Source: ALTA The second day of the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference began with a forward-looking panel of one of the most important aviation sectors: aircraft maintenance. For the invited experts, the most relevant issue is to reinvent oneself in a scenario profoundly transformed by the pandemic and the new forms of work. Moderated by Allan Bachan, vice president of ICF, the panel was composed of Jorge Jácome, senior vice president of maintenance and engineering at Aeromexico, Albert Perez, senior vice president of maintenance at Avianca, Marcel Uttembergue, vice presidentPresident of Customer Service at Rolls-Royce and Frank Stevens, Vice President of the Global MRO Center at Embraer Services & Support. In the words of experts, the synergy to facilitate work [...]

Source: ACI Data reinforces need to modernize global policy frameworks on airport charges Airports Council International (ACI) World has today launched its Airport Economics Report and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the financial year of 2020, providing the first in-depth global breakdown of airports' financial activities during the first year of the pandemic. The annual ACI Airport Economics Report presents an in-depth global analysis of airport industry revenues by source, costs, and related trends across the globe and over time, while the Airport Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) provide insight into areas such as financial and employee performance, fixed-asset productivity, and airport operations through detailed statistics. Impact on revenues According to the latest Airport Economics Report and KPIs, airports' primary revenue sources—aeronautical and non-aeronautical (commercial) activities—declined [...]

Source: ALTA Closing the technical agenda of the ALTA CMMA & MRO Conference 2022, Veronica Chavez, Technical Assistance Officer, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), gave a presentation on how the international body has been acting in search of a harmonization of the regulatory structure for maintenance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Veronica began her talk about the Multinational Technical Cooperation Agreement, which is currently signed by 11 states. This agreement allows the certification to be made by the local authority and this report goes to the other states for a multinational certification. According to the ICAO representative, the benefits of multinational cooperation involve costs and time of the process. “To bring some type of aircraft from another country it [...]

Source: ALTA The air sector has historically been a leader in technological development, and today digital transformation is not unrelated to the air industry that seeks to cover three areas: technologies for the automation of operations, technologies for the integration of operations and technologies related to sustainability. During the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference, Ian Galloway, Director of Commercial Aviation Americas and Connected Aviation Solutions at Collins Aerospace, presented “Connectivity: a catalyst for digital transformation in aviation” where he addressed connectivity, understood as the interconnection capacity between different systems that acts as a catalyst and starts digital transformation in air carriers. “To ensure safe activity and predictive management, a strategy of connectivity is required, as information is available at all [...]

Source: ALTA Disruptions to the global supply chain and maritime transport make it difficult for aircraft manufacturers and company suppliers to meet the growing demand for parts. This context was the theme of the panel “Disruption of the supply chain: operational impact for airlines and suppliers” on the first day of the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference 2022. Moderated by Carlos Garcia, director of Oliver Wyman, the panel was attended by Eduardo Gáspari, head of operations of Flybondi, Diana Calixto, senior vice president of administration and supply of Avianca, Jayesh Shanbhag, General Manager for Americas Customer and Product Support at GE and Andy Shields, Vice President of PMA at Wencor. At the very beginning of the panel, moderator Carlos Garcia [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged Asia-Pacific states to further ease border measures to accelerate the region’s recovery from COVID-19. “Asia-Pacific is playing catch-up on restarting travel after COVID-19, but there is growing momentum with governments lifting many travel restrictions. The demand for people to travel is clear. As soon as measures are relaxed there is an immediate positive reaction from travelers. So it is critical that all stakeholders, including governments are well-prepared for the restart. We cannot delay. Jobs are at stake and people want to travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, in his keynote address at the Changi Aviation Summit. The Asia-Pacific region’s international passenger demand for March reached 17% of pre-COVID levels, [...]

Source: TSA The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is prepared for a busy summer travel season with anticipated passenger volumes that will match and may occasionally exceed those of 2019 for the first time since the pandemic began. The continued recovery from the low travel volumes during the pandemic may require more patience and planning than was necessary before the pandemic. Checkpoint environments and procedures have changed to enhance screening operations, ensure the safety and well-being of the traveling public, and to minimize the spread of COVID-19. “Daily passenger volumes at TSA checkpoints show that people are traveling again, and TSA is ready for their return. Our airport security checkpoints include 47,500 highly-trained security professionals and new technologies that enhance security [...]

Source: Smithsonian - National Air and Space Museum Christopher Browne has been named the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, effective immediately. He has served as acting director since January 2021. Browne first joined the museum as deputy director in 2017, and he has helped lead the museum’s multi-year renovation of its flagship building in Washington, D.C. As director, Browne will oversee the museum’s two public facilities: the building on the National Mall in Washington, which opened in 1976 and houses many icons of flight, including the original 1903 Wright Flyer and Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, which opened in 2003 and holds [...]

Source: ALTA The last panel of the day at the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference brought panelists discussing the status of the aviation maintenance industry in the region. Moderated by Jonathan Berger, director of Alton Aviation Consultancy, the meeting was attended by Pat Foley, CEO of Lufthansa Technik Puerto Rico, Basil Papayoti, head of operations of MRO Holding and Caroline Vandedrink, Senior Vice President of Business Development, SR Technics Group. According to moderator Jonathan Berger, airline losses continue to improve, led by North America, but headwinds remain. From a financial point of view, Basil Papayoti of MRO Holding comments that the company is recovering after a critical period experienced at the end of 2020. “We took aircraft that were retired [...]