The US Federal Aviation Administration intends to issue airworthiness certificates for each new Boeing 787 prior to delivery, thereby retaining powers to conduct final inspections of newly built jets that were previously delegated to the airframer. “This will allow the agency to confirm the effectiveness of measures Boeing has undertaken to improve the 787 manufacturing process,” the FAA says. Boeing halted deliveries of 787s for most of 2021. The airframer continues to co-ordinate with the FAA both on quality inspections and re-work necessary to resolve manufacturing issues. No update has been provided when deliveries could resume. Once 787 deliveries begin again, the regulator says it will retain power to grant airworthiness certificates for new aircraft until “Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards”. For Boeing to resume final inspections prior to 787 deliveries, the FAA adds that the airframer must prove it has “a robust plan for the re-work that it must perform on a large volume of new 787s in storage” and that its “delivery processes are stable”. Boeing tells Cirium “we respect the FAA’s role as our regulator and we will continue to work transparently through their detailed and rigorous processes. “Safety is the top priority for everyone in our industry,” Boeing adds. “To that end, we will continue to engage with the FAA to ensure we meet their expectations and all applicable requirements.” The FAA says it additionally conducts final inspections for newly built 737 Max aircraft prior to granting approval for them to be delivered to customers. Boeing delivered 245 Max aircraft during 2021. During the fourth quarter 2021, Boeing took a pre-tax charge of $3.5 billion related to the 787 programme amid required re-work on aircraft and delivery delays. Boeing predicts an additional $2 billion in costs related to the 787 programme by the end of 2023. In January, Boeing chief executive David Calhoun said: “The work we’re putting in now will build stability and predictability going forward.

The Swedish ministry of infrastructure has appointed a former minister to look at options for developing the capacity of Stockholm Arlanda airport, as the government looks to decommission Bromma airport. The government needs to secure sufficient flight capacity in order to make the decommissioning possible, the ministry says in a 15 February statement. With this in mind it has appointed Peter Norman, a Swedish economist who served as minister for financial markets from 2010 to 2014 in the government of Fredrik Reinfeldt. Bromma is the country's third largest airport - though far smaller than Stockholm’s primary Arlanda airport - and handled 2.4 million passengers in 2019 on predominantly domestic routes. The plan to be developed is expected to ensure sufficient flight capacity in the Stockholm area, with good accessibility for domestic flights at Arlanda, and be in line with the climate goals, the ministry says. The investigator is also expected to consider the assessments and proposals that Bromma investigator Magnus Persson presented in August 2021. The deadline to submit the assignment is 15 June, the statement reads.

Airbus is studying Singapore’s potential as a future hydrogen hub, jointly with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Changi Airport Group (CAG), and global industrial gases and engineering company Linde. The parties signed a co-operation agreement at the Singapore Airshow on 15 February. The two-year study will examine infrastructure requirements and supply solutions to support hydrogen-powered aircraft and airport operations at Changi, says the airport. Airbus will provide characteristics of aircraft configuration and fleet energy usage, insight on hydrogen-powered aircraft for ground operations, and data on the estimated hydrogen aircraft ramp-up at airports. Linde will contribute its expertise in hydrogen production, processing, storage and distribution. CAG will participate in assessing the feasibility of hydrogen fuel cells supporting airport operations, and establish regulations and standards. In its statement, CAAS says the partners will conduct market analysis on projected aviation demand and supply for hydrogen, regional readiness, and the commercial and technical feasibility of hydrogen adoption. Airbus states: “[The co-operation agreement] reflects the four partners’ shared ambition to leverage their respective expertise to support the decarbonisation of the aviation industry and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.” Increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuels from 50% to 100% is a relatively short-term goal. Further out, hydrogen-powered aircraft is a really promising pathway towards zero emissions, Airbus chief technical officer Sabine Klauke said at a media briefing during the Singapore Airshow. “Hydrogen is a technology pathway which the industry has been exploring for [a long time]. [At Airbus, we were] looking into it ourselves in the early 2000s. [Despite promising results at that time, we concluded] that the technology was not yet mature enough.” Two decades on, the technology is ready and available, says Klauke, and “it’s now about adapting it towards aviation”. “It’s very safe, versatile, lightweight, high energy density. [And] hydrogen is actually coming very close to what we know from [the use of kerosene as fuel today]. And it doesn’t produce any cO2 when we use it.” Hydrogen can be burnt or used as fuel cells, and Klauke says these are options being looked into. For the technology to come to fruition, airports and infrastructure is “a critical piece in the puzzle”. “It is mandatory that all the support and the ecosystem is actually ready when we want to prepare the first zero-emission aircraft based on hydrogen in 2035,” Klauke says. “So if we are looking into this preparation for hydrogen, then it is key that we look at the airport hydrogen hub… It is [about] bringing together all the key players to the same table.” Airbus has also signed agreements for the use of hydrogen technology with partners and airports in Paris and Seoul. The partnership with Seoul Incheon International airport, Korean Air and Air Liquide was announced on 10 February.