Source: TSA The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has seen an increase in travel this year and anticipates airport security checkpoints nationwide will be very busy this holiday travel season. The season kicks off with Thanksgiving travel, which begins Friday, Nov. 18 and concludes Sunday, Nov. 27. "We expect to be busier this year than last year at this time, and probably very close to pre-pandemic levels," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. "We are prepared to handle the projected increase in travel volumes next week. However, going forward, making the TSA pay levels equal to other federal agencies is critical to our ability in 2023 to recruit, train, equip and retain a highly skilled and professional workforce on the frontlines of transportation security. It [...]

Source: ALPA Earlier this year, C-band 5G mobile wireless companies activated transmitters that utilize spectrum in close proximity to the spectrum used by radar altimeters on aircraft. Since that time, airlines have been upgrading radar altimeters to improve their ability to tolerate interference. The FAA is strongly urging airlines to complete the updates by July 2023, so that aviation safety can be assured when mobile wireless goes to full power at that time. Aircraft that have not been upgraded will have severe operational restrictions placed on them. Additionally, the FAA has recommended slight changes to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) C-Band rules to ensure that the mobile wireless industry’s use of 5G is compatible with the upgraded radar altimeters. This [...]

Source: EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched a joint cooperation initiative to rethink aviation connectivity, publishing a White Paper proposal for the modernisation and harmonisation of the aviation data communication landscape by 2035. Airbus and Boeing, as aviation stakeholders, contributed to the study, providing insight and information which allowed EASA and the FAA to elaborate the vision presented in the white paper. Aviation connectivity supports the various air-ground data exchanges that are essential to support safe, sustainable air traffic management (ATM) and efficient air operations.  It does not include the provision of broadband services to passengers. The exchanges are currently supported by a set of technologies that rely to a large extent [...]

Source: ALTA The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) and the aviation school based in Argentina and the United States, XFlight, have signed a MOU to promote educational programs aimed at boosting the professional development of Latin American aviation. Through this agreement ALTA will offer to the entire aeronautical community in the region, via ALTA's Educational Hub, XFlight's specialized course curriculum that includes 12 courses, among which stand out: private aircraft or helicopter pilot with VFR qualification, business aircraft or helicopter pilot with HVI qualification, crewmember, first class business airline pilot and flight instructor. Since its founding in 2013, XFlight has graduated more than 200 students. What started with one aircraft at the airfield in Esperanza city, Santa [...]

Source: US DOT Among fines assessed today are Aeromexico ($13.6 million in required refunds paid and a $900,000 penalty), Avianca ($76.8 million in required refunds paid and a $750,000 penalty) and TAP Portugal ($126.5 million in required refunds paid and a $1.1 million penalty) The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced historic enforcement actions against six airlines, which collectively paid more than half a billion dollars to people who were owed a refund due to a canceled or significantly changed flight. These fines are part of DOT's ongoing work to ensure Americans receive the refunds they are owed from airlines. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, DOT has received a flood of complaints from air travelers about airlines' failures [...]

Source: US DOT U.S. Airline Employees Headcount (Full-time and Part-time Employees) U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment increased to 777,510 workers in September 2022, 8,404 (1.09%) more workers than in August 2022 (769,106) and 34,410 (4.63%) more than in pre-pandemic September 2019 (743,100). U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 493,998 workers (full- and part-time) in September or 64% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines added 4,594 employees in September for a seventeenth consecutive month of job growth dating back to May 2021. Delta led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 1,311 employees; United added 1,047; and Southwest Airlines added 658. U.S. cargo airlines employed 279,562 workers in September, 36% of the industry total. Cargo carriers gained 4,596 employees in September.  FedEx, the leading [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged the Asia-Pacific region to prepare for the anticipated surge in traffic and provide policy support for the industry's decarbonization efforts, as the region moves forward from COVID-19. "The last three years have been extremely challenging for the airline industry. Asian airlines, in particular, were hit hard, accounting for about a third of the industry's losses between 2020 and this year. With the region finally emerging from COVID-19, governments have a key role to play in accelerating the recovery, and supporting the industry's sustainable growth," said Conrad Clifford, IATA's Senior Vice President and Deputy Director General. Clifford was speaking at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines' (AAPA) Assembly of Presidents in Bangkok. [...]