Source: ALTA Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) exceeded its 2019 passenger traffic levels for the second time this year. However, this month, the Middle East ranked as the world's highest recovering region, exceeding its May 2019 levels with 3.2%. The region is showing an excellent performance in terms of both domestic and international passenger traffic. It is noteworthy that, for the first-time post-pandemic, Brazil exceeded domestic passenger figures with 7.3 million passengers (+3%). Meanwhile, Argentina and Chile continue to trend higher, outperforming their 2019 levels. Aviation has proven to be an essential service for the population. An evidence on this is that some of the countries with lower economic growth have been the ones with the highest passenger carried, such [...]

Source: ICAO The ICAO Global Aviation Gender Summit in Madrid resulted in a “Call to Action” that comprises several clear and actionable steps and strategies towards resolving the aviation sector’s very significant gender equality challenges. The Call to Action was presented by the President of the ICAO Council, Salvatore Sciacchitano. “Advancing gender equality in aviation is not only the right thing to do, but a necessary transformation for the future of our sector,” remarked Council President Sciacchitano. “The Call to Action this event has resulted in accordingly conveys a strong message of determination and urgency, and outlines an array of strategic action points.” Priorities included the development of better data, which was recognized as being key to strengthening strategic foresight to support the identification [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Aviation Impact Accelerator(AIA), an international industry-academia partnership based at the University of Cambridge, announced a collaboration to accelerate the aviation sector's transition to net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The two organizations will assess the financial implications of reaching aviation's 2050 net-zero CO2 goal. Building upon existing work, this collaboration will support the development of scenario-based tools to help airlines analyze and evaluate different decarbonization pathways. The purpose of this collaboration is to support better-informed decisions by airlines and policy-makers in the transition to net zero. The collaboration will set a solid foundation for IATA and AIA to develop a wider, long-term partnership. AIA is an international group of experts drawing [...]

Source: TSA Passengers traveling with a firearm must properly pack it in checked baggage and declare to the airline Firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags, in the secure area of airports and on board aircraft The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intercepted 3,251 firearms at airport security checkpoints during the first half of 2023, which ended June 30. The total represents an average 18 firearms per day at TSA checkpoints of which more than 92% were loaded. This is an increase from the first half of 2022 when Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) stopped 3,053 firearms at security checkpoints of which more than 86% were loaded. In the first five days of July, TSOs nationwide intercepted 90 additional firearms bringing the total through [...]

Source: Transport Canada An efficient and reliable transportation system is essential to keeping communities connected, and building an economy that works for all Canadians. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring our supply chains remain strong and create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians, while making them resilient and adaptable to the effects of climate change. Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced an investment of nearly $94 million under the National Trade Corridors Fund for a cargo development project at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The project will improve cargo capacity by building two new facilities: the South Cargo Transfer Development Facility (YYZ South) and the North Cargo Apron Development (YYZ North). YYZ South will increase capacity [...]

Source: US DOT The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ May 2023 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.566 billion gallons of fuel, 5.5% more fuel than in April 2023 (1.484 billion gallons) and 1.1% less than in pre-pandemic May 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in May 2023 ($2.44) was down 22 cents (8.1%) from April 2023 ($2.66) and up $0.33 (15.6%) from May 2019. Total May 2023 fuel expenditure ($3.82B) was down 3.1% from April 2023 ($3.94B) and up 14.3% from pre-pandemic May 2019. Year-over-year changes in fuel consumption and cost for May 2023 include 8.3% increase in domestic fuel consumption, 32.1% decrease in domestic fuel [...]

Source: ALPA In a new filing today regarding SkyWest’s applicationto roll back the clock and skirt the aviation safety rules that have led to a 99.8 percent reduction in airline passenger fatalities in the United States, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to close the Part 135 loophole that is currently being exploited by the airline JSX. “Federal aviation and DOT regulations facilitate competition by defining the playing field and how competitors are permitted to compete. Loopholes, and abuse of loopholes, undermine those rules . . . The United States has the safest air system in the world precisely because carriers compete under Part 121 scheduled service,” ALPA attested. ALPA’s filing today is [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) successfully hosted the 13th edition of Wings of Change Americas (WOCA 2023), bringing this keynote aviation conference to Mexico for the first time. “Fostering aviation in support of socioeconomic recovery” was the conference theme, which brought together more than 400 delegates to Mexico City on 27-28 June 2023. Participants engaged in dialogue between the airline industry, governments, the tourism sector, and other stakeholders in the air travel value chain, discussing the various aspects of harnessing the potential of aviation in driving economic resurgence and social progress across Latin America and the Caribbean. Key highlights and takeaways include: Collaboration for Success: One resounding message was the importance of collaboration among stakeholders. Governments, airlines, [...]