New Delhi, India (AHN) – India’s Coast Guard detained Thursday an Italian tanker at the Port of Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala as local authorities investigate its crew who shot dead two fishermen mistaken as pirates.

Armed guards of the M.V. Enrica Lexie fired at a fishing boat that continued to approach the tanker despite warning shots killing the two fishermen Wednesday. The shooting incident took place 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha town.

Italian Ambassador to India Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte left New Delhi and met with Kerala police to explain that the crew of the Enrica Lexie acted in self-defense. Monteforte said the shooting was in accordance with international marine rules.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the two dead fishermen are being autopsied at the Medical College Hospital. The Kerala government offered $10,000 in compensation to the families of each victim.

The Italian tanker was en route to Egypt from Singapore when the shooting incident happened.

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Beijing, China (AHN) – In what could lead to a trade war in the sector, China on Monday openly opposed the new European Union emissions plan, barring its airlines from imposing charges on carbon emissions. The EU’s went into effect Jan. 1.

Beijing also banned the airlines from using EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS). “The Civil Aviation Administration of China recently issued a directive to Chinese airlines that without the approval of relevant government departments, all transport airlines in China are prohibited from participating in the EU ETS,” a statement on China’s State Council website said.

EU’s ambassador to China, Markus Ederer, however, hoped to see a resolution to the crisis through talks well before the scheduled summit between the Chinese and the EU leaders.

“There are a number of avenues to be pursued – bilateral, multilateral and possibly legal. The EU would like to have an international solution to this…. That’s the way forward, hopefully through negotiations, (to) find an agreement between all stakeholders,” Ederer told journalists in Beijing.

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Paris, France (AHN) – Twenty Airbus A380s will have to undergo checks for cracks in their wings, the safety regulator has said.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said that 20 Airbus A380 planes would undergo a “visual inspection” for cracks.

That represents a third of the current fleet. The first concern is to inspect planes that have carried out more than 1,800 flights. Authorities will inspect planes that have flown from 1,300 to 1,800 flights within six weeks.

Inspections were prompted by the discovery of cracks on some A380 wings. Routine testing found cracks on a limited number of non-critical brackets inside the wings of some A380s. However, company officials say the cracks do not pose a safety hazard.

The agency said it had determined that the cracks might develop over a period after the planes were in service.

Moreover, if the cracks are not detected and corrected it could affect the structural integrity of the planes.

The problems could affect planes operated by Air France, Singapore Airlines and Emirates.

This is the second time cracks were found on A380 wings. The first time was during repairs to a Qantas A380 following an engine blowout in November 2010.

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Kings Point, NY, United States (AHN) – More than 40 midshipmen from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, were taken to the hospital and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.

The students reported feeling sick at around 10 p.m. Sunday night. The Long Island college trains students to become Merchant Marine officers.

Three of the students had high enough carbon monoxide levels that they had to be flown to a hospital with a hyperbaric chamber, according to the New York Post.

Authorities said a water heater in the dormitory basement was the source of the leak.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The Federal Aviation Administration was expected on Wednesday to release new rules to prevent accidents in commercial airlines due to pilot fatigue.

The announcement comes four months after a congressionally prescribed deadline and more than a year after lawmakers passed legislation strengthening air safety, including a requirement that the FAA reform decades-old flight-and-duty time regulations and set minimum rest requirements for pilots.

The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act was enacted in August last year, largely in response to a crash near Buffalo, NY, in 2009 that killed 50 people. Under the measure, which passed by a unanimous House vote, commercial carriers have to submit and regularly update a fatigue risk management plan, which the FAA will approve every two years.

In addition, the FAA is required to issue regulations within a year of the law’s enactment, limiting the number of flight and duty hours allowed for pilots based on the time of the flight and time zone. The new FAA regulations would remove distinctions between operations of domestic and flag carriers.

Budgetary considerations at the Transportation Department had delayed the release of new rules preventing sleepless pilots from going on duty.

Airlines for America, formerly the Air Transport Association of America, had lobbied against the regulations, saying these would “add significant operational and scheduling complexity that will adversely affect our crews and customers.” Officials belonging to the group testified before Congress against adopting a “one-size fits all” approach to the problem.

Pilot fatigue was found to have contributed to the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 in February 2009 into a home in Clarence Center, about five miles from Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. All 45 passengers and four crew members on the plane died, and another person on the ground was killed.

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the captain of the aircraft operated by Colgan Air had inappropriately responded to a warning system that switches off autopilot and alerts the pilot that the plane is about to stall.

“Colgan Air did not proactively address the pilot fatigue hazards associated with operations at a predominantly commuter base,” the NTSB had said.

The agency found that the first officer who co-piloted the plane had “commuted through the night” from Seattle to Newark, from which flight 3407 departed. She sent “multiple texts” throughout the day of the crash, indicating that she may have not had adequate rest.

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Renton, WA, United States (AHN) – One-third of the 28,000-strong Boeing workers in Washington, Oregon and Kansas voted Wednesday to accept a four-year extension of their job contract to build 737 MAX planes.

Tom Wroblewski, Local 751 district president of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), praised the approval.

“As a result of this vote, we have the strongest commitment to the future of aerospace jobs in Washington state that we’ve ever had. We’ve also preserved retiree medical and pensions for new hires. Those are things that very few working people in America have today,” he said in a message posted on iam751.org.

The extension of the contract expiring in September 2012 was welcomed by the aircraft maker.

“This contract will help secure a better future for our employees, our customers, our communities and our company,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in the company’s website. “It’s a balanced agreement that makes us more competitive and ensures that the 737 – the best single-aisle airplane in the world – continues to be built by the people who know how to do it best.”

Boeing announced last week that the company would produce the 737 MAX in the existing Renton facility if IAM members ratified the tentative agreement.

According to Boeing, the new contract provides for annual wage and pension increases; a one-time ratification bonus of $5,000 to be paid on Dec. 15; productivity, quality and safety incentives; a new health care plan; and a joint panel to discuss labor-management issues.

Washington state also stands to gain from the extended contract as it will keep 8,000 direct jobs and 12,000 indirect jobs not to mention $500 million in annual tax payment from Boeing.

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AHN) – In what could follow a trend of pink-colored buses, trains and autos aimed at protecting women from sexual harassment, Malaysia on Sunday launched women-only taxis.

The taxis will have women drivers and 50 such taxis, which can be booked on on-call basis. The government expects the fleet of taxis will be expanded to 400.

Heng Seai Kei, Deputy Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, said that this would not only make women safer while travelling but also give employment to aspirant women drivers.

“We hope it will reduce the number of rape and robbery cases involving taxi drivers and female victims,” Heng said at the launch of the service.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Boeing has inked an $18 billion deal with Emirates Airlines to supply the airline with 50 aircraft, with the option to expand the deal even further.

The agreement is the largest ever in Boeing’s history.

The U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer has agreed to build 50 of its 770-300ER airliners for the Dubai-based Emirates Airlines. The agreement also contains options to supply an additional 20 aircraft, which could add $8 billion to the deal.

Boeing has said that 2011 is a record year for the 777, with orders to date totaling 182 this year. That breaks the prior record of 154 orders in 2005.

Emirates’ fleet of 94 777s is the largest in the world. The 777-300ER is designed for long flights. The ER stands for “extended range.”

The sizable deal bodes well for the ailing global economy, and extends a hopeful sign that things are improving. Airlines have sorely suffered as fuel prices have spiked and customers have eliminated or curbed travel when possible.

The current year has been kind to Boeing. On Oct. 27, after long delays in production, Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner made its first commercial flight, followed by stellar reviews.

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Sydney, Australia (AHN) – Fair Work Australia (FWA) ordered Qantas on Monday to lift its unilateral grounding of its fleet and crew on Saturday, which disrupted the travel plans of 70,000 passengers.

The grounding of planes happened at a particularly busy weekend for Australians as the Commonwealth Head of Governments meeting ended in Perth on Saturday and residents prepare to hold the yearly Melbourne Cup this week.

The air carrier had lost $68 million over the past few weeks due to strikes held by unions representing baggage handlers, ground crew and catering staff, pilots, and aircraft engineers.

The FWA order bans the unions from any form of industrial action for the next 21 days and ordered the three unions and Qantas to return to the negotiating table. With the order, Qantas resumed its air services on Monday noon. A Qantas flight left Sydney Airport at 3:40 p.m. for Jakarta with 88 passengers.

Qantas said it expects to resume normal flight scheduled within the next 24 to 48 hours.

The labor row was over a plan by Qantas to outsource some of its services through the establishment of another budget service with a hub in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, and low wage hikes offered by the air carrier while giving Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce a $5 million annual compensation package.

Joyce, who said Qantas has new and current agreements with 12 unions and anticipates the conclusion of a deal with the remaining three unions, said the air carrier will respect the decision of FWA.

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Sydney, Australia (AHN) – Qantas Airways faces yet more negative publicity and possible legal action from the mother of an unaccompanied child traveller after the Australian airline confessed losing the boy at Hobart Airport last month.

The boy’s mother, Leanne Decleva, lashed at the airline for failing to properly take care of her son on Sept. 28 given that the airport was in a mayhem because of storms that caused flight delays, passenger disruption and lost baggage.

The airline initially rebuffed Decleva’s claims, but later admitted to losing the child, citing “human error” caused the breakdown in procedure.

Decleva claimed that Qantas not only lose track of the 11 year old child, but also lost the paperwork involving the boy’s flight. The boy was also left to wander the airport on his own to look for his mothert.

A child protection worker, Decleva got angry when she learned Qantas had no paperwork to sign for her boy’s collection and didn’t know who was authorized to pick him up.

Decleva is thinking filing legal actions against Qantas after declining a $1000 travel voucher “peace offer.”

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