Transport Infrastructure

Airbus' regional aircraft fleet in the Middle East is expected to double by 2044 to 3,700 planes, a senior official revealed on Sunday. Airbus's Head of Marketing for Africa and the Middle East, Grainne Van den Berg, told a recent press conference that the European planemaker anticipates Middle East passenger traffic to grow at a rate of 4,4% per year over the next 20 years. Van den Berg said that Airbus expects services in the region will double by 2044 to $29.9 billion. The forecast was made ahead of the Dubai Airshow - the Middle East's largest aviation event, which...

Nine Republican attorneys general raised concerns on Friday about Union Pacific's plans to purchase smaller rival Norfolk Southern for $85 billion, creating the first U.S. Coast-to-Coast freight rail operator. In a letter sent to the Surface Transportation Board by Tennessee Attorney-General Jonathan Skrmetti, and Kansas Attorney-General Kris Kobach that was seen by, the officials expressed concern about the deal, which they said would result in "undue market consolidation" and "stifle competition, resulting in higher prices, less reliability and less innovation, at the expense America's producers and consumers." If approved, the tie-up could help reshape U.S. freight railroad industry, streamline operations,...

After the government shutdown ended, major U.S. Airlines are asking the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to remove the mandatory 6% domestic flight reductions at 40 major airports. The cuts were imposed in order to address safety concerns regarding air traffic. The FAA's order, which requires far more drastic cuts, is not being followed by most airlines. Cirium, a firm that provides aviation analytics, reported airlines cancelled just 2% of flights on Friday, down from 3.5% Wednesday and Thursday. The FAA and union officials announced that air traffic controllers, and other FAA staff, began receiving their back pay on Friday. This...

The oil prices rose around 2% Friday due to supply concerns after Novorossiysk, the Black Sea port, stopped oil exports in response to a drone attack by Ukraine that targeted an oil depot at the main Russian energy hub. Brent crude futures rose $1.50 or 2.4% to $64.51 per barrel at 1115 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.57 or 2.7% to $60.26 per barrel. Officials in Russia said that the attack on Friday damaged a vessel in port, apartment buildings and an oil depot at Novorossiysk. Three members of the crew were injured. Two industry sources said that...

U.S. flights cancellations dropped sharply in the past day, as the absence of air traffic controllers decreased just hours before Wednesday's vote by the House of Representatives to end the record-breaking government shutdown. The United States' airlines canceled almost 900 flights Wednesday, the lowest number in six days. This was in accordance with a Federal Aviation Administration directive that they cancel 6% flights at the busiest 40 airports in order to address safety concerns. According to some airlines, the FAA may reduce its planned 8% cut in flights on Thursday from 8% to 6%. The FAA reported that air traffic...

The government has been imposing mandatory flight reductions in response to safety concerns. This is the fifth day that the airlines have cancelled more than 1,000 flights. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) instructed airlines last week to reduce 4% of flights daily starting Friday, November 7 at 40 major airports due to staffing problems in air traffic control. The reductions in flights increased to 6% on February 2. On Thursday, the flight reductions would be 8% and on Friday, they will be 10%. The FAA and airlines are discussing when and how to reduce and eliminate the flight cuts as...

These are the most popular stories from the New York Times' business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. On Monday, a coalition of clean-energy groups and the City of St. Paul filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government. They challenged what they called the nakedly partisan nature of the funding cuts made during the shutdown of the federal government that resulted in the loss of around $7.5 billion from projects in Democratic states. In one of his final letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett said that he will...

Bloomberg News reported Monday that Verizon Communications was looking to raise $10 billion on the corporate bond markets to fund the $20 billion Frontier deal. A person familiar with the situation confirmed this. The wireless carrier filed a five-part sale of bonds earlier that day without revealing the size. The report stated that the initial price discussion for the largest portion of the deal - a bond with a maturity of 40 years - is about 1.6 percentage point above Treasuries. Verizon didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Last year, the company bought Frontier for $9.6 billion....

China has suspended port fees for vessels linked to the United States, said its transport ministry on Monday. This comes after Washington announced an equivalent pause in punitive measures against China's shipbuilding and shipping sectors. The reciprocated pauses are in line with the agreements made by U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping at a recent summit in South Korea. According to a statement from the Transport Ministry, the suspension began at 13:01 local (0501 GMT). Beijing has welcomed the announcement by the U.S. Office of Trade Representative on November 9 that it will pause all punitive measures...

The number of flights canceled by airlines in the United States surpassed 1,500 on Monday. This is the fourth day that cancellations have exceeded 1,000, as flight reductions and staffing shortages continue to cause havoc for aviation. FlightAware is a website that tracks flights. As of 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), more than 1,550 flights had been canceled and 1,400 delayed Monday. More than 1,550 flights were cancelled and 1,400 flights delayed on Monday, after 2,950 flight cancellations and nearly 10,800 delays Sunday. Chicago's November snowstorm also caused disruptions to air travel. Late Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that...

Due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, U.S. flights are expected to be "a trickle" as the shutdown continues. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made the announcement in comments that were broadcast on Sunday. After a Saturday plagued by thousands of cancellations and delays, major airlines faced a third consecutive day of flight restrictions. The government shutdown has now lasted a record-breaking 40 days. This has caused a shortage of air traffic control officers who, along with other federal employees, are not paid for several weeks. Duffy, on CNN's State of the Union program, said: "It will only get worse......

After a weekend of flight delays caused by a shortage of air traffic controllers, major airlines are preparing for the third day of mandatory government-mandated flight reductions. Federal Aviation Administration has instructed airlines to reduce 4% of flights daily starting Friday in 40 major airports due to safety concerns regarding air traffic control. The record-breaking shutdown has left air traffic controllers, and other federal employees who haven't been paid in weeks, short. The reduction in flight numbers is to be 6% by Tuesday, and 10% by November 14th. The FAA announced on Saturday that there are air traffic control staffing...

Last week, Ukraine attacked the port of Novorossiysk in Russia and forced it to suspend its oil exports. The Neptune rocket it used was one of many long-range weapons Ukraine developed since the invasion in 2022. According to Kyiv, here is a list of the new Ukrainian weapons. LONG NEPTUNE Ukraine claims its "Long Neptune", a land-attack cruise rocket with a maximum range of 1,000 km (621 mi), is produced domestically. The missile was developed using the Neptune antiship missile, which had a shorter range before the invasion. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Russia, announced in March that its range...

The oil prices dropped in the early Asian trading on Monday, wiping out the gains of last week, as loadings were resumed at Novorossiysk, the major Russian export hub, after a suspension of two days at the Black Sea Port that was hit by an attack from Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 58 cents or 0.9% to $63.81 per barrel at 0050 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at $59.50 per barrel, down by 59 cents or 1.0% since Friday's closing. The benchmarks both rose by more than 2% to close the week on a modest note. Exports...

Two industry sources and LSEG data show that the Russian port of Novorossiysk resumed oil loadings Sunday, after a suspension lasting two days due to a Ukrainian drone and missile attack. Novorossiysk temporarily halted oil exports on Friday, equating to 2.2 millions barrels of oil per day or 2% global supply. According to two anonymous industry sources, loadings have resumed. According to LSEG, two tankers - the Suezmax and Aframax classes Rodos - are loading oil on the port's berths. Two oil berths were damaged by a Ukrainian drone at the Russian Black Sea port Novorossiysk on Friday, which forced...

The airport director announced on Tuesday that talks are in progress between the Moldovan government and Russia's Lukoil about buying the energy company’s infrastructure at Chisinau Airport as part of an effort to implement U.S. Sanctions imposed last month. Serdgiu Spoiala stated that he did not see any risk of the airport running out of aviation fuel, after the government proposed to buy Lukoil’s facilities on Monday. The sanctions imposed by the United States on Lukoil and Rosneft were linked to the war that has lasted for more than three-and-a-half years in Ukraine. Currently, it is the only supplier of...

Two industry sources said on Tuesday that the Russian energy company Novatek had restored to full capacity its gas condensate facility at the Baltic Sea Port of Ust-Luga following repairs of damaged equipment caused by drone attacks in August. The fire was caused by Ukrainian drones on August 24. This led to the complete shutdown of the operation, including the fuel export loading. It is one of many disruptions in Russia's energy sector as Ukraine intensifies drone attacks during the ongoing conflict between the two neighbours. One source said that the daily processing of stable condensate (a type of lighter...

In an opaque market, the differentials between urals crude and other grades remained stable on Monday as participants assessed the impact of sanctions placed on Lukoil last month and Rosneft the previous month on the supply of this grade to India and Turkey. Sources in the trade said that two Indian state refiners bought 5 million barrels from spot markets as they continued to search for alternatives to Russian oil supplies. Sources said that Lukoil declared force majore at its Iraqi field of oil, while Bulgaria was preparing to seize the Burgas refinery as its international operations buckled due to...

Belgian officials have enlisted foreign forces to help them track or seize drones that are making incursions near its airports and military bases, as well as a nuclear power plant. They claim this is all a result of Russian interference. Last Tuesday, drone sightings caused the authorities to temporarily close Belgium's busiest airport, Brussels Airport. This was one of several recent incursions which also resulted in a brief closure at the cargo hub, Liege Airport, and disrupted a nearby airbase. "We don't say it's Russia. "We're not saying it's Russia. It is impossible to link any incident with a specific...

The price differential between Urals and Brent for December arrived in India on Thursday, as the flagship blend of Russia was traded at its steepest discount in over a year. This is due to new U.S. sanctions against Russia's top oil producers. The price difference for Russia's flagship Urals oil in Indian ports has widened from $2 to $4 per barrel under Brent for December arrival. This is the largest discount in about a month. According to estimates and shipping and trading sources, Russia's oil imports to western ports will decrease in November due to higher refinery runs but remain...

The Norwegian Police announced on Thursday that they have closed their investigation into the suspected sightings of drones in Oslo Airport in September. They cited insufficient evidence to prove that drones were present. Oslo and Copenhagen airports were closed for several hours between September 22 and 23 after drones reported in the area caused the closure of the airspace. In recent months, drones have caused significant disruption in Europe. They forced the temporary closure of airports across several countries. Some officials blamed these incidents on Russian "hybrid war". Moscow denies any involvement in the incidents. Norwegian police confirmed that they...

According to two industry sources, and LSEG ship tracking, Russia's Black Sea Port of Tuapse suspended fuel exports while the local refinery halted crude processing following the November 2 Ukrainian drone attack on its infrastructure. Ukraine announced on Sunday that its drones had struck Tuapse - one of Russia's major Black Sea oil port - causing an explosion and damage to at least one vessel. This was part of Kyiv’s effort to undermine Russia’s war economy through targeting its energy infrastructure. The regional administration confirmed that the strike caused an fire in the port. Since several months, Ukraine has been...

The differential between dated Brent and Urals crude remained unchanged on Monday as buyers of both grades awaited clarity about the impact of new Western sanctions on Russian oil imports. Last week, the European Union (EU), Britain and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia, including those affecting its two largest oil producers, Lukoil, and Rosneft. The U.S. gave companies until November 21, 2011 to end their transactions with Russian oil producers. Four sources familiar with the discussions said that OPEC+ is likely to increase output modestly in December as it continues with its monthly increases aimed at regaining market share....

Two industry sources said on Friday that the fourth largest oil refinery in Russia, located in Ryazan, south-east of Moscow, had halted its primary crude distillation unit following an attack by a Ukrainian drone on Wednesday. Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, as the peace talks that were mediated by U.S. president Donald Trump failed to progress. Local authorities in Russia have reported that such attacks are the cause of fuel shortages in several regions. The Ukrainian General Staff said that Kyiv forces struck the Ryazan Oil Refinery on Thursday. Industry sources in Russia said that the...