Bloomberg Boeing Co’s program to certify a new version of its 737 Max jet is running behind schedule and may not meet an end-of-year deadline, aviation regulators warned in a letter. The Max 10, an extended version of the company’s flagship single-aisle jet that was grounded in 2019 after two fatal crashes, must be approved by the Federal Aviation ...
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FAA to be led by safety chief Nolen
Bloomberg The US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) chief of safety is becoming the agency’s acting leader next week. Billy Nolen, who joined the FAA this year after a career as an airline pilot and executive, will be the temporary replacement for Steve Dickson, who is stepping down on Thursday. The appointment was announced in an FAA press release. The ...
Read More »China crash mystery grows as proof signals midair breakup
Bloomberg At least one piece of the Boeing Co 737-800 that crashed in China appears to have broken loose well before impact, a finding that adds mystery to the plane’s fatal dive. The piece suspected to have come from the China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd jet was found about 10 kilometres (6 miles) from the main wreckage area, Chinese ...
Read More »India aviation on growth path amid waning Covid
Bloomberg India is expecting local air passenger traffic will surpass the pre-pandemic level within a year as fliers return, emboldened by a steep fall in new Covid-19 infections. “I am very confident in the days to come, in the months to come, within the next year, we will surpass the pre-Covid level†of 415,000 daily passengers, India Civil Aviation ...
Read More »Hong Kong to lift its transit passenger ban from April 1
Bloomberg Hong Kong airport will allow transit passengers for the first time in three months, building on the wider relaxation of strict Covid-19 border controls in the Asian financial hub. Airlines were informed that transit passengers from so-called group A “high-risk†countries will be allowed to transfer through Hong Kong airport from next month, according to a letter seen ...
Read More »Airbus scouts India in search of elusive widebody customer
Bloomberg Airbus SE has tried for years to find a new customer for its bigger jets in India, the world’s fastest growing aviation market before Covid shattered travel. Two of its previous buyers went bankrupt, while another was sold, giving arch rival Boeing Co a firm foothold in the South Asian nation’s market for transcontinental planes. Remi Maillard, the ...
Read More »Major airlines urge Hong Kong to drop Covid-19 tests for crew
Bloomberg A coalition of leading passenger and cargo airlines is calling on Hong Kong to scrap pre-flight and on-arrival Covid-19 tests for aircrew, saying they are a key reason to avoid flying to the city. Hong Kong is the only jurisdiction in Asia that requires such tests, which lead to delays and the risk of staff being sent to ...
Read More »Vaccine passports likely to become unnecessary: Goh
Bloomberg Vaccine passports will probably become redundant as more people are inoculated against Covid, and efforts to create a common standard are stymied by differing entry requirements, the head of the world’s biggest airline alliance said. “There’s no way that this has been integrated in one place,†Star Alliance Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Goh said in an interview in Singapore. ...
Read More »China jet’s dive took it near speed of sound before crash
Bloomberg The China Eastern Airlines Corp jet that crashed was travelling at close to the speed of sound in the moments before it slammed into a hillside, according to a Bloomberg News review of flight-track data. Such an impact may complicate the task for investigators because it can obliterate evidence and damage a plane’s data and voice recorders that ...
Read More »Russia offers to buy out jetliner fleet from foreign leasing firms
Bloomberg Russia offered to compensate owners of jets commandeered by the country, a bid to smooth relations with leasing companies that stand to lose billions of dollars on rented aircraft they can’t get back. Authorities in Moscow are seeking ways to legally get round sanctions requiring international firms to recall the planes, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said. Options include ...
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