Source: US DOT The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ April 2023 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.484 billion gallons of fuel, 3.9% less fuel than in March 2023 (1.545 billion gallons) and 0.1% less than in pre-pandemic April 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in April 2023 ($2.66) was down 26 cents (8.8%) from March 2023 ($2.91) and up $0.60 (29.3%) from April 2019. Total April 2023 fuel expenditure ($3.94B) was down 12.4% from March 2023 ($4.50B) and up 29.1% from pre-pandemic April 2019. Year-over-year changes in fuel consumption and cost for April 2023 include 6.8% increase in domestic fuel consumption, 20.6% decrease in domestic fuel [...]

Source: CANSO The partnership, signed during Airspace World 2023, sees CANSO and Infina agree to deliver cost-effective technical and management micro-learning and mixed media courses, virtually to the global aviation community. In a key development in the programme, the first courses are now available through the CANSO/Infina ANSP Learning Portal. The courses are available to ANSPs and their employees via an annual membership subscription which gives full access to all the microlearning courses via a unique key name. Quarterly launches of new courses are scheduled for deployment to add to the ever-growing current catalogue of courses. Sue Meeks, President, Infina, said: “This new partnership provides cost-effective, computer-based learning that supports global ANSPs in achieving local and regional aviation safety requirements. “Our [...]

Source: ICAO ICAO and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) entered a new landmark collaboration agreement today aimed at advancing civil aviation safety, efficiency, and sustainability in humanitarian operations. This strategic partnership, forged under the auspices of the ICAO Global Implementation Support Symposium currently taking place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, will focus on key areas of cooperation to ensure safer and more sustainable aviation operations, particularly in the context of humanitarian air services. “By combining our expertise and resources, ICAO and the WFP aim to create a safer, more efficient, and environmentally responsible aviation industry,” remarked ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar, after signing the Memorandum of Understanding. “This partnership underscores our shared commitment to addressing the unique [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced continued strong passenger traffic demand in April. Total traffic in April 2023 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 45.8% compared to April 2022. Globally, traffic is now at 90.5% of pre-Covid levels. At 81.3%, industry load factor was only 1.8 percentage points below pre-pandemic level. Domestic traffic for April rose 42.6% compared to the year-ago period and has now fully recovered, posting a 2.9% increase over the April 2019 results. International traffic climbed 48.0% versus April 2022 with all markets recording healthy growth, with carriers in the Asia-Pacific region continuing to lead the recovery. International RPKs reached 83.6% of April 2019 levels. “April continued the strong traffic trend we saw in the [...]

Source: US DOT Secretary of Transportation of the United States of America, Pete Buttigieg and European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, met on May 22, 2023, to discuss EU-U.S. support to Ukraine, ongoing cooperation in aviation and maritime transport, as well as issues of common interest in transportation, such as international collaboration to fight climate change and decarbonize transport. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “From supply chain disruptions caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine, to the impacts of global climate change, to the challenges our vital transportation workforce members face on a daily basis, the transportation systems on which the world economy depends are being tested. The EU and the U.S. share a strong commitment to working [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for April 2023 global air cargo markets, showing a continued, but slower, decline against the previous year's demand performance. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), fell 6.6% compared to April 2022 (-7.0% for international operations). This decline was an improvement over the previous month's performance (-7.6%). Capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers, ACTK) was up 13.4% compared to April 2022. It was also up 3.2% compared to April 2019, marking the first time in three years that the capacity has surpassed pre-COVID levels. The strong uptick is primarily driven by belly capacity as demand in the passenger business recovers. Adjusting for this, freighter capacity declined 2.3%. Preighter operations ceased [...]

Source: International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (ASA) Quality standards organization Cargo iQ has forged a partnership with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the Airport Services Association (ASA) to set shared goals for enhanced standard practices across the air cargo supply chain. The objective of the alliance is to strengthen collaboration between forwarder, ground handler, and airline communities, working on a global basis to achieve common standards and enhanced quality. The decision was made at Cargo iQ’s most recent board meeting that FIATA’s Director General, Stéphane Graber, and ASA’s Director General, Fabio Gamba, will attend all Cargo iQ board meetings as observers and work together with the board members, with a view to intensifying the co-operation [...]

Source: ICAO A new innovative initiative aimed at equipping aviation regulators and senior and mid-level managers with comprehensive professional training to address current and emerging challenges will result from an agreement signed today between ICAO, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Korean Aerospace University (KAU), and Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC). The agreement, which was signed at the on-going ICAO Global Implementation Support Symposium in Seoul, Republic of Korea, establishes the “Global Aviation Professional Programme (GAPP).” Under this new agreement, the partners will collaborate to deliver a transformative learning experience. This programme represents a significant milestone in aviation education and training, harnessing the collective knowledge and expertise of the partners. By leveraging their combined resources, the programme will offer a dynamic curriculum [...]

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 [...]