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TSA: New airport security scanner poses “privacy risks” to passengers

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US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is demanding modifications of a new airport security system because it poses “privacy risks” to passengers by showing too much of them on display, a newly published document has revealed.

Following a demonstration, the Transportation Security Administration has requested changes to the contract because the scanner they received “has privacy risks associated with the Graphical User Interface,” says the document dated March 26 and made public by Quartz on Monday.

While the document provides no further details on the exact nature of the privacy risks, the TSA required the scanner’s manufacturer to add additional security features before it would consider using the device in a “live environment.”

Using another government database, Quartz identified the contractor – whose name is redacted in the document – as Virginia security firm ThruVision. The document refers to ThruVision’s TAC scanner, which the company describes as a “proven people-screening camera that sees any type of item.”

The device is supposed to be part of TSA’s “Future Lane Experience” (FLEx), an effort to speed up security checks that have become a major headache for passengers in many airports.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority partnered with the TSA last year to deploy ThruVision’s portable TS4 scanner, which the TSA claims to have vetted “extensively” prior to using it on LA commuters. It is unclear whether the TSA had similar concerns about the TS4 before the device was used in the field.

Revelations about the TSA concerns over the new scanner come after last week’s report by ProPublica that accused the agency’s current hardware of “discriminating” against African-Americans by misreading their hair, requiring a disproportionate number of pat-downs.

The ACLU slammed the TSA in 2009 for using scanning technology to conduct “virtual strip searches” that provided TSA employees with photos of passengers’ genitals, breasts and buttocks. More was revealed in 2010, when the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) published TSA documents which further detail the scanners’ invasiveness.

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SITA: Tracking airline passenger bags drives 66% improvement in baggage delivery

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Airlines that are adding tracking at more points of the baggage journey are enjoying a huge improvement in bag delivery globally. The SITA 2019 Baggage IT Insights – officially launched at an event in Abu Dhabi International Airport today – shows that where tracking is done at check-in and loading onto the aircraft, the rate of improvement is as high as 66%.

These results come as the record drop in the baggage mishandling rate achieved globally over the past decade plateaus, with the rate steady at around 5.7 bags per thousand passengers over the past three years. In 2018, the rate was 5.69 per thousand passengers.

Over the past year, an increasing number of airlines and airports have started to introduce tracking at key points in the journey – check-in, loading onto the aircraft, transfers and arrival – to improve baggage management and further reduce the chances of a bag being mishandled. SITA’s research provides the first glimpse of the success of this tracking. It reveals that where bags were being tracked when loaded onto the aircraft, the rate of improvement ranged between 38% and 66% depending on the level of tracking introduced.

Peter Drummond, Director of Baggage at SITA, said: “While the mishandling rate has started to plateau over the past few years, this comes against a continued growth in passenger numbers and their bags. In 2018, 4.36 billion travelers checked in more than 4.27 billion bags. More bags makes things more challenging. Everyone across the industry needs to look beyond the process and technology improvements made in the past decade and adopt the latest technology such as tracking to make the next big cut in the rate of mishandled bags.”

Ahmed Juma Al Shamsi, Acting Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “For our passengers the timely delivery of baggage is key to ensuring a seamless passenger experience and therefore an area in which we continue to make further improvements. Looking forward, baggage tracking is fundamental to driving more accurate bag delivery not only at Abu Dhabi International Airport but across the entire passenger journey. We have led the way with the introduction of tracking on arrival and we have already seen significant improvements.”

Transferring baggage from one aircraft, or airline, to another remains a pinch point in the journey and in 2018 it was again the main reason for bags being mishandled. Transfer bags accounted for 46% of all mishandled bags.
Drummond added: “Transfer is by far the most difficult stage to track a bag as there are multiple airlines and airports involved. However, data from this year’s report shows that tracking at key points in the journey, such as transfers, will go a long way to eliminating mishandling and will allow airlines and their passengers to keep tabs on where their bags are at every step of the way.”

Over the past decade, total number of mishandled bags per annum has plummeted 47% from 46.9 million in 2007 to 24.8 million in 2018, while the annual bill footed by the industry has shrunk 43% to $2.4 billion, down from $4.22 billion in 2007.

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Boeing scraps 2019 financial forecast, halts share buybacks in wake of 737 MAX disaster

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World’s biggest aerospace corporation was forced to pull its full financial forecast for the current year due to unresolved issues surrounding Boeing’s once best-selling 737 MAX aircraft.

Boeing also announced plans to pause share buybacks, citing “a challenging time for our customers, stakeholders and the company.”

“Across the company, we are focused on safety, returning the 737 MAX to service, and earning and re-earning the trust and confidence of customers, regulators and the flying public,” Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement.

The manufacturer had previously posted a report on the first-quarter earnings that managed to fall in line with analysts’ expectations, while its revenue was slightly less than projected. Boeing’s earning per share totaled the expected $3.16 from January through March, while the revenue amounted to $22.92 billion against $22.98 billion forecasted by London-based provider of financial markets data Refinitiv.

Boeing stressed that the previous guidance didn’t reflect the impact of two crashes of the company’s flagship planes, leading to the grounding of all 737 MAX 8 jets by global regulators, lawsuits from some air carriers and a decline in market value.

According to the producer, more than 135 test and production flights of updated software for the 737 MAX have been carried out so far.

Boeing’s bestseller crashed on March 10 not far from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa six minutes after takeoff on the way to Nairobi, Kenya. The tragedy, which killed 157 people, marked the second crash involving the same jet model in less than six months. In October, the same type of aircraft, operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air, crashed in the Java Sea shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of 189 people.

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Moscow selected to host annual GSMA Mobile 360 Series event

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Eurasia conference, a regional event held as part of the activities of GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association), will be held in Moscow, October 8-9 2019.

The decision to host the event in Moscow was adopted as a result of an active work of the Russian Convention Bureau which provided the proposal for venues, and organized an inspection visit for representatives of the international association.

The event will be held in Moscow for the second time, following the successful launch in 2018 which gathered over 600 attendees from 21 countries and 52% were Director-level and above.

In 2019, the conference and exhibition will bring together over 600 policymakers, regulatory authorities, international organisations, Mobile Network Operators, mobile technology solution providers and broader ICT ecosystem players from Russia, the CIS region and the international market leaders in 5G technology. The event will be held at the Lotte Hotel Moscow.

Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, said: “The sphere of mobile and high technologies plays a key role in stimulating economic growth, attracting foreign investments and increasing global competitiveness through development of science and technology. Adding more industries to the list of events organized by the Russian Convention Bureau will not only facilitate the development of corresponding areas of the real economy sector but also help create the image of the country on the international arena as one of the most meaningful players on the market of the event industry.”

Alexey Kalachev, Director of the Russian Convention Bureau, said: “We use various tools of working with international associations as we work to attract various business events to Russia. We are ready to offer universal and customized solutions that will correspond to the needs and expectations of conference organizers of various scale in different industries.”

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China announces Great Wall “emergency repair” over next 5 years

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China’s government has formulated an emergency work plan to repair dilapidated sections of the Great Wall in the next five years, according to the municipal cultural heritage authorities.

The work plan has set 2,772 meters of the Great Wall and 17 towers as the priority for “emergency repair” over the next three years.

Beijing boasts a total length of 520.77 km of the Great Wall, which is more than 21,000 km long and traverses through 15 provinces and cities.

Since 2000, Beijing has earmarked 470 million yuan (70 million U.S. dollars) for the Great Wall protection fund.

In the next stage, the city has planned to comprehensively protect and develop the Great Wall Cultural Belt, with a total area of 4,929.29 square km, which includes both heritage protection and ecological conservation.

Shu Xiaofeng, director of the Beijing municipal administration of cultural heritage, said Beijing will make use of scientific and technological means, such as unmanned aerial vehicles and sensors, to protect and monitor the Great Wall, and carry out archaeological research.

He said the protection of the Great Wall is not only to protect the wall itself, but also to protect cultural relics along the cultural belt.

The Great Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, consists of many interconnected walls, some dating back 2,000 years.

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San Francisco International Airport purchases six new electric buses

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Today Proterra announced that San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has purchased six 40′ Proterra Catalyst E2 electric buses and three 60 kW Proterra plug-in chargers, joining a growing list of airports across North America transitioning to electric buses for airport ground transportation. The new battery-electric bus fleet will reduce Bay Area emissions and support SFO’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2021 while cutting its bus operating costs.

As one of the fastest-growing airports in the U.S., SFO has ambitious plans in place to reduce its carbon footprint. SFO’s Five-Year Strategic Plan sets goals of carbon neutrality across airport-controlled operations by 2021 and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent from a 1990 baseline. Part of that plan includes the creation of a Clean Vehicle Policy to promote the adoption and deployment of low emission vehicles by both airport departments and ground transportation providers. The new battery-electric Proterra Catalyst buses will replace six diesel buses in its current operating fleet and will eliminate more than 23 million pounds of greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions over the 12-year life of the vehicles. SFO expects to purchase additional battery-electric buses to replace its CNG vehicles, for a greener, more modern fleet.

“Earth Day serves as a call to action; an opportunity for us to reaffirm our commitment to the environment,” said Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “SFO is an airport industry leader in sustainability, and we have set big goals to achieve zero net energy use, zero waste, and carbon neutrality. By deploying San Francisco’s first public battery-electric buses, we’re on the path to zero emissions in our ground transportation services, leading the way in our quest to be the world’s most sustainable airport.”

The new electric buses will integrate batteries that are designed and manufactured down the street from the airport at Proterra’s Silicon Valley headquarters in Burlingame, California. With 440 kWh of battery capacity on board, the buses will be part of SFO’s fleet that currently provides buses to shuttle passengers between the terminals, long-term parking garages and other airport locations along daily routes.

SFO joins other California airports that are leading the electrification trend across ground transportation fleets, including Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and Silicon Valley’s Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (SJC). Beyond California, five additional airports across the country have chosen Proterra electric vehicles for their ground transportation needs, including Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Honolulu International Airport (HNL), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA).

“San Francisco International Airport has long been a leader in sustainability and joins other forward-thinking airports around the country in transitioning ground fleets to 100 percent battery-electric buses,” said Proterra CEO Ryan Popple. “We are proud to help one of our local airports offer superior service and meet its sustainability goals while also providing reduced vehicle maintenance costs and lower total cost of ownership.”

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Japan’s first domestic passenger plane since 1960s to challenge Boeing and Airbus

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Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, an aviation unit of Japanese industrial giant, is planning to start deliveries of Japan’s first domestically-produced passenger plane since the 1960s as soon as next year.

The 88-passenger jet has a flight range of about 2,000 miles, while a smaller variant can fly up to 76 people for about the same distance. The MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet) made its maiden flight in November 2015 with the first deliveries slated for mid-2020.

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation initially planned the first deliveries of the jet for 2008. However, the date was pushed back five times due to production difficulties. Orders for the aircraft that once totaled 474 units from US and Japanese carriers have been reportedly reduced to 407 jets so far.

The Japanese conglomerate, a longtime supplier of aircraft components to Boeing, invested over 600 billion yen ($5.36 billion) into MRJ as of March 2018 with another 200 billion yen ($1.8bn) expected to be pumped into the project by the end of 2020. In October, Mitsubishi announced plans to invest an extra 170 billion yen ($1.5bn) in capital into its aircraft unit, canceling 50 billion yen ($446mn) of the debt owed by the division.

The long-anticipated MRJ, which is designed for local air transportation, may become a peer competitor for such mainstays as Canada’s Bombardier, whose C Series regional planes are marketed as the Airbus A220, after the 2017 acquisition of the unit by the European aerospace giant. The Japanese jet is also expected to provide keen competition to Brazil’s Embraer that announced plans to create a joint venture for Embraer’s airliners in 2018.

The newcomers in the sector of regional air service, such as the Russian Sukhoi Superjet-100 and the Chinese Comac ARJ21, which are currently undergoing test flights, may also challenge Airbus and Boeing.

Mitsubishi is currently involved in legal proceedings with Montreal–based Bombardier. In October, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer filed a lawsuit, accusing the Japanese corporation of stealing secret information and causing Bombardier “to suffer irreparable financial loss.”

Mitsubishi counter-sued, saying that the Canadian aircraft producer had violated antitrust regulations through “a multifaceted scheme to expand its power within the regional jet market by impeding the entrance of a new competing aircraft.”

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Airbus to attend Turkey’s IDEF 2019

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Airbus will attend Turkey’s IDEF 2019, 14th International Defense Industry Fair, held at TÜYAP Fair and Congress Center in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul from April 30th to May 3rd.

At the exhibition Hall 2, Stand 234, Airbus will display a range of innovative defence and security products and services, including military aircraft and helicopters, perfectly in line with the aspirations of the Turkish Armed Forces in regard with the recently launched modernization programs.

Airbus will showcase a scale model of the A330 MRTT – the only new generation strategic tanker/transport aircraft combat proven and available today. The large 111 tonnes basic fuel capacity of the successful A330-200 airliner enables the A330 MRTT to excel in air-to-air refuelling missions without the need for any additional fuel tank.

Also on display, the scale mock up of the C295 in Maritime Patrol Aircraft configuration – a very robust and reliable, highly versatile tactical airlifter able to carry up to 9 tonnes of payload, at a maximum cruise speed of 480 km/h. Fitted with a retractable landing gear and a pressurised cabin, it can cruise at altitudes up to 25,000 ft, while retaining remarkable short take-off & landing (STOL) performance from unprepared, short, or soft airstrips, as well as excellent low level flight characteristics.

A scale mock up of the Astrobus S Earth observation satellite will be on show. The latest generation of Earth Observation Satellites for Very High Resolution (VHR) applications, it combines the advantages of a low-mass system (around 400 kg only) with the strong performance of a larger Earth observation satellite platform.

Turkey is a key partner for Airbus. With nearly 30 years of successful collaboration in civil and military aviation, Airbus is committed to long-term, mutually-beneficial industrial cooperation, working closer with its partners and customers as flag carrier Turkish Airlines, the Ministry of Defense and Presidency of Defense Industries, as well as Turkey’s air force, navy and coast guard.

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The future of flight: UN aviation agency looking for new designs and concepts

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The United Nations (UN) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has launched the Aviation Innovation Competitions and is looking for ideas, concepts, and prototypes from the next generation of aviation innovators.

The three competitions, managed by ICAO and supported by Transport Canada commemorate the agency’s 75th anniversary this year. Participants will be highlighted on ICAO’s digital content platforms, and global winners in each category will win grand prizes of $1000, $2000 and $5000. The global winner of the prototypes competition will also win a trip to Montréal to receive their award.

Submissions from elementary students, high school students and young adults must be uploaded by June 30, 2019.

Quote

“Canada is proud of its long-standing relationship with ICAO as Host State, and as an active member of the ICAO Council. Throughout 2019, we join ICAO and its other Member States in celebrating flight and the crucial importance of air connectivity worldwide. On this special milestone of its 75th anniversary, I am pleased to support ICAO’s Aviation Innovation Competitions and I encourage all young Canadians to apply.”

The Honorable Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport

Quick Facts

•Proudly hosted by Canada in Montréal, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world.

•ICAO sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities.

•Canada is one of 193 Member States and is also a member of the 36-member ICAO Council.

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Fly Leasing completes sale of a $295 million portfolio of 12 aircraft

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Fly Leasing Limited announced that it has completed the sale of a portfolio of 12 aircraft for an aggregate price of approximately $295 million. The portfolio was comprised of Airbus A320 and Boeing B737 narrow-body aircraft with an average age of over 10 years.

“This portfolio sale accomplishes several strategic objectives; including generating free cash, reducing leverage, reducing our lessee concentration, and lowering the average age of our fleet,” said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY. “This is another example of how FLY has consistently sold aircraft from its portfolio at premiums to book value, underscoring the strong value of our fleet.”

Three sales were recognized in the fourth quarter of 2018, eight sales were completed in the first quarter of 2019, and the final sale was completed in April. The sales were at a premium to net book value. FLY will be reporting its first quarter results on May 9th, as previously announced.

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