Ethiopian Airlines is among companies in talks with South Africa’s government about potentially offering support to the country’s insolvent state airline, according to people familiar with the matter. Africa’s biggest carrier is considering ways to help bankrupt South African Airways fly again after more than five months of dormancy, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private. Taking a stake in the carrier is one of the options under discussion, they said, though negotiations are ongoing and an agreement may not be reached. South Africa needs to raise more than 10b rand ($595m) to revive SAA, according to a rescue plan compiled by administrators and backed by both the state and labor groups. Yet Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has said the funds should come from private sources, committing only to help “mobilize” the required amount. SAA was placed under administrative protection in December, before the coronavirus crisis hit. Much of the funding is likely to come from private financial backers rather than Ethiopian, which would bring more operational expertise to the table, the people said. Ethiopian CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said talks have taken place in the past but were put on hold. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said Ethiopian was “one of many” interested parties the government is in talks with. <br/>
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Air Canada said on Thursday it has launched a voluntary COVID-19 study of international travelers coming into Toronto's Pearson Airport as part of a campaign to persuade the government to lift travel restrictions such as its 14-day quarantine. Under the study, set to begin on Thursday, participating passengers will provide samples to be analysed for COVID-19 using PCR tests upon arrival and in two follow-ups to establish how many travellers arrive infected. "Our study will provide data to help determine if an airport-based COVID-19 surveillance program is feasible, whether self-collection of COVID-19 testing is effective, and to explore options regarding the 14-day quarantine for international travel," Air Canada said. Canada's borders are now closed to all noncitizens except for essential workers, and Canadians who enter the country from abroad must self-isolate for two weeks.<br/>
China has offered experimental coronavirus vaccines to aviation industry workers, according to a regulatory notice seen by Reuters, in a push to inoculate high-risk groups to prevent a possible resurgence as economies reopen. China, which has four COVID-19 vaccines in the final stage of human trials, launched the emergency use vaccine programme in July, hoping to boost the immunity of groups such as border inspectors or medical industry workers. Frontline workers at Chinese airlines, airports, China National Aviation Fuel Group and TravelSky Technology Limited will be provided a candidate vaccine on a voluntary basis, the notice from China’s aviation regulator shows. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has asked these sectors and firms to compile a list of personal information of employees willing to take the vaccine, the notice adds. The vaccination is “in response to a possible second wave of infections erupting in the fall and winter, and to the huge pressure facing our work of preventing imported cases as western countries reopen despite the pandemic”, according to the notice. Several staffers at Air China, China Southern Airlines and Juneyao Airlines confirmed they had received such a notice. Juneyao said it had submitted a list of employees willing to take the vaccine. <br/>
The US Transportation Department said Thursday it planned to restore the ability of Indian air carriers to conduct ground handling operations at US airports. The announcement comes as India is now allowing US air carriers to perform the full range of ground handling operations at Indian airports, the department said. Those ground operations cover services to facilitate an aircraft in preparation and conclusion of flights, including ticketing, check-in, baggage sorting, refueling, and de-icing. Air India should be allowed to resume operations after the department adopts a final order.<br/>
Despite months of back-and-forth and attempts at breakthroughs, the acquisition talks between HDC Hyundai Development Company and Asiana are likely to fall apart, according to reports Thursday. In an email Wednesday, the building company once again told Korea Development Bank, the airline’s creditor, to undertake a fresh round of due diligence for 12 weeks, local reports revealed. KDB and the airline’s owner Kumho Industrial have been adamant against another round of due diligence. One media outlet said Kumho could announce the deal is dead as soon as sometime this week. HDC said that it cannot confirm the details of the reports. Both KDB and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, another creditor of the airline, declined to comment on the matter. Once the deal is officially terminated, Asiana will be placed under receivership of creditor banks and some 2t won ($1.68b) in the form of key industry stabilization funds would be injected into the airline to keep the troubled business afloat. Since HDC offered to buy Asiana last year, talks had stalled, particularly as the aviation industry tumbled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But optimism had cautiously been raised as Kumho and HDC agreed to meet face-to-face, followed by a meeting between the chairs of KDB and HDC late last month to seek a breakthrough for the troubled deal.<br/>