European airports are drawing up industry-wide guidelines on issues such as passenger health screening to ensure a co-ordinated response when travel restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic are eased. The action comes after London’s Heathrow faced criticism from passengers for the absence of temperature checks as the UK enters its third week of lockdown in an attempt to contain the disease. The airport has called for a global standard in passenger health screening for coronavirus as the industry currently takes different approaches based on guidance from their national public health authorities. In the UK, temperature checks have not been introduced based on advice from Public Health England. The authority believes thermal screening holds little clinical value and would detect only a very small minority of cases, mainly because symptoms of Covid-19 do not usually appear until 5-7 days after exposure to the virus. Instead, all flights to the UK need to provide an early warning by the pilot of any passenger illness to the airport and PHE. However, other countries such as Italy and China conduct body temperature checks.<br/>
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President Donald Trump said Thursday that airlines could receive details this weekend about the terms of a $32b payroll grant to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, which sources told Reuters has received around 275 applicants. “We’ll be probably putting out a proposal and giving them some of the very powerful details over the weekend. It’s moving along quickly. The airline business has been hit very hard,” Trump said following a briefing with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. “I think it’s going to be a very acceptable package. It’s a very big package,” Trump said, noting it will be “good for the airlines.” Under the $2.3t CARES Act, passenger airlines are eligible for $25b in cash grants for payroll; cargo carriers can get $4b while airport contractors like caterers and airplane cleaners are eligible for $3b. Earlier, Mnuchin said that the airline package would be the next “big thing we’ll be rolling out” as part of the CARES Act, with preliminary information starting on Friday. “And it is our objective to make sure, as I’ve said, this is not a bailout, but that airlines have the liquidity to keep their workers in place,” Mnuchin said.<br/>
The steep drop in demand caused by the pandemic has the airlines instituting last-minute cancellations while significantly reducing future schedules, making it hard for passengers to know if a purchased ticket will result in an actual flight. American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United and Delta have all announced domestic flight reductions of about 70%. Large airports have seen their number of flights drastically reduced. United has cut its flights to Newark Liberty International Airport from 139 per day serving 62 destinations to 15 flights per day serving nine destinations. Actual departures from Newark by all airlines dropped to 99 on April 7 from 564 on March 7, according to Flightradar24. But as bad as things are at major airports, for small-market cities, which may have a limited number of carriers, the effect has been amplified. Story has details.<br/>
Airline flight attendants can select seats within the aircraft cabin rather than cram together near galleys and no longer need to demonstrate safety equipment in new measures approved by federal regulators to help keep them safe from the new coronavirus. The FAA revised the guidelines Thursday in response to requests from Airlines for America, the lobbying group for major carriers. Some unions representing flight attendants also had sought relief from the rules. Airlines must individually request an exemption that would remain in effect until June 30. Several major US carriers have stopped normal food and beverage service, stepped up aircraft cleaning, blocked off middle seats in aircraft and allowed flight attendants to wear masks and gloves in an effort to avoid spreading the highly contagious virus aboard planes. Flight attendants will be able sit in passenger seats instead of their normal jump seats to provide the social distancing recommended by health officials. They can also drop the practice of donning emergency oxygen masks and life vests during safety briefings at the start of flights. Airlines that seek the exemption must provide an alternate way to show passengers how to use the equipment.<br/>
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has announced that it plans to postpone the $1b Terminal 3 West project which was due to renovate the remaining section of the terminal, where United operates. Originally expected to begin physical construction in June 2020, the project is now set to be postponed for a minimum of six months. This decision to postpone the beginning of construction is a result of the reduced passenger and flight activity that has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Terminal 3 West project will renovate the existing 400,000ft2 western half of the terminal, including a seismic retrofit, new architectural finishes and new passenger amenities. The project will also create 190,000ft2 of additional space, allowing for expanded food, beverage and retail concessions.<br/>
Boeing is considering a plan to reduce its workforce by about 10%, people familiar with the matter said, as the aerospace giant grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The plan could involve buyouts, early retirements and involuntary layoffs. The potential labour cuts at the aerospace giant, which globally employs about 160,000 people, were expected to largely target Boeing’s commercial arm, these people said. The unit is under tremendous strain due to turmoil in the global airline industry. No decision on cuts was imminent, one of the people briefed on the matter said, and the potential 10% reduction was among scenarios under consideration. Boeing is aiming to shrink its workforce through buyouts and attrition before turning to involuntary layoffs, this person said. It wasn’t immediately clear how any cuts would affect Boeing’s defense and services arms. Last week, the plane maker announced it would offer voluntary layoff packages, but hasn’t released details, including how many employees would be eligible. Boeing has said it expected several thousand employees to take advantage of the offer.<br/>
As Airbus picks its way through the most sweeping upheaval to ever hit the aircraft market, its progress will be measured through the A320 series narrow-body, the world’s best-selling jetliner. The planemaker, which slashed production rates by a third across its lineup Wednesday, reckons global airline fleets can absorb 40 of the workhorse A320neo and its variants each month. CEO Guillaume Faury has said the backlog of more than 6,000 A320 orders can serve as a “shock absorber” to cushion against the abrupt fall-off in demand caused by the coronavirus. “What will matter for us is the shape and speed of the recovery, in particular the single aisle in 2021 and beyond,” Faury said Wednesday. “Whether it’s a V-shaped recovery or an L-shaped recovery.” With long-distance flight demand likely to take longer to return, the market for single-aisle jets will probably recover faster than larger twin-aisles. In March, Airbus was able to deliver 30 A320-series planes, which are typically used for shorter hops within Europe, Asia and the US. The planemaker has also been selling long-distance variants that airlines could find useful when travel resumes, with longer routes facing less demand than before. Analysts say Airbus looks to be better positioned in the narrow-body marketplace than Boeing. The US company has yet to adjust its own production rate but is due to announce monthly order and delivery figures next week.<br/>
Airbus's decision to cut output of its best-selling jet by a third amid coronavirus marks a huge shift for the planemaker, which has enjoyed virtually unbroken growth since it began competing toe-to-toe with Boeing almost 20 years ago. The company's first significant cut in A320-family output, to 40 jets a month, brings production to the lowest level since 2012 and will be implemented in May or June, unions said. Airbus shares, which have fallen around 50% this year due to the crisis, wobbled on Thursday but ended up 2% as several analysts said the company had acted swiftly to reset output. But with all but a handful of airlines shunning deliveries as they hoard cash to survive the crisis, several industry officials and economists suggested the rate may be optimistic. "We have too many planes," said Avitas senior VP Adam Pilarski, who has long warned of a jet market bubble. With Boeing's competing 737 MAX still grounded after more than a year of safety reviews following two accidents, Airbus signalled on Wednesday that it was ready to act again if needed. "It is a first step," said Rob Morris, chief consultant at UK-based Ascend by Cirium, adding more reductions could be needed because of a large potential jet surplus.<br/>
The coronavirus pandemic has grounded most of the world's airplanes for the immediate future. But when aviation eventually reboots, pilots will need to be up to speed. It means brushing up on flight-deck skills and ensuring they keep within the boundaries of aviation's stringent safety regulations. And that is presenting a looming challenge as pilots remain housebound. "Pilots require frequent training and 'recency' to be able to fly," says Brian Strutton of the British Airline Pilots Association, or BALPA, which represents the interests of all UK pilots. "Recency" means complying with regulations that stipulate a pilot must have successfully carried out three takeoffs and landings -- one of which using the cockpit's autoland facility -- within the previous 90 days. To qualify for flying both at daytime and night-time, commercial pilots also need to perform three night-time take-offs and landings within the 90 days, which are harder because the pilot has less visual cues. This covers the three daytime take-offs and landings as well.<br/>But there are other annual checks, as well. These include the License Proficiency Check, which a pilot would have to do every year to keep their pilot's license valid. <br/>