Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Jens Flottau
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian is urging airworthiness authorities to take a common approach in the ungrounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet.

By Adrian Schofield
Sri Lankan Airlines has nearly completed a revised version of its business plan and is close to reaching a deal with Airbus to swap A350 orders for A330neos.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Victoria Moores
Sustainable fuel specialist SkyNRG will set up a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plant in northeast Netherlands, supported by Dutch carrier KLM, which has committed to purchase 750,000 tonnes of the fuel over a 10-year period.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

CAA International (CAAi), the technical cooperation arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA), is to assist the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA) to strengthen its regulatory oversight capability.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

A group of 73 US House Democratic lawmakers have also sent a letter to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian calling on the Atlanta-based carrier to “immediately cease all efforts” to dissuade their ramp agents and flight attendants from joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Bill Carey
Independent aviation training provider BAA Training of Lithuania is expanding its facilities in Europe and Asia with the acquisition of six new full-flight simulators (FFSs), representing a preliminary investment of €60 million ($67 million).
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Helen Massy-Beresford
With the chaos of summer 2018 fresh in their minds, when air traffic control (ATC) strikes and staffing problems led to widespread delays and cancellations, European airline executives are hoping operational preparations will ensure a smoother peak summer season this year.
Airports & Networks

Thailand’s aviation system has passed an ICAO safety audit as the country continues to work on improving its FAA safety rating.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Sean Broderick
US Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri), the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is standing by his focus on the role played by inconsistent pilot training standards in the two recent deadly crashes of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Bradley Perrett
Hail shattered the windscreen and damaged the radome of a China Southern Airlines Airbus A380 May 26 as it approached the airspace of Beijing Capital International Airport, where it landed safely after the aircrew declared an emergency.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

The leadership of the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is growing increasingly concerned about TSA’s plans to divert hundreds of transportation security officers (TSO) and federal air marshals (FAM) to assist hundreds of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers already stationed at the Southwest border to address a surge of migrants there.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Sean Broderick
FAA’s decision to allow the Boeing 737 MAX back into the air could be based at least in part on input from foreign regulators, though consensus will not be necessary for the US agency to move forward, FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell said.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Bill Carey
FAA has expanded the number of air traffic control (ATC) facilities covered by its Low-Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC), an automated system that allows commercial drone operators to request and obtain authorization to fly in the vicinity of airports.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Victoria Moores
European airlines have until the third quarter of 2020 to comply with EASA’s aircrew mental fitness regulations, which were introduced in the wake of the 2015 Germanwings pilot-suicide crash.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Helen Massy-Beresford
European pilots are asking for clarity and an overhaul of a certification process they described as flawed, as regulators meet in the US to discuss a possible return to service for the grounded Boeing 737 MAX.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Sean Broderick
FAA, leveraging similar requirements issued more than a decade ago for the Boeing 787, has issued special conditions Boeing must follow to demonstrate the 777-9’s composite fuel tanks can withstand tire debris impact.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Sean Broderick
Mechanics for Southwest Airlines, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), have voted to ratify a new contract through 2024, ending more than six years of contentious negotiations that led to multiple rounds of public finger-pointing and lawsuits between the two sides.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Jack Wittman
United Airlines has agreed to purchase up to 10 million gallons of biofuel over the next two years in a contract renewal with World Energy.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian on May 22 pushed back against recent criticism from US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and other Congressional Democrats who have alleged the Atlanta-based carrier has engaged in a targeted campaign to intimidate flight attendants and ramp workers from unionizing.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Airlines for America (A4A) said monitoring a planned diversion of hundreds of US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel from US airports to the southwestern border will be the industry trade group’s top policy priority during the peak summer travel season.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Guy Norris
SAS Scandinavian Airlines has signed a research agreement with Airbus to study hybrid and electric aircraft technology.

American Airlines is suing the unions representing most of its mechanics, alleging that union officers and members have engaged in a deliberate work slowdown to gain leverage during ongoing contract negotiations.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Sean Broderick
ICAO should consider stronger standards for centerline lighting on wide runways because of the key role the visual cue plays in helping pilots avoid runway excursions, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Alan Dron
The UK has extended its use of electronic “ePassport” gates at airports to several more nations, including the US and Canada, in an effort to reduce lengthy queues that have been building at UK immigration channels in recent years.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Bill Carey
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has advised organizations of “inherent risks” associated with using unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) manufactured in China.
Safety, Ops & Regulation