The FAA said in its annual aviation forecast this morning that key airspace safety and modernization efforts contained in the Next Generation Air Transportation System will play a vital role in spurring long-term sustained growth in air travel and the nation’s overall economic health. Domestic mainline and regional airline enplanements are projected to increase 0.4 percent in Fiscal Year 2010 and then grow at an average of 2.5 percent per year during the remainder of the 20-year forecast period. For general aviation, the FAA is forecasting a fixed-wing turbine aircraft growth rate of 3.1 percent a year, fixed-wing pistons at 0.1 percent per year and a rotorcraft growth rate of 2.8 percent a year. The agency characterized the current low-level growth rate for business aircraft as a product of “unique circumstances” that will dissipate over time. GA hours flown are forecast to increase from 23.3 million in 2009 to 38.9 million in 2030, paced by a 4.6-percent annual growth rate for fixed-wing turbines and a rotorcraft rate of 2.8 percent per year.

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Final agreement over the way the European Union’s new “common basic standards for aviation security” are implemented in the UK will not be achieved by the existing April 29 deadline and could well be delayed at least until late June due to the country’s general election, which is widely expected to be held on May 6. Steve Marshall-Camm, the UK Department of Transport’s assistant director for aviation security, said today at the annual meeting of the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) that the consultation process is taking longer than expected. He also indicated that, subject to detailed risk assessment, UK officials will exercise the latitude they have to allow some groups of operators to adhere to more flexible alternate security measures (ASMs) rather than the full EU requirements. The European Commission has relaxed the requirement to comply with the full standards so that it will apply only to aircraft with a mtow of more than 15 metric tons (33,068 pounds). National authorities are permitted to allow ASMs to apply to aircraft in appropriate categories up to a weight limit of 45.5 metric tons (100,308 pounds, a figure that includes all purpose-built business jets). The threshold for the full new security rules had been set at 10 metric tons (22,045 pounds) and 19 or more passenger seats.

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The FAA’s long-promised April 10 release of its ADS-B final rule appears to have hit two bureaucratic stumbling blocks. For the agency to complete the process, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must sign off on the program’s financial aspects, an activity that usually takes 90 days. Unfortunately, although FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt signed off in early December and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reportedly signed off shortly afterward, AIN understands that the paperwork did not reach the OMB until February 19. But the OMB is not committed to complete its studies within 90 days, making mid-May the likely, rather than the official, final rule date. Possibly also affecting the date will be the result of an information technology security and controls audit of the FAA’s ADS-B program that was launched in December by the DOT Inspector General’s office at the request of Congress. Security has been a less publicized ADS-B concern, particularly regarding satellite outages and adversarial jamming, against which pilots have little protection.

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The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has called on the U.S. government to extend the pre-clearance option now in effect at Ireland’s Shannon International Airport to business aircraft operated under commercial rules. Pre-clearance of business aircraft for U.S. customs and immigration checks began at Shannon early last week, but contrary to earlier expectations it is restricted to Part 91 operators, and they can fly only to a restricted number of U.S. airports. While the service is available to Part 91 operators of all nationalities, EBAA says that the current restriction on pre-clearance still eliminates 70 percent of European business aircraft. “Rapid and unhindered access between the U.S. and Europe is a vital and integral part of the service provided by business aviation,” said EBAA president Brian Humphries. “The EBAA warmly welcomes the excellent work done by members of this sector working closely with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to create a ‘U.S. border’ at Shannon Airport. However, because of the indivisible nature of commercial and non-commercial business aviation it is essential that this new service is provided to both elements of this non-airline sector,” meaning private and charter operators alike.

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AgustaWestland parent company Finmeccanica on Friday disclosed its 2009 results, showing increased deliveries but slashed orders for the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer. Revenues grew by 15 percent to €3.48 billion (about $4.7 billion) in 2009. This was influenced by robust deliveries of AW139 medium and AW101 heavy helicopters, as well as product support results, the company [...]