- Italy to Take Airport Slot Decisions Off Operators[Feb. 24, 2008]
Italy plans to give responsibility for assigning airport slots to state entity Enav instead of Assoclearance, which groups airlines and airport operators, Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi told a newspaper.
- Global Air Traffic Slowed in Jan. to 4.3% - IATA[Feb. 26, 2008]
Growth in global air passenger traffic slowed sharply in January to 4.3 percent, from 6.7 percent in the previous month, as a U.S. credit crunch took its toll, the head of a worldwide air travel association said.
- BA, Virgin Atlantic Reach US$200 Million Collusion Settlement[Feb. 19, 2008]
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways reached an approximately US$200 million settlement last week on a class action suit filed on behalf of some 8 million US and UK passengers who purchased long-haul tickets from Aug. 11, 2004, through March 23, 2006, when the carriers were found to have colluded on fuel surcharges.
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport Passengers Rescreened After Metal Detector Failure[Feb. 24, 2008]
On February 24, hundreds of passengers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport were rounded up and re-screened by security after officials realized that a metal detector hadn't been working for about 10 minutes.
- Singapore Airlines Flight Attendant Fined over Laptop Porn[Feb. 22, 2008]
A Singapore Airlines flight attendant has been fined AU$10,000 for bringing child pornography into Australia.
- Tightened Security for Small Planes in New Zealand[Feb. 24, 2008]
The attempted hijacking of a small plane earlier this month in the South Island will result in tightened security for passengers on planes with more than 19 seats, New Zealand media reported on Feb. 24.
- Indonesia Weighs Adopting Global Air Safety Standard - IATA[Feb. 22, 2008]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Feb. 22 that the Indonesian government is considering adopting its operational safety audit for all its airline operators in a bid to improve standards.
- IATA Backs Solar-Powered Flight Prototype[Feb. 20, 2008]
IATA became an institutional partner of Solar Impulse, a Switzerland-based research project that intends to fly an aircraft propelled only by solar energy.
- QantasLink Boeing 717 Damaged in Heavy Landing[Feb. 19, 2008]
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating a heavy landing of a Qantas Boeing 717-200 at Darwin airport which resulted in "substantial" damage to the aircraft.
- Reduced Training Approved for Airbus Pilots Transitioning to A380[Feb. 21, 2008]
Airbus said US FAA and EASA have approved reduced training for pilots transitioning from the A320 family, A330 or A340 to the A380.