Source: ICAO World leading aviation security and counter-terrorism experts exchanged views and expertise at the ICAO Global Aviation Security Symposium 2021 (AVSEC2021) last week, providing a crucial forum for an international exchange on means to mitigate evolving threats to the international civil aviation network as the system begins its COVID-19 recovery. The three-day event was a unique occasion to take stock of the opportunities and challenges inherent in carrying on or resuming operations in the midst of a global pandemic, where health measures have become a critical piece of the aviation puzzle. Discussions focused on a broad array of challenges to keep employees and passengers safe, mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and respond to dramatic shifts in air [...]

Source: US DOT   U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reported a second-quarter 2021 after-tax net profit of $1.0 billion despite a pre-tax operating loss of $3.6 billion. The second-quarter results represent the first quarterly profit since the fourth quarter of 2019, the last quarter before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In the second quarter of 2021, the airlines reduced their first-quarter losses by 124%. The second-quarter after-tax net profit of $1.0 billion was a $5.2 billion net change from the first-quarter loss of $4.2 billion. The second-quarter pre-tax operating loss of $3.6 billion was a $9.1 billion reduction from the first-quarter loss of $12.7 billion. U.S. airline financial reports are filed quarterly with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). See the tables [...]

Source: ACI Airports Council International (ACI) World has today congratulated Changi Airport in Singapore for being the first in the Asia-Pacific region to successfully complete the Airport Health Measures Audit Program. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to dramatically affect passenger traffic at airports around the world but, as the industry begins the long road to recovery, a commitment to the health and welfare of travellers, staff and the public is key. The Airport Health Measures Audit Program – developed in partnership with Bureau Veritas – supports airports by addressing their specific risks and reassuring passengers through an on-site audit of their health measures. By successfully completing the audit, Changi Airport has demonstrated compliance with a harmonized set of measures, aligned with the [...]

Source: US DOT The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced that it will offer $482.3 million in funding to 313 businesses, under a new jobs-saving program created as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s American Rescue Plan. The funding announced today will go to companies based in 37 states and Puerto Rico, helping protect as many as 22,500 jobs nationwide. “For the past year and a half, our aviation industry workers have helped keep this economy moving, including by supporting the delivery of lifesaving medical equipment and vaccines,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The funding announced today will save jobs and support the workers who have supported us throughout the pandemic.” Before the pandemic, the aerospace industry was estimated [...]

Source: European Commission Today, the Commission has taken two decisions concerning the aviation sector in Italy. In the first, we have found that two loans that Italy granted to Alitalia in 2017, for a total of 900 million euros, are illegal under State aid rules. Italy must now recover this amount from Alitalia. In the second decision, the Commission has reached two important conclusions: First, we have found that the new state-owned airline, called Italia Trasporto Aereo – or ITA, is not the economic successor of Alitalia and is therefore not liable to repay the illegal State aid received by Alitalia. Second, the Commission has found that Italy's capital injections of 1.35 billion euros into ITA are in line with [...]

Source: US FAA The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded more than $100 million for companies to help develop technologies that reduce fuel use, emissions and noise. The award is part of a series of steps President Biden is taking to coordinate leadership and innovation across the federal government, aircraft manufacturers, airlines, fuel producers and more to position American aviation to soar towards net zero emissions by 2050. This FAA announcement is part of those efforts. “Across the country, communities have been devastated by the effects of climate change – but, if we act now, we can ensure that aviation plays a central role in the solution,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These awards will help [...]

Source: ALPA Just days before the United States marks the 20thanniversary of 9/11, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), the world’s largest non-governmental aviation safety organization, is once again calling on Federal regulators to address a glaring aviation security vulnerability and prevent another, similar attack on our homeland. Last month, ALPA called on Transportation Security Buttigieg to urge the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue a final secondary flight deck barrier regulation which was mandated by Congress nearly three years ago. “The greatest way to honor the memories of the nearly 3,000 people who died is to use our voices, expertise and resolve to ensure that 9/11 is in America’s past—and not a prelude to another terrorist attack in which [...]

Source: A4A Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization representing the leading U.S. airlines, announced that our member carriers have pledged to work with government leaders and other stakeholders to make 3 billion gallons of cost-competitive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) available to U.S. aircraft operators in 2030. In March, as part of a commitment to work across the aviation industry to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, A4A members pledged to work toward a rapid expansion of the production and deployment of commercially viable SAF to make 2 billion gallons available in 2030. “We are proud of our record on climate change, but we know the climate change challenge has only continued to intensify. Accordingly, A4A member carriers have [...]

Source: US DOT Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is releasing a report on its work to address failures of airlines to provide timely refunds for flights cancelled or significantly changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report was mandated by President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy that he issued in July. Airlines and ticket agents have a legal obligation to provide refunds to consumers if the airline cancels or significantly changes a consumer’s flight. However, in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines had difficulty processing the significant volume of refund requests that they received. Many airlines were also initially reluctant to provide the required refunds. This resulted in USDOT [...]