Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the agreement by AT&T Services, T-Mobile, UScellular, and Verizon to extend until 1 January 2028 the voluntary mitigation measures for 5G C-band transmissions at 188 US airports. These mitigation measures, which were put in place in January 2022, concurrent with the rollout of 5G C-band operations at or near US airports, include lowering the power of 5G transmissions and had been set to expire 1 July 2023. However, while the agreement is a welcome stop-gap development, it is by no means a solution. The underlying safety and economic issues around 5G C-band deployments by telecommunications services providers (telcos) have only been kicked down the road. "Airlines did not create this situation. [...]

Source: FAA Just in time for the busy summer travel season the FAA has activated 169 new routes along the East Coast that are more direct, saving passengers time, airlines fuel and increasing safety. "These significant improvements to our national airspace system are just in time for summer and will help travelers get to their destinations more efficiently," said Tim Arel, the chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization. "The new routes will reduce complexity and redistribute volume across all available airspace. I’m proud of the FAA and industry’s strong collaboration on this project to get it done." The direct routes will shave off 40,000 miles and 6,000 minutes of travel time annually from being shorter in distance. The [...]

Source: FAA As part of the FAA's ongoing commitment to address aircraft noise, the agency is asking for public comment on its Noise Policy Review (NPR). The agency published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) to solicit comments and will hold virtual webinars. The NPR will look at these key items and more based on input received from the public and stakeholders. The FAA's current use of DNL or Day-Night Average Sound Level as the primary noise metric for assessing cumulative aircraft noise exposure. If and how alternative noise metrics may be used in lieu of or in addition to DNL to better inform agency decisions and improve FAA's disclosure of noise impacts. The community's understanding of noise impacts and how to better manage and respond [...]

Source: US DOT U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reported a 2022 after-tax net profit of $1.6 billion, gaining after two consecutive annual after-tax losses and a pre-tax operating profit of $7.9 billion, gaining after two consecutive annual pre-tax losses. U.S. airline financial reports are filed quarterly with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for additional 2022 annual (Tables 1-6) and fourth-quarter (Tables 7-12) financial results. 2022 Annual Results for All 25 Scheduled Passenger Airlines After-tax net income $1.6 billion profit in 2022 Compared to $2.8 billion loss in 2021 Pre-tax operating profit/loss $7.9 billion profit in 2022 Compared to $17.3 billion loss in 2021 Total 2022 operating revenue: $211.2 billion Share of total [...]

Source: ICAO ICAO’s latest global survey on the status of licensed aviation personnel by gender reveals that the participation of women holding positions as pilots, air traffic controllers, and maintenance technicians has increased on an overall basis from 4.5% globally in 2016, to 4.9% in 2021. The percentage of women pilots in service increased from 3.6% to 4.0% globally, with the highest increases being observed in the Asia Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean regions. North America scored highest globally with 4.6% women pilots, followed by Africa and Europe with 4.1% and 4.0%, respectively. The percentage of female aircraft maintenance engineers and technicians rose from 2.7% to 3.0% worldwide, with increases being seen in all regions except the Middle East and Africa. [...]

Source: FSF Flight Safety Foundation has issued a white paper outlining the regulatory obligations of countries that are allowing Russian and Belarusian operators to fly into or through their airspace. Noting the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia and Belarus, the Foundation’s paper points out that countries allowing operators from either of those countries to fly into their territory or through their airspace are required to perform effective oversight to ensure compliance with the applicable International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and must take appropriate action to preserve safety. In addition, to ensure continuing airworthiness and operational safety, the countries that allow their airlines to fly into Russia and Belarus must be aware of the [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the 35th IATA Ground Handling Conference (IGHC) will focus on fostering technology to improve safety, operational efficiency, and sustainability. IGHC is taking place in Abu Dhabi, 16-18 May 2023, with Etihad Airways as the host airline. "Passenger and air cargo traffic are close to pre-pandemic levels. Efficient ground operations are essential to meet the scaling-up of demand. Unfortunately, the ground handling sector continues to face operational, recruitment and retention challenges following the greatest aviation downturn in history. This year's IGHC will explore how these can be overcome and how technology can be implemented to improve efficiency, increase compliance with global standards and improve safety and environmental performance," said Monika Mejstrikova, IATA's Director of Ground [...]

Source: US DOT The U.S. Department of Transportation today released its Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on airline operational data compiled for the month of February 2023 for on-time performance, mishandled baggage, and mishandled wheelchairs and scooters. The ATCR is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines. DOT remains committed to ensuring airline passengers are treated fairly and flights operate as scheduled. For the first two months of 2023, cancellations have stayed below 2% and are far lower than last year's 2.7% cancellation rate. The Department is currently investigating several domestic airlines to ensure that they are not engaging in unrealistic scheduling of flights. DOT uses the data from the ATCR, consumer complaints, [...]