It’s not often that ATW praises a regulator, even rarer that to laud the introduction of yet more rules on an already heavily-regulated industry. But I do think the heads of FAA and the US Department of Transportation deserve praise for their relatively swift action to require buyers and owners of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to register their aircraft via an FAA website.

Malaysian flag carrier Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has been criticized by the Malaysian government for poor application of immigration procedures.

The General Court of the European Union has annulled the European Commission’s cargo cartel ruling, canceling €790 million ($868 million) in fines levied against the industry.

Luxembourg-based Cargolux and its pilot unions have reached an agreement on a new labor contract.

Newly manufactured aircraft must be trackable, even when severely damaged, and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recordings will be extended to 25 hours under a new set of regulations adopted by the European Commission.

IT & Distribution-Dec. 15, 2015

Egyptian investigators for the Metrojet Airbus A321 crash say it has not received “information indicating unlawful interference” or a “terrorist act” in the Oct. 31 crash, contradicting statements made by Russia’s Federal Security Police in mid-November that “a self-made explosive device equivalent of up to 1 kg of TNT” had been set off on board.

A small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) registration website administered by FAA will go live Dec. 21 and all small UAV owners in the US will be required to register their devices.