People Express has withdrawn its application for an interstate air transportation certificate, potentially signaling an end to its two-year-long attempt to start an airline. The Transportation Department (DOT) notified People Express on May 20 that it would dismiss its application unless the company provided more information on its fitness to operate.
The Thailand army’s May 22 takeover has triggered tighter security and identity checks at airports, and carriers are bracing for longer-term challenges--such a prolonged dips in traffic--if routine travel and tourism slump. The chairman of Airports of Thailand (AOT), Sita Divari, said that “despite the coup d’etat, the operations of all AOT airports are continuing as usual.” Sita said that so far no orders on access to airports have been given, and that AOT “is not aware of such an order, if there is any.”
The NTSB is calling on the FAA to “review the methods of compliance” used to certify all permanently installed, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in the active fleet and “require additional testing” if the results indicate the design and installation do not adequately protect against cell thermal runaway.
