Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the theme for the 2024 World Safety and Operations Conference (WSOC) is “Embracing Innovation and Technology for Safe and Efficient Operations.” WSOC will take place from 1-3 October 2024 in Marrakech, Morocco, hosted by Royal Air Maroc. This year’s event takes place against a backdrop of growing operational challenges, regional conflicts, cyber security threats, and extreme weather events, among others. “Airlines face common challenges with an operating environment that is growing more complex. At the same time, technological advances, including AI, are offering ever greater potential in support of safe and efficient operations. WSOC 2024 is the forum for industry leaders and experts to share knowledge and experience to make [...]

Source: ASA   The Airport Services Association (ASA) is delighted to announce that it has been formally recognized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as an international association. This acknowledgment was confirmed during the 232nd session of the ICAO Council on 10 June. ASA has been an influential international trade body for over 25 years, and this recognition by ICAO reinforces its role in the global aviation landscape, in particular in the field of ground handling services. It also formalizes the access of ASA and its members to the relevant ICAO meetings, providing a platform for ground handlers to contribute to the development of international aviation standards and can be seen as a form of appreciation of the central [...]

Source: ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has presented its Walter Binaghi Air Navigation Commission Laurel Award to John Mettrop of the United Kingdom, recognizing his outstanding contributionto global aviation safety and efficiency. The award ceremony took place during ICAO's Fourteenth Air Navigation Conference. Mr. Mettrop's recognition comes after a distinguished 35-year career dedicated to advancing international civil aviation standards. Renowned for his expertise in Communication, Navigation, Surveillance (CNS) and Spectrum management, Mr. Mettrop has played a pivotal role in shaping the technical framework that underpins modern aviation safety. His work has been instrumental in developing global standards that ensure the continued safety and efficiency of air travel worldwide. This award comes at a crucial time for global aviation. [...]

Source: US DOT Below average flight cancellation rate comes as Summer 2024 has seen the top ten busiest air travel days on record The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) shared that the year-to-date flight cancelation rate for 2024 is 1.6% heading into the Labor Day holiday weekend. Despite significant flight disruptions in July brought on by the global CrowdStrike outage, summer storms, and record-breaking air travel volumes, the year-to-date cancelation rate remains below 2022 and pre-pandemic levels. Air travel volumes this summer are the highest on record. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has already screened 239.8 million people since Memorial Day weekend, which is an average of 2.7 million per day. The top ten busiest travel days in the agency's [...]

Source: ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced to delegates during its 14th ICAO Air Navigation Conferenceunderway in Montréal that aviation safety continued to improve despite the operational challenges of the pandemic recovery. The Organization's Safety Report for scheduled commercial air travel in 2023 shows that the fatality rate dropped to 17 people per billion passengers in 2023, down from 50 people per billion passengers in 2022. The global accident rate decreased to 1.87 accidents per million departures in 2023, down from 2.05 in 2022. This occurred as passenger traffic increased to around 4.2 billion passengers globally in 2023, up from 3.2 billion in 2022, and flight departures increased to over 35 million in 2023, compared to around 31 [...]

Source: FAA To date the FAA has awarded over 25 airports with more than $465 million in grant funding for the replacement or upgrading of baggage handling systems. This unique funding program was made possible by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and gives airports the opportunity to make improvements and modernize facilities for a more efficient passenger experience at a moment when some systems are 30 years old and nearing the end of their usefulness. For example, the Denver International Airport in Colorado was recently awarded $124 million to replace the baggage handling system with a more energy efficient system to accommodate additional passengers. With record air travel this month and passenger growth predicted for years to come, the Biden-Harris [...]