aeropolitics

Comprehensive aviation safety legislation took a step toward full U.S. House of Representatives consideration after two key committees in the lower chamber unanimously approved their respective portions on Thursday. Read more ⬇️

Only a few specific cities have been granted an exemption from DCA's "perimeter rule." The rule forbids any non-stop flight more than 1250mi away from DCA, instead directing them to IAD. The goal is to "reduce congestion." IAD is 30 miles from the US Capitol, DCA is only 5.

Air Calédonie resumes ops, but votes to enter insolvency: This article is only available with a subscription for Commercial Aviation News, Operator & Airport Data ch-aviation.com/news/165390-ai…

“A squeeze play is when everything is dependent on an aircraft rolling, an aircraft slowing, and you know it's gonna be a very close operation,” says former Reagan National air traffic controller Emily Hanoka. cbsn.ws/4sAq1qN

“You had frontline controllers ringing that bell for years and years, saying this is not safe. This cannot continue. Please send help,” says air traffic controller Emily Hanoka, who was working hours before last year’s deadly collision between a passenger jet and a helicopter at D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. cbsn.ws/47u0tmI

A lot from tonight’s 60 minutes has been reported before, but this from DCA controller Emily Hanoka is eye opening: “You'll get new controllers come in, [who’ve] transferred from other facilities and they'll look at the operation and say, "Absolutely not."

Air traffic controller Emily Hanoka says Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport was operating beyond its intended capacity. “There was definitely a pressure. If you do not move planes, you will gridlock the airport,” Hanoka says. cbsn.ws/4dQdkn2

“The air traffic control tower, the entire time, was saying, ‘We have a real safety problem here,’ and nobody was listening. It was like somebody was asleep at the switch or didn't want to act. It is a bureaucratic nightmare,” says NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy. cbsn.ws/413R1mt

European Union must review its Emissions Trading Scheme stated @IATA DG Willie Walsh airlines.iata.org/2026/03/24/eur… #Aviation #Travel

A section here on the top airports that experience go-arounds > politico.com/news/2025/08/3…

BREAKING: The United States just took over $126 million from Switzerland’s fighter jet account to cover missile shortfalls in the Iran war. Switzerland did not approve this. Switzerland did not consent. Switzerland had already frozen its Patriot payments after learning deliveries would be delayed four to five years. The US circumvented the freeze. SRF, Switzerland’s national broadcaster, reported on March 26 that Washington redirected Swiss funds originally allocated for 36 F-35 fighter jets to cover Patriot air defence shortfalls using the Foreign Military Sales pooled trust fund, a structure that allows the Pentagon to reallocate payments across a buyer’s contracts without that buyer’s permission. Swiss armaments chief Urs Loher confirmed the diverted amount is a “low three-digit million” Swiss francs and called the situation “very unsatisfactory.” The money Switzerland paid for jets is now subsidising a war Switzerland refused to participate in. Bern halted new arms exports to the US on March 20 citing the Iran conflict. Switzerland rejected two US military flyover requests linked to Iran operations. Two hundred years of armed neutrality, and Washington reached into the account anyway. Here is why. The United States fired 943 Patriot interceptors defending Gulf states in the first four days of Operation Epic Fury per a US Congressional study cited by the Jerusalem Post last week. Lockheed Martin and Boeing produce 620 Patriot interceptors per year combined. In four days, America burned through eighteen months of global Patriot production. The war has consumed roughly one-third of the entire THAAD missile stockpile. Annual THAAD production does not exceed 100 units. The cost asymmetry is what makes the depletion irreversible at current production rates. Each PAC-3 interceptor costs $3.9 million. Each Iranian Shahed drone costs between $20,000 and $50,000. The cost exchange ratio is 114 to 1 in Iran’s favour per Military Times. Iran manufactures an estimated 10,000 Shaheds per month per Reuters. America produces 620 interceptors per year. Iran builds more drones in a single week than the United States builds interceptors in an entire year. Every interceptor fired in the Gulf is one that cannot be delivered to Switzerland, Ukraine, Taiwan, Japan, or Poland. The State Department warned allies on March 27 that Patriot deliveries to Ukraine would face disruptions as the Pentagon prioritises Iran per Quiver Quantitative. Senator Chris Murphy said on record: “We’ve been told again and again one reason we can’t provide interceptors for the Patriot system for Ukraine is that they’re in short supply.” Lockheed signed a framework to quadruple production to 2,000 units per year. That capacity will not arrive for six to seven years. The Pentagon has asked Congress to shift $1.5 billion from other programmes to accelerate procurement per Bloomberg. None of this helps now. The interceptors are depleting now. The allied accounts are being raided now. Switzerland is considering reducing its F-35 order from 36 to 30 jets and accelerating evaluation of European alternatives per Bluewin and Global Defense Corp. Swiss parliamentarians have called the redirection “an unacceptable violation of procurement sovereignty.” The Swiss parliament is preparing formal hearings. Switzerland is the canary. A neutral country with two centuries of armed neutrality just had its fighter jet money taken without consent to feed a four-week-old war that burns 18 months of interceptor production every 96 hours. Every US ally with a pending defence contract should be asking one question: whose account is next? Full analysis: open.substack.com/pub/shanakaans…

The family of the flight attendant severely injured in the fatal Air Canada crash at LaGuardia airport have started a campaign to help with her recovery while providing the horrifying details of what she endured during last weekend's crash. toronto.citynews.ca/2026/03/28/gof…

@analyticflying @IronyMeter Like knowing how rarely seventh freedom rights have been exchanged for scheduled passenger services.

@IronyMeter Knowing the difference between landing slots and bilateral rights is a prerequisite for moving from fantasy to reality.

Fantasy: India offers unlimited landing slots to Emirates, Qatar airways, Air India and Indigo at Jevar, the new airport in Noida. Purely to fulfill east west demand without stopovers in Dubai and other middle east hubs. Run for three months in mission mode, or until flights normalise in middle east.

@nationalpost Tell us again why some Canadian pilots are speaking French to air traffic control when the internationally required language is English. Safety implications?

Jesse Kline: Tell me again why Air Canada must be officially bilingual nationalpost.com/opinion/tell-m…

FAA says: Controllers are repopulating, things should return to normal soon.

FAA investigating close call between passenger jet, Army helicopter in California thehill.com/homenews/58049…

Close calls between planes and helicopters have continued a year after the deadly midair collision near Washington Reagan National Airport. 60 Minutes investigates. Sunday. 60Minutes.com

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (@DGCAIndia) issues guidelines for aircraft operators flying VVIPs, including Chief Ministers, Union Ministers and Governors, to enhance safety during such operations. The #DGCA said the guidelines are applicable to non-scheduled aircraft and helicopter operators carrying VVIPs, in view of concerns arising from past accidents and incidents during such operations. DGCA said, analysis of past incidents during aircraft operations to and from airstrips and temporary helipads, particularly during election-related flying, has often revealed violations of laid-down procedures, compromising safety. It emphasised strict adherence to operational protocols, especially in challenging conditions such as temporary helipads and remote airstrips, and called for better coordination among operators, crew and local authorities to ensure safe VVIP movement. @MoCA_GoI

Over 480 officers have quit since the start of the partial government shutdown in February. vist.ly/4wfdr

New: Trump memorandum on funding TSA is out: "Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown"