WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told a U.S. House panel that an electrical issue that grounded about 100 Boeing 737 MAX planes last month worldwide appeared to be a “pretty straightforward fix.” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told the U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing transportation that he was fully confident in the safety of the MAX that returned to service after being grounded for 20 months following two fatal crashes in five months. Read Full Article

The aircraft tracking element of the ICAO’s Global Aeronautical Distress & Safety System (GADSS) initiative has consisted of multiple phases since its inception following the loss of MH 370. Phase one was that related to aircraft tracking, this was followed by phase two on autonomous distress tracking, the latter phase is the one on which international rule making is currently concentrated. Real Full Article

Register for the upcoming webinar on Wednesday, May 19 to hear more from Aireon & EUROCONTROL experts In a major operational enhancement of the EUROCONTROL Network Manager’s (NM) operational systems, real-time air traffic surveillance data derived from Aireon’s space-based ADS-B system has now been integrated into NM’s Enhanced Traffic Flow Management System (ETFMS). The new data will significantly boost air traffic predictability by up to 20%, improving operational efficiency and resilience while unlocking capacity for the future that will help reduce environmental impacts. The new high-fidelity data, refreshed every 60…

With few flights and even fewer passengers, the coronavirus pandemic unleashed a wave of challenges for airlines. Some have gone out of business and others are barely surviving as global passenger volume hovers at around 50 percent of 2019 levels. Without passengers to fill them, airlines have been retiring their older aircraft faster than normal. The more than 1,400 planes airplanes parked in 2020 that might not return to service is more than twice as many aircraft as would customarily be retired in a single year, according to a 10-year aviation…