The Week In Travel

ACI Europe has published an airport industry manifesto this week, calling for more support for SAF and air traffic management reforms. This comes ahead of a new five-year EU political cycle beginning later this year, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. ACI Europe President, Armando Brunini, used the phrase “the mother of all challenges” when referring to sustainability and decarbonisation – and implored the EU to address these challenges.

In technology news, Archer Aviation is collaborating with NASA to explore high-performance battery cells and safety testing for the advanced air mobility (AAM) and space industries. The goal of this partnership is to advance the electric aircraft supply chain, with NASA testing Archer’s battery cell and system design, focusing on safety and energy performance. Archer aims to tailor its battery pack technology for various aerospace solutions beyond eVTOL aircraft.

Over in the far east, All Nippon Airways (ANA) has unveiled plans to add three new routes from Tokyo’s Haneda airport to its 2024 winter schedule. The introduction of these additional flights will transport travellers from Haneda to Milan, Stockholm and Istanbul, and had previously been postponed due to Covid-19. ANA has also increased flights to Munich and Paris with daily services from July, whilst flights to Vienna will be upped to three times a week from August.

Increasing connectivity in the skies, Lufthansa Group is expanding internet and messaging services to SWISS passengers on short and medium-haul flights this year. Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Eurowings introduced broadband internet in 2017, and are now extending this service to SWISS. The group plans to fully equip around 150 aircraft with broadband internet, with installation beginning in late 2024.

And finally, proving that celebrities are in many ways no different than your average person on the street, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger fell victim to a common travel mistake, and was detained at Munich International Airport. Schwarzenegger was held for three hours for failing to declare a valuable watch he was bringing into the country, eventually being released after paying the necessary taxes for the undisclosed item. Following this experience, which was described by a source close to the actor as a ‘comedy of errors’, it’s unclear if Schwarzenegger will indeed ‘be back’ to the airport.