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☆ China might have sent a spy balloon over the US as a power play to prove it can do what it wants, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Chinese spy balloon was detected over the US, the Department of Defense said. Experts say spy balloons can do things satellites can't, and China may have wanted to get caught. The balloon, the Pentagon said, was "most certainly" sent by China to spy on the US. What is the Chinese spy balloon? A spy balloon is a balloon with any kind of surveillance equipment is attached.

☆ Factbox: High-altitude spy balloons: old concept, new applications
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Using high-altitude balloons for spying and other military missions is a practice that dates to the middle of the last century. No military targets were damaged, but several civilians were killed when one of the balloons crashed in an Oregon forest. * Just after World War 2, the U.S. military started exploring the use of high-altitude spy balloons, which led to a large-scale series of missions called Project Genetrix. * Such balloons typically operate at 80,000-120,000 feet (24,000-37,000m), well above where commercial air traffic flies - airliners almost never fly higher than 40,000 feet. * The U.S. military has tracked other spy balloons in recent years, including before President Joe Biden's administration, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States, a U.S. official said. China earlier expressed regret that what it called a "civilian" airship had strayed into U.S. territory after being blown off course, an incident that sparked a political furor in the United States. Republican Senator Tom Cotton had called for Blinken to cancel his trip, while Republican former President Donald Trump, a declared presidential candidate for 2024, posted "SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!" It said it would continue to communicate with the United States to "properly handle" the unexpected situation. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising.

☆ Shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon could be a lot harder than it sounds, former Navy pilot says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Shooting down the suspected Chinese spy balloon is harder than it seems, a former Navy pilot told Insider. The military said there were also concerns that shooting the balloon down could result in safety risks from falling debris. Still, some have urged that the Chinese balloon be shot down, despite the risks. Yu said that the US has the "capability" to shoot down the balloon, but doesn't have "the will." The Pentagon, however, has insisted it is a surveillance balloon, but there are no immediate plans to shoot it down.

☆ When a weather balloon went rogue almost 25 years ago, fighter jets fired 1,000 rounds at it and couldn't bring it down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

About 25 years ago, a rogue weather balloon wouldn't come down after over 1,000 rounds were fired at it. Balloons, like the suspected Chinese "spy balloon" over the US, don't always pop or explode when shot. Two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter aircraft spotted the balloon over Newfoundland and fired more than 1,000 rounds at it. The balloon, BBC reported, also survived encounters with British and American aircraft. According to BBC reports from the time of the incident, the 300-ft helium balloon prompted air traffic controllers to divert and delay transatlantic flights.

☆ The people who live inside airplanes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —After losing her house to a fire, Jo Ann Ussery had a peculiar idea: to live in an airplane. She bought an old Boeing 727 that was destined for the scrapyard, had it shipped to a plot of land she already owned, and spent six months renovating, doing most of the work by herself. By the end, she had a fully functional home, with over 1,500 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and even a hot tub – where the cockpit used to be. Although she wasn’t the first person to ever live in an airplane, her flawless execution of the project had an inspirational effect. Maybe the worst choice for a home.”As a result, Campbell had to work on the plane for a couple of years before being able to live in it.

Persons: Jo Ann Ussery, Ussery, Benoit , Mississippi –, Bruce Campbell, Jo, ”, Campbell, “, Jo Ann’s, Scotty, That’s, Aristotle Onassis, he’s, Joe Axline, Axline, “ I’ve, I’ve, ” Axline, Howard Hughes, Dave Drimmer, Nashville Hall of Famer Red Lane, Lane, Jumbo, “ You’ve, there’ll, Bruce Campbell’s Organizations: CNN, Boeing, Olympic Airways, Florida Air Museum, Nashville Hall of Famer, Airport Locations: Benoit , Mississippi, Hillsboro , Oregon, Mongolia, Greece, Miyazaki, Japan, Brookshire , Texas, Stockholm's Arlanda, Florida, American, Costa Rica, Costa Verde, Sweden, Stockholm’s Arlanda, England, London

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A suspected Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for a few days, and senior U.S. officials have advised President Joe Biden against shooting it down for fear the debris could pose a safety threat. The old-fashioned spy-movie-like intelligence collection method recalls lengths to which Beijing and Washington have been willing to go to spy on each other amid increased tensions. China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, have experienced tensions of late, clashing over Taiwan and China's human rights record and its military activity in the South China Sea. Spy balloons have flown over the United States several times in recent years, but this balloon appeared to be lingering longer than in previous instances, the official said. "Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective, but we are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information," the official said.

"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters. It was not clear how the discovery of the spy balloon might affect those plans. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising. A separate U.S. official said the spy balloon had been tracked near the Aleutian Islands and Canada before entering the United States. Spy balloons have flown over the United States several times in recent years, but this balloon appeared to be lingering longer than in previous instances, an official said.

☆ Suspected Chinese spy balloon found over northern U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Courtney Kube | Carol E. Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Pentagon would not confirm that the balloon in the photo was the surveillance balloon. The U.S. military has been monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been hovering over the northern U.S. for the past few days, and military and defense leaders have discussed shooting it out of the sky, according to two U.S. officials and a senior defense official. "The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brig. A senior defense official said the balloon is still over the U.S. but declined to say where it is now. Pentagon leaders presented the options to President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

☆ Factbox: Later retirement, income guarantees: What's in France's pension reform?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Jan 31 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron's plan to reform France's costly pension system, including raising the retirement age, has infuriated trade unions who are calling for a second day of nationwide strikes on Tuesday. * Retirement age pushed back by two years to 64. * Guaranteed minimum pension income of not less than 85% of the net minimum wage, or roughly 1,200 euros per month at current levels, for new retirees. After year one of retirement, the pensions of those receiving a minimum income will be indexed to inflation. Existing forecasts without any reform show a pension budget deficit of 13.5 billion euros in 2030.

New York CNN —The Federal Aviation Administration plans to dramatically accelerate replacing the safety system whose failure led to a nationwide air travel grounding earlier this month. The 30-year-old NOTAM, or Notice to Air Missions, system provides potential flight hazard information to pilots and air traffic controllers. The FAA said it now requires “at least two individuals to be present during the maintenance” of the NOTAM system. Still, it’s another critical tool for air safety. It was the first nationwide grounding of the nation’s air traffic system in 20 years, since the days following the September 11 attacks.

☆ A mailman, a NASA scientist and a park ranger: Some government employees shrug off TikTok bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Jean-Pierre, who’s from Morristown, New Jersey, has attracted 215,500 followers on the video app where most days he posts from his mail truck during his lunch break. As of last month, all federal workers are banned from having TikTok on their work phones. In some places, using a personal device isn’t enough to get around TikTok restrictions. There’s no telling precisely how many federal workers use TikTok, but certain hashtags show the breadth of its popularity. The public relations staff at some federal agencies said they had no plans to interfere with what federal workers did on their own.

☆ Can Pete Buttigieg Fix the FAA?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Why didn’t Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rush over and fix Southwest Airlines ’ crew-scheduling snafu? Why didn’t he save the day with his programming skills after outside contractors rummaging around a Federal Aviation Administration computer closet deleted vital software that caused the nation’s air traffic control system to crash? Of course such criticism is unrealistic. We should be asking instead whether we’re glad Mayor Pete is on the job to straighten things out. He has yet to excel at federal spin but we should also be looking for something else: whether he will use the opportunity to move forward a stalled reform agenda that is no mystery to anyone and lacks movement only for want of investment of political capital.

☆ Tata's Air India to seal half of jumbo plane order - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Air India did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters reported last month Air India was closing in on a deal for about 500 jets. The aim is to corner 30% of the domestic air travel market over the next five years thus narrowing the gap with market leader IndiGo. Tata's four airlines, including two budget carriers, Air India and Vistara its joint venture with Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI), have a combined market share of 24%. Analysts have said Air India has the ability to claw back some passengers from rival Gulf carriers but not before it matches their quality of fleet and service.

☆ A Qantas jet made a midair U-turn 1 hour into a flight because its paperwork wasn't finalized before takeoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Qantas flight made a midair U-turn because paperwork wasn't finalized before takeoff. The jet was on its way to Perth from Adelaide before it turned around over the ocean. A person with knowledge of the incident told Insider the correct paperwork wasn't finalized before the flight took off, adding that there were no technical issues with the aircraft. FlightRadar24/Google MapsAfter returning to Adelaide, the paperwork was finalized following sign-off by engineers, the person said. The flight then departed for Perth and landed four hours after its scheduled arrival time, they added.

☆ The Wall Street Journal ranked US airlines from worst to best. See the list.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Wall Street Journal has revealed its annual list of the best and worst airlines in the US. Delta Air Lines took the top spot, while JetBlue Airways lagged behind competitors. According to aviation data company Anuvu, which provided the numbers for WSJ's rankings, Delta had the best on-time arrival rate of 81.7%. Here's a closer look at the WSJ's list of the best and worst airlines in the US. Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines.

☆ Strike at Berlin airport to ground flights on Wednesday, operator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The operator of Germany's BER airport in the capital Berlin expects a strike planned for Wednesday to ground all regular passenger flights, the airport operator told Reuters on Monday. Around 300 takeoffs and landings were planned for Wednesday, when 35,000 passengers were to travel via the airport. "The airport company must assume in this situation that no regular passenger flights can take place at BER on this day," a spokesperson said. The Ver.di union has called on airport staff in ground services, aviation security and at the airport company to strike in a wage dispute. The union said it expects many workers to participate and all air traffic to and from Berlin to be affected by the all day strike.

Labor shortagesAs the pandemic swooped in, air travel was among the industries most affected, as more than 90% of flights were grounded. Today, labor shortages exist throughout the economy, but the problem drags on in the air travel sector, where more extensive employee training is usually required. Steven Senne / APOutdated technology and infrastructureThere is near-universal agreement that the infrastructure underpinning segments of America's air travel system is outdated and vulnerable. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Montana, said the incident highlighted "a huge vulnerability in our air transportation system." Air travel should be predictable and consistent, and you shouldn’t have to wonder if air traffic control is going to be working today as you head to the airport.

☆ FAA Says Contractor Unintentionally Caused Outage That Disrupted Flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Andrew Tangel | Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A breakdown with the Notam system prompted the FAA to halt domestic departures and contributed to nationwide cancellations. The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that a contractor working for the air-safety regulator had unintentionally deleted computer files used in a pilot-alert system, leading to an outage that disrupted U.S. air traffic last week. The agency, which declined to identify the contractor, said its personnel were working to correctly synchronize two databases—a main one and a backup—used for the alert system when the files were unintentionally deleted.

☆ FAA says problem that grounded all U.S. flights happened when files were unintentionally deleted
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Last week’s massive flight disruption that grounded thousands of planes was caused after “contract personnel unintentionally deleted files,” the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday. On Jan. 11, the FAA halted all departures nationwide after an outage to the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system. The FAA said in a statement that the files were deleted by accident as the contractors were "working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database." The NOTAM system sends pilots vital information they need to fly. On Jan. 11, the FAA sent out a tweet at 7:20 a.m. ordering the airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m.

☆ U.S. House eyes creating task force on flawed aviation computer system
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The outage of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) database prompted the Jan. 11 nationwide groundstop of U.S. passenger traffic, the first since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The NOTAM system provides pilots, flight crews and other users of U.S. airspace with critical safety notices. The FAA next week plans to hold a briefing for House lawmakers. There are two separate databases including a 30-year-old system known as the U.S. NOTAM System" based in Oklahoma City being phased out in favor of the newer "Federal NOTAM system" based in Atlantic City, the sources said. Last week, the corruption occurred in the US NOTAM system, which then infiltrated the federal NOTAM database.

☆ FAA says contractor unintentionally deleted files before outage disrupted thousands of flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"A preliminary FAA review of last week's outage of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system determined that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database," the FAA said. The FAA reiterated that it hasn't found evidence of a cyberattack or "malicious intent" and that it is still investigating what occurred. Lawmakers from both parties demanded answers about technology vulnerabilities in the U.S. aviation system. Airline executives complained about inadequate funding and staffing for the FAA. "Hopefully this will be the call to our political leaders in Washington that we need to do better."

☆ Pilots fail to cash in on air traffic revival -global survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - A global rebound in air travel has brought pilots back to work after a pandemic-induced slump, but many men and women in the cockpit have concerns over salary, a survey on Thursday said. More than half of pilots have not had a salary increase for five years, according to the global survey by aviation industry specialist Goose recruitment and FlightGlobal. By contrast, 73% of respondents in North America reported higher salaries, driven by fierce demand for pilots as traffic rebounds. Almost two-thirds of pilots said they want to change jobs for better pay and conditions in the next 12 months. “Pilots will want to see their pay return to what it once was," said Mark Charman, chief executive of Goose Recruitment.

☆ United Airlines boss warns of continued travel chaos in 2023, says there's a 'new math for airlines' post-pandemic that most airlines are not prepared for
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Air passengers should expect more travel chaos this year, according to the CEO of United Airlines. Airlines now need more pilots and aircraft compared to pre-pandemic days, the CEO said. He thinks passengers should expect more travel chaos this year, as airlines don't yet have the capacity to operate all the flights they are planning. A pilot shortage, higher employee sick rates, and outdated technology at most airlines continue to weigh on airlines, he said. United Airlines reported a profit of $843 million in the fourth-quarter of 2022 — that's about 30% higher than the pre-pandemic levels seen in the similar period of 2019, thanks to robust demand for travel.

Eight of France’s largest unions - covering transportation, education, police, executives and public sectors - called for Thursday to be the “first day of strikes and protests” against the proposed pensions reform. Widespread strikes are expected, and it may be “a hellish Thursday” on public transport networks, Transport Minister Clement Beaune warned French broadcaster France 2 Tuesday. Paris’ transport authority predicts “very disrupted” service on the city’s transport network. But many have blasted the reforms as ill-timed at best; at worst, an insult to hard-working people in France. “This reform falls at a moment where there is lots of anger, lots of frustration, lots of fatigue.

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