US aviation regulators have teamed up with their European counterparts to develop common standards aimed at harnessing wireless signals for a potentially wide array of aircraft-safety systems. Nearly a year after Airbus unsuccessfully urged FAA officials to join in such efforts, the agency has set up an advisory committee to cooperate with European experts specifically to “provide general guidance to industry” on the topic. The FAA’s decision became public Tuesday, during a meeting of the top policy-making committee of RTCA, an industry-govt group that serves as the regulatory agency’s primary think tank on technical issues. The goal, according to the FAA, is “to enable improvements in safety and a reduction in weight” by eliminating some of the wiring that now connects many systems on board jetliners. <br/>
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A group representing major airlines is battling a plan by New Jersey lawmakers to increase the state’s tax on jet fuel to help fix a near-broke transportation-spending fund. The bipartisan plan would raise the 4% tax to 7% and remove a restriction that levies the rate only on fuel used in taxiing and take-offs. The move would bring in more than US$140m annually, according to the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services. New Jersey senators proposed the fuel-tax increase as part of a 10-year transportation-spending plan. Unless legislators act, the state can’t borrow for new road and rail projects as of July 1. “Aviation is not a piggy bank for the legislature to use to solve their highway infrastructure problems," said A4A Wednesday. <br/>
Since the start of the year, Brazil’s aviation industry, particularly on the domestic front, has been feeling the effects of the country’s weak economy and political turmoil. Tuesday, the Brazilian Association of Airlines (ABEAR) released its latest figures for the year so far showing that from January to May domestic aviation in Brazil fell by 8.2% compared to the same period last year. According to ABEAR figures, in the first 5 months of 2016, domestic Brazilian airlines carried a total of 36.4m passengers, 3.2m less than the same period last year. In the month of May alone, the volume of passengers fell 9.9% compared to the same month of 2015. In international flights market, national airline companies represent 25% of the market. Here, the number of trips in May stood at 544,000, which represents a 4.9% drop compared to May 2015. <br/>
Prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has set his sights on turning U-Tapao airport into the country's third major international airport, with immediate and longer term plans to make it a key driver of aviation growth. The vast, navy-owned airport compound will not only serve authorities on security missions, but also help secure the airport's new path towards commercial success by becoming an aviation hub in Southeast Asia, Prayut said. The airport's second terminal is scheduled for a soft opening in August and a grand opening after the New Year, the premier said. The development, decided in Dec 2014, was part of upgrades to U-Tapao to ease overcrowding at Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports, according to a Transport Ministry source. <br/>