Big chunks of the US and Europe are following Asia in reopening their economies as Covid-19 infection rates start to ebb. But despite signs of rebounding demand in sectors like retail, fliers so far aren’t returning to the skies in large numbers. United, for instance, is expecting June revenue to be about 90% lower than last year. Airlines and airports are partly blaming a standstill in international travel on governments, for not lifting travel bans, quarantines and other restrictions more quickly. Australia’s Qantas said Thursday that it was cancelling most international flights through October. The move came after the Australian government indicated it would keep its borders shut to most international travelers until next year to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus. “In five or 10 years’ time the market will be bigger,” Heathrow CE John Holland-Kaye said. “But how quickly really depends on how quickly we can get countries to reopen their borders.” Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport and No. 2 in the world in terms of international traffic, behind Dubai. It is now at the center of a divide between industry executives and government and public-health officials over how and how quickly to resume significant international air travel. The UK, for instance, has said travellers coming into the country will be subject to a strict two-week quarantine once they land. Airlines and Heathrow have fought back, but so far the government isn’t softening its stance. Story has more.<br/>
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US officials rejected additional flights proposed by Chinese airlines but said they would reconsider if the Beijing government adjusts its policies affecting American passenger carriers. In a statement late Friday, the DoT said it disapproved service schedules submitted by four China-based carriers that are currently allowed to make four combined flights to the US each week, plus additional proposals submitted by three other Chinese carriers. The department said the action was “effectively an administrative action designed to maintain the parity in scheduled passenger services between US and Chinese carriers” that it announced earlier this week. American officials have relayed to their counterparts in Beijing that the move is a “procedural matter only and that it should not be viewed as an escalation on our part,” the DoT said. The department added that it “continues to indicate our willingness to revisit our action should the Chinese aviation authorities adjust their policies to bring about the necessary improved situation for US carriers in which both they and the Chinese carriers could fully exercise their bilateral rights.”<br/>
Iran is drawing up plans to offer discounts to some foreign airlines using its airspace, state news agency IRNA quoted a senior aviation official as saying on Saturday, after a slump in flights due to the coronavirus pandemic and regional tensions. Nasser Aghaei, director of the state-run Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company, said the discounts would go to the top eight airlines providing transit income as well as airlines boosting their flights by 20%. However, no general cut in fees are planned, IRNA said. Iran is one of many countries to charge so-called overflight fees, which are generally used to fund services such as air traffic control, weather data and aeronautical information. The planned discounts still have to be approved by the government, Aghaei said. Before the pandemic, major airlines in January rerouted or cancelled flights to avoid airspace over Iraq and Iran following an Iranian missile strike on US-led forces in Iraq.<br/>
Airlines operating in the Philippines called for swifter and more aggressive government support as a stilted restart to flights this month has done little to bring in much-needed revenue. Philippine Airline, Cebu Air and the local unit of AirAsia Group have only been able to fly about 10% to 15% of their flight schedules despite pent-up demand among stranded travelers and returning migrant workers, company officials said. Lingering concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak have kept half of regional airports closed, while others have restricted flights to only once a week, Philippines AirAsia CEO Ricardo Isla, said. Most of the Philippines' COVID-19 infections are in the major travel hubs of Metro Manila and Cebu City. Lengthy and changing local-government approval processes have forced last-minute flight cancellations, while jam-packed quarantine venues in the capital region have led to caps on international arrivals, said Jose Enrique Perez de Tagle, vice president of Philippine Airlines, which has resumed flights to the US, Canada, UK, Australia and Japan. "It's a tedious process," said Rosario Logarta-Lagamon, Cebu Air's communications head. "We will not end the problem of stranded passengers if we do not add frequency today." The country's Air Carriers Association is pinning its hopes on Congress passing a 1.3-t-peso ($26b) stimulus bill by August, which would offer credit guarantees, loan facilities and fee waivers for the airline sector. Providing access to capital is more urgent and less costly than a separate government proposal that would allow state lenders to invest in distressed firms, the group's vice chairman Roberto Lim said.<br/>
Vietnam's airlines are getting ready to restart international flights from next month even as the public remains leery about the risk of importing fresh Covid-19 cases. Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways have said they will resume flights to destinations like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan - which, like Vietnam, have successfully managed to contain the pandemic within their borders - as soon as they get official approval. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the Vietnamese authorities on June 10 to work out the criteria for regions to which commercial flights can resume. These areas could be those that had not detected community infections for 30 consecutive days, he was cited by the Vietnamese government's online newspaper as saying. Some possible destinations are Guangzhou, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo. Most details are up in the air as regional governments grapple with public pressure to keep borders closed while trying to keep alive tourism industries heavily dependent on foreign dollars. Vietnam, like Thailand and Myanmar, has banned entry to foreigners until June 30, except for diplomats and other groups deemed essential. But the airlines are raring to go. <br/>
A simple device that fits on to the existing air vents inside an airplane cabin could help reduce the risk of inflight Covid-19 infections. Seattle-based technology company Teague says its new AirShield device enhances air flows that already help minimise the spread of germs on board, creating an invisible 'shield' around passengers. AirShield is a 3D-printed component that fits onto the Passenger Service Unit that you'll find above each passenger in an airplane cabin. The unit usually contains a reading light and vents, known as air gaspers, which send air downward onto the seat occupant. Ordinarily, each passenger can control the direction and velocity of the air that's blasting onto them in the same way that they can also decide if they want their light on or off. AirShield sculpts the flow into blades that ensure any respiratory droplets are retained within a single passenger's space, and shouldn't be breathed in by the occupant of a neighboring seat. Anthony Harcup, senior director of airline experience at Teague, says that AirShield only enhances what's already a pretty effective method of air flow on airplanes. "What a lot of people don't realize, is that an aircraft is actually one of the safest places that you can be," he said. Story has details.<br/>
Airbus plans to pursue voluntary job cuts before seeking forced reductions, as it aims to bring down costs without inciting a political uproar in France and Germany, according to people familiar with the matter. The European planemaker will mandate redundancies only as a last resort after looking at voluntary layoffs and early retirement across its manufacturing operations, said the people, who asked not to be named because deliberations are ongoing. The total is likely to range between 12,000 and 16,000 employees, estimates George Ferguson, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. Caught in a demand downturn that could last as long as five years, Airbus must scale back quickly to stop cash outflows and regain its financial balance by year-end, ChEO Guillaume Faury warned in his latest letter to staff. The magnitude of the crisis calls for “heart-wrenching decisions,” Faury said. “What this means in reality is a necessary downsizing of our business.” Airbus has raised liquidity, slashed production and put factory workers on rolling furloughs since the coronavirus spread across the globe earlier this year. The company has yet to put in place a plan for permanent job cuts.<br/>