American Airlines flight bound for London is diverted back to Miami after a passenger refuses to wear mask

An American Airlines flight headed to London returned to Miami less than an hour after taking off, after a passenger refused to follow the federal requirement to wear a face mask, according to the airline.

The airline called Miami police, and officers escorted a woman off the plane at Miami International Airport on Wednesday evening without incident. A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department said American Airlines staff dealt administratively with the passenger.

The woman was put on American's internal no-fly list pending further investigation, an airline spokesman said. Airlines have frequently banned passengers for the duration of the pandemic if they refuse to follow mandatory mask requirements designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

American said there were 129 passengers and 14 crew members on the plane. Pilots turned the Boeing 777 around less than an hour into the transatlantic flight, according to tracking service FlightAware.

Airlines reported nearly 6,000 incidents involving unruly passengers last year and 151 in the first two weeks of this year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Most of them involved passengers who refused to wear masks.

Reports of unruly behaviour on planes surged to a record 5,981 last year, more than 71% tied to disputes over a federal mask mandate that went into effect early last year, though airlines had required them since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Some incidents included physical assault against crews. In October 2021, an American Airlines flight attendant was hospitalized after a passenger allegedly struck her in the face, forcing the cross-country flight to divert.

In January 2021, the FAA announced a "zero-tolerance" policy for unruly passenger behaviour that skips warnings or counselling and goes directly to penalties, which can include heavy fines and jail time.

It is unclear whether the passenger involved in the incident on AA flight 38 will face enforcement action from the FAA. The FAA has civil authority to propose fines up to USD 37,000 per violation for unruly passenger cases. The agency does not have the authority for criminal prosecution.

Airbus on Thursday, January 20 raised the stakes in a dispute with one of its largest customers, Qatar Airways, over grounded and undelivered A350 jets by announcing it had revoked a separate contract for 50 smaller A321s the airline needs to open new routes.

The move is expected to deepen a dispute that moved closer towards a rare courtroom clash on Thursday, January 20, with a procedural hearing over Qatar’s claim for USD 600 million in compensation over A350 flaws pencilled in for the week of April 26 in London.

Qatar Airways A321 (Image Courtesy - International Flight Network)

Airbus revealed it was walking away from the contract for A321neos in skeletal arguments presented during a scheduling session over the A350 dispute at a division of Britain’s High Court, people familiar with the matter said.

“We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways by our rights,” an Airbus spokesman said following a filing setting out provisional arguments, reported earlier by Bloomberg News.

Qatar Airways is expected to fight the A321 contract’s termination, has said it plans to take delivery of the jets even though it is refusing to take more A350s until a dispute over surface erosion on the larger planes has been resolved.

The airline had no immediate comment on the A321 contract.

The A321 order stems from a deal first signed some 10 years ago which was then worth USD 4.6 billion at list prices. It was later modified to switch 10 of the A321s to a newer version.

Qatar Airways has said the A321s will help it launch flights to new markets where there is currently not enough demand for larger aircraft, but which are out of reach of smaller A320s.

The planemaker said these decisions were carried out “apparently at the instigation” of Qatar Airways but didn’t offer specifics. Demand for air travel has been depressed for two years because of the pandemic, especially on the long-distance routes that intersect at Gulf hubs like Doha.

For its part, Qatar Airways is seeking resolution of the dispute in time to use grounded A350 aircraft at the centre of the row for the soccer World Cup later in 2022.

Qatar Airways is the main sponsor for the soccer World Cup later in 2022.

Grounding Dispute

The two companies have been locked in a row for months over A350 damage including blistered paint, cracked window frames or riveted areas and erosion of a layer of lightning protection.

Qatar Airways says its national regulator has ordered it to stop flying 21 out of its 53 A350 jets as problems appeared, prompting a bitter dispute with Airbus which has said that while it acknowledges technical problems, there is no safety issue.

Qatar Airways is seeking USD 618 million in compensation for the 21 grounded jets plus USD 4 million a day as the row drags on. The Gulf carrier is also asking British judges to order France-based Airbus not to attempt to deliver any more of the jets until what it describes as a design defect has been fixed.

ALSO READ - Qatar airways sue Airbus for USD 618mn over A350 paint issue

Airbus has said it will “deny in total” the complaint and has accused Qatar Airways, once one of its most highly courted customers, of mislabeling the problem as a safety concern.

It has indicated it will argue that state-owned Qatar Airways influenced its regulator to ground the jets to win compensation, while Qatar Airways has questioned the design and accused Airbus of failing to produce studies, the people said.

Qatar Airways has said its local regulator is independently driving safety decisions and cannot evaluate the airworthiness of the affected jets without a deeper analysis from Airbus.

The paint flaw in Qatar Airways' A350 (Image Courtesy - Reuters)

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which is responsible for the overall design but not the locally regulated airworthiness of individual planes in service, has said it has not so far found safety problems with A350s that it inspected. Qatar is so far the only country to ground some of the jets.

But a Reuters investigation in November 2021 revealed at least five other airlines had discovered paint or surface flaws since 2016, prompting Airbus to set up an internal task force before the Qatar row and to explore a new A350 anti-lightning design.

ALSO READ - Qatar Airways takes Airbus to London High Court over A350 skin damage

ALSO READ - In a paint dispute with Qatar Airways, Airbus goes legal

(With Inputs from Reuters)

India is all set to issue smart e-passports with secure biometric data- an announcement made by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. The passport was unveiled at India Security Press, Nashik.

Northeast Now

Bhattacharyya added that the new passports would significantly ease passage through immigration check-ins and will be compliant with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Currently, India issues passports for its citizens in printed booklets.

The idea of a chip-secured biometric passport for Indians is not new. Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar had earlier said that the government was in talks with India Security Press about the feasibility and applicability of the project.

We propose to pursue the manufacture of e-passports on priority so that a new passport booklet with advanced security features can be rolled out in the near future.Jaishankar

Old Passport Vs New

The new smart e-passports would contain personal particulars of the applicants digitally signed and stored in a chip which would be embedded in the passport booklet. Any form of tampering with the chip will be detected by the system and shall lead to a failed passport authentication.

Trak.in

The contract for the manufacturing of the electronic chip inlays in the passport jacket, which of course, would be ICAO-compliant in all capacities, has been awarded to India Security Press, Nashik. Apparently, these contactless inlays are critical for issuing e-passports that are powered by chips. Issuance of e-Passports will commence on the successful completion of the procurement process by ISP, Nashik.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is a significant partner for the MEA to transform the passport issuance process in the country, will also adopt its systems for e-passports.

We will bring in the technology (for e-passport), but you know the sovereign functions like granting or printing of the passport booklet will continue with the governmentTej Bhatla, business unit head for public sector at TCS, told news agency PTI

Furthermore, he stated that it will not be a completely paper-free document as work like visa stamping will continue, but will definitely reduce the need for paper through automation wherever possible.

Although India does not yet issue biometric passports for its ordinary citizens, only the diplomats and other official passports have been biometrically secured since at least 2008, with this process in fruition, India will join the ranks of some 150 countries, including the UK, Germany, Bangladesh and others that issue biometric passports to ordinary citizens.

The three types of Indian Passport | Online Guider

Did you know? 1. Smt Pratibha Patil, the 12th president of India, who served from 25 July 2007 to July 2012, was the first person to be issued an e-passport.

AajTak

2. The Indian Passport just got stronger, climbing 7 places in the ranking, now providing visa-free access to 59 countries around the world-with Oman being the latest addition.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: The Times of India

Restrictions have been imposed at the Delhi airport on charter flights and airlines' non-scheduled flights due to approaching Republic Day on January 26, stated a notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

No landing or take-off will be permitted from the Delhi airport for airlines' non-scheduled flights and general aviation companies' charter flights between 10:15 AM - 01:15 PM till January 24, the NOTAM noted.

On Republic Day itself, non-scheduled flights and charter flights will not be allowed to land or take off from the Delhi airport between 7 AM - 1 PM and between 2 PM - 06:30 PM, it mentioned.

On January 29, due to Beating the Retreat ceremony, non-scheduled flights and charter flights will not be permitted to land or take off from the Delhi airport between 4 PM - 7 PM, it noted.

There will be no impact of NOTAM on the aircraft of the Indian Air Force, Border Security Force and the Indian Army's aviation wing, it mentioned.

"State-owned aircraft or helicopter can fly with the governor or chief minister of state," it noted. Scheduled flights of airlines will operate as usual, it mentioned.

Because of Republic Day, the historic Red Fort will remain closed for people for five days from January 22-26 due to security reasons. The Delhi Police took to Twitter to inform the citizens.

Red Fort (Image Courtesy - Britannica)

"Because of Republic Day, the Red Fort shall remain closed for public and general visitors from January 22, 2022, to January 26, 2022, due to security reasons," it tweeted.

There is a three-layered security system in place for the Republic Day celebration and the force is always alert and undertakes anti-terror measures especially ahead of any event of national importance, the Delhi Police said.

Citing the recent security breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy in Punjab, the Delhi Police officers said that the force is extra vigilant to ensure no such incident happens in the national capital.

Rating agency ICRA on January 19 cut its estimates for recovery in the domestic aviation market to 52% of pre-pandemic levels from 62% earlier due to the outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19 in the country.

The outbreak of a new wave of COVID-19 due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 will result in a 40-42% fall in domestic passenger traffic in January, ICRA said in its report.

"Overall, passenger traffic is expected to be lower by 40-45 per cent in Q4 FY2022 and the traffic recovery for FY2022 is moderated to 52% of pre-Covid level as against our earlier estimates of 62% of pre-Covid level.The pace of passenger traffic recovery is expected to be sharp and much faster when compared to the second wave of pandemic. As for the airport operators, their strong on balance-sheet liquidity is expected to support their credit profile in the near term. However, the outlook on the airport infrastructure continues to remain Negative.ICRA expects domestic air travel to recover back to pre-Covid levels by FY2023 and the international sector by FY2024. This is factoring in the assumption that impact of future Covid waves (if any) to be low."Rajeshwar Burla, Group Head of Corporate Ratings, ICRA

The fall in domestic air passenger traffic coupled with the imposition of localised restrictions in key states and the consequent slowdown in leisure travel has led to the rating agency reducing its outlook for recovery in the country's aviation market.

However, the rating agency said that it does expect a strong rebound in domestic air passenger traffic after the third wave of COVID-19 much faster when compared to the second wave of a pandemic once the situation normalises.

Due to healthy recovery in passenger traffic post second wave impact and dip in Covid-19 infections, the Directorate General of Central Aviation (DGCA) in November 2021 had announced plans to allow resumption of scheduled international commercial operations from December 15, 2021.

ICRA lowers aviation recovery projections amid Omicron wave

However, the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, has forced the regulator to extend the ban on international commercial operations till January 31, 2022 and is expected to be further extended. Once restrictions are lifted, the recovery of international passenger traffic is expected to happen in a gradual manner and is expected to reach pre-Covid levels only by FY2024.

ICRA also said that it expects that once restrictions are lifted, the recovery of international passenger traffic is expected to happen gradually and is expected to reach pre-Covid levels only by 2023-24.

Furthermore, ICRA said that the strong balance-sheet liquidity of airport operators is expected to support their credit profile in the near term. However, the outlook on the airport infrastructure continues to remain Negative.

A potential weakening of the air freight market coincides with growing concern in the aviation industry that surging passenger traffic, which has reduced airlines' reliance on cargo revenue, may be fleeting. 

The strong cargo demand that helped passenger-deprived airlines stay afloat during the pandemic is showing signs of softening amid growing economic uncertainty, in part, fuelled by decades of high inflation.

The Baltic Air Freight Index, which shows weekly transactional rates for general cargo fell 8.7% last week, while the airlines' group IATA said on Monday, June 20 that freight revenue generated by carriers this year would fall by 6.4%.

Amid global economic scares, demand for air freight starts to decline

Qatar Airways' Chief Executive Akbar Al Bakar warned on Monday, June 20 that inflation was expected to weaken demand for air freight and subsequently put downward pressure on yields.

"There will be a downturn in business (activity) and when there is a downturn in business, people don't buy stuff that we normally carry as cargo," he told reporters at an industry meeting in Doha.

Edward Bell, an economist at Dubai lender Emirates NBD, described consumers and corporates as facing a "kind of vortex of price pressures" that they would increasingly be sensitive to over the rest of the year.

The freight market - both air and ocean - has seen rates skyrocket since the pandemic amid huge capacity cuts that have left limited available space compared to cargo being shipped.

Korean Air Chief Executive Walter Cho said freight rates had softened but were far higher than they were before the pandemic when there was much more capacity.

"Demand is weak especially since China is basically shut down right now. We expect it to come back soon. I expect the cargo market to be sustainable until next year at least."

Credit Agricole CIB's Global Head of Asset Finance Group Jose Abramovici said the sector was likely to remain profitable for several more years given how high air freights are today.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Augustus Tang said cargo load factors were not as high as they had been because more air freight capacity was being added to the market. "If there is any moderation it would be really small but the trend is still really positive," he said.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Augustus Tang said cargo load factors were not as high as they had been because more air freight capacity was being added to the market.

The freight market - both air and ocean - has seen rates skyrocket since the pandemic amid huge capacity cuts that have left limited available space compared to cargo being shipped.

ALSO READ - The Ukraine-Russia crisis harms air cargo operations

But with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine compounding the economic damage from the pandemic, a vaulting U.S. dollar and decades-high inflation tightening financial conditions, the global economy is now heading towards a slowdown.

But now that the economic outlook has turned negative, with growth slowing in China, inflation rising globally and retailers like Target and Walmart trying to dispose of excess inventory, the outlook is very different from just six months ago.

United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said freight rates could moderate as more capacity is added but that cargo demand would stay "really robust" due to supply chain challenges.

The World Bank this month slashed its global economic growth forecast by 1.2% points to 2.9% for 2022 and warned many countries were likely to face recessions.

United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said freight rates could moderate as more capacity is added but that cargo demand would stay "really robust" due to supply chain challenges.

Emirates cargo boss Nabil Sultan, in an interview, said rates would remain where they are for the next six to eight months given the surge in fuel prices, while demand was likely to still outstrip supply even as more capacity is being added.

However, he warned that increased operating costs, including fuel and labour, were making some routes almost unviable to operate.

Korean Air and Emirates are both evaluating Airbus and Boeing's 777x freighters for new orders, their executives said.

Emirates is adding more freight routes into China this month in anticipation of an increase in production which has taken a hit under Beijing's zero-COVID policy.

ALSO READ - Emirates threatens to cancel the Boeing 777X orders if delivery postponed beyond 2023

Korean Air and Emirates are both evaluating Airbus and Boeing's 777x freighters for new orders, their executives said.

Condition of the Indian carriers

IndiGo, India’s largest airline, looks close to inducting its first freighter plane as it seeks to capture the boom in air cargo driven by the pandemic.

IndiGo looks close to inducting its first freighter plane as it seeks to capture the boom in air cargo driven by the pandemic.

ALSO READ - First CarGo freighter of IndiGo to be delivered soon; spotted at Seletar Airport

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., which operates IndiGo, said in 2021 that it planned to source four converted A321ceo planes, which can each carry 27 tonnes, for full-time cargo operations on both domestic and international routes.

The conversion of the A321ceo into a freight aircraft, which IndiGo is expected to induct in May, is taking place in Singapore.

SpiceJet has secured RA3 (Regulated Agent Third country) and ACC3 (Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into the Union from a Third Country Airport) certifications.

ALSO READ - SpiceJet obtains certifications for international cargo operations in the EU and UK

Meanwhile, SpiceJet has secured RA3 (Regulated Agent Third country) and ACC3 (Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into the Union from a Third Country Airport) certifications.

The certifications will allow SpiceJet to not only transport mail and cargo on its airplanes under its Air Operator Permit but also handle cargo and mail of other airlines for transporting to or via the European Union and the United Kingdom, airline officials said.

(With Inputs from Reuters)