The White House Tuesday revealed it was considering suspending flights from China to the US amid the coronavirus outbreak, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters. The Trump administration told US airlines after a meeting it was not taking the step of cancelling flights, airline and govt officials said. The Trump administration is holding daily meetings on the coronavirus and has considered a wide range of potential options. Two US officials said the administration had not taken any options off the table, including a temporary ban on flights, if public health data supported the move. Monday, Republican senator Tom Cotton urged the administration to immediately halt commercial flights from China to the US. <br/>
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The US has expanded screenings of passengers for the coronavirus to 20 airports, even as health officials sought to assure the public that the virus doesn’t yet pose a threat to most Americans. Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar said he wouldn’t hesitate to declare a national health emergency if needed, but underscored that there are just 5 confirmed cases of the virus in the US so far. “This is potentially a very serious health threat, but at this point Americans should not worry for their safety,” Azar said. The State Department Tuesday advised Americans to reconsider any travel to China. The US last week began screening at international airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Atlanta—and added 15 more airports this week, officials said. <br/>
As the spread of the novel coronavirus continues both in China and across the world, Europe’s safety regulator has issued a safety information bulletin with recommended measures for airlines and airports to take in dealing with the outbreak. EASA, in its bulletin, recommends that airlines be equipped with universal protection kits — for crew members who are assisting with potentially infectious cases — for flights to and from affected countries. It recommends that airlines provide crew members on layovers in China with necessary updates and information on the outbreak, as well as the universal protection kits. Airlines should also inform its crew members about how to “manage a case of acute respiratory infection on board an aircraft”. <br/>
Airbus has disclosed that it will take a provision of E3.6b (US$4b) to cover penalty payments following its preliminary agreements to settle investigations by 3 states into alleged corruption in its activities. The agreements in principle centre on probes by UK, French and US regulators and remain subject to court approval, says Airbus. It states that the agreement with UK authorities has been the subject of a preliminary court ruling Jan 28, while further court hearings in the UK, France and USA are expected Jan 31. The E3.6b provision, which will be booked in Airbus’s accounts for 2019, will depend on the agreements securing court approval. Concerns had emerged in early 2016 over Airbus applications for export credit, which the airframer had voluntarily flagged to UK Export Finance. <br/>
About 10 months into the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max model across the world, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority said it is still “not very optimistic” that the model will return to service this summer. The head of the GCAA said that “it seems that this aircraft [model] in particular is facing a lot of challenges,” as he explained his lack of optimism. Boeing as well as other regulatory authorities had earlier said they expect the Max to return to the skies in early 2020. Last week, Boeing updated that forecast, saying it is now telling its clients that it these to fly again by mid-2020. DG Saif Al Suwaidi said that while he is “hoping” the jets will fly again in mid-2020, he is not optimistic. The GCAA had earlier said it plans to conduct its own tests on the Maxs even after they get recertified by American authorities. <br/>