Aviation

Beechcraft is protesting for the second time the Air Force’s decision to award a contract for planes to the Afghan military to Sierra Nevada Corp. and Brazil’s Embraer.

The company announced plans Friday to file a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the $427 million light air support aircraft that was awarded last week.

“Following our debrief with the Air Force earlier this week, we are very perplexed by this decision,” Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture said in a statement. “Our belief that we have the best aircraft was confirmed by the Air Force rating our aircraft ‘exceptional’ and the fact that we are the lower cost solution was confirmed by the USAF’s public award announcement.”

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Republicans are criticizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for issuing furlough notices to its workers following the implementation of the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration.

The notices are premature because the FAA has not detailed to Congress why it believes the furloughs cannot be avoided, the top Republicans on the House and Senate Transportation committees said Thursday in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

“It is our understanding that FAA employees were notified Tuesday of an intended ‘Save Money’ furlough for up to eleven (11) work days, beginning on or about April 7,” the lawmakers, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) wrote. “We are disappointed that this is the route that the FAA and the Administration has chosen to take, rather than sharpening their pencils and finding cost savings in other areas."

Travelers whose bags are lost or damaged by airlines will now be eligible for compensation of up to $3,400, the Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

Federal regulators set fines that can be collected by travelers when airlines lose, damage or delay the arrival of their luggage.

The maximum fine had been set at $3,300, but was increased $100 to account for inflation.

There are limitations on requesting the penalty, according to American Airlines. Damage must be proven and not the result of “unsuitably packed items.”

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A union for flight attendants is questioning the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for its decision to allow small knives on airplanes for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

TSA announced on Tuesday that it is relaxing its prohibitions on airline passengers carrying knives shorter than 2.36 inches and sporting equipment like golf clubs and toy baseball bats in their carry-on luggage.

Previously, the items had to be stored in passengers’ checked bags.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents American Airlines employees, said it was concerned the changes to TSA’s guidelines would make airplanes less safe for their members to work on. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is investigating a drone that was reported by a pilot as he landed his plane at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The pilot, who was flying Alitalia Flight 608, told air traffic controllers he spotted the drone as he approached JFK airport on Monday.

The FBI said the drone came within 200 feet of the airplane when it was three miles away from the JFK airport. The incident occurred when the airplane was flying at an altitude of 1,735 feet, the agency said.

Airlines have cancelled more than 1,800 flights Wednesday as the snowstorm that has been dubbed in Washington the “snowquester” arrived on the East Coast, according to the website FlightAware.com.

The 1,802 cancellations as of Wednesday morning followed 1,749 flights been rescheduled on Tuesday as the storm hit Midwestern states.

Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National and Dulles International airports led the number of cancellations as both the origin of flights and destination on Wednesday, with 325 outgoing flights and 291 inbound planes being cancelled at Reagan and 274 and 234 at Dulles respectively.

Your morning transportation speed-read: 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Tuesday that it is relaxing its prohibitions on airline passengers carrying small knives and sporting equipment like golf clubs and toy baseball bats on to airplanes.

The agency said starting April 25, it will allow knives shorter than 2.36 inches long and one-half inch wide and bats shorter than 24 inches and weighing less than 24 ounces to be included in carry-on luggage.

The changes will mark the first time knives will be allowed on airplanes since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. They were announced by TSA Administrator John Pistole in a speech in New York on Tuesday.

TSA said in a statement after the speech that the changes were part of its shift to a more risk-based airport security system.