The US DoT has explicitly banned the use of electronic cigarettes on all airline flights. DoT’s final rule on e-cigarettes, which essentially extends the ban already in place for smoking tobacco aboard flights, applies to all US airline flights and all foreign carrier flights to/from the US. It also includes non-scheduled charter flights operated by US airlines or foreign airlines to/from the US on which a flight attendant is a required crewmember. US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said the ban protects passengers and flight crews “from unwanted exposure to aerosol fumes that occur when electronic cigarettes are used on-board airplanes.” He added that it was important to “eliminate any confusion between tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes by applying the same restrictions to both.” <br/>
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Tests must be done into what would happen if a drone hit a passenger jet, say airline pilots following a recent spate of near-misses. Balpa wants the DfT and the CAA to back research into the possible consequences of such a collision. The former BA pilot Steve Landells warned that a drone hitting an airliner could result in an uncontrolled engine failure or a smashed cockpit windscreen. Twenty-three near-misses between aircraft and drones were investigated by the UK Airprox Board in just 6 months, including 12 given an A rating – meaning there was a serious risk of collision. Landells said although there was a large amount of data on the effects of bird strikes on planes that was not a true representation of what would happen with a drone because “birds don’t have a big lump of lithium battery in them”. <br/>
A collapse of Europe's 26-nation Schengen zone of passport-free travel would create major congestion and cost larger airports hundreds of millions of euros to redesign terminals, airports association ACI Europe said. The free-travel agreement has come under increasing strain due to the refugee crisis, with several countries imposing temporary border checks in order to stem the flow of people from countries such as Syria. Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said while it was not on the cards, any moves to reinstate air border controls between Schengen states would have a drastic impact and that restructuring airport facilities could easily cost hundreds of millions of euros for the largest airports. "The immediate impact would be unprecedented levels of congestion and flight disruptions," Jankovec said. <br/>
Egypt has addressed the concerns of airlines who have complained in recent weeks about their inability to repatriate earnings, a central bank source said Wednesday. "Air carriers' concerns have been addressed and the latest issue with British Airways has been totally resolved regarding the repatriation of their profits," the source said. Import-dependent Egypt has faced a worsening dollar shortage since a 2011 uprising and subsequent turmoil drove away foreign investors and tourists, key sources of foreign currency. The crash of a Russian airliner over Sinai in late October has further hit tourism in the Red Sea, and with it Egypt's dollar earnings. Last week, Air France-KLM said it had been unable to repatriate any earnings since October and was owed more than US$12.77m. <br/>
Leading domestic airlines demanded a rollback of a sudden 12% hike in ATF prices announced by oil companies Tuesday and warned that they would be compelled to approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on such “non-transparent” changes. Aviation fuel costs account for over 40% of an airline’s cost of operations, and hence could impact air fares. The govt said that part of the hike in ATF prices was due to an increase in excise duty on aviation fuel. “Out of the total 11.5% hike, 5% increase is on account of an increase in the input costs of ATF and the rest 6.5% is on account of excise duty (hike on ATF),” Civil Aviation secretary RN Choubey said. The civil aviation secretary said that despite the duty hike on aviation fuel, it is “significantly cheaper” than petrol and diesel at present. <br/>
Airbus Group drew a line on how far it’s prepared to extend jetliner production into China, saying it won’t help competitors develop aircraft, and that the country’s wide-body orders don’t justify building its most lucrative models there. No talks have taken place about construction of twin-aisle jets such as the A330 and A350 in China, Fabrice Bregier, who heads Airbus’s planemaking arm, said ahead of the opening of a completion shop that will put the finishing touches on wide-bodies flown in from Europe. Airbus and Boeing face a balancing act as they court a Chinese aviation market that’s expected to become the world’s biggest in the next 2 decades, dangling the prospect of manufacturing work without agreeing to a degree of technology transfer that might threaten their industry leadership. <br/>