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Air Canada expects a $270 million hit to its operating income due to the labor disruptions
Air Canada said that it expects to lose C$375,000,000 ($269.82,000,000) in operating income due to labor disruptions after its flight attendants engaged in a four-day walkout last August. The company has also revised its outlook for the 2025 results after withdrawing their forecast due to disruptions in operations caused by the strike. Air Canada expects a core adjusted profit of between C$2.9 and C$3.1 in 2025, as opposed to its previous range of C$3.2 to C$3.6. A tentative agreement was reached after the strike ended. 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, refused to return to work despite government attempts to do so. The wage agreement was rejected by the flight attendants of the airline in September. The two parties agreed to no labor disruption and that flights would continue as usual. Arbitration will be used to resolve the dispute. Montreal-based airline Air Canada now expects its available seat mile capacity will rise between 0.5% to 1%, as opposed to the previous forecast of 1% – 3%. ($1 = 1.3898 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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Denmark's Aalborg Airport closed due to drones in the airspace. Police on site
A spokesperson for the airport announced late Wednesday that the Aalborg Airport in Denmark is currently closed because drones are flying over its airspace. This comes two days after Denmark's main airport, Copenhagen, was shut down due to drone sightings which rattled European aviation. Denmark said Tuesday that drones which halted Copenhagen airport flights for four hours was the most serious attack on its critical infrastructure. They also linked the drones to a number of suspected Russian drone incursions as well as other disruptions in Europe. The Norwegian authorities also closed the airspace of Oslo Airport for three hours Monday night after a drone had been spotted. The Norwegian foreign minister stated that the Norwegian and Danish authorities were in close communication over the Copenhagen-Oslo incidents, but that their investigation had not yet established any connection. Eurocontrol, the European air traffic controller, announced that arrivals and departing flights at Aalborg Airport would be "zero" until Thursday at 0400 GMT due to drone activity near the airport. In a social media post, the police of the northern Danish city stated that drones were observed near the airport. They are investigating the incident further. The spokesperson at Aalborg Airport declined to comment on how many drones were involved. He said that four flights were affected. Two SAS planes, as well as one Norwegian and KLM flight, were all affected. (Reporting from Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru, and Louise Rasmussen at Copenhagen; editing by Leslie Adler, Jamie Freed.)
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US Transportation Chief warns Europe against restricting US transatlantic flights
Sean Duffy, U.S. Transportation secretary, warned European governments on Wednesday against unilaterally restricting transatlantic travel. Washington was prepared to enforce agreements made by other countries. This position is echoed in recent actions taken against Mexico for similar reasons. Duffy, who is in Montreal for an international aviation conference, said that he was concerned about Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Dublin. Duffy questioned the validity of the noise data used to justify flight reductions. Duffy ordered Mexican carriers in July to submit U.S. schedules. He could also disapprove any flight requests coming from Mexico, if Mexico's government did not address U.S. concerns. He ordered Delta Air Lines to dissolve a joint venture with Aeromexico by January 1 earlier this month. U.S. Airlines have expressed concern about the noise reduction flight cap at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as well as the passenger cap at Dublin Airport that is currently on hold due to a legal challenge. Last year, a Dutch court ordered the government do more to reduce noise pollution. JetBlue Airways told USDOT last month that it was "clear that there is a problem with access for U.S. carriers to Lisbon" and that it would take legal action if necessary. Duffy claimed that the actions taken by the administration against Mexico also targeted Europe. Duffy said, "I think Mexico shows that we won't take it." "We are not in a position where we have to put pressure on anyone." Duffy stated that the requirement for Mexico to submit flight schedules is "a sign that we're willing to take further action if they do not comply with our open skies agreements." When asked about Delta's criticism, Duffy said that he understood their position regarding the Mexico JV. However, he added that they will be pleased that "we are standing for the agreements we have worldwide." Reporting by David Shepardson, Washington Editing by Matthew Lewis
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No link yet between Oslo, Copenhagen drone incidents, Norway says
Norway and Denmark have been in contact about separate drone incidents which halted airports at Oslo and Copenhagen. However, their investigations to date have not established a link, said Norway's Foreign Minister on Wednesday. The sightings of up to three large drones in the vicinity of Copenhagen Airport late Monday night halted take-offs, landings, and all other activities for almost four hours. Norway's authorities also closed the airspace around Oslo airport for 3 hours after a drone had been spotted. "We haven't yet established any connection between the two." Espen Barth Eide said on the sidelines the UN General Assembly that we have not connected the investigation to any particular country. "But I think that most people would agree that two things similar happening at the same moment could at least suggest that they had a connection." In recent years, Western security agencies have said that hybrid threats, especially from Russia, are becoming more aggressive. These threats range from the physical destruction of critical infrastructure, to disinformation campaigns and suspected espionage. Barth Eide stated that "we're not confirming or excluding the fact that these two things are connected." He said that these hybrid threats, and possible hybrid warfare are the exact things to watch for in this age of hybrid threats. Norway's government announced on Tuesday that Russia, which shares a small, sparsely-populated border with it in the north, violated Norway's airspace three times in 2025. This occurred in April, July, and August. It was unclear if this was an accident or a deliberate provocation on behalf of the Kremlin. The suspected Russian drone incursions in the airspace of Poland and Romania, along with Estonia reporting Russian fighter jets entering their airspace has raised concerns among NATO Allies that their air defences are lacking. "We've also seen other types in recent times; we've seen some cyberattacks that had material effects. For example, affecting certain dams and systems hydroelectric, which were from abroad. Barth Eide stated that the repertoire of hybrid attacks is growing and being used. (Reporting and editing by John Irish, Alistair Bell).
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US Postal Service won't seek a stamp price increase in January
The U.S. The U.S. USPS, which is losing money, raised prices to 78 cents in July from 73 cents. This increased the price of all mailing services by 7.4%. USPS will review prices by mid-2026. After a series price increases since the beginning of 2019, when stamps were only 50 cents, stamp prices have risen by 46%. The volume of first-class mail is at its lowest since 1968. This is the first announcement made by David Steiner, who became U.S. postmaster general in July 2017 after President Donald Trump removed his predecessor Louis DeJoy. In February, Trump referred to the USPS as a "tremendous loss for this country" and said that he would consider merging it with the U.S. Commerce Department. Democrats said the move would be in violation of federal law. DeJoy was responsible for a dramatic restructure of the USPS. This included reducing forecasted cumulative losses from $160 billion to $80 billion over ten years. USPS, a 635,000-strong agency that lost $9.5billion last year, has reduced its workforce earlier this year by 10,000 employees through a voluntary retiree program. In August, the USPS reported a net loss of $3.1 billion for the three-month period ending June 30. This is up from $2.5 billion reported during the same time last year. USPS has lost over $100 billion since 2007. Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Chris Reese & Aurora Ellis
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Families sue Army, FAA and airlines for fatal DC air crash on January 29,
The family of a victim of the fatal crash between an American Airlines regional plane and a U.S. Army chopper that occurred on January 29, resulting in the deaths of 67 people, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, sued the airline and its subsidiary as well as the U.S. Government on Wednesday. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Washington, also names PSA Airlines as the airline that operated the flight. It claims the airline "manipulated and abused the arrival rate system" at the Washington Airport "to force more of their arrivals each hour at the Washington airport, despite knowing it severely reduced the margins for security." The accident, which took place just southeast of the Potomac River airport, was the worst U.S. aviation disaster in over 20 years. According to the lawsuit, the airline along with the Army and Federal Aviation Administration did not prevent the "wholly evitable tragedy." The lawsuit claimed that the Army flight crew did not operate the Black Hawk helicopter below the required altitude, and the FAA controllers did not separate aircraft and give safety alerts if aircraft were in an unsafe proximity. In the lawsuit, it was claimed that the airlines and government agencies had "completely failed to fulfill their obligations towards the traveling public." The FAA or Army did not respond immediately to a comment request. American stated that Flight 5342, which was on an approach standard to Reagan at the time of the collision with the Army helicopter (which was above the published altitude for helicopter routes), was flying a standard route. The company stated that "American has an excellent track record in putting safety of customers and employees above all else." It added that it would "defend American Airlines and PSA Airlines from any legal actions claiming they caused or contributed to the accident." The FAA banned the Army in May from helicopter flights near the Pentagon following a close call on May 1, which forced two civilian aircraft to abort their landings. Last week, the FAA confirmed that Army helicopter flights are still on hold. (Reporting and editing by Mark Porter, Aurora Ellis and David Shepardson)
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Waymo launches corporate robotic taxi accounts to attract business travelers
Alphabet's Waymo launched "Waymo for Business" on Wednesday, a corporate account program that allows companies to set up accounts for their employees so they can hail robotaxis from Los Angeles, Phoenix San Francisco, Austin, and Atlanta. Waymo's driverless fleet is now available for commercial use. The company has targeted recurring corporate travel by giving employers control over when, where and how their staff can take autonomous rides. Waymo has said that it completes over 1 million rides per month. Nearly one in six riders commutes using the service in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In recent months, the company has expanded its service, offering paid, driverless rides in Atlanta, and expanding coverage to Austin. Waymo says that an admin portal allows organizations to manage users, create promotional codes and pull reports in order to track ride activity as well as budgets. Carvana, a Phoenix-based online seller of used cars, is among the early customers. Mountain View, California based company says the business product is still in its early stages. It will be enhanced over time to accommodate organizations of all sizes. Waymo is focusing its efforts on improving airport accessibility to attract frequent business travelers. The company currently serves Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and won approval this month to operate at San Jose Mineta International Airport. Waymo announced that San Francisco International Airport had granted a test permit in advance of a potential commercial service. (Reporting from Akash Sriram and Abhirup in San Francisco, with editing by Tasim Zaid)
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German Finance Minister urges EU to "Buy European" and embrace joint defense projects
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil demanded on Wednesday a "moderner" EU budget, which would channel funds to improve cross-border rail, road, and energy networks as well as external border security, research, and the security of external borders. Klingbeil proposed a six-point strategy to revive the European Union economy. This included a "Buy Europeans" approach for critical components like advanced semiconductors, as well as an integrated market for defence with joint armaments. Klingbeil, in an address at the Hertie School of Berlin, said that "Europe is at a crossroads." "We must pull together to move Europe forward or risk losing its relevance." Germany's largest economy wants to play a greater leadership role within the EU under Chancellor Friedrich Merz. This is in response to a United States that has a reduced transatlantic outlook and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Klingbeil said that it angered him to see Europeans at the children's table in peace talks, when the future security of the continent was on the line. EUROPEAN MULTILATERALISM and FURTHER INTERGRATION Klingbeil called on partners such as India and South America’s Mercosur to quickly reach trade agreements in response the Trump administration’s tariff policies. He called for "Savings and Investment Union", to mobilize more private capital. He argued that a harmonised and highly-performing European capital markets is essential to support start-ups and scaling-ups. Klingbeil stated that "defending the status quo will not get us anywhere." "As with Germany, Europe also needs reforms and investment." Klingbeil stated that the national approaches to implementing EU rules on the single market are increasing bureaucracy, and fragmenting the economic space which is shared by all 27 members. He also called for improved mutual recognition of professional qualification across borders in order to encourage labour movement. Klingbeil stated that "petty small-state attitudes are our biggest obstacle to investment." (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones; Christian Kraemer and Maria Martinez).
Energy transition has become a matter of national security. Ask India: Maguire
India's public humiliation over its imports from Russia of oil that has been sanctioned is a painful reminder of the fact that energy policy involves national security and increases the attractiveness of local energy sources.
Nearly 90% of the crude oil used to fuel the world's largest economy is imported.
India is more independent in terms of electricity.
Around 90% of India's coal is mined locally, and the rest comes from a surge in clean, domestic power.
The power industry, as a result of this, is better protected from geopolitical and supply shocks than refiners. The power industry is also more easily influenced by policy changes and is a reliable source of long-term tax revenue and employment.
This makes India's energy sector, rather than the oil refining industry, a more attractive base for its future national strategy.
FLATTERING TO DECEIVE?
India's oil dependency is unlikely to be reduced anytime soon with approximately 50 million cars, and almost 300 million motorbikes and scooters.
India's apparent addiction to oil may not be as bad as it appears.
Data from the Energy Institute show that India's oil consumption will grow at an average annual rate of 4.4% per year between 2021 and 2024.
This was the fastest rate of growth in the top 10 oil-consuming countries during this time period, and it was well above the average global annual growth rate of 3.0%.
Due to two factors, India's ability to increase global oil demand may seem greater than it actually is. These are China's slowdown in the economy and Russia's cheap exports of oil.
In recent years, China's debt crisis in the property sector and a slowdown of international trade has reduced oil demand growth. This has upset expectations on energy markets.
China's oil consumption increased by 6% per year between 2000 and 2019. Beijing is now the largest driver of oil demand worldwide.
Since 2021, this rate has dropped to just 3% per year.
India has emerged as the frontrunner to pick up the baton, thanks to its robust demand metrics.
India's rapid growth in consumption has been artificially inflated, it is argued, by its massive increases in imports of Russian oil at discounted prices.
Too Good to Refuse
The actual price that India paid for Russian oil from 2022 is not known, but given the rapid change in India's import mix it seems that Russian oil was sold at a price that could not be refused.
Up until 2021, Russia's share of India's annual imports of oil was only around 3%. The majority of India’s oil requirements were met by suppliers such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Since 2023 however, Russian oil accounts for nearly 40% India's imports of oil, making Russia the country's largest oil supplier.
According to Kpler, India's oil imports from Russia increased 16-fold in the period 2021-2024, going from 100,000 barrels per a day to 1.8 millions barrels. It has led to the perception that India's demand for oil is increasing at an incredible rate.
India's total oil imports increased by a modest 14% between 2021-2024. This is likely to be a better indication of India’s real oil consumption potential.
This jump is still impressive, as it represents record imports to India for each of the last two years.
This growth, however, was probably only possible because a large portion of imported oil was bought at prices that were well below the benchmarks for global oil. This discount allowed Indian refiners and their consumers to buy fuel at a lower price, which in turn boosted demand. India would likely have purchased less oil if it had been forced to buy the oil at full price. Fuels and refined products would have been much more expensive.
POWERING UP
It seems unlikely that the Indian government will base its future energy strategy on increased import dependency and aggressive oil consumption, given the international hostility towards India over its dependence on Russian oil.
The Indian government, on the other hand, has supported the rapid electrification and automation of industrial processes, transport fleets, and appliances. They are likely to continue to support the expansion of electricity supply to drive future economic growth.
Gleichzeitig, the country also expands the use of renewables within its energy basket.
India has taken aggressive steps to boost the local manufacturing of energy-related products and is on course to double its manufacturing capacity by 2030. This was revealed in a report published by SolarPower Europe.
Local and federal authorities will likely continue to support the energy transition effort of the country and the businesses that are behind it if these efforts create jobs and boost the national economy.
The Indian refining industry will be weakened by further criticism of Russian oil purchases, and any price increases triggered by switching suppliers.
If energy independence is necessary to ensure national security, geopolitical tensions could be an important catalyst in speeding up energy transition.
These are the opinions of a columnist who writes for.
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(source: Reuters)