Delta was hoping to restart flights next month from New York to Athens and Lisbon, two popular summer destinations, but it may have to wait a little longer. EU countries are considering barring Americans as the union reopens its borders next week, dealing another blow to Delta and other airlines hoping to revive their business when travel typically peaks across the Atlantic Ocean. International flights make up a minority of flights for US airlines but are typically much more profitable than domestic ones. And flights to and from Europe are generally the most important. US and European airlines had reduced the number of available seats on flights connecting the two markets by about 75% next month compared to last July, according to the aviation data provider OAG. And a travel ban could lead to even deeper cuts. “It’s a huge deal,” said John Grant, a senior analyst at OAG. “It is by far the jewel in the crown for many major airline networks, in terms of both revenue and profitability.”<br/>
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US airlines are cracking down on travelers who refuse to wear face masks onboard, a requirement that aims to protect passengers and crews from Covid-19. The federal government recommends but doesn’t mandate face coverings like masks for air travelers and for other situations where physical distancing is difficult. So last month, US carriers began requiring passengers to wear them on board, with some exceptions such as medical issues or if travelers are eating or drinking. “We take the requirement to wear a mask very seriously,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a staff note Thursday. “Customers who choose not to comply with this or any other safety requirement risk losing their future flight privileges with Delta. So far, there have thankfully only been a handful of cases, but we have already banned some passengers from future travel on Delta for refusing to wear masks on board.” American Airlines last week said it prohibited a traveller from flying on the airline after he refused to wear a mask onboard and was asked to leave a flight in New York. The ban will be in effect as long as American requires masks on flights, it said. For its part, Southwest said it won’t let travelers on if they don’t wear a face mask. The Department of Transportation hasn’t mandated masks onboard, but says travellers should wear them on flights, citing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<br/>
Six US unions representing aviation workers told top lawmakers on Thursday that another $32b in payroll aid is needed to keep hundreds of thousands of workers employed through March 31, as a resurgence in coronavirus cases raises fears that air travel may not rebound this year. The request, made in a letter to leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate, comes as Congress in July is set to consider a new round of spending that could top $1 trillion to address coronavirus-related issues and the impact on jobless Americans. Under the CARES Act passed earlier this year, Congress gave the aviation sector $32b to cover six months of payroll through Sept. 30, hoping that a sharp drop in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic would subside by October. But executives have since warned that a recovery to 2019 travel levels could still be two years away, forcing the need to lay off employees in the fall without an extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP). “Should October 1 arrive without extending the PSP grant job program mass layoffs are inevitable, as airline executives have acknowledged,” union leaders said in the letter. The letter was signed by the Air Line Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Transport Workers Union, the Communications Workers of America and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.<br/>
The CEs of major US airlines are set to hold a meeting Friday to discuss a range of coronavirus-travel issues, three people briefed on the matter said. The meeting with VP Mike Pence and other senior US officials is expected to include the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta, Southwest, United and JetBlue, the sources said. The discussions will revolve around potential extended EU travel restrictions on US travellers, possible temperature checks at US airports, contract tracing of airline passengers and the impact of COVID-19 on travel demand, among other issues, the sources said.<br/>
Major US airlines have promised to refund the cost of tickets for passengers denied boarding because of elevated temperatures, which could be a symptom of coronavirus. The announcement by trade organisation Airlines for America (A4A) on 25 June comes as carriers are desperately trying to win back the confidence of the travelling public as the global pandemic wears on. A4A represents 11 major US passenger and cargo carriers. Industry critics say airlines have been slow to implement recommendations by the CDC and have introduced a patchwork of measures rather than a uniform code to keep crew and passengers safe through the crisis. They have also been criticised for not promptly offering refunds to customers when a flight is cancelled, or a travel itinerary is interrupted for coronavirus-related reasons. The airline trade group reiterated its call on the TSA to begin conducting temperature screenings at the more than 450 airports it services as long as is necessary during the public health crisis. “Temperature checks are one of several public health measures recommended by the CDC amid the Covid-19 pandemic and will add an extra layer of protection for passengers as well as airline and airport employees,” the industry organisation writes. The FAA has not mandated industrywide standards related to aircraft sanitation, or how passengers should protect themselves and others while travelling by air. <br/>
A patchwork of government travel restrictions is “not helpful” to revitalizing air travel demand devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, the top US executive at aircraft manufacturer Airbus said Thursday. The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are now asking travellers arriving from a host of states including Florida and Texas that have posted rising numbers of Covid-19 cases to quarantine for 14 days. Some of the states took similar measures earlier this year for travelers coming from New York as cases were spiking in the state. “This is not helpful. When there are restrictions by state it creates obstacles,” Airbus Americas CEO Jeff Knittel said. “The fact is we can only control so much. Our job is to create the safest environment possible for the passengers so when they’re ready to fly ... and give them the comfort they expect from us and will receive from us.” Knittel praised airlines for a raising cash recently, calling it a smart choice to bolster their balance sheets amid low interest rates to counter the pandemic’s impact on revenue. American, Delta and United are among the carriers that have recently sold debt or equity.<br/>
As uncertainty continues over whether millions of summer holidays will go ahead, the travel industry is watching the quarantine fiasco with increasing fury. Eight weeks after the government hatched a plan to impose quarantine on all arriving travellers, airlines and holiday companies are unable to tell customers whether or not they will be able to travel abroad in July and August. The measure, brought in on 8 June, requires returning holidaymakers and visiting tourists to self-isolate for two weeks after arrival. Quarantine came into effect in the UK just as Europe and other parts of the world were unlocking. Instead of the hoped-for return of bookings, British firms saw sales slump because travellers are unwilling to undergo 14 days of self-isolation. The policy has also been criticised for actually increasing the risk to British holidaymakers, with medical experts saying they do not understand why the government would want to prevent healthy UK citizens from going to countries with lower rates of infection. By not allowing healthy British holidaymakers to go abroad, there are more potential candidates for infection in the UK than there would otherwise be. British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair are challenging the government’s imposition of quarantine in court as “disproportionate” legislation that was brought in without consultation.<br/>
A senior director in the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said June 20 that international flights were not likely to resume in Thailand until late September. CAAT director-general, Chula Sukmanop, was reported saying none of the airlines he met had expressed interest in resuming international flights by next month when the order shutting down the country's airspace is due to expire. He attributed the reluctance to uncertainty over the government's policies on international travel. "I believe international flights will resume this September," Chula was quoted as saying. "All of the airlines could not assess the demand for air travel. They have to wait and see the situation by the end of this month. The government has to make a final decision before the country's airspace could be open, but it does not mean an all-out opening for air travellers since only business people would be allowed to take the flights under the so-called travel bubble proposals." The president of Airports of Thailand, Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, reported that air travel should be back to pre-Covid19 levels by October 2021, 18 months away. But for the rest of this year, the Thai aviation sector is expecting a significant drop in flights and passenger numbers. "Recovery of international routes will depend on how quickly a vaccine or antiviral drugs can be made available. Total flights and passengers will drop by 44.9% and 53.1% respectively, due to the Covid-19 pandemic," he was quoted as saying.<br/>