AIRPORT V 20 OICE, JANUARY 2020
LONGEST FLIGHT. The Australian
airline announced on Friday that if it
continues “Project Sunrise,” its ultralong
haul fl ights from Sydney to London
or New York, they will be aboard
an Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. “This
aircraft uses the Rolls Royce Trent
XWB engine, which has a strong reliability
record after being in service
with airlines for more than two
years,” the airline explained in a press
release. “Airbus will add an additional
fuel tank and slightly increase the
maximum takeoff weight to deliver
the performance required for Sunrise
routes. However, this doesn’t necessarily
mean that Qantas has ordered the
aircraft and will move ahead with the
project. Before the route becomes reality,
it must be approved by the Qantas
board at a vote, scheduled to take place
in March 2020. At that time, the company
will offi cially decide whether or
not to commit to the fl ights.”
ASIANA AIR. Kumho Asiana
Group is set to sign a deal with a local
consortium to reduce debt and to
deal with the deep drop in profi tability.
Kumho Industrial Co., the largest
shareholder of Asiana, will sell to HDC
Hyundai Development Co. and brokerage
house, Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. to
sell its fl agship airline unit, ASIANA
brand , fl ying into JFK Airport. Their
consortium It will acquire Kumho Industrial’s
31-percent stake in Asiana,
as well as new shares to be issued and
the airline’s six affi liates. Profi tability
decline is attributed to less travel
to Japan due to trade problems and
emerging low-cost carriers.
BLACK & BLUE.The new logotype
on the tail fi n of Lufthansa planes
bears the traditional crane but on a
navy-blue background, which LOT
fears could cause confusion among
the airlines’ passengers. Black & Blue.
Both LOT and Lufthansa have used
the image of a Crane in its tail livery
for years. Now however, LOT is threatening
to sue Lufthansa over the recent
change in design making it harder
to distinguish between the two airline
livery designs. LOT had used a
dark blue background and Lufthansa
a black background. Now Lufthansa
has changed the background to Blue.
So the logos are now much more alike
and LOT is not happy. It is a case of a
crane in th3 neck for Lufthansa now
having to decide what to do about the
proposed legal action by LOT.
BOEING NEW BEGINNING. The
leadership changes announced today
by Boeing are a step in the right
direction. The Boeing Company has
long been a world leader in both breakthrough
engineering and the highest
standards in aviation safety. Under
Dennis Muilenberg that reputation for
quality has been unquestionably tarnished.
The roughly 20,000 engineers
and technical workers represented by
our union at Boeing are committed to
reestablishing Boeing’s leading role
in commercial aviation, defense and
space fl ight. We look forward to working
with current Chairman and incoming
CEO David Calhoun said IFPTE
Union President Paul Shearon.
ASIAN CONNECTION. British Airways
has signed a joint business agreement
with China Southern Airlines, for
travel from 2 January 2020. The agreement
will benefi t customers of both airlines
by opening more destinations between
the UK and China, with a greater
choice of fl ights and enhanced frequent
fl yer benefi ts. It will allow the airlines
to cooperate on scheduling and pricing,
providing customers with more fl exible
fl ight options and an attractive range of
fares. Currently BA and China Southern
fl y out of JFK with BA moving to
Terminal 8 while China Southern fl ies
out of Terminal 4. It is not known is
China Southern will move to T8 to accommodate
easier transfer.
Delta Air Lines, Inc., which over
the past year has been attempting to
sell off majority interests in several
non-core businesses, will combine its
Delta Private Jets unit with Wheels
Up, a fast-growing, privately held company
based in New York City. The deal
is expected to be completed by early
2020.
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CBP facial biometries plan questioned
Invasion of privacy concerns by U.S. travelers
Initial deployment deferred for now
Recently the Trump administration
put forth a directive for biometric
facial recognition tools be used
for all Customs Border Protection
in al U.S. airports. The proposed
mandatory use of the technology
was included in the so-called unifi
ed agenda, published in late November,
which sets out the regulatory
changes agencies intend
to pursue in coming months. The
proposal sought to expand mandatory
facial recognition at U.S. airports
“to provide that all travelers,
including U.S. citizens, may be required
to be photographed upon entry
and/or departure.”
However, based on the negative
feedback received from several
groups, including the Heritage
Foundation which stated that this
mandate is akin to an invasion of
privacy, acting CBP Commissioner
Mark Morgan clarifi ed the agency’s
walk-back.
which would require use of facial
recognition technology on
American citizens at U.S. airports
when they arrive from or depart to
international destinations.
“When it fi rst happened, logistically,
it was going be very diffi cult
to separate out U.S. citizens with
non-U.S. citizens. That’s why it was
originally included,” Morgan told
reporters, explaining the agency’s
proposed rule to expand the technology
to all passengers. “My understanding
is there was no intent
to mandate U.S. citizens. It is voluntary
— it has been — and currently
there are no plans to change that.”
Privacy advocates continue to be
skeptical of the agency’s intentions
despite its latest announcement.
CBP intends to have the planned
regulatory action regarding U.S.
citizens removed from the unifi ed
agenda next time it is published in
the spring of 2020, a CBP person
said.
Currently, U.S. citizens can opt
out of the facial scan, but the proposed
rule appeared to have eliminated
that option although U.S.
Customs and Border Protection has
been testing facial recognition technology
in passenger lanes at four
ports of entry along the southern
U.S. border, and at around 20 international
airports around the country
in partnership with private airlines.
“This is a victory for every
single American traveler who fl ies
on a plane, and a reminder that the
we must remain vigilant protectors
of our right to privacy,” said Senator
Markey of Massachusetts. The
CBP’s move to expand the use of facial
recognition came despite signifi
cant concerns about the technology
already raised by lawmakers of
both parties, civil rights groups and
technology companies, all of whom
have called for a federal law governing
the use of the technology.
A CBP commented that the regulation
fi rst appeared on the unifi
ed agenda in 2018 and refl ected
“earlier discussions,” but by summer
2019, after many discussions
with privacy groups and members
of Congress, the agency had decided
to keep the scans voluntary.
As it is currently implemented
in airports, passengers pause to
have their photos captured, which
are then compared with ones in the
network of databases CBP has access
to. U.S. citizens can inform a
CBP offi cer if they want to opt out.
Even if U.S. citizens don’t opt out,
their images are deleted within 12
hours anyway.
One protection that privacy advocates
in Congress have called for
relating to CBP’s facial-recognition
program is a formalized rule making
process, which would result in
the program’s parameters being
codifi ed in the Federal Register.
But, no such proposal, however,
has seen the light of day so far,
though a CBP spokesperson said the
agency intended to issue the rule
making notice in the “near future.”
Bill Bowe (Center, glasses) retirement party with fellow CBP officers and cargo friends. (L-R)
Wing Chan, Sal Ingrassia, Phil Jensen, Bob Redes, Deborah Bonardi, Bill Bowe, Antoinette
Cordi, Mary Benzie, Isabelle Galantino.
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