Source: ICAO In Brussels last week, ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar and EUROCONTROL Director General Raúl Medina deepened the cooperation between the two organizations on the safety-vital topic of aircraft in distress. Their signature of letters tasks EUROCONTROL with the development and hosting of a Location of an Aircraft in Distress Repository (LADR) and an Operational Control Directory (OPS CTRL). Both will play a major part in assisting rescue efforts by coordinating all affected actors in the event of an aircraft in distress, supporting the ultimate goal of improving aircraft tracking and identifying distress situations during a flight in order to initiate a timely rescue operation. LADR is part of the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) that [...]

Source: ICAO The European Commission today announced support for the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) under the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Capacity-building and Training for Sustainable Aviation Fuels programme (ACT-SAF). In line with the European Green Deal commitment to help partner countries decarbonise, the project will support selected countries with €4 million. The funding will go towards increasing SAF production, feasibility studies and assistance with the certification of these fuels. Implemented by ICAO and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the project involves 12 partner states: Cameroon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. This list may be expanded at a later stage. European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said: "We [...]

Source: ALTA Albert Perez, SVP of Maintenance at Avianca; Carlos Garcia Martin, Partner at Oliver Wyman; Diego Giorgiadis, Director Técnico at Aerolíneas Argentinas, and Santiago Diago, COO at Aeromexico participated in the Challenges and Operational Trends in Latin America and Caribbean panel during the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference, an event organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA). Executives highlighted that in 2022 the region achieved an outstanding passenger recovery with some markets growing considerably. One such example is Mexico which, during the pandemic, kept flexible policies in terms of the movement of people and has experienced outstanding passenger growth. Diago further explained that Mexico is the exception in the region when it comes to exchange [...]

Source: US DOT The U.S. Department of Transportation released its Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on airline operational data compiled for the month of March 2023 and the first quarter of 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 three months of 2023, cancellations have stayed below 2% and are far lower than last year's 2.7% cancellation rate and the rate of 4.1% for the first three months of 2022. The Department is currently investigating several domestic airlines to ensure that they are not [...]

Source: FAA The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded more than $100 million to 12 airports across the country to reduce runway incursions. Projects will reconfigure taxiways that may cause confusion, install airfield lighting or construct new taxiways to provide more flexibility on the airfield. "Some airfields have complex layouts that can create confusion for pilots and other airport users. This funding will reconfigure complex taxiway and runway intersections to help prevent incursions and enhance the safety of the National Airspace System," said FAA Associate Administrator Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E. The agency’s Runway Incursion Mitigation Program was developed to identify airports that have risk factors that might contribute to runway incursions. Those factors include complexity and airfield layout. As part of the RIM program, [...]

Source: ALTA What is the role of women in the aeronautical maintenance area? and what can the Tech Ops sector gain by increasing the participation of women? These were two of the questions addressed by a discussion panel composed of Michelle Linale, Senior Director, Sales & Business Development - Americas' Region at Thales InFlyt; Liliana Bocanegra, Strategic Sourcing Director at Avianca; Maruja Correa Dirección Técnica Iberia, and Ana Persiani, ALTA's Training Director and Board Member of the International Aviation Womens Association (IAWA). This discussion took place during the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference 2023, organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), and addressed strategies to attract, retain and develop the trajectory of women in technical careers. [...]

Souce: TSA Agency announces new benefit to TSA PreCheck® membership and continues to deploy checkpoint technology to improve security effectiveness, efficiency and the passenger experience The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is prepared to screen high volumes of passengers at airport security checkpoints nationwide this summer travel season, which begins Memorial Day weekend and runs through Labor Day. The agency forecasts Friday, May 26, to be the busiest day of the long weekend, projecting to screen approximately 2.6 million passengers. Today, the agency announced that teenagers aged 13-17 may now accompany TSA PreCheck® enrolled parents or guardians through TSA PreCheck screening when traveling on the same reservation and when the TSA PreCheck indicator appears on the teen's boarding pass. Children 12 and under [...]