Airlines

FAA Adds Fuel-Saving Arrival Routes for 11 Airports

Airlines now have the option to glide down from cruising altitude to final approach for flights to Orlando, Kansas City, Omaha, Reno, and six South Florida airports, saving millions of gallons of fuel and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The new Optimized Profile Descents (OPDs) safely eliminate the need for the fuel-consuming stair-step procedure. Under traditional procedures, aircraft repeatedly level off and power up the engines. This burns more fuel and requires air traffic controllers to issue instructions at each step. With optimized descents, aircraft descend from cruising altitude to the runway in a smooth, continuous path with the engines at near idle.

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With these new descents in place, the FAA estimates that the industry will save more than 90,000 gallons of fuel on average and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 27,000 tons annually. This change is equivalent to fuel used by 62 Boeing 737 flights between New York and Cleveland.

The 11 airports brings the total number of airports with the procedures to 64. Since 2014, the FAA also has developed OPD procedures at airports in Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, Portland, Northern California, Southern California, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, D.C., and others.

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In its Aviation Climate Action Plan, the United States set a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050. To achieve it, the FAA:

Has awarded $100 million to research and scale fuel-saving technologies and noise reductions
Has awarded $327 million to electrify airport gate equipment and vehicles
Has invested $35 million for universities to help build sustainable aviation fuel supply chains
Has completed research and testing on reducing fuel burn and taxi time

Airlines

PIA Reinstates Manchester and Paris Routes After EU Ban Lift

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced plans to resume flights to Europe starting in January, beginning with Paris as its first destination.

The decision follows the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) removal of a long-standing ban on the airline. PIA’s inaugural flight to Paris is scheduled for January 10, with bookings opening on December 9.

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In an official statement, PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan confirmed that the first flight schedule has been approved, marking a significant milestone in the airline’s recovery efforts. The EU ban had previously cost PIA approximately Rs40 billion ($144 million) annually in lost revenue, compounding its financial struggles.

With European operations restarting, PIA is now setting its sights on the United Kingdom. The airline plans to seek approval from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) to resume flights to major British cities such as London, Manchester, and Birmingham.

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These routes are anticipated to see high demand once necessary clearances are obtained. The lifting of the EU ban represents a key achievement for PIA as it works to rebuild its international network and regain its standing in the global aviation market.

By restoring flights to Europe and aiming for UK destinations, PIA is taking critical steps toward recovering lost ground and improving its financial outlook.