Travel Safety & Security Update.

FAA may extend O'Hare flight cap. The Federal Aviation Administration said it plans to extend a cap on the number of flights into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The cap is set to expire next month, but will likely be extended until Oct. 28. Mar 17, 2006

FAA reorganizes ATO, consolidates in Atlanta. The Federal Aviation Administration is reorganizing its Air Traffic Organization. The Atlanta office will gain up to 162 jobs. The FAA will close offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and a few other cities. Mar 17, 2006

Passenger fatalities more than tripled in 2005 as ICAO's preliminary analysis of aviation safety and security data revealed that 18 fatal accidents on scheduled flights involving aircraft with an MTOW greater than 2,250 kg. killed 713 passengers last year. Nine accidents in 2004 caused 203 passenger fatalities. The rate of fatalities per 100 million passenger km. doubled from 0.01 to 0.02. There also were 18 fatal accidents involving nonscheduled operations that resulted in 278 deaths. The same number of accidents in 2004 killed 207 passengers. ICAO does not measure fatality rates for nonscheduled operations. ICAO said six acts of "unlawful interference" were recorded in 2005, resulting in three deaths and 60 injuries. The incidents were broken down into two unlawful seizures, two facility attacks and two other acts. The organization is convening a conference of directors general of civil aviation to discuss the issue March 20-22 in Montreal. Mar 17, 2006

Screeners fail to detect bomb materials. Screeners at 21 airports did not find bomb-making materials during government tests conducted between October and January, according to a report on NBC Nightly News. Transportation Security Administration representatives had no comment on the report.

Mar 17, 2006

FAA, which has been in mediated contract talks with the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. for the past two weeks following eight months of contentious negotiations, said the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service agreed to its request to extend mediated negotiations. FMCS will oversee talks into next week. Mar 16, 2006

European Commission announced yesterday that its Aviation Safety Committee finished drawing up the list of carriers that will be banned from entering the European Union for safety or security reasons but did not make the blacklist public pending ratification by the Commission. "We have just taken a decisive step," EC VP Jacques Barrot said. "I am now in a position to ask the Commission to quickly adopt the blacklist and to publish it, so that we can make sure that the companies identified in it will not have the possibility to enter Europe before they have resolved their problems." Mar 16, 2006

U.S. may ban Venezuelan flights, official says. The U.S. will ban Venezuelan flights to the U.S. if Venezuela follows through on its threat to ban flights by U.S. carriers, the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela said. Venezuela wants the U.S. to lift safety restrictions currently on Venezuelan carriers. The FAA has proposed meetings with Venezuelan officials next month to discuss the dispute. Mar 15, 2006

FAA named Michael O'Malley chief of staff. He had served as Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta's deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy. Mar 15, 2006

DOD rethinks career development, leadership structure. The Department of Defense wants to prepare senior-level professionals for new challenges, including terrorism, The Washington Post's Stephen Barr writes. Officials want to create a new leadership structure that will reshape career development. Mar 15, 2006

Study raises questions about cell phone use on airplanes. A new study raises questions about whether it is safe for travelers to use cell phones on airplanes, the Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney writes. Researchers say the cell phones can interfere with Global Positioning Satellite systems used on airplanes for navigation. The government is expected to make decisions about inflight wireless communications soon. Mar 14, 2006

Cabin pressure may cause blood clots, study says. Airlines are cautious about the findings of a recent study that said low-pressure aircraft cabins may cause deep vein thrombosis, the Washington Post's Keith L. Alexander writes. Air Transport Association Assistant General Counsel Katherine B. Andrus said carriers are "closely following" DVT developments and "encourage further scientific research that will allow these risk factors to be better identified and understood." Mar 14, 2006

TSA replaces security official at Newark airport. The Transportation Security Administration named Mark Hatfield Jr., the deputy federal security director at Newark Liberty International Airport, as acting director. Marcus Arroyo was removed as federal security director at the airport following four years of security breaches and staffing problems. Mar 14, 2006

Airfoil Services

Airfoil Services Sdn. Bhd., an MTU Aero Engines and Lufthansa Technik affiliate, celebrated the groundbreaking for its global integrated Center of Excellence for airfoil overhaul. The facility in Kota Damansara, Malaysia, is expected to start operations by early 2007. Mar 16, 2006

DHS computer

DHS computer security falls short, report says. The Department of Homeland Security received a failing grade for computer security, according to a congressional report. The House Government Reform Committee's annual report card measures proper password management and the restricting of access to sensitive information. Mar 16, 2006

Helios Airways

Helios Airways as a name is likely to disappear, a result of the tragic accident near Athens last August in which 121 people lost their lives. In a move reminiscent of ValuJet becoming AirTran after the Florida Everglades disaster in May 1996, parent company Libra Holidays Group (LHG) intends to replace the Helios name with a new branding called A-Jet. The whole arrangement is subject to approval by the Cyprus civil aviation authorities who said in an announcement that technical and legal aspects were being examined by the responsible government departments. A report on the Athens accident is expected to be published in April. http://www.flyhelios.com http://www.libraholidaysgroup.com Mar 19, 2006

Jet2.com

An airline emergency that was not. A Boeing 737 of budget airline Jet2.com was en route from Alicante to Leeds Bradford diverted to Bournemouth late Friday when a lady passenger in her sixties became ill and could not access her medication which had been packed in her luggage in the aircraft hold. She was already showing signs of improvement in the ambulance, but was taken in for overnight observation as a matter of precaution. In a statement Jet2.com said, "It is a timely reminder for any traveler on medication to keep their prescriptions in their carryon luggage so that it is accessible at all times. It is also worth keeping a doctor's note with the medication so that it can be properly administered". Airlines might consider such instructions in their pre-boarding notes. It would help everyone. Mar 19, 2006