The European General Court has upheld the fines imposed on a number of airlines, including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France-KLM, for taking part in a pricing cartel between December 1999 and February 2006. The court on 30 March dismissed the actions brought by Martinair Holland, KLM, Cargolux Airlines, Air France-KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines Cargo seeking annulment of the decision or a reduction of the amount of the fines imposed on them. However, it annulled the European Commission’s decision in part for Japan Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, SAS Cargo Group, Latam Airlines Group and Lan Cargo. The Commission in November 2010 had imposed a fine on these carriers in a total amount of €790 million for infringing certain provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Agreement on the European Economic Area and the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport. Lufthansa and two of its subsidiaries were granted immunity from fines. In December 2015, the court upheld actions brought by the carriers against the EU decision. However, the Commission fixed the defective statement of reasons identified by the court and re-issued the penalties in March 2017.

Airbus on 25 March conducted a test flight of an Airbus A380 quadjet with one engine powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). MSN 1 was flown from Blagnac airport in Toulouse with one of its Trent 900 engine operating on 27t of unblended SAF, the European airframer says. This is the third Airbus aircraft type to fly on 100% SAF over the course of 12 months, following an A350 in March 2021 and an A319neo in October. The A380 used was recently assigned to be Airbus’s ZEROe Demonstrator, a flying testbed for future technologies intended to be instrumental in bringing the world’s first zero-emissions aircraft to market by 2035.
The SAF used was provided by Total Energies. It was produced from hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids at Normandy in France, and primarily consisted of used cooking oil and other waste fats. An A380 flight between Toulouse and Nice, scheduled for 29 March, is testing the use of SAF during take-off and landing. All Airbus aircraft are currently certificated to fly with up to a 50% blend of SAF mixed with kerosene, and the airframer aims to achieve certification of 100% SAF by the end of this decade.

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) on 26 March began flight checks on the new third runway at Hong Kong International airport. The flight checks, conducted in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Department and the Flight Inspection Center of Civil Aviation Administration of China, seek to ensure related air navigation service equipment, flight procedures and airfield ground lighting system fully meet the standards of International Civil Aviation Organisation, the airport says. The checks are expected to be completed in April and the third runway is scheduled to commence operation this year as planned, the airport adds. The pavement work of the third runway has been completed, while related infrastructure facilities including taxiways, airfield ground lighting system and rescue and firefighting facilities, among others, have also been “substantially completed”.