Airport Infrastructure & Air Traffic Management News

BloombergAngus Whitley

Australian Airlines Back Overnight Closure of Sydney Airport Control Tower to Ease Controller Shortage

Australia’s major airlines support shutting Sydney Airport’s control tower overnight to redeploy air traffic controllers, as a persistent staffing shortfall disrupts flights and raises safety concerns. The proposal underscores the operational impact of air traffic management workforce constraints at a major international hub.

2026-09-17T13:20:36.894370-07:00

Airport Infrastructure & Air Traffic Management

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SkyDrive and Verty target commercial eVTOL operations in South Korea by 2028

Japan’s SkyDrive has signed an MOU with South Korea’s Verty to assess commercial eVTOL services from 2028, including short-distance sightseeing and inter-city routes. The partnership spans flight operations, air traffic management and vertiport infrastructure, addressing the integrated framework required for scaled advanced air mobility.

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Australian Airlines Back Overnight Closure of Sydney Airport Control Tower to Ease Controller Shortage

Australia’s major airlines support shutting Sydney Airport’s control tower overnight to redeploy air traffic controllers, as a persistent staffing shortfall disrupts flights and raises safety concerns. The proposal underscores the operational impact of air traffic management workforce constraints at a major international hub.

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Wall Street Journal

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FAA’s $12.5 billion ATC modernization faces $100 million tariff hit as agency scales back AI ambitions

The FAA expects tariffs to add about $100 million to its more than $12.5 billion air traffic control modernization program. Separately, the agency is narrowing an AI-assisted tool to real-time decision support initially, amid airline pushback, with longer-term plans to predict traffic flows and map routes days ahead.

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Reuters

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China to Create Italy-Sized Restricted Airspace Zone Around Beijing After Skyscraper Crash

China will establish a permanent airspace security zone roughly the size of Italy around Beijing from September 20, restricting access to commercial, approved business and emergency flights. Authorities are also banning most drone possession across the city, months after a small aircraft crashed into the capital’s tallest building.

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Flying Magazine

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Bipartisan Airport Runway Safety Bill Advances From Senate Committee

A bipartisan bill introduced in August to improve airport vehicle-driver training and expand the use of surface safety technology has cleared a Senate committee. The measure advances congressional efforts to reduce runway incursions by strengthening safeguards for airport personnel and airfield operations.

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