Aviation Intelligence Reporter July 2024
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The IATA AGM: Superspy vs Troll – the Grudge Match
What is Willie Walsh up to? Either he is trolling the world, or he is a double agent for the environment campaign, making its points from the inside. One of Greta’s People, behind the wall, deep under cover, presenting a moving target, sending messages from his constantly changing secret locations, hiding his radio equipment in the handles of his wheelie bag. Furtively tapping away in the middle of the night, in analogue morse code – no digital trail here – clandestinely sending updates back to the Circus; awaiting further orders. The Circus, pleased with his work, is keeping him on duty, despite his increasingly desperate pleas to be brought back in. The Circus has never had someone so senior, so effective, as their sleeper in the aviation industry.
The CANSO AGM: Baku – Halfway House to Asia
Central Asia is an interesting part of the world. The Silk Roads, the Great Game, and now the site of new contests as Russia, pleading history, China, pleading cash, as it pours money into the region via its Belt and Road initiative in return for access to its resources, and finally, late to the party, Europe too, pleading, well, European-ness, now working hard to build and deepen its ties with the region. Since the dawn of recorded time, central Asia has been at the crossroads of the world, so it seems to meet and right that CANSO too convened there for its AGM in mid-June. In fact, the original plan was to hold the AGM in Baku in 2020 but Covid put paid to that plan. Still, better late than never, the great and the good of the ANSPs of the world got to experience one of the world’s richest countries firsthand. Do you think controllers have a lot of cash? Azerbaijan says, ‘Hold my vodka.’
Going for Gold in the Fitness Test Stakes
Since March, when we first reported that the Commission had launched a fitness check on the various pieces of legislation that govern airports, we have seen the various industry teams retire to special training camps to get themselves match fit for what is to come. But they appear to be preparing for a very freeform event; each pitching their own definition of what the events should be and according to what rules. So, as we await the torch’s arrival in the stadium for an Olympics like none other, it is time to check in at the various training camps to see how things are going and try to sort out the events.
Contrails are the New Black (Soot)
The great Australian prime minister, Paul Keating, once noted that in any contest between principle and self-interest, put your money on self-interest, because you can be sure that it is in there fighting. Never has that been truer than in the fight we are watching to resist the application of Monitoring, Reporting and Verification obligations to non-CO2 emissions for long-haul flights to and from Europe. The principle is very simple, in order to better understand the issues surrounding contrails and other non-CO2 emissions, we need to know what they are, where they occur and when. Because all concede, the science is not crystal clear. Indeed, ‘iffy’ is the term that has been used. There is a need for data, if want to use the scientific term. So, the Commission proposed introducing an MRV scheme to see what was happening. Now, the Commission is backtracking on that proposal, but only for long-haul.
There is a Whiff of Teargas in the Summer Air
In the grim, grey corridors of the Empire’s inner sanctum, where these things are carefully planned, there is a quiet hum of satisfaction. The war, at least this part of the war, is over and the Empire has won again. Of course, the occasional sporadic outbursts of rebellion erupt from the smouldering detritus of the bushfire but that’s only to be expected. This latest round of engagements has been won and won decisively.
The Jesters at the ECJ Score 1 for the Airlines
In what can only be described as a shock, the European Court of Justice considered again the terms of Regulation 261, and this time found in favour of the airlines. Comedy gold, right to the end. Normally, you have to admire the lawyers that somehow manage to convince their clients that taking the case to the ECJ will be a good thing to do with the client’s money, given the underlying trend of decisions over the years.
Tags: Airlines, Airports, ATM, Aviation Industry, Business Aviation, Competition, Drones and UAVs, Environment, Tourism, Uncategorised