Latest News
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Global Airlines Group proposes raising the international pilot retirement age from 65 to 67
The U.N. agency for aviation has been asked by a group of global airlines to increase the age limit for commercial aviators to 67 from 65 years, claiming that the demand for air travel worldwide is greater than the supply. At its General Assembly on September 23, the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization will examine this proposal. Major U.S. Pilot Unions have opposed it. Many countries, including the United States apply the same rule to domestic flights. IATA, which represents 350 airlines, has said that raising the limit to two years is "a cautious but reasonable step in line with safety." IATA stated in a paper on the ICAO website that there would have to be two pilots per flight. One of them must be younger than 65 if another pilot is older. In 2006, ICAO raised the age limit to 65. Major pilot unions in the U.S. oppose a higher retirement based on safety issues. Dennis Tajer (American Airlines) spokesperson and spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, APA, stated that there are not enough data to understand the risks of raising the retirement age. He said, "We do not gamble with our safety in this way." Southwest Airlines Pilot Association and Air Line Pilots Association have not responded to comments immediately. The U.S. Pilot Unions opposed a failed push by U.S. carriers to increase the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to 67 years old from 65 in 2023. Last month, a bipartisan group in Congress urged President Donald Trump to support international efforts to increase the mandatory retirement age for pilots. (Reporting from Dan Catchpole, Seattle; Additional reporting from Rajesh Kumar Singh, Chicago; Editing Jamie Freed).
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Qantas profits beat estimates due to strong travel demand
Qantas Airways, the Australian airline, posted an annual profit that was better than expected on Thursday. The company attributes this to a robust demand for travel across both its domestic and international routes. It expects that this will continue throughout the current business year. Qantas has reported a strong increase in its earnings, both for its domestic and its international divisions as well as Jetstar, its budget airline. Vanessa Hudson, CEO of the Group, said that the dual-brand strategy and continued strong demand in all segments helped to grow the Group's earnings. The flag carrier reported an underlying profit of A$2,39 billion ($1.55billion) for the fiscal year ending June 30. This was higher than the Visible Alpha consensus of A$2,38 billion, and also above the A$2,08 billion of the previous year. The company also announced that it would pay a final dividend per share of 16.5 Australian cents and a special distribution of 9.9 Australiancents. As part of its ongoing fleet renewal program, the airline has also ordered 20 more narrowbody A321XLRs from Airbus. Reporting by Sameer Mnekar and Roshan T. Thomas in Bengaluru, Editing by Alan Barona.
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UK air passenger numbers beat pre-pandemic records for April to June
In the last quarter of 2010, the number of passengers using British airports rose to an all-time high of 81 million. This was higher than the previous pre-pandemic peak for this period. Civil Aviation Authority reported that the first half of the year saw 141 million passengers. The figures for the second quarter were up 3% compared to a year ago. The CAA reported that Dublin, Amsterdam and the Spanish tourist hotspots Palma de Mallorca, and Alicante, were the top destinations. It added that it expected a record-breaking July-September period, which is the peak summer travel period. As the government looks to expand Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London, the demand for air travel is growing. Local residents and environmental groups oppose both expansion projects, claiming that adding flights would derail the country’s goal to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. The government claims that the increased use of sustainable aviation gas by airlines means expansion can be achieved within targets. (Reporting and editing by Sachin Ravikumar; Sarah Young)
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Air New Zealand posts smaller-than-expected drop in annual profit
Air New Zealand posted a smaller-than-expected fall in annual earnings on Thursday as global engine maintenance issues continued to weigh on the bottom line, and warned of a weak start to the 2026 financial year. New Zealand's flagship airline reported earnings of NZ$189 (US$110.96) million for the fiscal year ending June 30 compared to NZ$222 millions a year ago. This compares to the Visible Alpha consensus estimate for NZ$178.6 millions. The airline stated that the uncertainty surrounding engine maintenance issues and the sharp increase in aviation sector levies, as well as the subdued demand in domestic markets, are "expected" to negatively impact the airline's performance in the first six months. The company expects that its pretax profits for the first half 2026 will be comparable to or lower than those reported for the second half 2025 of the financial year. It announced a final dividend at 1.25 New Zealand Cents per share. This is the same as last year. $1 = 1.7033 New Zealand Dollars (Reporting and editing by Alan Barona in Bengaluru, Rajasik Mukherjee, Keshav Singh Chudawat)
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Sources: Dos Bocas refinery in Mexico is offline due to a power outage
By Shariq Khan August 27th - Mexico's 340,000-barrel-per-day Dos Bocas refinery has been offline since Monday due to a power outage at the plant, two sources familiar with the matter told . One source said that the refinery (also known as the Olmeca refinery) will try to restart its units on Thursday. Pemex, the Mexican state-owned energy company, did not respond when contacted for comment. Olmeca, Mexico's latest refinery, has increased operations in the last few months, after years of delays and spiraling startup costs. However, it is still far from reaching its full capacity. According to the latest official figures, the refinery received 156,265 barrels per day of crude oil, which is less than half of its capacity. According to the data, in July the refinery produced 57,275 barrels per day of gasoline and about 76,980 barrels per day of diesel. (Reporting from Shariq Khan, New York; Additional Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; editing by Leslie Adler & Mark Porter)
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The Escondida Mine Union in Chile warns against self-driving trucks
In a statement released on Wednesday, the workers' union of BHP's Escondida copper mine in Chile, which is the largest mine in the world, expressed concern over two recent accidents that involved autonomous trucks. The union, who has been critical of BHP in the past and has held strikes during contract negotiations, stated that on August 25, an autonomous truck crashed into shovel machinery, and the previous week, another truck overturned. No injuries were reported. Patricio Tapia, head of the Union, said that workers do not operate vehicles but they are responsible for other tasks, such as maintaining the roads. BHP stated that it had trained over 4,800 employees in its automation system and "totally eradicated" the risk of people being exposed to dust when moving material in an open pit. BHP reported that an incident involving autonomous trucks occurred in March. The statement stated that "in the other incident involving a mechanical shovel and an autonomous truck there were no people exposed, and the investigation is still ongoing." In July, the company announced that it had completed a five-year rolling out of autonomous operations on 33 trucks and 8 drills in the mine's Escondida North unit. The statement stated that "less than a week after the announcement, reality has revealed a huge danger to worker safety." Escondida produced 1,28 million tons copper last year. (Reporting and writing by Fabian Andres Cambero, Paolo Laudani, Alexander Villegas and Natalia Siniawski; editing by Daina Beth Sool and Alistair Bell).
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Delta pays $78.75 Million to settle fuel dump lawsuit
Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $78.75 Million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding a 2020 fuel spill that flooded tens and thousands of properties in Los Angeles County and Orange County in California, including schools and homes. This week, a proposed preliminary settlement in Los Angeles Federal Court was filed. The judge must approve it. The case stemmed a January 14th, 2020 incident when Delta Flight 89 from Los Angeles to Shanghai, with 167 passengers, crew and cargo, lost thrust shortly after takeoff. Delta pilots ejected about 15,000 pounds (6.804 kg) jet fuel from the Boeing before returning to Los Angeles International Airport to reduce the risk of an emergency landing due to excess weight. Minor injuries were treated by several dozen people who were on the ground. The property owners claimed that the pilots dumped fuel unnecessarily at low altitudes over densely populated areas instead of over the Pacific Ocean, at high altitudes so it could dissipate or by burning fuel while flying in a hold pattern. They demanded Delta clean up the mess. Delta said that it had settled the case to avoid the uncertainty and costs of litigation. Flight 89's Atlanta-based carrier said that the pilots and crew of Flight 89 "did what their FAA-approved FAA training required them to to do in order to respond to the emergency on board and ensure the safety and security of passengers, crew and people on ground." Delta reported that a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation cleared the pilots from any wrongdoing. Court documents show that the net settlement after legal costs and fees could total $50.6 Million and will be distributed to residents or owners of approximately 38,000 properties. Filippo Marchino said in a press release that the settlement is fair and reasonable and will compensate "hardworking families who have asked for nothing more than respect and justice and deserve this outcome." The case is In re Delta Air Lines Inc., U.S. District Court for the Central District of California No. 20-00786. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, New York Editing Bill Berkrot
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The UK's Tritax Big Box has officially ended its pursuit of Warehouse REIT
The British Warehouse REIT announced on Wednesday that a buyout proposal from Tritax Big Box REIT, a peer company, was officially terminated. Both parties decided not to pursue the proposal after a rival agreement. Warehouse REIT had recommended to shareholders in July accepting a 489 million pound offer by U.S. Private Equity Group Blackstone, over Tritax. Blackstone offered the logistics company 115 pence a share, amid a growing interest from overseas in UK assets. This is due to Britain's relatively stable market and muted valuations, which have fueled a recent wave of bids. The regulatory auction for Warehouse REIT concluded last week, after Tritax announced that its 485.2 million pound cash and stock proposal was final. It would not be raised. This marked the end of a long-running battle. Warehouse REIT announced on Wednesday that Tritax confirmed the company's decision not to use its right to make an alternative offer. Tritax will be prohibited from contacting Warehouse REIT without the regulatory approval for 12 months. This development comes also after Blackstone, its affiliates and their increased shareholding in Warehouse REIT was made a "recommended compulsory cash offer" according to British takeover regulations. Blackstone, a British company, said that as of August 26, Blackstone owned shares of Warehouse REIT representing approximately 34.33% directly or indirectly or had received commitments to support its offer.
Worldwide tech outage hold-ups flights and interferes with services around the globe
An international tech blackout that appeared to be associated with problems at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and Microsoft on Friday affected operations in sectors including airports, airline companies, media and banks.
Below is a list of disturbances that have been reported:
AIRLINE COMPANIES, AIRPORTS
Airports and airlines around the world have actually warned of delays and cancellations or changed to manual check-in, with some halting flights.
- Berlin airport temporarily stopped all flights, a. representative informed . Lufthansa's Eurowings stated. it was halting domestic German flights in addition to flights to and. from Britain until 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).
- Spanish airport operator Aena reported a. computer system systems incident while Lisbon airport, Portugal's. greatest, also skilled interruption. Amsterdam's Schiphol. Airport and apparently Brussels airport were impacted too.
- Top Dutch airline KLM said it might not handle. flights on Friday and that it suspended most of its operations. Air France, KLM's parent company, said that its operations were. interrupted.
- Turkish Airlines is experiencing problems with ticketing,. check-in, and reservation, it stated in a post on X. Budapest Airport. said several airline check-in systems ran out operation.
- Major U.S. carriers consisting of American Airlines,. Delta Airlines and United Airlines halted. flights on Friday morning pointing out communication problems. American. Airlines later stated it had actually re-established operations. Frontier. and Spirit too cancelled regulations to ground airplanes.
- A SAS representative said the Scandinavian airline company was. anticipating hold-ups. Australia's national airline company Qantas. and Sydney airport said planes were delayed however still flying.
- Swiss air traffic control company Skyguide said it had. momentarily lowered Swiss air traffic capacity by 30%.
- Indian airlines, consisting of SpiceJet, Indigo,. Akasa Air, Vistara, Air India and Air India Express were likewise. dealing with concerns on Friday.
FINANCIALS
- Australia's biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank, stated. earlier problems affecting PayID instant transfers had actually been. dealt with. Services including Netbank, the CommBank app, CommBiz,. merchant payments and ATMs are readily available.
- A number of major oil and gas trading desks in London and. Singapore were struggling to perform trades, six market. sources informed .
- Macquarie Capital was unable to offer liquidity for. unexpired warrants on HKEX.
- South Africa's Capitec said card payments, ATM and app. services were fully brought back following substantial nationwide. disturbances.
- LSEG Group's Work space news and information platform. suffered an outage that affected user gain access to worldwide, triggering. disruption throughout monetary markets. It said in a client memo. that technical problems on FX spot and forward rates have actually been. dealt with and services brought back.
- Some brokerages in India are dealing with technical. problems, traders at the brokerages told .
- German insurance provider Allianz stated it was experiencing. a significant outage that is affecting workers' capability to go to to. their computers.
- Some German banks are facing disturbances, a representative. for the Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft monetary market. association, said on Friday, without offering additional details.
- Barclays said its digital investing platform. Smart Investor was impacted.
- Brazilian lender Bradesco said its digital platforms were. not available on Friday.
MEDIA
- Britain's Sky News resumed broadcasting after an. hours-long interruption, but running at minimal capacity and without. much of its usual services.
- Australia's state broadcaster ABC said it was experiencing. a significant network outage, without offering a factor.
- Regular programs at Sky News Australia was interfered with.
EMERGENCY SERVICES, HEALTH CARE
- England's National Health Service (NHS) said reservations of. physicians' appointments and patient records were disrupted, but. emergency situation services had actually not been affected.
- A number of hospitals in the Netherlands needed to scale down. their operations, Dutch press company ANP reported.
- Victorian state authorities in Australia stated some internal. systems had actually been hit however emergency services were running. typically.
- Copenhagen's fire department stated on X it was experiencing. problems receiving instantly transmitted fire alarms, and. prompted individuals to call 112 in case of a fire.
- Two medical facilities in the northern German cities of Luebeck and. Kiel have actually cancelled elective operations arranged for Friday.
OTHER
- Vital infrastructure in Germany has been impacted, an. interior ministry representative said.
- New Zealand's parliamentary computer systems were. affected, according to Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, head of the. parliamentary service.
- Australia's Telstra Group was facing disruptions. to some of its systems, a spokesperson for the telecom firm told. .
- The Baltic Hub container terminal in the Polish city of. Gdansk said it was struck by the global outage in Microsoft systems. and was working to solve the issue.
- The Paris Olympics arranging committee said the cyber. interruption was slowing its operations, however the impact was restricted. and ticket sales were untouched.
- The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry stated its. electronic systems were operating normally again.
- Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, stated it. quickly halted production and despatch operations. It has. resumed operations and does not anticipate any material effect from. the event.
(source: Reuters)