FAA work to restore Chicago air traffic site

FAA wants to restore Chicago air traffic site by mid-October

The Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, said on Sunday that it has set a target of October 13 to restore to service a Chicago-area air traffic control site.
The ATCC was set on fire by a field technician, as delays and cancellations continued at Chicago airports.

Air traffic controllers managed about 60 percent of typical traffic on Sunday at O'Hare International Airport and over 75 percent at Chicago Midway International Airport, the FAA said.
More than 600 flights were canceled at O'Hare and Midway on Sunday, and delays were about 30 minutes, the city's aviation department said.

The fire forced the evacuation of the FAA control center in Aurora, Illinois. It has severely affected the air traffic, with an estimated 2,100 flights canceled at major airports across the country on Friday.
Another 1,100 flights were canceled Saturday.

FAA is on site working 24/7 to install new equipment and restore service to full capacity as quickly as possible.

O'Hare, one of the world's busiest airports, is the largest hub of United Airlines and a major hub for American Airlines. The airport averaged about 2,700 flights a day in August with a daily average of about 220,000 passengers in the month, according to its website.

The FAA said that air traffic controllers who normally work at the Aurora facility are now working at other surrounding FAA facilities to help maximize traffic flow in and out of Chicago-area airports while repairs are being made.

The FAA said on Saturday that it had decided to completely replace the central communications network in a different part of the same building to restore the system as quickly as possible.

The first shipment of replacement equipment is scheduled to arrive late on Sunday night, and teams will be working around the clock to install it, the FAA said.

Source: Reuters

Airbus A350 wins European safety approval

Europe's aviation regulator EASA, said on Tuesday it had awarded safety approval for the Airbus A350, said Reuters. This is an important step in completing the regulatory steps needed for the jet to start flying passengers.

The European Aviation Safety Agency said Airbus, had demonstrated the airworthiness of its first light-weight, mainly carbon-fibre jet during over a year of flight trials.

The version off the jet certified by EASA on Tuesday, the A350-900, is designed to seat 314 passengers. It is due to enter service with Qatar Airways before the end of the year in direct competition with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

A larger model, the 350-seat A350-1000, which targets the 'mini-jumbo' market occupied by the Boeing 777, is due to enter service in 2017 after a separate safety certification process.

Source: Reuters