The US Federal Aviation Administration is set to urge ICAO to address pilot training deficiencies that may leave some of the world's airline pilots unprepared to manually fly aircraft when automated systems fail. Representatives from the agency will bring up their concerns about training shortcomings and a related concept called "automation dependency" during ICAO's 40th assembly, occurring now in Montreal. The meeting kicks off as the aviation industry continues grappling with pilot training and automation questions that have simmered for years but became salient following several accidents, including but not limited to recent crashes of two Boeing 737 Max. Those particular crashes spurred criticism of a Boeing flight control system that contributed to the accidents, but also raised questions about the pilots' response. The FAA's concerns turn on the theory that many pilots lost or never attained adequate manual flying skills because they have come to rely on increasingly complex automated systems designed largely to prevent pilot error in the first place, according to a paper outlining the FAA's recommendations. But technological reliance has left some pilots unprepared for emergencies, it says. "When automation systems do not work as intended or do not work well in the operational situation, pilots without sufficient manual flight control experience and proper training may be reluctant or may not be adequately skilled to take control of the aircraft," says the paper, available from ICAO. "As the use of automation increases in aircraft design, it is important to consider how ICAO standards and guidance should evolve to ensure that pilot training programmes align with technological advancements," it adds. The paper's key points will be presented to ICAO's technical commission by the FAA and representatives of Canada, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago, the paper says. The FAA has not said the date its representatives will present their concerns. The agency will ask ICAO to "identify the scope of automation dependency", identify standards related to manual flying, assess airlines' training programmes and review the need for new standards, says the paper. The FAA and its partners will also urge ICAO to recommend that states take steps themselves to ensure their pilots have adequate manual flight training.

Source: FlightGlobal

Over 1,000 flights are being planned for the two-week 'Operation Matterhorn' repatriation programme following leisure giant Thomas Cook Group's collapse. The first day of the programme, 23 September, involved 64 flights and the transport of more than 14,700 passengers – over 95% of those due to return from holiday on that date, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority. It states that another 74 flights carrying 16,500 customers are scheduled to operate on 24 September, and that more than 1,000 flights will be carried out by the time the repatriation ends on 6 October. "We will do everything we can to minimise [disruption to passengers] as the operation continues," says chief executive Richard Moriarty. It has not identified specific carriers involved in the repatriation but various operators – from flag carriers and budget airlines to wet-lease specialists and leisure airlines – were recruited to conduct a similar effort when Monarch Airlines ceased flying two years ago. Thomas Cook Airlines, ironically, had been among the carriers assisting with that programme, and the airline subsequently picked up several ex-Monarch aircraft to add to its own fleet.

Source: FlightGlobal

Slowing passenger demand and rising costs are set to pull airline profits back this year, IATA has warned. Profits will decline to $28 billion in 2019 from $30 billion last year, predicts the airline association's director general Alexandre de Juniac. "The trend is more in the decreasing mode than the increasing mode," says de Juniac. "A big uncertainty is the oil price." Singling out air cargo in particular, he notes that demand was 3.2% weaker in July 2019 than in the same month last year. He was speaking on a press call to mark the 40th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is convening today in Montreal. Foremost among IATA's hopes for the assembly is encouraging ICAO member states to back a market-based industry effort to combat climate change, namely the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Three years ago, ICAO member states agreed to implement CORSIA, which is a mitigation programme for the industry. During the 40th assembly, IATA is pushing states to reconfirm their commitment to "stick to the principle that aviation's international emissions should be accounted for only once, with no duplication". This has run into opposition from the EU and several European countries, who are looking to enact their own market-based policies to reduce carbon from the sector in addition to CORSIA, such as the emissions trading system. De Juniac warns that these efforts risk undermining the scheme: "The strength of CORSIA is that it is to be applicable everywhere in the same way… If states take unilateral measures… it will unbalance the program," he says, identifying a risk the industry could suffer double charging in some jurisdictions "There is a single programme. We should abide by the single programme full stop," he says. De Juniac also notes that the industry has already made large strides in its efforts to combat climate change. Having brought in the first measures to combat carbon emissions around 10 years ago, the industry is making more progress than expected, he argues. Although overall emissions are rising, he notes that per-passenger they have fallen by 3-4%, against an expected level of 1-2%. IATA hopes that by 2050 airlines will emit just half the carbon that they did in 2011.

Source: FlightGlobal