Nearly half of the homes and businesses in Puerto Rico that receive electricity from the commonwealth's main utility were still without power on Thursday, a day after a widespread blackout struck the island, Luma Energy said in a statement. Hospitals, airports and prisons were among the structures still out. Puerto Rico's electrical system has continued to falter since two powerful hurricanes devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, decimating the grid and killing nearly 3,000 people, according to official estimates. On New Year's Eve last year an underground power line was the most recent failure that led to island-wide blackouts. As of 6 p.m. EST on Thursday, 844,973 Luma customers, or 57.6% of its total, had power restored. "We continue on track with our initial projection of restoring service to at least 90% of customers in the next 48 hours, conditions permitting and generation is available," the company said in a statement.<br/>
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Gatwick has retained its position as the UK's worst airport for flight delays, as it continues to suffer from air traffic control (ATC) disruption, data shows. Departures from the West Sussex airport were an average of more than 23 minutes behind schedule in 2024, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data. This is an improvement from nearly 27 minutes during the previous 12 months but is still longer than at any other UK airport. A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said: "Air traffic control restrictions in other parts of Europe have continued to impact the airport. Together with our airlines, we've put in place a robust plan... to improve on-time performance further in 2025." Gatwick, which is the UK's second busiest airport, was badly affected by ATC staff shortages across continental Europe in 2024, and suffered the same problem in its own control tower. Flights from Birmingham Airport had the second poorest punctuality record last year, with an average delay of more than 21 minutes. In third place was Manchester Airport, with 20 minutes. Belfast City Airport recorded the best punctuality performance in the UK for the second year in a row, with an average delay per flight of under 12 minutes. Depending on the distance of the route and length of delay, passengers booked on flights from UK airports which are running behind schedule may be entitled to compensation.<br/>
Dense fog across parts of Türkiye has led to the cancellation and delay of several flights at major regional airports, Azernews reports. At Trabzon Airport, multiple flights bound for Ankara and Istanbul were canceled due to low visibility. Similar disruptions were observed at Ordu-Giresun Airport, where both delays and cancellations were reported, including a flight arriving from Istanbul. Additionally, Rize-Artvin Airport experienced flight disruptions, with two flights from Ankara and Istanbul being canceled. Authorities have stated that affected flights will be rescheduled once weather conditions improve and visibility returns to safe levels.<br/>
Moscow is lobbying for the U.S. to open its skies to Russian airlines as part of a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. But there's a big problem with that scheme — the EU isn't keen, and without Europe on board it won't be easy for Russian carriers to fly to the United States. “First, EU sanctions stand firm against Russia, which includes a ban on Russian airlines flying over EU airspace,” said a European Commission official speaking on condition of anonymity. Beyond the political decisions on sanctions, the EU official also pointed to “major safety and security issues” related to the possible reopening of EU airspace to Russian jets, as “it is not known if Russian air operators and air traffic services have been properly maintained over the past three years, putting the airworthiness of the Russian fleet seriously in question.” Since Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian airlines have been banned from landing in and flying over the territory of the EU and the U.S., as well as from accessing spare parts for aircraft from Western manufacturers such as Boeing or Airbus. The Kremlin retaliated by blocking Western airlines from its airspace.<br/>
A Boeing jet earmarked for China was returning to the United States on Friday, flight tracking data showed, as the planemaker’s flagship delivery plant outside Shanghai was drawn into a deepening tariff war between Beijing and Washington. The return of one of several jets waiting for final work and handover to a Chinese carrier at the completion center in Zhoushan is the latest sign of disruption to deliveries from a breakdown in the industry’s decades-old duty-free status. In a sign that Boeing was preparing for normal business just weeks before U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on April 2, three new 737 Max planes had flown from Boeing in Seattle to Zhoushan in March. Another arrived last week at Zhoushan, where Boeing installs interiors and paints liveries before handing over to customers, according to Flightradar24 data. But on Friday, one of the first batch of jets took off again without being delivered and flew from Zhoushan to the U.S. territory of Guam — one of the stops such flights make as they cross the Pacific — indicating it was heading back to Seattle. Boeing declined to comment. The 5,000-mile trip back to Boeing’s main factory comes as the planemaker’s business in China is under scrutiny over the tariff dispute. Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that Boeing faced a Chinese ban on imports, part of the escalating confrontation over U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” global tariffs. There has been no official comment from Beijing, or in Chinese state media. Senior aviation and aerospace industry sources told Reuters they were not aware of formal instructions against taking Boeing planes. Even so, industry sources and analysts widely agreed that the imposition of tariffs on U.S. goods by Beijing in response to Trump’s actions would effectively block aircraft imports without any formal ban.<br/>
A second Boeing jet intended for use by a Chinese airline was heading back to the U.S. on Monday, flight tracking data showed, in what appears to be another victim of the tit-for-tat bilateral tariffs launched by President Donald Trump in his global trade offensive. The 737 MAX took off from Boeing's Zhoushan completion center near Shanghai on Monday morning and was heading towards the U.S. territory of Guam, data from flight tracking website AirNav Radar showed. Guam is one of the stops such flights make on the 5,000-mile (8,000-km) journey across the Pacific between Boeing's U.S. production hub in Seattle and the Zhoushan completion center, where planes are ferried by Boeing for final work and delivery to a Chinese carrier. On Sunday a 737 MAX painted with the livery for China's Xiamen Airlines made the return journey from Zhoushan and landed at Seattle's Boeing Field. It is not clear which party made the decision for the two aircraft to return to the U.S. Trump this month raised baseline tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. In retaliation, China has imposed a 125% tariff on U.S. goods. A Chinese airline taking delivery of a Boeing jet could be crippled by the tariffs, given that a new 737 MAX has a market value of around $55m, according to IBA, an aviation consultancy.<br/>
A new staff survey completed by Boeing revealed ongoing morale issues and a broad belief among employees that leaders should better communicate the company’s direction and take more action to address poor performance. In response to that survey, Boeing has rolled out a new set of company values intended to help recapture the “iconic culture that once defined Boeing as an aerospace leader”, Boeing CE Kelly Ortberg said in a 17 April message to all employees. Ortberg revealed the new values and the results of the survey during an all-employee meeting the same day. “Culture change will take time, and it’s only possible if every one of us lives these values and embraces these behaviors,” Ortberg’s message says. The employee survey, the first since 2019, found that only 67% of respondents reported feeling proud to work at Boeing, according to the company. By comparison, 91% of respondents to a 2013 employee survey reporting feeling pride. “Pride in Boeing has dropped significantly,” says a Boeing presentation that accompanied Ortberg’s all-staff meeting. The survey also found at only 27% of staff would highly recommend Boeing as a place to work, while 54% reported feeling inspired by the company’s previous values. Additionally, 42% of respondents said they had “confidence in their senior leader’s ability to make decisions, communicate direction and respond to concerns raised by employees”.<br/>
They’re massive pieces of engineering that seem to defy physics as they hang in the air during takeoff and landing, but double-decker passenger airplanes — the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 — are still some of the most popular aircraft around. Perhaps it’s their whisper-quiet cabins and spacious designs. Or the availability of opulent amenities, like shower suites and onboard bars. For aviation enthusiasts, there’s the added novelty of flying on a plane’s upper deck or nose. However, it’s a matter of when — not if — these planes will be retired once and for all. Over a half-century ago, the 747, the original jumbo jet, ushered in a glamorous jet age, helping bring affordable air travel to the world. But in today’s era, the double-deckers are too big and too expensive for most airlines. Thankfully, travelers can experience these aircraft for at least another decade. Today, 11 airlines around the world fly two-level passenger planes. To stay competitive, several carriers are even investing in them with updated seats and refreshed onboard amenities. Double-decker planes aren’t produced anymore, with Boeing ending 747 production in 2022 and Airbus calling it quits on the A380 — the world’s biggest passenger plane — in 2021. Therefore, their lifespan is reliant on what is already in airlines’ fleets. The pandemic accelerated the double-decker’s demise, with carriers like Air France permanently grounding its 10 superjumbo A380s. “The problem with the A380 is not necessarily its size, but its lack of efficiency,” says Brian Sumers, an aviation expert and founder of The Airline Observer.<br/>
Airline seat design inspiration is evolving away from the automotive look of the 2000s and 2010s, trending more towards other spaces where people spend time instead. Matt Round is chief creative officer at Tangerine. The London-based design agency has been at the heart of seat designs all the way back to the first fully flat bed for British Airways in the 1990s. Speaking to Skift, he explains why he believes residential spaces will influence airline interior design: “Our inspiration for the next generation of airline seating is influenced by human behavior, an airline’s brand and culture, and cross-sector insights. "Our designers are looking beyond aviation, drawing from the worlds of residential and luxury interiors, high-end hotels, and even wellness-focused spaces like luxury spas,” says Round. For airlines and their designers, it’s a balancing act driven by the two-to-ten-year process from design to fleet-wide completion. They need to ensure that long-term trends are adopted quickly enough that they can get on-wing before they expire, without feeling dated halfway through the rollout. Ideally, they’ll also allow easier updates through soft products like seat fabrics and customizable trims. Some of the latter will also flow through to premium economy and economy seats.<br/>