Safety, Ops & Regulation

A rarely used legislative maneuver will force the US House of Representatives to vote on the long-stalled reauthorization of the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) this month.

Airways New Zealand has signed a contract with FerroNATS to offer air navigation students in Puerto Rico the chance to work with the Spain-based company.

The Slovenian government has received several offers for Adria Airways in its second attempt to privatize the state-run carrier.

Russia’s Ministry of Justice has amended Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) allowing airlines to launch international flights without waiting two years after operating domestic services.

Guiyang-based regional China Express Airlines has applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China to launch international service despite operating difficulties facing Chinese regional carriers.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has fined a mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) user £1,200 ($1,840) for flying the device over central London.

Egypt has become the latest country to sign the Memorandum of Agreement for the ICAO Middle East Airspace Management Enhancement Programme (MAEP) joining founder members the United Arab Emirates and Sudan.

Recreational users operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) near airports should be subject to criminal penalties, NAV Canada president and CEO John Crichton said.

Republic Airways Holdings has issued a statement saying it has not breached its capacity purchase agreements (CPAs) with any major US airlines.

Portuguese anti-trust regulator Autoridade da Concorrência (AdC) has given the green light for the Atlantic Gateway consortium to acquire a 61% stake in TAP Portugal.

IT & Distribution-Oct. 7, 2015

Congress is pushing for a simple and quick solution to illegal incursions by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into airspace around airports at a hearing Oct. 7.

FAA will evaluate technology to detect unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) near airports under a Pathfinder program with developer CACI International.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has started an unscheduled audit at Transaero Airlines due to the deterioration of its financial situation.

Thailand’s low-cost carrier (LCC) Thai Lion Air has achieved IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification following an assessment of its operational management and control systems.

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has approved an air operator’s certificate (AOC) for AirAsia’s revamped low-cost carrier (LCC) subsidiary AirAsia Japan.

African low-cost carrier fastjet has been granted a Zimbabwean air operator’s certificate (AOC) and will launch operations on Oct. 28.

The British Airways Boeing 777 GE90 uncontained engine failure on a Las Vegas runway Sept. 8 occurred in the high-pressure compressor (HPC), investigators reported.

FAA has proposed a $1.9 million civil penalty against Chicago-based SkyPan International for allegedly conducting “65 unauthorized commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flights over various locations in New York City and Chicago between March 21, 2012 and Dec. 15, 2014.

Air France is to open talks over its Boeing 787-9 commitments after announcing plans to scale back its long-haul fleet by 14 aircraft on Oct. 5.

232 firearms were discovered at US airports in September 2015, up 22.1% year-over-year, as detailed in Total TSA Gun Catches for September 2015 (loaded or unloaded firearms, plus stun-guns, discovered at TSA checkpoints at airports across the US).

Russia has spent more than RUB3 billion ($46 million) out of RUB4.23 billion planned for its regional routes subsidiary program in 2015, according to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia.

An American Airlines Airbus A320 made an emergency landing in Syracuse “due to pilot illness” that resulted in the pilot’s death, the carrier said.

International airports in Stockholm, Sweden and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic may be the next to get US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance facilities, a CBP official said.

FAA is expecting as many as one million small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be sold during the US holiday season.