The World of Aviation

A new report from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) has shown that international passenger traffic continued to grow strongly during May, although seat utilisation remained static. Passenger traffic increased by 6.9 per cent compared to May 2009 with 1.887 million passengers passing through Australia’s international airports. Available seats increased by 6.7

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has finalised licensing arrangements which will allow passengers to use their mobile phones in flight. Under the new arrangements, mobile communication services on aircraft will be governed by apparatus and class licenses. ACMA says it has consulted closely with CASA for the new licensing arrangements, with no technical

Regional Express is cutting the number of flights on the Adelaide-Port Lincoln route due to increased competition from QantasLink. From August 23, the carrier will cut the number of flights it operates on the route from 120 to 98 per week, all of which are operated by 34-seat Saab 340s. This will result in a

Boeing owned Insitu has been awarded the Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (STUAS)/Tier II contract from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for its Integrator unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The Integrator is a growth version of the company’s ScanEagle, but uses a common ground station and launch and recovery equipment. The air vehicle features twin boom

The French army’s deployment of three Eurocopter Tiger HAPs to Afghanistan has logged its 1000th flight hour in theatre. The aircraft were deployed by the French army’s 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment in August 2009 to support the French combat search and rescue EC 725 Caracal helicopters in Afghanistan. Eurocopter reports that the three aircraft have

A USAF C-17 crashed near Elmendorf AFB in Alaska on July 28 with the loss of all four crewmembers. The aircraft, from the 3rd Wing Alaska Air National Guard based at Elmendorf, was reportedly practicing a demonstration routine for an upcoming airshow, and plummeted into a forest adjacent to the base. “Our deepest sympathy and