By Greg Fishel, WRAL Chief Meteorologist

Wind and rain could make holiday travel difficult Friday, but the wet weather will also bring warmer temperatures.

This weekend could break the record for wettest year; the record stands at 59.14 inches in 1996, but so far there’s been 58.52 inches of precipitation in 2018.

WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel said spotty showers could begin Thursday afternoon and the rain will increase in intensity after midnight.

“Fortunately, the worst part of this system, the really vigorous part, is going to bypass us to the north and west,” he said. “Still, the system is going to impact us.”

The system has the potential to pour 1.5 to 2 inches on the Triangle and at least a half-inch across the rest of the state.

The good news is that the rain will also bring a little relief from winter, as temperatures on Friday rise to 69 degrees in Raleigh on Friday.

“We’re going to be windy and warm and up near 70 and it’s not going to feel like winter,” Fishel said.

Rain showers on Saturday will be limited before rain continues on Sunday.

“Saturday now looks dry for most of the area, even though we’ll have a fair amount of cloud cover,” Fishel said.

That moisture is expected to stick around early next week, bringing a rainy start to the new year.

Alleged incidents at airports include a man brandishing a knife at customer services staff at Aberdeen Airport after he was refused travel, and a man punching an airside bar manager at Glasgow Airport because he would not serve him any more alcoholic drinks.

Read more: Air passengers to face criminal charges for consuming own alcohol on planes

Other cases include a drunk passenger accused of fighting with someone while on board a plane, and a man allegedly shouting and swearing at a pilot.

The figures come as the Government considers scrapping round-the-clock drinking in airport bars by extending high street licensing laws, which would mean no alcohol before 10am.

Under current rules, drink sales beyond security gates at international airports in England and Wales are not regulated by these laws.

The Home Office launched the review on November 1, with a three-month call for evidence.

The sale and supply of alcohol at international airports in Northern Ireland and Scotland are outside the scope of the call for evidence as they are separately regulated under the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

Read more: Drunk Scottish passengers faces big bill over British Airways flight forced to make emergency landing

A spokesman for Airlines UK, the trade association for UK airlines, said: “The problem of disruptive behaviour has got progressively worse over a number of years, despite the best efforts of industry to tackle it.

“There is no evidence to suggest these incidents won’t persist without the active involvement of Government.”

Figures obtained following freedom of information requests by the Press Association show 48 people were arrested on suspicion of being drunk on an aircraft in 2017, and 42 in 2018 to date.

Passengers convicted of being drunk on an aircraft can face a fine or up to two years’ imprisonment.

For the police forces that gave information, a further 104 arrests were made relating to alleged drunkenness at airports in 2017, with 68 this year to date.

Read more: Steep climb in airline passengers arrested for drunken offences

The ages of those detained around the UK ranged from 17 to 61.

A UK Government spokesman said: “Most UK air passengers behave responsibly, but any disruptive or drunk behaviour is entirely unacceptable.

“There are already tough penalties for drunkenness on an aircraft – you can be imprisoned for up to two years or given an unlimited fine.

“Pilots also have the power to remove passengers from the plane if they are drunk and the safety of the aircraft or its passengers is threatened.

“We strongly support the use of these powers by the police, airlines and airports to tackle drunk and disorderly behaviour at our airports and on board the aircraft.”

In a statement, the Airport Operators Association (AOA) said: “The figures demonstrate that there continues to be an issue with passengers consuming alcohol to excess while travelling to the UK from abroad.”

It added it will “continue to tackle the small minority who ruin it for the majority” by working to ensure more arrests result in prosecution.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed its predictions for the year ahead.

Basing its forecast on the recent dip in oil prices and an uptick in the passenger numbers the organisations believe the industry is on track for a bumper year, expecting aviation to make USD 35.5 billion in profit during 2019.

That eye catching total is a small increase on the expected USD 32.3 billion haul to be generated by the end of this year and means that the industry is looking the tenth consecutive year of profit.

“We are cautiously optimistic”

Commenting on the reasoning behind the figures, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, said: “We had expected that rising costs would weaken profitability in 2019. But the sharp fall in oil prices and solid GDP growth projections have provided a buffer. So we are cautiously optimistic that the run of solid value creation for investors will continue for at least another year. But there are downside risks as the economic and political environments remain volatile.”

Fuel

The 2019 industry outlook is based on an anticipated average oil price of USD 65 per barrel (Brent) which is lower than the USD73 per barrel (Brent) experienced in 2018, following the increase in US oil output and rising oil inventories. This is welcome relief for airlines which have seen jet fuel prices fall, albeit at a slower pace owing to the impact of low-sulfur environmental measures undertaken by the marine sector that have increased demand for diesel (which competes with jet fuel for refinery capacity).

However, jet fuel prices are expected to average USD 81.3 per barrel in 2019, lower than the USD 87.6 per barrel average for 2018. The full impact of this decline will be delayed due to heavy levels of hedging in some regions. Fuel is expected to account for 24.2% of the average airline’s operating costs (an increase from 23.5% forecast for 2018).

Passengers

Passenger traffic (RPKs) is expected to grow 6% in 2019, which will outpace the forecast capacity (ASKs) increase of 5.8%, and remains above the 20-year trend growth rate. This in turn will increase load factors and support a 1.4% increase in yields (partially clawing back the 0.9% fall experienced in 2018). Passenger revenues, excluding ancillaries, are expected to reach USD 606 billion (up from USD 564 billion in 2018).

Economic Growth

GDP is forecast to expand by 3.1% in 2019 (marginally below the 3.2% expansion in 2018). This slower but still robust growth is a main driver of continued solid profitability. There are significant downside risks to growth from trade wars and political uncertainties such as with BREXIT, but the consensus view is that these factors will not offset the positive impetus from expansionary fiscal policy and growing business investment in major economies.

“Air travel has never been such a good deal for consumers”

Labour

Total employment by airlines is expected to reach 2.9 million in 2019, up 2.2% on 2018. Wages are also rising, reflecting the tightness of labor markets, and it is expected that unit labor costs will increase by 2.1% in 2019 after a long period of stability. Aviation jobs are getting more productive. In 2019 we expect productivity to increase by 2.9% to 535,000 available tonne kilometers/employee.

Cargo

The 3.7% annual increase in cargo tonnage to 65.9 million tonnes is the slowest pace since 2016, reflecting the weak world trade environment impacted by increasing protectionism. Cargo yields are expected to grow by 2.0%. This is well below the exceptional 10% yield growth in 2018. It does, however, continue the recent strengthening of the cargo business, since cost increases are lower. Overall cargo revenues are expected to reach USD 116.1 billion (up from USD 109.8 billion in 2018).

“Air travel has never been such a good deal for consumers. Not only are fares staying low, the options for travellers are expanding. Some 1,300 new direct links between cities were opened in 2018. And 250 million more journeys by air occurred in 2018 than in 2017,” said de Juniac.

Yes, Musk wants to replace airplanes with rockets for long-haul travel around Earth. He claims tickets will be “about the same as full-fare economy in an aircraft.” Which is to say: 24 minutes to fly from New York to Shanghai for the price of an economy seat, and you get to see Earth from space. Can you imagine that? Yeah, me neither. But here’s hoping. It will not happen in 2019, but perhaps we will see a dream come true in the late 2020s or 2030s.

Electric airplanes

This will not be available for regular consumers for a very long time either, but it’s good news for the environment and, therefore, everyone: Eviation’s Alice Commuter plane–winner of the transportation category of Fast Company‘s 2018 World Changing Ideas Awards–is a fully electrical airplane that can take nine people on short trips for less than regular fuel-based airplanes.

The Israel-based startup believes that the airplane will be able to fly commercially in 2021, scaling up “to hundreds of routes across the U.S. over the next few years.” Crossing my fingers for this one, too.

Better airports

In 2018, architects thought deeply about how to make the airport experience better and optimize the flow of passengers–in other words, make airports feel less like hell on earth. Snarkitecture partner Benjamin Porto–who lives in New York, a city with some famously awful airports–came up with the idea of merging all New York airports into one master plan, both LaGuardia and JFK, and also Newark in New Jersey. For Porto, “It would be interesting to redesign JFK, LGA, and EWR together into one cohesive master plan [because] they are essentially the three Triumphant Gates of New York City and [they] should look as such.” While a hypothetical concept, Porto’s idea flicks at some of the bigger design challenges that architects have been tackling internationally and, fingers crossed, will take on in the United States, too.

Windowless planes

Windowless planes can be considered both a curse and a blessing for everyone. Its proponents, like Emirates airlines, think they can replace regular windows, which are heavy and therefore costly, without alienating consumers. In exchange, they promise cheaper travel.

Of course, this is all theory. And then there’s the psychological effect: Replacing windows with screens is not going to make anyone feel less claustrophobic. Perhaps people traveling in their own private cabins will not care and might find fake windows amusing but, for economy class, it will probably be an extra grievance in a list of many.