IATA is calling for the criminalisation of rogue lithium-battery shippers as part of moves to ensure the safe carriage of such cargo for airlines. During a media briefing on 11 May, IATA’s senior VP of airport, passenger, cargo and security, Nick Careen, identified a historical reluctance to tackle the issue of unsafe transport of lithium batteries by a minority of shippers. “Nobody has ever been held criminally responsible for all these risks that have been introduced into our supply chain by rogue shippers,” says Careen. “That has to change.” Rogue shippers need to be held accountable as part of a general tightening of regulations to minimise the risk of fires caused by lithium batteries, he argues. He says that in areas such as testing, fire suppression and containment, the sector is “lagging behind”, and appeals for greater involvement by governments and regulators in tackling the issue and for greater data-sharing. IATA will be proposing over next few weeks the formation of an industry-led group to investigate the issue. DG Willie Walsh says carriage of lithium batteries has for some time been a “challenge” for the airline industry.<br/>
general
United, Delta and American Airlines have canceled flights between the United States and Tel Aviv, according to data by flight tracker FlightAware, amid an escalating conflict in Israel. Israel said it killed 16 members of the Hamas armed wing in Gaza in a barrage on Wednesday, and Palestinian militants rained rockets into Israel in one of their most intense hostilities in years. United Airlines said it had canceled flights from Chicago and Newark, New Jersey to Tel Aviv on Tuesday and flights from San Francisco and Newark on Wednesday. “We have issued a travel waiver to allow customers to adjust their travel through May 25 and will continue to monitor the situation,” a United spokeswoman said. A spokesman for Delta, which flies to Tel Aviv from New York’s John F. Kennedy International (JFK) airport, said it has issued a travel wavier for flights between Tuesday and Thursday and has “no determination about resumption at this juncture”. American Airlines, which also flies between Tel Aviv and JFK, said it had rebooked customers due to fly on Wednesday and Thursday on alternative flights, without providing details, and had issued a waiver for travel scheduled through May 25.<br/>
The head of the FAA told a US House panel that an electrical issue that grounded about 100 Boeing 737 MAX planes last month worldwide appeared to be a “pretty straightforward fix.” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told the U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing transportation that he was fully confident in the safety of the MAX that returned to service after being grounded for 20 months following two fatal crashes in five months. “It is performing as well or better overall than any other airplane out there in the aviation system right now,” Dickson said. The FAA has daily meetings with Boeing to discuss the MAX’s performance, Dickson said. In February, the FAA said it was tracking all Boeing 737 MAX airplanes using satellite data under an agreement with air traffic surveillance firm Aireon. Reuters reported on May 4 that the FAA asked Boeing to supply fresh analysis showing numerous 737 MAX subsystems would not be affected by electrical grounding issues first flagged in three areas of the jet in April.<br/>
The head of the FAA said Wednesday the agency is going to mandate strengthening a key engine part on Boeing 777-200 planes equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines like the one involved in an emergency landing in February. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told a US House committee that the agency is "requiring the manufacturers to address strengthen(ing) the cowling." The agency said in a separate statement the "exact timing" of the new requirements and expected airworthiness directive "will depend on the completion of design and engineering work and will be approved by the FAA." He also said the agency was working with Boeing Co (BA.N) and PW (RTX.N) to ensure "the structure around the engine, the cowling and the inlet area, does not damage the aircraft structure." A United Airlines 777 PW4000 engine failed shortly after takeoff from Denver on Feb. 20, showering debris over nearby cities, but no one was injured and the plane safely returned to the airport. The FAA in February ordered immediate inspections of 777 planes with PW4000 engines before further flights, after the NTSB found a cracked fan blade on the United engine was consistent with metal fatigue. Boeing said on Wednesday it was continuing to work with the FAA on "potential design improvements" for the "inlet and fan cowlings," adding that the "work is exacting and time consuming."<br/>
Germany is working on proposals to set minimum fares for air tickets in a bid to tempt passengers onto less environmentally harmful forms of transport, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday. Scholz, his Social Democrat (SPD) party's candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as Chancellor after September's elections, said tickets should in future cost E50 to 60 at a minimum. Until air travel collapsed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, cheap flights often dramatically undercut rail offerings from Deutsche Bahn(DBN.UL), the state-owned railway. "No flight should be cheaper than the airport fees and all other fees that it incurs," he said, adding that the government was investigating how this could be done in compliance with European Union law. The SPD is running a distant third behind the Greens, and Merkel's conservatives in polls, with the Greens increasingly seen as the party to beat after a string of unseasonable winters and summers propelled climate fears up voters' agendas. Earlier this month, Germany's top court ruled that a 2019 climate change law did not go far enough in safeguarding younger generations' rights in the face of climate change and had to be further tightened.<br/>
Israel diverted an incoming flight from Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday to a southern airport designed to serve as a wartime alternative to its main international gateway outside Tel Aviv, aviation tracker Avi Scharf said on Twitter. The El Al Israel Airlines flight 332 was en route to land at Ramon Airport near Eilat, said Scharf, an editor with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said. Online data suggested the flight had come from Brussels.<br/>
Dubai International Airport is seeing around 1.5m to 2m passengers a month, according to Dubai Airports Chief Paul Griffiths. This is “about 67% below where we were in a typical first quarter,” said Griffiths during a Centre for Aviation (CAPA) Live event on Wednesday. DXB is currently operating around 63% of the pre-COVID destinations with around 75% of its airlines present here, said Griffiths. “There are restrictions on frequency, airport capacity and aircraft capacity,” said Griffiths. “It's all working at the moment and the traffic levels are sufficient that we don't have any problems separating people but as things get busier clearly is going to be a challenge.”<br/>
Jewel Changi Airport as well as Terminals 1 and 3 will be closed to members of the public from Thursday for 14 days amid a rise in the number of cases linked to the airport. All workers in Terminals 1 and 3, as well as Jewel Changi Airport have been undergoing mandatory COVID-19 tests in a special testing operation that began on Sunday. Terminal 2 has been closed since May 1, 2020. While the special testing operation is ongoing, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group said on Wednesday that the passenger terminals buildings will be closed to members of the public from Thursday. As a precaution, passenger terminal buildings will be reopened 14 days later on May 27. Jewel will also be closed for 14 days, said the authorities.<br/>
Seven airlines are seeking to meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to ask about the government's stand on their request for long-awaited soft loans. The Thai Airlines Association said on Wednesday it would like to discuss with Gen Prayut any progress on the proposal, which if granted, would throw domestic carriers their much-needed financial lifeline. Seven local airlines -- Thai AirAsia and Thai AirAsia X, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Smile Airways, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet Air -- have sought 14b baht in soft loans to sustain their operations. Even that sum was a substantial reduction on the 24b baht they requested last year. The meeting would be a follow-up session from the previous meeting the airlines had with the prime minister on Aug 28 last year. Wutthipong Prasartthong-osod, the association president and its executives, decided to also ask about the loans in writing. The association said the bottom line for Thai-based domestic airlines has changed for the worse since their last meeting with the prime minister. The current, third outbreak of Covid-19 has resulted in airlines cutting back on flights, biting deeper into their revenue.<br/>
Brazilian planemaker Embraer said in a securities filing on Wednesday it had received a firm order for nine E175 jets from Alaska Air Group and subsidiary Horizon Air, which exercised a previously agreed purchase option. In a separate filing, Embraer said it had also sold eight new E175 jets to SkyWest, which will operate them for Alaska Airlines.<br/>