FAA to investigate after fire reported in cabin of United Airlines flight

The US FAA said on Thursday it would launch an investigation after the crew on a United Airlines Boeing 737 flight from Key West, Florida to Newark, New Jersey, reported a fire in the cabin. The airplane diverted and landed safely at Washington's Dulles airport around 4:45 p.m. ET (2045 GMT) on Thursday, the FAA said in a statement. United said the diversion was prompted by light smoke venting from a galley oven. All passengers deplaned normally at the gate and the airline arranged for a different aircraft to take passengers to Newark on Thursday evening, United added. The plane had 98 passengers and five crew on board.
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Delta removes an employee, changes its uniform policy after backlash over social media post perceived to be anti-Palestinian

A Delta employee has been removed from their position with the airline’s social media channels following backlash over a post made from an official account that some perceived to be anti-Palestinian. In a statement shared with CNN Friday, Delta said the company “removed a mistakenly posted comment on X Wednesday because it was not in line with our values and our mission to connect the world.” “The team member responsible for the post has been counseled and no longer supports Delta’s social channels,” the airline said in the statement. “We apologize for this error.” On Wednesday, an account on X reposted pictures of two Delta flight attendants wearing Palestinian flag pins on their uniforms. It’s unclear what account posted the initial images. “Since 2001 we take our shoes off in every airport because a terrorist attack in US soil. Now imagine getting into a @Delta flight and seeing workers with Hamas badges in the air. What do you do?” the post read, falsely equating the Palestinian flag to the one flown by the militant group. Screenshots show that Delta’s official account replied on Wednesday, writing, “I hear you as I’d be terrified as well, personally. Our employees reflect our culture and we do not take it lightly when our policy is not being followed.” That post has since been deleted, and it wasn’t clear what policy the post was referencing. The reply sparked a swift backlash from Delta employees and leaders in Palestinian and Muslim communities. Azka Mahmood, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter in Georgia, where the airline is based, said in a statement that conflating the Palestinian national symbol to Hamas “erases the existence and legitimacy of the entirety of Palestine.” “The Palestinian flag represents a country and national aspirations of over 7m Palestinians,” she said. “It is clear that some groups want to delegitimize the flag of Palestine entirely, suppress any expression of the existence of Palestine, and discourage open support for Palestinian rights.” A Delta spokesperson said the flight attendants pictured were compliant with the company’s current uniform guidelines and the company has contacted them to offer support. Both flight attendants remain employed by the company, the spokesperson said.
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Outcry over revamped BA loyalty scheme

British Airways launched a revamped loyalty scheme this week without publishing full details of how travellers can earn points, confusing and irritating consumers. The UK’s second-largest airline promised customers in December that they would be able to earn up to 2,500 “tier points” by spending money on their BA Premium Plus American Express cards — with “more details of this offer . . . announced closer to the launch date”. But the new “British Airways Club” loyalty scheme was launched on Tuesday without any further information on how to earn tier points from Amex spending, sparking confusion among frequent flyers. Some took to social media to voice their complaints. BA’s social media team responded on X to a customer asking for more information by sharing a promotional video for the new scheme from February of this year. Rob Burgess, editor of frequent-flyer website Head for Points and a vocal critic of the scheme, said there were “a lot of frustrated BA and Amex cardholders who don’t know quite what they should be doing”, adding that the changes had been “very badly thought through”. The airline told FT Money that more details on how to earn tier points from the BA Amex card would be “coming soon”.
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Southwest’s bag fees and other changes could backfire, Fitch warns

Southwest Airlines’ new policies such as charging for checked bags for the first time could backfire, Fitch Ratings said Thursday. Southwest is reversing its decades-old two “bags fly free” policy for checked luggage in May, though there are exceptions for travelers with a Southwest credit card, elite frequent flyer status or who buy the highest classes of tickets. It is also launching assigned seating and a no-frills basic economy fare and said flight credits will expire. Fitch issued a negative ratings outlook for the company, long known for its strong balance sheet, because “Southwest may shift to a less conservative capital allocation and financial policy, while ongoing strategic changes have the potential to impact its competitive position relative to network carriers. “Items aimed at improving profitability such as the introduction of bag fees and expiring flight credits risk eroding Southwest’s competitive strengths relative to peers,” Fitch said. Social media posts from Southwest, even if they’ve been unrelated to policy changes, have drawn angry comments about the shifts, but market share loss, if any “is uncertain,” the firm noted. Southwest declined to comment on Fitch’s new outlook. The airline has been under more intense pressure to improve margins since activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management took a stake in the carrier and later won five board seats in a settlement last year.
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Airline pilots need to be able to voice safety concerns freely, global union body says

Pilots need to be better able to voice safety concerns freely without fear of punishment to reduce the chances of aviation accidents, the head of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) said. "Learning from accidents is not good enough. We need to learn from the successful operations that happened every day," IFALPA President Amornvaj Mansumitchai said in an interview on Thursday. This should be done through non-punitive reporting systems, robust data collection, and unbiased accident investigations, Mansumitchai said on the sidelines of the federation's annual conference in Seoul. Aviation safety has improved markedly over decades based on open sharing of information, with investigations intended to draw lessons rather than assign blame. IFALPA, which represents around 148,000 pilots in 70 countries, has for several years said many aviation incidents go unreported because those involved are fearful of management or regulatory authority penalties. It is campaigning for what it calls a positive safety culture in aviation that adopts non-punitive safety reporting and data collection. "Without trust, we never get the facts. Nobody wants to say out loud how close they were," Mansumitchai said. Recent deadly crashes in Kazakhstan, South Korea and the United States and the non-fatal flip of a crash-landed jet in Canada have thrust aviation safety into the spotlight. Furthermore, aviation bodies have raised the alarm over the number of delayed or non-existent final reports into accidents globally, identifying judicial interference or a lack of political willingness to disclose certain narratives as key factors. Guidelines from the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) say states should not use safety data or information for disciplinary, civil, administrative or criminal proceedings.
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Chinese airline competition lowering Lufthansa's Asia profits, executive says

Competition from Chinese airlines that do not have to avoid Russian airspace is undermining the profitability of Lufthansa's Asian business, despite demand between Europe and China being quite strong, a senior executive said. "It's really overcapacity in Europe from Chinese carriers," Lufthansa's Vice President Asia Pacific, Felipe Bonifatti, said in an interview this week. Lufthansa singled out Asia a number of times last year, including in a profit warning, as the region where yields, a proxy for airfares, were falling sharpest. Chinese airlines have since the pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 taken a rising proportion of China's international air traffic, with foreign rivals deterred from some Asian routes by weaker-than-anticipated Chinese traveller demand and higher crew and fuel costs due to the need to avoid Russian airspace. The trend is particularly pronounced in Europe, where Chinese carriers, which still overfly Russia, last year operated 21% more capacity into Europe and Britain than in 2019, according to Cirium schedule data, while non-Chinese airline capacity fell 54%. "Customers flying from different cities in Southeast Asia via China to Europe - this is one of the targets that the Chinese carriers are looking into, which was not the case before the war," Bonifatti said.
Lufthansa Airlines in October cut its Frankfurt to Beijing service, but kept its Munich-Beijing service and routes from both cities to Shanghai.
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US leisure market likely to endure ‘downward pressure on demand’: Sun Country CEO

Cost-conscious air travellers will likely tighten spending on vacations as a result of US-imposed tariffs roiling global markets, from the perspective of Sun Country Airlines chief Jude Bricker. Speaking on 3 April during CAPA’s Airline Leader Summit in Grand Cayman, Bricker commented on growing fears of a sustained economic downturn and how “that pertains to my business”. ”Mostly, the concern is probably how everybody’s thinking about the US consumer and the effect of the tariffs on their pocketbook, and whether that squeezes out discretionary spending on leisure activities,” he says. “I think that’s probably going to happen and I think it’s going to put downward pressure on demand.” Much of the North American airline sector’s focus has recently fallen on demand for Canada-to-USA air travel, which is sagging amid geopolitical tensions between the two countries – largely related to an escalating trade war – and the rise of the “buy Canada” movement encouraging Canadians to spend domestically. Carriers such as Toronto’s Porter Airlines and Calgary-based low-cost carrier Flair Airlines have recently boosted domestic flying in response to lower demand for US flights. From Sun Country’s vantage, suppressed transborder travel could “benefit us somewhat” because Canadian travellers “drive up the trip costs in Florida and the desert southwest and Southern California”, Bricker says.
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Easter travel chaos as popular holiday destinations to be hit by aviation strikes

Two aviation strikes taking place in Italy and Greece are scheduled to occur during the busy Easter period as many families are set to jet off on holiday during the school break. The strikes are slated to impact two of the most popular holiday destinations among Brits seeking a bit of sun in Europe, Italy and Greece, as trade unions in both countries have called for industrial action during Easter. Easyjet flight attendants in Italy are set to walk out for four hours on 9 April between 10.30am and 2.30pm local time across the country, with some flights to and from Milan and Naples airports expected to be disrupted. The strike is being led by the Italian Federation of Transport Workers (FILT), the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) and the Italian Union of Transport (UIL), the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said. In a statement, EasyJet told The Independent: “EasyJet has been formally advised of a four-hour air transport workers strike including some Italian-based cabin crew unions on Wednesday 9 April 2025, which is expected to impact some flights to and from Milan and Naples airports.” “We would like to reassure customers that we are doing all possible to minimise any disruption as a result of the strike action and should any flights be impacted we will be contacting customers directly with their options to help rearrange their plans,” the airline added. The strike will come just over a month since easyJet pilots also staged a four-hour strike, with passengers warned by Italian airports that cancellations or delays would impact their flights.
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China flight attendant bitten on arm after intervening in passengers’ clash over body odour

A Shenzhen Airlines flight was delayed for two hours after the arm of a member of the cabin crew was bitten when she intervened in a row between two passengers. According to a statement from the airline, the incident unfolded on April 1 when a plane scheduled to fly from Shenzhen in southern China to Shanghai was ready to take off. The conflict erupted between two female passengers sitting near each other. One of the women was complaining about the other’s body odour, while the other was objecting to the strong smell of her fellow passenger’s perfume, according to a report by the media outlet, Shenzhen Business News. Their verbal spat quickly escalated into a physical confrontation. Two women flight attendants and a pair of male colleagues tried to step in and stop the fight. A viral video clip shows that as the melee ensued, one of the flight attendants shouted out: “Open your mouth. You have bitten me!” The attendant suffered slight injuries to her arm, according to her employer. She was immediately sent to hospital where she was said to be in a “non-serious condition”. The two passengers were subsequently taken away by police. It is not clear what punishment they will receive. All other passengers were told to get off the aircraft. They reboarded the plane two hours later.
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Sir Richard Branson touches down at Pearson to launch return of Virgin Atlantic flights between Toronto and London

Virgin Atlantic says flights between Toronto and London are here to stay after the airline resumed service between the two cities for the first time in a more than a decade. Starting this past Sunday and through the summer, the airline has daily flights between Toronto and London. On board one of the first flights at Pearson Airport Thursday was Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson. He exited the aircraft with much fanfare, flanked by his team along with Canadian and British flags. “We’re just so, so pleased to be back here again,” said Branson at a press conference a short time later. “For some reason or another, it seems a lot of Canadians want to go that direction at the moment and so we’re happy to oblige.” Some airline analysts believe now is a good time to bring back Virgin Atlantic’s London-Toronto route. “It’s summer, so a lot of Canadians are travelling but fewer Canadians are travelling to the U.S. because of the relationship between the two countries,” said McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management Professor, Karl Moore. He said the timing makes sense with demand for flights to the U.S down, while London is a key connector for many other world cities.
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Luton airport expansion gets government approval

Luton airport has received UK government approval for a major expansion, overriding a recommendation from planning inspectors to reject the project on environmental grounds. The airport to the north of London had sought planning permission to increase its annual passenger capacity from 18mn to 32mn. The major expansion does not include a new runway, but will involve the construction of new infrastructure, including a new terminal and taxiways and aircraft stands. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander on Thursday announced she had approved the development consent order for the scheme, which will support 4,200 new jobs. “Expansion will deliver huge growth benefits for Luton with thousands of good, new jobs and a cash boost for the local council, which owns the airport,” said a government official. The Planning Inspectorate advised refusing the application because of environmental concerns, including the impact on the “relative tranquillity” of the nearby Chiltern Hills. The expansion will mean planes cross the scenic area every 15 minutes instead of the current 30 minutes. The Labour government has swung behind airport expansion in a bid to boost economic growth, including most controversially a potential third runway at Heathrow, Europe’s biggest airport. Alexander in March also signalled she would approve a second runway at Gatwick if the airport makes changes to its plans, but delayed a final decision until later this year. All of London’s major airports currently have plans to boost their passenger numbers. Stansted and City airports have had their proposals approved in recent months. If all the plans are approved, the expanded London airports could handle 309mn passengers annually — an 85% increase on the 167mn travellers who used the airports in 2023, according to a Financial Times analysis.
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Wizz Air sets ‘customer first’ objective with three-year transformation plan

Budget carrier Wizz Air is rolling out a new three-year investment programme intended to prioritise customer service across its operation. It has unveiled the transformation plan – branded as the ‘Customer First Compass’ – stating that it aims to put customers “at the forefront” of its activities. Wizz Air has previously faced rough publicity from consumer surveys over its customer service, to which the carrier has objected. It insists that the new initiative, focusing on four key areas, marks a “new chapter” for the carrier. “This is not just a framework, but a shift in how we think, act and deliver across the business,” says corporate and ESG officer Yvonne Moynihan. “From ground to air, every decision we make will now be guided by the needs of our customers.” Part of the transformation – which is claims amounts to GBP12b ($15.7b) – is already embedded in the fleet-modernisation programme. Wizz Air is introducing large numbers of Airbus A321neo jets, and is shortly to take the A321XLR, which will extend its network. The airline is also taking measures to ensure that its fares are “transparent” to passengers, and taking a “digital-first” approach to make customer journeys “seamless”.
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Alderney runway delays 'risk future of airstrip'

Further delays to upgrading Alderney's runway could mean it does not meet licensing conditions in the near future, politicians have warned. Alderney politicians Alex Snowdon and Edward Hill said delays could result in "more stringent and restrictive operating limitations" or "a long-term closure of the airstrip". The States of Guernsey is preparing to debate the need to rethink plans for the project due to escalating costs. Snowdon and Hill highlighted the issue in several amendments to proposals aimed at ensuring the project moved forward. Their proposal said the risk of closure became clear after discussions with Guernsey Ports and the Office of the Director of Civil Aviation. The BBC has approached both authorities for comment. The Alderney politicians said there was a "very high risk" it would not meet licensing conditions due to "safety factors".
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Plane wheel fell off from Edinburgh-Belfast flight

A fractured axle caused a passenger plane's wheel to fall off during take off from a Scottish airport, an investigation has found. The right nose wheel separated from the front landing gear of the Emerald Airlines flight - operated by Aer Lingus - between Edinburgh and Belfast City Airport on 31 October, 2023. Airport and flight crew failed to notice the detachment until the plane was being taxied to the terminal in the Northern Irish capital. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the fractured axle was probably caused by an overheated bearing, but it could not determine what caused it to overheat. No-one was injured in the incident and the flight landed without any issues. Emerald Airlines is the operator of the Aer Lingus Regional franchise and flies on short-haul routes between the island of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The AAIB report noted that the flight crew received "no indications" the nose wheel had detached. Investigators said it would "not have been easily detectable" by staff in Edinburgh as it "came to rest" away from the runway. Both airports carried out runway inspections after staff in Belfast noted the wheel was missing. It was later located near the runway in Edinburgh. An examination of the ATR 72-212 A aircraft, built in 2017, found evidence of heat damage on the axle.
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India's parliament passes landmark bill in boost for aircraft lessors

India's parliament on Thursday passed a landmark aviation bill that will make it easier for global aircraft leasing companies to repossess jets and engines when a carrier defaults on its payments, a big win for international lessors in a key market. India's "Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects" bill will fully implement the Cape Town Convention and Protocol, an international agreement on asset-based financing. The issue has been in focus since 2023 when lessors like SMBC Aviation couldn't repossess aircraft from India's Go First after it filed for bankruptcy. In that dispute, India's local laws superseded global aircraft leasing rules. But the new bill changes that, bringing relief to lessors in the world's fastest-growing aviation market. Parliament approved the bill on Thursday and India's president will need to sign it into law, which is seen as a formality. "The legislation will improve lessors' confidence in the Indian market and may also make it easier for upcoming airlines to lease aircraft," said Lovejeet Singh, a partner at law firm Chandhiok & Mahajan who specialises in aviation laws. It will bring down the cost of leasing, which may translate into cheaper airfares, he added. In the Go First saga, lessors ran into difficulties in repossessing over 50 Airbus aircraft, calling India a "risky jurisdiction" for aircraft leasing. The country's carriers, led by biggest player IndiGo, have placed orders for over 1,300 Boeing and Airbus aircraft since 2022, aiming to take advantage of a boom in air travel. India's aviation minister this week said the legislation was a "key step in making aircraft leasing cheaper, benefiting airlines and passengers alike". The majority of aircraft operated by Indian carriers are on lease, either under simple leases or sale-and-leaseback agreements.
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Air Arabia introduces new non-stop flights to Almaty

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the capital’s first low-cost carrier, has announced the addition of a new non-stop route to Almaty in Kazakhstan from Zayed International Airport. Starting June 3rd, 2025, the new service will operate three times a week every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Adel Al Ali, Group CEO of Air Arabia, said: “We are glad to launch our new service to Almaty, further expanding our international reach from Zayed International Airport. This new route reflects our commitment to offering passengers affordable and reliable travel options while enhancing connectivity from the UAE’s capital with key international markets.” He added:” As we aim to contribute to the city’s growth as a leading hub for tourism and business, we remain focused on meeting the growing demand for low-cost travel, offering our passengers even greater choice and convenience.” With the addition of Almaty, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi now connects 30 destinations directly from Zayed International Airport, offering travellers a broad range of options for both regional and international travel.
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Free parking at four airports during Songkran

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) will offer free parking at four airports during the Songkran festival, with the number of travellers expected to exceed 3m during the holiday period, a 20% increase from last year. The four airports are Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit on Thursday asked all transport agencies to prepare for a surge in the number of passengers during the Songkran holiday travel period from April 11-17 He emphasised them to ensure convenience and safety for people travelling by land, rail, water and air. Suriya said the number of passengers travelling by air during the period was anticipated to be over 3m. AoT has been asked to integrate efforts with agencies providing services at its airports to ensure efficiency, convenience and safety for passengers
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PAL increases Cebu flights by 10%

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is expanding its Cebu hub by increasing flight frequencies and seat capacity in anticipation of a surge in travel demand. Starting this month, Philippine Airlines will operate 287 weekly round-trip domestic flights between Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and 18 destinations across the country, the airline said in a statement on Thursday. This will increase PAL’s flight frequency by 10%. “These additional flights and greater seat capacity reflect our flag carrier’s commitment to increasing connectivity, boosting the economy, and helping drive tourism across our interisland network from Cebu,” PAL Express President Rabbi Vincent L. Ang said. The flag carrier is also set to increase its seat capacity by deploying larger aircraft on several routes. These additional flights and aircraft upgrades are expected to raise its weekly seat capacity to and from Cebu by 39,000 seats, representing a 17% increase.
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US NTSB urges mandatory inspections of door latches on Boeing 757 airplanes

U.S. regulators should require airlines to inspect, and if necessary, replace latches on Boeing 757 airplane doors, the NTSB said on Thursday, citing a 2023 emergency evacuation of a FedEx flight in Tennessee. The NTSB also urged the FAA to require Boeing 727 and 737 operators that use the same latch design to inspect and replace them if warranted. The agency said defective latches "could lead to delayed evacuation during an emergency should the slide become jammed." It also called on Boeing to issue new service bulletins for operators. Boeing and FedEx did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FAA said it takes NTSB recommendations seriously and will respond within an appropriate timeframe. The October 2023 FedEx flight -- a 757 built in 1988 -- received an engine indication and crew alerting system message indicating a failure of the left hydraulic system shortly after takeoff from Chattanooga and returned to the airport but was unable to lower the landing gear. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to extend the gear, the crew performed an emergency gear up landing. After landing, a jumpseat occupant attempted to open the left door, which rotated halfway open but would not open fully, and the slide did not deploy. The occupant then attempted to open the right door but it lodged on the slide pack, which prompted the occupant to use force to open the door and the slide deployed normally. There were no injuries to flight crew members or the jumpseat occupant. The NTSB found one door latch that releases the slide pack when the door opened did not conform to the configuration of the release cable assembly. The NTSB said FedEx inspected the doors on the 97 other airplanes in its Boeing 757 fleet after the accident, finding 46 doors -- about 24% -- that were not compliant with airworthiness directives issued in 1986 and 2001.
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Jetstar’s Cairns–Christchurch service gets off the ground

Jetstar has commenced the first non-stop service between Christchurch and Cairns. Flight JQ136 from Christchurch touched down in Cairns at around 10:40am on Wednesday aboard the A320-200 VH-VQL. The flights will operate three times per week, adding an estimated 70,000 trans-Tasman seats. “Jetstar’s direct flights from Christchurch to Cairns will slash hours and cost from the journey, giving passengers every reason to book the holiday they’ve been waiting for. This service is commencing at an ideal time, ahead of the lengthy Easter school holidays when families and friends are keen to reconnect,” Richard Baker, CE of Cairns Airport, said. According to Jenn Armor, executive manager, customer, at Jetstar, the route is part of the carrier’s efforts to add low-cost fares between Australia and New Zealand.
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Aerospace walks trade tightrope as EU mulls tariff response

Aerospace firms sought to contain a minefield of pressures on Thursday after an Airbus-led body urged the European Union to hit back against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and one of Europe's biggest airlines warned of higher fares. Aircraft, engines, spare parts and components from landing gear to seats face higher costs and planning for the peak summer travel season could be disrupted as Brussels mulls a response, industry experts warned. "It will be chaos. It creates massive demand uncertainty as airlines plan their network schedules," Rob Morris, global head of consultancy at UK-based Cirium Ascend, said. Trump on Wednesday imposed sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports including 20% on EU goods and 10% on imports from Britain, home to engine maker Rolls-Royce. The move went further than many investors and executives had expected, rattling a $150b-a-year jet industry that is an important contributor to the global economy. Dominant planemakers Airbus, headquartered in France, and its U.S. rival Boeing have been a lightning rod for trade tensions for years, waging a subsidy dispute at the World Trade Organisation led by their governments for 17 years until a five-year truce was declared in 2021. But with supply chains still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, insiders say both companies are reluctant to put fragile efforts to rebuild the industry at risk by fuelling a wider trade war. France's aerospace industry has written to the European Commission calling for "proportionate and assertive" countermeasures if the new U.S. tariffs cause significant damage, a person familiar with the matter said.
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