general

The IATA has advised the governments and airlines to introduce more self-service options for passengers to help contain the spread of coronavirus disease. These self-service options should be applied for both prior to arrival at the airport as well as at the airports to minimise the contact among the people. Pre-flight, IATA foresees the need for governments to collect passenger data in advance of travel, including health information, which should be accomplished using well-tested channels such as those used for eVisa or electronic travel authorisation programmes. Nick Careen, senior VP for airport, passenger cargo and security at IATA, said there is a need to collect more details of passengers prior to flight for contact tracing purposes. "This data should be collected in electronic mode. Iata strongly recommends government to have internet portal to collect required data and this will allow wider use of data through different gadgets," Careen said. "Passengers can complete as much check-in processes online as possible prior to arriving at the airport because this will minimise time spend at the airport and also reduce contact points. This includes remote check-in (electronic / home printed boarding passes), automated bag drops (with home printed bag tags) and self-boarding. Governments should also revoke regulatory obstacles to enable things such as online boarding passes and bag tags. At departure terminal, the access should be limited to workers, passengers and people accompanying speed-need passengers to reduce mobility. Temperature screen should be put in place at the entry points and screening must be carried out by professionals. Screening staff need to have the latest devices to monitor temperatures," he said. <br/>

The trade association for the world's major airlines is proposing a range of measures aimed at relaunching the global air travel industry — including an end to in-flight physical distancing rules — that run counter to the established policies of Canadian carriers and the federal government. The IATA's roadmap to restarting commercial flights suggests that passenger face coverings have "obviated" the need for physical distancing on board, that aircraft seats provide a further barrier to viral transmission and that air filtration systems are equivalent to those at hospital operating theatres. Nonetheless, the trade group backs a ban on washroom lineups to reduce "congregation of passengers" in the cabin. "If we don't take these first steps in a harmonized way, we will spend many painful years recovering ground that should not have been lost,” said IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac. IATA's other proposed in-flight measures include pre-packaged meals to reduce interaction between passengers and crew and frequent "deep cleaning" of the cabin. But even with those precautions — already in place at most airlines — packing travellers into a plane is "really inviting disaster," said Tim Sly, epidemiologist and professor emeritus at Ryerson University’s School of Public Health. "That’s bad enough, putting 250 people in an aluminium cigar tube, all elbow to elbow breathing the same air for two, three, four, five, 10 hours," Sly said. He conceded modern airplanes have "a heck of a filter system built in," but said masks alone cannot prevent the on-board spread of COVID-19.<br/>

US airlines are starting to see an uptick in demand as the summer vacation season approaches, but a full recovery appears far off. Southwest said Tuesday that new bookings are now outpacing cancellations, a turning point in the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated air travel demand. The carrier has logged a “modest improvement” in demand and new bookings for next month. Southwest plans reduce its capacity by up to 55% next month from June 2019 and said that those flights will likely be between 35% and 45% full. “The revenue environment remains uncertain and may require additional capacity reductions depending on passenger demand,” it said in a filing. The uptick is showing up at airports, too, but demand is still far from last year’s levels for this time of year, when it generally rises. In the first 18 days of May, 3,419,717 people passed through security checkpoints at US airports, according to the TSA, down 92% from a year ago but better than last month. The first 18 days of April showed a more than 95% decline on the year, TSA data shows.<br/>

Airline executives said people are starting to book flights again, a potential inflection point after the coronavirus pandemic decimated travel demand in recent months. Top US carriers said Tuesday at an industry conference and in filings that new bookings have started to trickle in and cancellations have slowed. United said it would restore some capacity in July. Southwest said its flights are 25% to 30% full. It previously expected its planes to be at most 10% full this month. “We have seen a little bit of a bounce off the bottom,” said Paul Jacobson, Delta’s CFO. Delta said sales have exceeded refunds on some days recently, a reversal of the recent trend. The bookings are a signal of plans for leisure travel in June and July, Jacobson said. “But we have to be careful that those actually translate into trips and don’t just cancel,” he said, adding that even with the uptick, demand is still a fraction of what it typically would be during the usually busy summer months. The industry is trying to develop common rules to revamp the handling of passengers at airports and onboard aircraft, including temperature checks and the wearing of masks. The IATA said Tuesday that it is working with the aviation arm of the UN to lobby governments to adopt industrywide standards, which would include screening passengers before they enter airport buildings. “The restart will go much more smoothly if governments cooperate,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s CE.<br/>

The Treasury Department’s internal watchdog is auditing a $32b package of aid earmarked to support employees at passenger airlines, cargo carriers and related contractors included in the $2.2t coronavirus stimulus package. The probe will review documentation detailing salaries, wages and other information submitted to the Treasury under the payroll aid program by carriers, typically smaller ones that don’t normally report that information to the DoT. The inspector general’s office at Treasury will assess the implementation of the program in addition to documentation submitted by carriers seeking the aid, among other issues, according to a March 30 memo tweeted Tuesday by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee of inspectors generals throughout the federal government. The audit was opened as part of oversight required in the stimulus legislation, according to the memo, which did not specify any complaints about the payroll aid had been made.<br/>

Washington on Tuesday slapped sanctions on a China-based company it accused of acting on behalf of US-blacklisted Mahan Air, the Treasury Department said, and denounced the Iranian airline’s flights to Venezuela. The Treasury said that Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited acted as a general sales agent for Mahan Air, blacklisted by Washington in 2011 over support it provided to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tuesday’s action freezes any US-held assets of Shanghai Saint Logistics and generally bars Americans from doing business with the company. “This designation serves as another reminder that companies still providing services for Mahan Air – in the PRC or anywhere else – risk potential US sanctions,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China. The Treasury said Mahan Air is operating charter flights to Venezuela for Iranian technicians and technical equipment, using materials sourced from China, in support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and paid for by the government with gold bars from the Central Bank of Venezuela. “The Iranian regime is using Mahan Air to support an illegitimate and corrupt regime in Venezuela,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.<br/>

The FAA released multiple steps it plans to take to change how it reviews aircraft designs, a process that was criticized after two fatal crashes on Boeing’s 737 Max. The agency is planning on updating regulations to require better internal safety systems at planemakers, avoid “undue pressure” of manufacturers over employees designated by the FAA to aid in certification and is reexamining how it assumes pilots will react to failures, the agency said in a report to the DoT Tuesday. The report is a response to a blue-ribbon panel’s review in January that found agency needed to update its practices. The 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling jet, was grounded in March 2019 after a the second of two fatal crashes linked to automated safety system that drove down the nose due to a malfunction. The FAA said in a statement the blue-ribbon report had found its existing safety processes are generally sound, but they highlight areas where improvement is needed. “The FAA will work with a variety of partners throughout the aviation industry and international regulatory community to complete this work,” the agency said.<br/>

The world's busiest airports list is out for 2019, highlighting just how precipitously air travel has plunged amid the coronavirus pandemic. The data, released Tuesday by airport trade association Airports Council International, shows that passenger traffic at the world's top 20 busiest airports grew by 1.7% in 2019. But that was before the Covid-19 crisis brought airports around the world to a near standstill. "The demand is pretty much gone," said Angela Gittens, ACI World's director general. Traffic is down by more than 90%, she said, and border restrictions and long quarantines for travellers are in effect in many places. ACI estimates that 4.6b fewer passengers will pass through airports in 2020, with a $97b reduction in revenue. The world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport saw 110.5m passengers in 2019. In Q1 2020, the Atlanta airport logged 20.7m passengers, down more than 18% from the same period last year. The steepest declines in passenger traffic in the first quarter of 2020 appeared in China, where the novel coronavirus emerged. Beijing Capital International Airport saw a 62.6% decline in passengers in the first three months of 2020.<br/>

Suvarnabhumi Airport confirmed that three Nigerians have been stuck at the airport for more than two months now, waiting for a connecting flight to Myanmar and Laos. Their predicament? The destination countries have been closed, while the three cannot enter Thailand because they have no visas. The airport’s Special Affairs and Community Relations Department said two of the Nigerians arrived on March 21 on an Emirates Airlines flight and were scheduled to take a connecting Lao Airlines flight to Laos, while the other person arrived at Suvarnabhumi on March 24 on an Etihad Airways plane and was to take a connecting Bangkok Airways flight to Myanmar. But on the day all three arrived, the countries of destination announced they were closed to incoming flights. The Nigerians were also unable to fly back home as both Emirates and Etihad Airways cancelled their flights due to the virus crisis. Moreover, the three did not apply for a visa to enter Thailand and the Immigration Division therefore could not allow them to leave the airport. The Immigration Division is coordinating with the Nigerian Embassy to help their stranded citizens.<br/>

Canada and the US have agreed to extend their agreement to keep border closed to non essential travel to June 21 during the coronavirus pandemic. A senior government official confirmed the extension of the agreement, which had been set to expire this week. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to speak publicly ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement. The two governments announced a 30-day extension of the restrictions last month. Essential cross-border workers like healthcare professionals, airline crews and truck drivers are still permitted to cross. Truck drivers are critical as they move food and medical goods in both directions. Much of Canada’s food supply comes from or via the US. Americans who are returning to America and Canadians who are returning to Canada are also exempted from the border closure.<br/>

Singapore will gradually reopen its borders with safeguards in place to allow Singaporeans to conduct essential activities abroad and for foreigners to enter and transit through the country, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday. "We will do so in a careful manner with the necessary precautions and safeguards," the ministry said. But the reopening of Singapore's borders will be "assessed and implemented separately from the timing of the three broad phases of re-opening" as the global situation remains "volatile". "Singapore is currently exploring the possibility of piloting green lane arrangements with a few countries assessed to be at equivalent or lower risk of community transmission as Singapore, for which essential travel in limited numbers and with safeguards, could be conducted safely," the health ministry said. It will consider expanding such arrangements gradually as global conditions improve.<br/>