The Federal Aviation Administration has detailed how it will use $1 billion in grants from US president Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve terminals at 85 airports across the USA. The funding is coming from the Airport Terminal Program, one of three aviation programmes created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law provides for $1 billion annually for five years for airport terminal grants. In total, the FAA is investing $25 billion in aviation, including $15 billion in airport infrastructure and $5 billion in air traffic facilities, along with the abovementioned $5 billion for terminals. "The grants expand capacity at our nation’s airport terminals, increase energy efficiency, promote competition and provide greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Two grants will also be awarded to build new air traffic control towers," the DOT, which is the parent of the FAA, says in a 7 July press release. The DOT adds that historically, the FAA has invested in runways, traffic-control towers and back-of-house infrastructure, but there is now "dedicated funding" to support modernising airport terminals nationwide. Of the grants, 70 contain an element that will expand terminal capacity, the DOT says. This includes at Pittsburg International airport, Chattanooga Metropolitan airport, Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Field airport in Alabama and Orlando International airport. The improvements at Orlando, for example, will see $50 million allocated to construct four gates capable of serving either four widebody or eight narrowbody aircraft. Meanwhile, 76 of the grants contain an element that will “increase terminal sustainability”. This includes at Dallas-Fort Worth International airport, Boise airport, Seattle-Tacoma International airport and Bishop International airport in Flint, Michigan. Dallas-Fort Worth will get $35 million to construct a zero-carbon electrical central utility plant to assist the airport in achieving its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. A further 47 grants contain an element "that will go to improving airport access to historically disadvantaged populations and rural airports", the DOT says. This will be the case at airports such as Dexter Regional airport in Maine and Washington Municipal Airport in Iowa. Dexter Regional will get $760,000 to build a new 800sq ft terminal building replacing the existing 50-year-old 200sq ft terminal building. In addition, 73 grants contain an element to provide greater access to people with disabilities, at airports such as Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport and Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport. Minneapolis-St. Paul will get $7.1 million to replace five passenger boarding bridges and relocate one passenger boarding bridge. The two airports receiving grants for new control towers are General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International airport in Illinois and Asheville Regional airport in North Carolina. Both new towers at those airports will replace existing towers that are over 60 years old. Finally, Gainesville Regional airport will receive a grant to increase multimodal transportation access, including lighted, accessible, covered walkways to the commercial airline terminal, a covered passenger waiting area, accessible restrooms, and queuing lanes for taxis and city busses arriving and departing the terminal. "The United States built modern aviation, but our airports lag far behind our competitors. According to some rankings, no US airports rank in the top 25 of airports worldwide," the White House says on a subsection of its website detailing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. "Modern, resilient, and sustainable port, airport, and freight infrastructure will strengthen our supply chains and support US competitiveness by removing bottlenecks and expediting commerce and reduce the environmental impact on neighboring communities."

Swiss plans to operate capacity at 80% of 2019 levels from Zurich and Geneva during the winter season, serving a total of 93 destinations. The Lufthansa subsidiary says it will begin weekly flights to UK city Bristol from Zurich on 4 February 2023. The route will be operated with Airbus A220s and the Embraer 190s of wet-lease partner Helvetic Airways. Services initiated this summer from Zurich to Bologna, Nantes, Sofia and Vilnius will continue. Frequencies to European destinations Belgrade, Porto, Alicante, Barcelona and Malaga, and to points in Asia, are to be increased. Swiss will serve a total of 61 European and 22 intercontinental destinations from Zurich this winter. The airline's Boeing 777 long-haul fleet will feature its new premium-economy class for the first time. From Geneva, Swiss will serve 25 European destinations. The airline will raise frequencies to Scandinavia and on its Funchal and Tenerife routes. The new direct service to Brussels introduced this summer in collaboration with Brussels Airlines will continue, while flights to summer destinations such as Larnaca, Faro and Heraklion will be available until November.

US president Joe Biden has announced his intention to nominate Phil Washington to become the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Washington is now chief executive of Denver International airport, before which he headed up the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He also served as chief executive of Denver Regional Transportation District and worked as the assistant general manager of that organisation for nearly 10 years before being named chief. He hails from Chicago's South Side and is a 24-year veteran of the US Army. In March, the US Department of Transportation named federal safety official Billy Nolen to serve as acting chief of the FAA effective 1 April as FAA administrator Steve Dickson departed halfway through his five-year term that began in 2019. The DOT and the White House said at the time they would continue to search for a full-time nominee to lead the FAA. Washington's appointment must be confirmed by the US Senate to become official. The US Senate confirmed Dickson as administrator in 2019 during its investigations into the certification of Boeing 737 Max aircraft, which he then certificated to return to service in November 2020. Washington's nomination was announced by the White House along with three other nominees who, if confirmed by the Senate, will serve in non-aviation-related roles outside the FAA.