By Mathieu RABECHAULT, Tangi QUEMENER Agence France-Presse PARIS, June 19, 2023 (AFP) — The Paris Air Show opens Monday after a four-year break with the aerospace industry bouncing back from the Covid-19 pandemic but under pressure to slash its carbon footprint. Organizers have billed the biennial event as the “recovery airshow” after the coronavirus ravaged the sector and saw the event cancelled in 2021. The aerospace industry is flocking back to Le Bourget airport outside […]
Tag: Aviation
Indonesia orders 13 long-range military radars from Thales
PARIS, June 18, 2023 (AFP) – Indonesia has ordered 13 long-range military radars from Thales to boost airspace surveillance efforts across its immense archipelago, the French manufacturer and state-owned Indonesian defence firm PT Len Industri said Sunday. The Ground Master 400 Alpha (GM400a) radars will allow the Indonesian military to “benefit from a single air picture integrating the detection of all types of threats, from jets and missiles to hovering helicopters and unmanned air vehicles”, […]
Boeing expects number of planes in air to double by 2042
PARIS, June 18, 2023 (AFP) – Boeing expects the number of commercial planes in service around the world to double in the next 20 years, according to estimates published on Sunday, anticipating a slightly larger increase than competitor Airbus. The American aircraft manufacturer estimates 48,575 planes will be in service in 2042, compared with 24,500 last year. This will require producing, across all manufacturers combined, 42,595 planes — half to replace existing aircraft, and the […]
Air travel to soar near record in 2023: industry group
ISTANBUL, June 5, 2023 (AFP) – Airlines will return to profit and fly a near-record 4.35 billion passengers this year, but the sector’s post-pandemic recovery remains fragile, an industry group said on Monday. The industry is forecast to post net profits totally $9.8 billion in 2023, or double previous estimates, boosted by the end of China’s Covid restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The association added that its 2022 losses were half […]
Four dead in plane crash that sparked Washington alert
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2023 (AFP) – US officials said Monday there were no survivors from the Virginia crash of a small plane carrying four people, a day after the unresponsive aircraft prompted the scrambling of fighter jets from Washington. The Cessna Citation slammed into mountainous terrain Sunday afternoon some 170 miles (275 kilometers) southwest of the capital, according to the Federal Aviation Administration which was investigating the incident. F-16s earlier chased the aircraft at high […]
At its 787 Dreamliner factory, Boeing prepares for takeoff
By Juliette MICHEL Agence France-Presse NORTH CHARLESTON, United States (AFP) — As airlines seek to fulfill customers’ growing post-pandemic appetites for long-haul travel, Boeing is aiming to speed up production of its 787 Dreamliners after a period plagued by repeated delivery interruptions due to manufacturing defects. At a hangar in the US East Coast state of South Carolina, the plane begins to take shape on its first assembly line — here, the wings, cockpit, cabin […]
China’s first homegrown passenger jet makes maiden commercial flight
BEIJING, May 28, 2023 (AFP) – China’s first domestically produced passenger jet made its maiden commercial flight on Sunday, a milestone event in the nation’s decades-long effort to compete with Western rivals in the air. Beijing hopes the C919 commercial jetliner will challenge foreign models like the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320, though many of its parts are sourced from abroad. Its first homegrown jetliner with mass commercial potential would also cut the […]
Asiana Airlines bans some emergency seats after door-opening accident
SEOUL, May 28, 2023 (AFP) – South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has stopped selling some emergency seats following an accident in which a passenger opened an emergency exit mid-air, the carrier said Sunday. The incident took place onboard a A321-200 plane, which was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway at Daegu International Airport, about 240 kilometres (149 miles) southeast of Seoul. The plane landed safely but several people were hospitalised. There were no […]
EU warns Korean Air’s Asiana bid could limit competition
BRUSSELS, May 17, 2023 (AFP) – The EU said on Wednesday it feared the takeover by South Korean flag-carrier Korean Air of smaller troubled rival airline Asiana could restrict competition on routes between Europe and South Korea. Korean Air in late 2020 said it would buy out Asiana for $1.6 billion at the time as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the worldwide aviation industry, grounding planes. The European Commission, the bloc’s powerful anti-trust authority, […]
French court acquits Air France, Airbus over 2009 Rio-Paris crash
Paris, France | AFP | Monday 4/17/2023 by Anne LEC’HVIEN Air France and plane manufacturer Airbus were acquitted Monday over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight after a French court ruled their errors could not be proven as the disaster’s cause. While the ruling was expected after prosecutors recommended to the Paris court not to seek a conviction, it is still a huge blow for families of victims who have waged a 14-year campaign […]
Russian volcano spews ash across Kamchatka peninsula
Russia’s Shiveluch volcano erupted on Tuesday, spewing ash across a vast swathe of the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, potentially posing a risk to flights and paralysing several villages. Dramatic videos published by officials showed a huge wall of ash rising above a snowy forest. Volcanologists issued a red code warning for flights and Russia’s aviation authority Rosaviatsiya urged crews to “constantly monitor changes in meterological information”. The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), which monitors […]
Nine dead in crash of two US Army helicopters
by W.G. Dunlop Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Two US Army helicopters crashed during a nighttime training mission in Kentucky, killing all nine soldiers on board, a general said Thursday. The crash — which involved variants of the Black Hawk designed for medical evacuation — was the deadliest such incident in more than eight years. The aircraft were flying in formation with pilots using night vision goggles during a routine training exercise, and […]





