Source: ICAO ICAO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have identified technical and financial autonomy as key objectives for Latin American and Caribbean governments looking to enhance the effectiveness of aviation sector regulatory governance. Other areas for attention identified through a new study to be released soon include the selection processes for and conduct of regulatory agency leaders, and the importance of sectoral performance reporting in order to better assess and tailor regulatory options. ICAO already provides guidance for State regulators, highlighting the importance of their independence in safety, security, and economic perspectives. However, fewer than half of the Latin American and Caribbean aviation authorities that participated in the new study reported being legally independent, and most do [...]

Source: FAA Air traffic controllers, tech-ops professionals, aviation safety inspectors and others trained at Center. The FAA's largest solar project to date is coming to the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (the Center) in Oklahoma City. The clean electricity generated from the solar panels on FAA property will help serve the Center's power needs. "This project captures the area's abundant sunshine, will save valuable taxpayer dollars and will help build a more sustainable aviation system," said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen. The panels are expected to produce 2,600 megawatt hours annually, the equivalent needed to power 260 average homes. The project will reduce the Center's electric bill by an estimated $170,000 - $200,000 annually. Air traffic controllers, technical operations professionals and aviation inspectors are [...]

Source: TSA Transportation Security Officers intercepted 4,312 firearms at checkpoints in 2022 During the Labor Day holiday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened 8.76 million travelers between Friday, Sept. 2 and Monday, Sept. 5. The weekend travel volume represents 106% of volume for the same pre-pandemic holiday weekend in 2019 and is the first time that a holiday weekend passenger screening volume exceeds that of 2019. In 2019, Labor Day was on Monday, Sept. 2, and TSA screened 8.24 million passengers. The Labor Day weekend represents the conclusion of the summer travel season. This year, Friday marked the heaviest travel day. Transportation Security Officers screened 2.48 million passengers. Over the course of the long weekend, 94.9% of TSA PreCheck® passengers [...]

Source: ACI-LAC Airports Council International (ACI) held on Tuesday, September 6 the first ACI AIRPORT DAY COLOMBIA, a free event open to the public that brought together airport CEOs and key industry executives in the country, national civil aviation authorities and experts on topics related to airports, the environment, circular economy, SAF, among others. Airports Council International (ACI) held on Tuesday, September 6 the first ACI AIRPORT DAY COLOMBIA, a free event open to the public that brought together airport CEOs and key industry executives in the country, national civil aviation authorities and experts on topics related to airports, the environment, circular economy, SAF, among others. The event, held at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel Aeropuerto, in Bogota, Colombia, addressed the [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced passenger data for July 2022 showing that the recovery in air travel continues to be strong. Note: We have returned to year-on-year traffic comparisons, instead of comparisons with the 2019 period, unless otherwise noted. Owing to the low traffic base in 2021, some markets will show very high year-on-year growth rates, even if the size of these markets is still significantly smaller than they were in 2019. Total traffic in July 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was up 58.8% compared to July 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 74.6% of pre-crisis levels. Domestic traffic for July 2022 was up 4.1% compared to the year-ago period and is now driving the [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for July 2022 global air cargo markets showing that demand continued to track at near pre-pandemic levels in July (-3.5%), but below July 2021 performance (-9.7%). Note: We have returned to year-on-year traffic comparisons, instead of comparisons with the 2019 period, unless otherwise noted. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), fell 9.7% compared to July 2021 (-10.2% for international operations). Demand stood at -3.5% compared to July 2019. Capacity was 3.6% above July 2021 (+6.8% for international operations) but still 7.8% below July 2019 levels. Several factors in the operating environment should be noted: New export orders, a leading indicator of cargo demand, decreased in all markets, except China [...]

Source: US DOT After Secretary Buttigieg wrote letter to airline CEOs, airlines made significant improvements to customer service plans Throughout 2022, Americans have experienced an unacceptable level of flight delays and cancellations. When these disruptions occur, airlines are required to support passengers based on commitments made in their customer service plans, but too often passengers find those plans are difficult to understand and do not guarantee services – such as meals or hotel accommodations when they must wait overnight at an airport – even for flights that are delayed or canceled because of the carrier. To ensure the traveling public has easy access to this information, the U.S. Department of Transportation today rolled out a new airline customer service dashboard, [...]

Source: FAA The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded $231,000 in grants to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) outreach. "If kids can dream it, they can do it. It's up to us to light the path for them," said FAA Deputy Administrator Bradley Mims. Three grants are for universities to facilitate STEM outreach to students, especially those who are under-represented in STEM and aviation fields. The schools will design and conduct drone-centered immersion programs, summer camps, after-school programs and community outreach efforts that will educate and inspire youth from elementary, middle, and high schools. The STEM outreach grants are awarded to the following universities: North Carolina State University $125,000 Kansas State University $100,000 Sinclair Community College in Ohio $6,000 [...]