Reading Time: < 1 minute In what Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa, said was a “great day” for his company, Germany’s largest carrier has agreed to purchase the lion’s share of Air Berlin, which filed for bankruptcy protection on August 15. The purchase price of €210m (US$245m) will see Lufthansa looking to acquire 80 of Air Berlin’s 144 aircraft, […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes The US has tentatively granted low cost carrier (LCC) Norwegian UK a foreign air permit, saying it sees no persuasive basis to deny the application. The tentative go-ahead from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) comes more than 18 months after Norwegian filed its application in December 2015. The application was met with considerable opposition […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Industry bodies representing European airlines and airports have broadly welcomed the implementing details of the European Commission’s aviation strategy. On June 8, the Commission issued a communication, named the “Open and Connected Aviation” package, which involves four measures: A regulatory proposal aimed at “safeguarding” air transport competition Guidelines on how to interpret the EU’s airline […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes The European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, the list of non-European airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union. The EU Air Safety List seeks to ensure the highest level of air safety for European citizens, which is […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published a proposal to regulate the operation of small drones in Europe. All interested parties are welcome to comment this proposal from 12 May until 12 August 2017. The proposal provides a framework to safely operate drones while allowing this industry to remain agile, to innovate and continue to […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute EASA published a proposal to the European Commission on new operational rules to better support pilot mental fitness. EASA’s proposal is part of its Action Plan following the Germanwings Flight 9525 accident. Released in a document known as an Opinion (Opinion 14/2016) , the proposals include the following new requirements: Ensuring that all pilots have […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes The European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, the list of airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union. All air carriers from Kazakhstan were removed from the list, while Iran Aseman Airlines was added. The European Commission updated […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute Norwegian Air International (NAI) has been granted approval to begin flights between Ireland and the US after a three-year process in which the US Department of Transportation (DOT) seemed reluctant to give the go-ahead despite being unable to find any legal reason to reject the application. In a dramatic turnaround Dec. 2, DOT announced it […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the European Commission’s revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) to incentivize sustainable fuels, and urged policy-makers to go even further in prioritizing their use for air transport. The largest user of renewable fuels, the road transport sector, has increasing options to move towards electrification; however, aviation has […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute EASA published a set of proposals to the European Commission for an update of the rules concerning pilots’ medical fitness, as part of its Action Plan following the Germanwings Flight 9525 accident. These rules are contained in so-called Part-MED, which covers aviation safety rules related to the medical aspect and fitness of aircrews. Released in […]