first day in office, and put into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday — said Martin Firestone, president of Toronto-based insurance firm Travel Secure Inc. He stressed the sense of betrayal by a country Canada considered its closest ally.<br/>
Several Australian airports on the southeastern coast have closed their terminals while airlines have cancelled flights as a Category 2 cyclone continues to barrel towards the country. The “extremely rare” Tropical Cyclone Alfred is causing severe travel disruption in the country as it draws near to the southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales coast. The area covered by the Cyclone Alfred warning zone stretches approximately 450-500 km along the east coast of Australia, from Double Island Point in Queensland to Ballina in New South Wales. Alfred is forecast to make landfall early Friday between Maroochydore and Coolangatta as a Category 2 cyclone. All flights from Byron Bay’s Ballina airport have been cancelled, and Gold Coast Airport, 55 miles up the coast from Ballina, also closed its terminal at 4pm on Wednesday in response to the cyclone. “The safety of our team, customers and airport is our number one priority,” the airport said. Damaging winds of 120kmph are already hitting Coolangatta and Ballina while gusts up to 155kmph could hit coastal areas as far south as Cape Byron from Thursday afternoon. In a statement on its website, Ballina Byron Gateway Airport said that due to high winds, all flights to and from the airport have been cancelled on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 March.<br/>
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told employees on Wednesday the company needs a more open culture where employees are encouraged to speak up and communicate across divisions, according to a partial transcript of a company-wide meeting seen by Reuters. "We're very insular" and "we don't communicate across boundaries," he said during the all-hands meeting webcast from St. Louis, Missouri, the headquarters of its defense and space division. Teams within the sprawling company, which also includes commercial airplanes and global services divisions, "don't work with each other as well as we could," he said. "And the power of the Boeing Company is in us all kind of rowing the boat together." Ortberg said a cultural change would boost morale for the company, which has more than 160,000 employees globally, and "the results will show in the marketplace." Boeing declined to comment on his remarks. The company lost nearly $12b in 2024, and it has struggled to stabilize production of its best-selling 737 MAX, its 787 and several fixed-price defense programs, including two replacements for the U.S. presidential jet, Air Force One. Previously, Ortberg, who came on as CEO in August, has said the company has lost its "iconic" status and that resolving its safety and quality problems requires changing Boeing's culture. Ortberg said on Wednesday his diagnosis of Boeing's issues was informed in part by a culture working group composed of employees from across the company that was looking at its values and "probably more importantly" the company's behaviors. He said he planned to put together an action plan based in part on an employee survey conducted in February that received responses from 82% of staff. Of the results, he said: "I think they're going to be brutal to leadership, quite frankly."<br/>