Leading Democrats in Congress, frustrated with what they say are inadequate protections against Covid-19 in air travel, introduced legislation to require the federal government to mandate face masks on flights and in airports. The bill, unveiled on Thursday, would also force the government to create a national aviation preparedness plan for epidemics -- which is required under an international treaty but was never done in the US -- and to ramp up government-sponsored study of how infectious diseases are transmitted on airliners. “Covid-19 infections are spreading across this country like wildfire, yet the Trump administration refuses to enact basic public health protections for the tens of thousands of airline passengers who board airplanes each day,” said Representative Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who co-sponsored the bill and is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The law would authorize criminal penalties for passengers who disobey a flight crew’s instructions to wear a mask on a plane and sets civil fines for people who don’t wear masks in an airport. The legislation was endorsed by multiple industry groups and unions.<br/>
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The White House on Thursday said it opposed language in a bill before Congress that would require airline, train and public transit passengers and workers to wear masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. The White House Office of Management and Budget called the provision in a US House of Representatives spending bill requiring the masks “overly restrictive.” It added that “such decisions should be left to states, local governments, transportation systems, and public health leaders.” Airlines, Amtrak and most public transit systems and US airports require all passengers and workers to wear facial coverings. Representative David Price, a Democrat who chairs the appropriations panel overseeing transportation issues, proposed an amendment this month to require the masks. “President Trump’s flagrant disregard for basic public health measures is bad enough, but threatening to derail federal funding for major transportation and housing programs due to a common-sense provision to require masks on planes, trains, and buses is baffling,” Price said Thursday. The House is set to vote on the bill Friday.<br/>
LaGuardia Airport in New York has opened its second light-filled concourse, as well as seven new gates, at Terminal B as part of its ongoing $8b transformation project. The first seven new gates in the new Western Concourse will be activated from next week, welcoming more travellers through the airport’s Terminal B. The new concourse includes an indoor park, touchless restrooms, and various other amenities. It will mainly serve American Airlines and will house the future American Airlines Admirals Club. New York Governor Cuomo said: “With the opening of this new concourse, LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B is hitting two major milestones in one summer and moving closer to its full transformation into a 21st century travel facility. LaGuardia Airport is going to be the first new airport in the United States in 25 years, and we’re building it while still operating the old airport. Travellers coming to New York should expect nothing less than a world-class experience, and that is what we are delivering with this modernisation project.”<br/>
Britain’s aviation regulator has demanded improvements from many airlines in refunding passengers whose flights are cancelled. In a review of the industry’s performance since the coronavirus pandemic began, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has criticised BA, easyJet, Ryanair and other carriers for delays in paying back air fares. Jet2 is the only UK airline to be praised for “providing refunds promptly”, along with the US carriers American Airlines and United. Under European air passengers’ rights rules, airlines are supposed to refund travellers in cash and in full within a week of the departure date of the flight. But carriers have hit back, insisting they have done their best in extraordinary circumstances. Richard Moriarty, CE of the CAA, said: “Although we have taken into account the serious operational challenges many airlines have faced, we have been clear that customers cannot be let down in this way, and that airlines must pay refunds as soon as possible. There is still work to do. We have required commitments from airlines as they continue the job of paying customer refunds. Should any airline fall short of the commitments they have made, we will not hesitate to take any further action where required.” Virgin Atlantic is heavily criticised for the extreme delay in paying refunds. British Airways was criticised for directing customers seeking refunds to a telephonic dead-end.<br/>
EasyJet, BA, Tui and Heathrow Airport were among 47 travel industry signatories to send an open letter to the government calling for a more “nuanced” approached when it comes to its quarantine policy. Airlines, airports and tour operators came together to urge Boris Johnson to drop blanket travel restrictions following the sudden removal of Spain from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) quarantine-exempt list. After much confusion, the Canary and Balearic Islands were also removed from both the DfT list and the Foreign Office’s separate list of destinations where its blanket warning against all travel no longer applies. The letter claimed there was “no obvious rationale” behind the move; the current rate of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the Canary Islands is around two, compared to the UK’s 14. It also warned that current government policy would leave the travel industry “permanently scarred” and that a much more targeted approach, based on testing and the “rapid introduction” of “regional” travel corridors, was needed. This latter measure would allow Brits to travel to unaffected parts of Spain, as well as areas of countries such as Canada and the US with low Covid-19 rates, without having to quarantine on their return.<br/>
Airbus cut back wide-body jet production after it burned through E4.4b in Q2, in a further retrenchment meant to safeguard cash while it waits out a collapse in demand. Airbus will now aim to produce five A350 aircraft a month rather than the six targeted in April, the world’s biggest planemaker said Thursday. With global fleets largely grounded during the second quarter, Airbus delivered one-third the number of planes it did a year earlier. The company is clamping down on costs with the aim of halting cash outflows in H2, as it braces for a depressed travel market that could last for several years. “We believe it’s going to be a long and slow recovery,” CEO Guillaume Faury said on a conference call. “We’re trying to take a balanced view on this and not be too pessimistic.” Air travel is reeling from its biggest-ever slump after the pandemic brought decades of growth to a shuddering halt. That’s left Faury walking a tightrope as he seeks to hold down spending without doing permanent damage to the system of suppliers and skilled workers on which Airbus will rely when better times return. Prospects for a quick rebound are meanwhile receding as new flareups of the virus lead to the reimposition of curbs on flights.<br/>
Myanmar has further extended a ban on all international flights to the end of August. “In order to continue to [curb] the spread of Covid-19 in Myanmar effectively, the National Central Committee for Prevention, Control, and Treatment of Covid-19 has decided to further extend the effective period of the temporary measures up to 31 August 2020 23:59 MST by the notification issued on 28 July 2020,” Yangon International airport operator Yangon Aerodrome Company said. It adds that all international commercial flights at Terminal 1 remain suspended until then, while Terminal 3 remains operational for all domestic flights. Myanmar reported its first cases of Covid-19 on 23 March. On 29 March, it announced a two-week ban of all international commercial flights from 30 March to 13 April to contain the outbreak. The ban has been continually extended and under the previous advisory, flights had been due to resume on 31 July. The Southeast Asian nation has also closed land borders to foreign tourists, while suspending all visa-free privileges and visa issuances.<br/>
A new system that promises to reduce certain viruses and bacteria on aircraft surfaces has been put into commercial use this week. Honeywell Aerospace, a manufacturer of aviation products, unveiled a new, state-of-the-art ultraviolet cleaning system (UVC) back in June. Designed for airlines, it promised to help keep cabin surfaces free from ‘certain’ viruses – though no testing has been done specifically on whether it offers protection against COVID-19. JetBlue, a US airline, has now put eight of the cabin cleaning devices into service, and is the first airline to use the technology. The Honeywell UV Cabin System – which originally went by the name “GermFalcon” before its makers partnered with Honeywell – can cover the length of an airplane in 10 minutes or less. Roughly the size of an aircraft drinks cart, the equipment has extending UVC light arms that can help disinfect cabin surfaces, including seats, lavatories and galleys. The ultraviolet technology was originally developed for hospital use, and clinical studies have shown that, properly applied, can “reduce various viruses and bacteria, including Sars CoV and Mers CoV,” said Honeywell at the time of launch.<br/>