The European Continuous Descent Approach Action Plan to bring CDA to 100 airports by 2013 is on track, with CDA in place at 33 airports and a further 13 carrying out flight trials, said Eurocontrol Environment Manager Andrew Watt. Speaking to the Air Transport Action Group Aviation & Environment Summit in Geneva in September, Watt said a total of 83 airports across 25 European states have committed to implement CDA. The initiative was launched at last year's summit by Eurocontrol, ACI-Europe, Civil Air Navigation Services Organization, IATA and ERA.
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell opened the World Route Development Forum in Vancouver last month by proposing to eliminate the province's aviation fuel tax of C$0.02 per liter for international and transborder flights.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, comprising a string of 32 islands in the southern Caribbean, is investing $240 million in a new international airport that it hopes will be "a game-changer" driving a major increase in air traffic to the tropical destination.
World airport traffic rose 5.6% in August compared to the year-ago month to 328.3 million passengers, according to Airport Council International's latest PaxFlash traffic report. Domestic traffic was up 4.9% to 165 million passengers while international increased 6.3% to 160.9 million passengers. Airfreight traffic rose 15.1% year-over-year for the month to 5.4 million tonnes including a 7.1% domestic lift to 1.6 million tonnes and a 19% international surge to 3.5 million tonnes.
Airports Council International-North America President Greg Principato said some US airports are "missing whole construction seasons" because of the US Congress's failure to pass a long -term FAA reauthorization bill including the Airport Improvement Program, which provides funding for numerous infrastructure projects at airports across the US.
Even as government agencies--particularly the US Transportation Security Administration--scramble to install more high-tech screening equipment in airports, airport operators are urging governments around the world to take a second look at their security regimes.
Etihad Crystal Cargo, a division of Etihad Airways, will launch a twice weekly service from its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport to Hong Kong, China, from October 13 2010, using its new A330-200 freighter with a payload of 60 metric tonnes.
Alaska Airlines launched daily San Diego-Maui service. Cathay Pacific Airways said it will begin codesharing with WestJet for travel beginning Oct. 20. Under the agreement, Cathay's "CX" code will be placed on WestJet flights between Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg, plus the Hong Kong carrier's two Canadian gateways, Toronto and Vancouver.
AirAsia X hopes to add two more Japanese airports to its international service by 2012 after it launches flights to Tokyo Haneda in December. CEO Azran Osman Rani told Kyodo News in Tokyo that the airline "was interested in other airports in Japan…I have always said Japan is a market where we can operate at three different airports, including Haneda." On the airline’s radar are Osaka, Sapporo and Fukuoka.
Viking Hellas Airlines the Greek airline associated with Viking Airlines of Sweden, has launched a new three-times weekly scheduled service from Athens to Manchester to coincide with flights from three Iraqi cities
