In our first news story, FAA director Steve Dickson will step down from his position half-way into his 5-year service. It is expected that deputy administrator Brad Mims will take over duties in the interim period.
Thankfully, there is continued good news as air traffic continues to return to pre-pandemic levels. ENAIRE managed 103,579 flights in January, which is only 28.3 percent lower than the average for the same month in 2019.
There is also positive news from Hong Kong International Airport as traffic levels for January enjoyed a 5.5 percent year-on-year improvement. It seems air traffic across the world is still picking up nicely.
To round things up, it's interesting to see strong progress in Germany around drone aircraft. Droniq GmbH and its parent company DFS Deutsche Flugisherung GmbH recently published recommendations for unmanned (U-space) areas. These recommendations will move toward the introduction of U-space areas in 2023. There's not long to wait!
Market news
Context information
Reports and data
- EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot #26 on how all-cargo flights complement passenger flights - The 26th EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot is here, focusing on how all-cargo flights increasingly have two peaks in demand each day, but this complements other loads on the network.
- NAV CANADA reports January traffic figures - In January 2022 weighted charging units were higher on average by 67.4 percent compared to the same month in 2021. As compared to the same month in fiscal 2019, January 2022 weighted charging units were lower on average by 28.2 percent.
- ENAIRE recovered 71.7% of flights in January compared to 2019 levels - Month by month, the trend continues as air traffic recovers to pre-pandemic levels. ENAIRE managed over 100,000 flights in January (103,579), which is just 28.3% below the average for the entire network for the same month in 2019, a record year for traffic before the effects of COVID took hold in 2020.
- HKIA Releases Air Traffic Figures for January AAHK clinches Hong Kong Sustainability Award 2020/21 - Airport Authority Hong Kong today released the traffic figures of Hong Kong International Airport for January 2022. During the month, flight movements saw year-on-year growth of 5.5% to 12,010.
Research and innovation
UAV and UTM
- FAA to Begin Testing UAS Traffic Management in Spring - Airport Consultants Council - FAA is preparing to begin field-testing new air traffic management technologies and services designed to support the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System. FAA said Friday it plans to commence the UAS Traffic Management field test in spring 2022 with the goal of helping the government refine UTM’s cybersecurity, standards and data exchange capabilities.
- Germany aims to implement drone zones swiftly - DFS - Droniq GmbH and its parent company DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German air navigation service provider, today published their recommendations for the establishment of U-space areas. The findings underlying the recommendations stem from a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV). These recommendations will help spur the introduction of U-space areas in Germany from 2023.
