Safety, Ops & Regulation

A passenger on board a Pakistan International Airlines’ Airbus A310 was killed and others were wounded when the aircraft was hit by gunfire as it landed at Peshawar Airport in the early hours of Wednesday.

Asiana Airlines Flight 214’s pilots didn’t have a full understanding of the aircraft’s automated systems and “mismanaged” the approach to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has concluded.

A six-day strike by one of France’s largest air traffic controllers’ unions, the UNSA-ICNA, is set to cause major disruption to flights throughout Europe.

Finnair will outsource its cabin crew on approximately 20 long- and short-haul routes over the next two years, leading to job cuts, after union talks failed to hit its €18 million ($24 million) cost-cutting target.

Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee has granted CAT IIIa ICAO certification to the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) to execute automatic landings.

Technology specialist SITA is creating a registry of beacons that could be used by mobile phone apps to help passengers navigate through airports.

The search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 is expected to move south, Australian officials have said.

Virgin Atlantic has revealed plans for a wider roll out of Google Glass following its London Heathrow Airport trial, but its partner SITA remains unconvinced after a further road test with Copenhagen Airport.

Airlines are heavily investing in IT solutions to manage flight disruptions, according to the results of SITA’s 2014 Airline IT Trends Survey.

Finnair has reached a partial agreement with the Finnish Air Line Pilots Association (SLL) which will shave €2 million ($2.7 million) from its cost base.

FAA has announced Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test site—the fourth of six—is now operational.

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has made a series of recommendations to test lithium metal batteries more strenuously during certification following a fire onboard a parked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 at London Heathrow Airport.

Following concerns raised by a group of airlines at the IATA AGM in Doha, air transport communications and IT specialist SITA has launched a governance review and named a new chairman.

The ASTM International Committee on Petroleum Products and Lubricants, which develops standards related to oil products, has approved a third pathway to produce alternative jet fuel for use by commercial airlines.

Boeing has placed several new full-flight simulators for the 737, 777 and 787.

United Airlines dispatchers have ratified a new joint labor agreement.

Russia’s state Duma has amended its air code to allow carriers to compile a passenger “black list.”

Finnair has postponed its deadline for reaching an agreement with the Finnish Air Line Pilots Association (SLL) so it can get closer to its cost-savings target.

US Airways and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) have reached tentative agreements on contracts covering approximately 11,000 mechanic and related, fleet service, maintenance training specialist and stock clerk employees.

Kenya Airways has offered a five year extension of its catering supply contract to Servair, the French-owned catering operator.

Crimea’s Simferopol Airport has opened for international flights after Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an order establishing state border crossing points at the airport.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 pushing back from the gate struck a parked JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 Tuesday morning at Boston Logan International Airport.

Austrian Airlines needs sustainable summer operations without strike threats, CEO Jaan Albrecht told ATW in Vienna.

United Airlines is altering its MileagePlus frequent flyer program to reward miles based on ticket price rather than distance flown.

Ireland-based low-cost carrier Ryanair is seeking an explanation from an Italian ground handling company as to why one of its aircraft was left without chocks at Rome Ciampino Airport and rolled into a building, damaging its port stabilizer.