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Senate Democrats reject Trump's nominee for head of Federal Aviation Administration
The Senate committee that oversees aviation, which is composed of senior Democrats, said on Tuesday that they would oppose the nomination to the Federal Aviation Administration of Bryan Bedford as CEO of Republic Airways. The top Democrat in the Commerce Committee and the ranking member of its aviation subcommittee Senator Tammy Duckworth have both said that they will vote against Bedford’s nomination at the Wednesday committee meeting. Bedford's refusal of to adhere to the 1,500 hour training rule for copilots was cited by both. Bedford refused to commit earlier this month to not change the rule on flight training. Bedford criticised the FAA in 2022 for rejecting Republic's petition because it only allowed 750 hours instead of 1,500. Bedford, a former administrator, said in a statement earlier this month: "I will never compromise safety." Bedford's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After a midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army chopper near Washington Reagan National Airport on January 29, calls to modernize our nation's air-traffic control system increased. The 67 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft were all killed. In part, the regulations to increase flight hours for copilots were a result of the February 2009 crash in Upstate New York of Colgan Air Flight 3404 that killed 50 people. This was the last fatal U.S. passenger airline crash until the mid-air collision of January. Bedford has strongly criticized the FAA for serious issues with leadership, culture and trust. Maintain strict oversight of Boeing Mike Whitaker was unanimously elected as FAA Administrator. Confirmed to a 5-year term by October 2023 When Trump became president, on January 20, he resigned. The Trump administration Wants at least $20 billion Redesigning air traffic control The FAA has facilities that are at least 50 years old. Aging systems have caused delays on numerous occasions. Flights have been delayed by a persistent controller shortage. Many controllers work six-day weekends and mandatory overtime. (Reporting and editing by Deepa Babyington, Deepa Shepardson)
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US envoy plays down Africa tariff, visa concerns, reaffirms Lobito rail commitment
The top U.S. Diplomat for Africa dismissed Tuesday allegations of unfair U.S. Trade Practices and said that delays in funding would not derail an important railway project connecting Angola with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. African Union officials questioned on Monday how Africa could strengthen trade ties with America under what they called abusive tariff proposals and tightening of visa conditions that primarily target travellers from Africa. "There is not a visitation ban," said Ambassador Troy Fitrell during a Luanda Business Summit press conference. He stated that the U.S. Consulates continue to issue visas, though some have shorter validity periods because of concerns about overstays. Since late 2023, several African business and political leaders are concerned about the sharp decline in visa approvals. This is especially true for travelers from West Africa. Washington's tariff plans also contributed to the cooling of diplomatic relations with African countries. Some economies, including Lesotho Madagascar, warned that even an initial 10% tax could threaten vital exports like apparel and minerals. Fitrell, however, said that the proposed U.S. tariffs on imports had not yet been implemented and that negotiations were underway to create a more mutually beneficial trading environment, such as through the renewal the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The initiative, which grants duty-free access for African countries to the U.S. Market and expires in September, will grant qualifying African nations duty free access. Fitrell reaffirmed the commitment of his country to the Lobito Corridor Railway Project, which connects the coast of Angola to Zambia's copper-rich region and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He said that the initiative was not in danger, calling it a "win-win situation" for U.S. Investors and African economies. He also highlighted its importance for regional integration. The Trump administration is cutting back on U.S. aid to Africa as part of its plan to cut down on wasteful spending. Joao Lourenco said that U.S. businesses should move away from aid and instead focus on partnerships based on investment, while addressing over 2,000 leaders in government and business at the summit. Lourenco stated that it was time to replace aid logic with investment and trade logic. He urged diversification in sectors like automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding and tourism as well as cement and steel production. Reporting by Miguel Gomes. Colleen Goko wrote the article. (Editing by Alessandro Parodi, Mark Potter and Mark Potter).
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Official: 400 passengers left Israel via US-assisted flights
A senior State Department official stated on Tuesday that the United States had helped around 400 U.S. Citizens and others fly out of Israel amid conflict with Iran since Saturday. They hope to accommodate even more in the days to come. "We are very aware that there is still capacity and that U.S. citizens still want to leave Israel. The airspace has not been reliably opened. The official stated that the situation is "extremely dynamic". An official stated that the State Department now shares information with 27,000 people about safety and security in the region, as well as leaving it. This is up from the 25,000 who received the same information last week. On Saturday, the U.S. began limited assisted departure flights for U.S. Citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents and their immediate families. Officials said that thousands of Israelis had left Israel by land for Jordan and several hundred others had left via Egypt in the last two days. A few thousand Americans have travelled to Cyprus by ship, mostly through Birthright and other private groups. The official confirmed that hundreds of Iranians have left through Azerbaijan. Turkmenistan had been preventing U.S. citizens from entering the country, but has now allowed them to enter after diplomatic efforts over the weekend. The State Department has heard reports that a few Americans have been detained by Iranian authorities in this case, but the official did not provide any additional information. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on Monday Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement despite violations being reported. Israel launched a surprise strike on Iran's nuclear sites on June 13 and killed the top military commander. In Israel, 28 people have been killed by retaliatory rocket strikes. Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Editing by Kevin Liffey
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US safety board criticizes Boeing and FAA for 737 MAX panel blowout
Officials said that a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that Boeing's ineffective actions and the Federal Aviation Administration's ineffective oversight led to a midair cabin panel explosion of a new 737 MAX 9 in January 2024, which spun the planemaker in a major crisis. The board criticised Boeing's safety culture, and its failure to properly install four bolts on a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 plane. The NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated at a Tuesday meeting to determine the probable causes that the accident was completely avoidable. She said that Boeing should have addressed the unauthorized production work that was identified by numerous Boeing internal audits reports, quality alerts, and regulatory compliance issues long ago. Homendy stated that "the safety deficiencies which led to this incident should have been obvious to Boeing and the FAA." It's a miracle no one was killed or suffered serious injuries. The accident led the Justice Department (JD) to launch a criminal probe and declare Boeing in violation of a deferred prosecution 2021 agreement. Dave Calhoun, the CEO of Boeing, announced that he would resign within a few month after the mid-air panels blew out. Homendy praised the new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, but added that "he's got his work cut out, there are a lot challenges to be addressed, and it will take time." The incident severely damaged Boeing's image and resulted in the MAX 9 being grounded for two weeks. In addition, the FAA imposed a monthly production limit of 38 aircraft by the FAA. This cap is still in place. Boeing did not create any paperwork to document the removal or reinstallation of the 737 MAX 9 emergency exit door plug – a metal piece shaped like a small door – during production. The NTSB also stated that Boeing was unaware of which employees were involved. Boeing has not commented on the meeting. Michael Whitaker, the then FAA administrator in June 2024, said the agency had been "too hands-off" with Boeing oversight. It has increased the number of inspections at Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing factories. Boeing agreed to plead guilty last July to a criminal conspiracy charge following two fatal 737 MAX crash in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Last month, it struck a deal to avoid a plea of guilty with the Justice Department. The Justice Department asked a court to approve the agreement, which would allow Boeing to avoid having to plead guilty or face oversight by an external monitor. However, it will also require that Boeing pay an extra $444.5 in a fund for crash victims to be split equally between each crash victim. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed, Margueritachoy and David Shepardson)
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El Al increases flights to bring back stranded passengers following the Iran-Israel ceasefire
El Al Israel Airlines has announced that it is working to organize an airlift for tens and thousands of passengers who have been stranded in Israel due to widespread flight cancellations since the beginning of the Israel-Iran War on June 13. El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, announced that following a 12-day ceasefire, and the gradual opening up of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, the airline would increase its schedule and use its entire fleet, and add thousands of additional seats within the next 24 hour. The airline, which cancelled all regular flights until June 27, said that it would offer one-way flights to and from New York City, Los Angeles (Bangkok), London (Paris), Rome, Athens (Bucharest), Bucharest, Tbilisi, Bangkok, Bucharest, Bucharest, Bucharest, Bucharest, Bucharest, Bucharest, Bucharest, Bucharest, Tbilisi. Israel's airspace was largely closed for nearly two weeks as Israel and Iran exchanged air attacks. However, Israeli carriers began rescuing passengers in the last few days. Flight frequencies increased Tuesday, after U.S. president Donald Trump announced an agreement between Israel and Iran on a ceasefire. Israel has not yet fully opened its airspace. El Al's fleet consists of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and 737 aircraft. Israel's Airports Authority said earlier that day it was working to return to normal operations in the next few hours and was working with all airlines and partners in Israel's airports, "to ensure a safe and orderly process for passengers." Other smaller Israeli carriers also operated rescue flights. Arkia Airlines reported that it was returning passengers from Milan, Athens and Vienna, as well as Larnaca, Cyprus. Israir will operate flights on Wednesday from Varna in Bulgaria and on Friday from Baku. Israel is also working to allow nearly 40,000 tourists leave Israel. Many left Israel via the border crossings to Egypt and Jordan as well as by boat to Cyprus.
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US and European airline shares rise amid hopes for an Israel-Iran truce
On Tuesday, shares of U.S. airlines and European airlines increased while oil prices fell on the expectation that a ceasefire would be maintained between Israel and Iran. Air France KLM and British Airways' owner, Lufthansa, all saw gains between 6-10%, while Wizz Air grew by 3.2%. In the morning, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines all saw gains of about 4%. The U.S. president said that Israel has stopped its attack after his order to maintain a ceasefire of several hours. Iranian and Israeli media both reported that Israel had launched new airstrikes on Iran just minutes after Trump's comments, before he left for The Hague to attend a NATO summit. Susannah Streeter is the head of money markets and currency at Hargreaves-Lansdown. As several countries shut down their airspace following the attack on Al Udeid U.S. base in Qatar by Iran, airlines worldwide have cancelled flights to many Middle Eastern destinations including major international hubs like Dubai and Doha. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates reopened since their airspace. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Travel stocks have moved higher both because of the implications on fuel costs as well as because the potential impact to foreign travel that could have been caused by any further escalation in Middle East tensions has seemed to be swerved." The Energy Stocks Take a Hit The oil majors were hit hard after crude prices dropped to their lowest level in two weeks. In the last seven days, oil has lost 10% of its value. In a recent note, Mukesh SAHDEV, Rystad's global head of commodities markets, stated that a de-escalation of tensions was more likely to occur than a complete blockade of Strait of Hormuz, which would have caused a spike in oil price. Assuming the ceasefire is maintained, we expect the oil price to remain near $70 per barrel until a US-Iran agreement becomes clear. European energy stocks fell 3%. BP and Shell were down around 5% each, while Equinor in Norway was down around 7%. Exxon shares were down about 1%, and Chevron's as well.
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Doha airport chaos: Thousands of passengers stuck at the airport and long queues in Dubai
The operations at the two busiest airports on the planet, Doha and Dubai, slowed down to a crawl Tuesday. Thousands of passengers faced long delays and cancellations due to the temporary closure of the airspace the day before. Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait closed their airspace on Monday night after Iran struck a U.S. base in Doha, the capital of Qatar. This forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights or reroute them, creating a queue of passengers stranded. Dubai airports in the United Arab Emirates temporarily halted their operations. U.S. president Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Iran and asked for both sides to respect it. This raised hopes of a peaceful end to the 12-day conflict, but violence continued with reports of deadly attacks in both countries. "I haven’t slept in 19 hours." "I've been standing in this queue for nine hours," said Lily Rogers (21), who was waiting in a 200 metre (656 foot) long line at Doha's Hamad International Airport. The psychology student was on her way to Southeast Asia for a holiday. She said that those waiting in line received only water. Virgin Australia estimates that more than 25,000 passengers are stranded in Doha Airport. According to a witness, the lines were so long some passengers had to jump queues. This led them into arguments. FlightRadar24, a flight tracking website, reports that around 250 flights at Hamad Airport were cancelled, and another 238 were delayed. FlightRadar24 showed that long queues also formed at Dubai International Airport, the busiest in the world. There, 145 flights had been cancelled and more than 450 were delayed. Qatar Airways announced that it is "making progress" in restoring the schedule, with possible disruptions up until June 26. Dubai Airports, as well as the Dubai Government Media Office, were not available to comment immediately. BUSY HUB Middle East airports are among the busiest on the planet. They cover an area that stretches from Iran and Iraq all the way to the Mediterranean, and serve as a hub for connecting flights between Europe and Asia. Since the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine airlines have been forced to avoid the airspace above both countries. Dubai transported over 92.3 million passengers in the last year. The average daily passenger count was more than 25,000. Airline companies from British Airways to Lufthansa have already stopped flights to Middle East destinations because of airspace closures and safety concerns following Israel's strike against Iran on 13 June. Many airlines have cut flights to Dubai and other hubs that are usually resilient, following the U.S. attack on Iran. According to independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie, based in Asia, the restrictions and closures had ripple effects throughout the region as most passengers transit through Hamad Airport on their way to other destinations. Airport data shows that only 22% of passengers who travel through the airport in 2024 have Qatar as their destination. Air India has suspended all flights between the Indian Subcontinent and destinations such as the U.S. East Coast and Canada. Analysts say that this poses a problem for Indian carriers, as they don't have access to Pakistani skies. After a short military conflict, the two neighbours in April blocked each other's access to airspace. Air India announced on Tuesday that it would resume these flights as soon the airspaces are reopened, while other airlines such as flydubai warned of delays due to congestion in airspace. It's frustrating," said Julien Moutte. The Paris bound passenger had been stuck in Doha's terminal for 15 hours. Reporting by Luke Tyson, Amr Alfiky and Mark Bendeich from Dubai and Doha; Additional reporting by Allison Lampert from Montreal; Writing and editing by Joseph Mason and Bernadettebaum.
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Carnival increases profit target for the year on stable cruise demand
Carnival Corp. raised its annual profit estimate after beating revenue estimates for the second quarter on Tuesday, driven by resilient demand among travelers booking cruises in destinations such as the Caribbean and Mediterranean. In premarket trading, shares of the company rose 6.5%. Its cruise portfolio includes Holland America, Princess and Princess Cruises. Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Group, a rival cruise operator, have expanded their portfolios of private islands themed with carnival to meet the demand from cruisers who want exclusive destinations. Carnival has committed to spending $600 million on the development of Celebration Key, a private resort destination in Grand Bahama that includes water slides, entertainment venues and dining establishments. The facility will debut in July. Packages that include drinks, Wi-Fi and excursions encourage guests to spend more money onboard. This increases revenue for cruise lines. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the cruise operator reported sales for the quarter ending May 31 of $6.33 Billion, compared with analysts' expectations of $6.21 Billion. The company forecasts adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2025 of approximately $1.97. This compares to the previous expectation of $1.83. (Reporting from Savyata Mihsra in Bengaluru, Editing by Tasim Zaid)
Russia faces gas surplus as European exports collapse, eyes data centres
Officials and managers of companies have stated that Russia, the country with the largest reserves of natural gas in world, is looking for ways to use its surplus gas to run data centres. This comes as European exports continue to fall.
According to calculations, the conflict in Ukraine caused Gazprom to see its gas exports to Europe reach a peak between 175 and 180 billion cubic metres in 2018-2019. By 2024, however, it is estimated that this will drop to only 32 bcm.
This level will drop by half again in this year, following the suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukraine.
Alexei Chekunkov said that the northern regions of Russia are facing a natural gas glut, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Chekunkov said that a half billion cubic meters of gas per day used to flow through gas pipelines into the West. Now, this does not happen, and it is urgent to figure out what to do with the gas.
Chekunkov said that investors are increasingly focused on the gas-chemical sector. Surplus gas can also be used as a source of power to power data centres using artificial intelligence technologies.
Gazprom's production of gas in 2014 was 416.19 billion cubic meters, a record high compared to the 355.23 billion cubic meters produced the year before. In 2024, Gazprom could sell only 361.7 bcm domestically and abroad.
Gas is also used by the company for its own purposes, such as power generation on its gas fields and pipelines.
Interfax reported that BitRiver, Russia's largest operator of data centres, could consume up to 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of associated petroleum gases annually for large-scale mining cryptocurrency.
Pavel Sorokin (Russia's deputy minister of energy) told the forum the cost of natural gas is too high for data centres. He thinks that the gas can be used to produce coal, which is facing a number challenges including international sanctions due to the conflict in Ukraine.
"We're in a tough spot with coal right now. He said: "Why should we use gas that is expensive to increase data capacity, when we could build power plants in a coal mine?"
(source: Reuters)