general

Federal officials are looking into whether any airlines will be fined over long tarmac delays that occurred over the weekend at New York JFK. By one estimate, there were a dozen or more international flights that landed at JFK and sat on the tarmac for at least 4 hours, the point at which the airlines could be subject to huge fines. An Obama-era regulation was intended to curb such long delays, and while consumer advocates say they are far less common than a few years ago, the problem persists. Meanwhile, the airline industry is trying to tweak the rule to get more time before fines kick in. In 2009, there were 868 domestic flights that were kept on the ground at least 3 hours. In 2011, the first full year under the rule, long delays plunged to 86 and have topped 100 only twice since. <br/>

Russia has restored permission for Russian airlines to fly to Egypt. The decision, which became effective Jan 2, ended a ban that was imposed following the destruction of a Russian airliner by a terrorist bomb in Oct 2015. The incident sparked a major security scare, with the EU following Russia’s example and banning flights to Sharm El Sheikh airports, fearing lax security had led to the bomb being placed on board. The formal decision to restart flights had been expected for some time. The decision by the Russian govt, authorised by president Vladimir Putin last week, gave no indication of precisely when the flights would restart. However, Egyptian airport sources said flights would resume first between Cairo and Moscow in February. <br/>