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FAA’s Air Traffic Overhaul: Why China Is in the Conversation
The battle over who will build America’s next air traffic control system is increasingly becoming a debate over whether foreign-owned companies should have a role in critical national infrastructure. A closer look at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) priorities reveals the wider landscape shaping the competition, one in which companies such as Leidos and RTX are positioning themselves, and where China’s role is both closely scrutinised and more limited than some cla
2 hours ago2 min read
Trump's diesel pardons close the book on the "defeat device" wars, but leave truckers the bill
The long, strange war over diesel emissions tampering effectively ended this week, not with a rule change but with a presidential signature and a Truth Social post. President Trump pardoned roughly a dozen people convicted under the Clean Air Act for tampering with diesel emissions systems, framing the recipients as small-shop mechanics and tuners persecuted by the Biden administration and punished, in his words, for "fixing their car." A White House official confirmed 11 nam
2 hours ago2 min read
CSX opens nation's first railroad-run hazmat academy, three years after East Palestine
More than three years after a Norfolk Southern derailment turned East Palestine, Ohio, into shorthand for everything the public fears about freight rail, CSX is betting that the answer to that fear runs through a Jacksonville classroom. The Jacksonville-based carrier announced this week the opening of its Hazardous Materials Training Institute, which it bills as the nation's first railroad-operated hazmat training facility. The site opened June 30 at Florida State College at
2 hours ago2 min read
Container Rates Surge as Importers Race a July 24 Tariff Cliff
A rare collision of geopolitics, trade policy, and peak-season demand has sent ocean freight rates climbing again this week, and the clock driving it is loud. Transpacific spot prices jumped for another week, with Asia to U.S. West Coast and East Coast rates each rising 8 percent, while Asia to North Europe climbed 10 percent and Asia to the Mediterranean 11 percent. The surge is notable because it is defying the usual logic: falling fuel prices are not being reflected in con
1 day ago2 min read
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FAA Set to Hand Air Traffic AI Contract to Boston Startup, Snubbing Palantir and Thales
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is poised to award Boston-based Air Space Intelligence (ASI) a closely watched contract for its AI-powered air traffic management tool, according to multiple people familiar with the deal. It would be a remarkable coup. ASI, which counted just over 150 employees as of April, is set to beat out software heavyweights Palantir and Thales, which are the only other vendors bidding for the work. The win would catapult the young company to
Jun 193 min read
American Airlines Flight Attendants Request Higher Pay for Online Training Modules.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents 28,000 cabin crew at American Airlines, has raised concerns about the length of training modules that crew members are required to finish. The union argues that the modules have been extended over time to pack in as much content as possible. This has caused unrest as American Airline flight attendants argue it is not possible to complete the training within the 8-hour window they are paid for. By way o
Jun 193 min read
Newark Airport Dispute Exposes Political Risk to US Aviation
One of America’s busiest international airports found itself at the centre of political confrontation. The Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened on 28 May that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travellers and cargo at Newark airport as local law enforcement in the Blue State of New Jersey refused to assist federal immigration officials. With fans gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer, questions over international
Jun 83 min read
The Right Policy at the Wrong Moment: Why Family Seating Fees Should Wait
When a parent books a flight for themselves and a young child, most assume the family will sit together. For many travellers, that assumption does not survive contact with the booking page. Across several major carriers, seating a parent next to their child can mean an extra charge, a gamble on whatever is left at check-in, or an awkward negotiation with strangers at the gate. A long-running effort in Washington has sought to put an end to that. The question now is not whethe
Jun 44 min read
‘We owe it to the victims’ families and the American flying public’ | Interview with Rep. Sharice Davids on aviation safety reform after Flight 5342
Sharice Davids is the Democratic representative for Kansas’s 3rd District, covering much of the Kansas City metropolitan area. She sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has played a leading role in Congress's response to the midair collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on 29 January 2025, in which 67 people were killed. Davids helped lead the bipartisan ALERT Act, which passed the House last month by 396 votes
May 64 min read
'MH370 disappearance shows how ruthless democracy's enemies are' | Interview with aviation journalist Jeff Wise
Jeff Wise is a journalist specializing in aviation, technology, and psychology who has written for Businessweek, Psychology Today, and...
Aug 16, 20244 min read
A High Flying Career: Flight Attendant Kara Mulder on the Evolving Landscape of Aviation
Kara Mulder, an accomplished flight attendant and the creative force behind the popular Flight Attendant Life blog, has leveraged her...
Aug 17, 20234 min read
With Summer Travel Almost Here, the FAA Remains Leaderless
In another twist in the saga of complications and chaos that has been plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it has recently...
Apr 12, 20233 min read
Newark Airport Dispute Exposes Political Risk to US Aviation
One of America’s busiest international airports found itself at the centre of political confrontation. The Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened on 28 May that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travellers and cargo at Newark airport as local law enforcement in the Blue State of New Jersey refused to assist federal immigration officials. With fans gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer, questions over international
Jun 83 min read
The Right Policy at the Wrong Moment: Why Family Seating Fees Should Wait
When a parent books a flight for themselves and a young child, most assume the family will sit together. For many travellers, that assumption does not survive contact with the booking page. Across several major carriers, seating a parent next to their child can mean an extra charge, a gamble on whatever is left at check-in, or an awkward negotiation with strangers at the gate. A long-running effort in Washington has sought to put an end to that. The question now is not whethe
Jun 44 min read
Duffy’s Xbox Controllers
How the FAA's gaming pitch drew a record 12,350 applications in a single hiring window The United States Federal Aviation Administration has spent the better part of a decade wrestling with a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers. This month, it tried something unorthodox: it asked video gamers to step up. The response was overwhelming. On 17 April 2026, the FAA opened its annual hiring window for trainee air traffic controllers with a recruitment campaign built around
Apr 223 min read
United Airlines and Its Flight Attendants Have a Tentative Agreement. We Have Been Here Before.
On 26 March 2026, United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) announced a tentative agreement covering approximately 30,000 cabin crew members. On paper, it is a landmark deal. The airline says it will make its flight attendants the best-paid in the American airline industry, with top hourly wages reaching $100 by the end of the contract's five-year term and immediate pay increases kicking in the moment ratification is confirmed. The total package is su
Apr 33 min read
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