The impact of the coronavirus on travel may cost as many as 46m jobs globally, according to projections published on Wednesday by an aviation industry group. The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) predicted that the travel slump and a slow recovery will threaten 4.8 million aviation workers and more than half of the 87.7 million total jobs supported directly or indirectly by the sector, in related leisure industries and supply chains. “We know that a lot of jobs in air transport and the wider economy relying on aviation are at risk,” said Michael Gill, who heads the group representing airlines, airports, aircraft makers and other sector players. The warning came after airlines cut their 2020 traffic forecast amid renewed coronavirus outbreaks and travel restrictions that darkened the outlook. ATAG said its findings drew on research by forecaster Oxford Economics.<br/>
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The Trump administration has proposed including a $20b extension in aid for the battered airline industry in a new stimulus proposal to House Democrats worth over $1.5t, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday. House Democrats, who had sought $2.2t in relief funds to combat the effects of the coronavirus on the US economy, had been at loggerheads over the new measure with the White House, which had proposed legislation worth $1.5t. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Meadows said the White House’s latest offer was generous but 2 trillion was too much.<br/>
US airlines said they will begin furloughing tens of thousands of employees Thursday after congressional leaders and the Trump administration failed to reach a deal on a coronavirus relief package. In making the announcements late Wednesday, the carriers left open the possibility that workers could be called back if a deal is reached in the next few days. American Airlines was the first to announce its plans, saying it would begin furloughing 19,000 employees. CE Doug Parker said in a letter to employees that he spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin late Wednesday about the status of his negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi but came away with no guarantee a deal would be reached. Parker wrote that the airline had to begin the furloughs but that he committed to Mnuchin he would recall employees if a deal is reached. “I am extremely sorry we have reached this outcome,” Parker said in the letter. “It is not what you all deserve.” Parker wrote that he would continue to advocate for help and urged his colleagues to do the same. “We are not done fighting,” he said. A similar message came from United, which said it will be forced to furlough roughly 13,000 employees starting Thursday. In March, with the airlines on the brink of collapse, Congress passed a $25b program to help cover their payroll costs on the condition that workers not be laid off or have their pay cut before Oct. 1. But those protections expire Thursday, freeing the airlines to move forward with cuts. Since the summer, airline unions, joined by company executives, have been pushing for a second round of aid. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the furloughs mean “tens of thousands of essential aviation workers will wake up without a job or health care and tens of thousands more will be without a paycheck.” “It shouldn’t be this hard to do the right thing,” Nelson said.<br/>
American Airlines said Tuesday that it will offer coronavirus tests to passengers, joining United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Airways in rolling out preflight testing. Tampa International Airport also said it will offer tests. Testing at airports, it is hoped, will assuage people who are worried about the safety of flying amid the ongoing pandemic. “Our plan for this initial phase of preflight testing reflects the ingenuity and care our team is putting into rebuilding confidence in air travel and we view this as an important step in our work to accelerate an eventual recovery of demand,” said Robert Isom, American’s president. American initially will test people traveling to international destinations, starting with people traveling from Miami International Airport to Jamaica. Testing for travel to Jamaica will be for residents flying to their home country; if a passenger tests negative for the virus, the 14-day quarantine currently in place for returning residents would be waived. The airline is also working to start testing for visitors and residents going to the Bahamas and other countries in the Caribbean. Beginning in mid-October, the airline will offer at-home testing that can be done via video call with a medical professional; in-person testing at a CareNow urgent care location; and rapid on-site testing, administered by CareNow at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for flights to Hawaii. Airlines and airports are desperate to have passengers flying again. T“More rapid, efficient testing allows for a broader reopening of the travel economy, and will enable organizations to more quickly restore lost jobs and rehire workers,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, the US Travel Association’s executive VP of public affairs and policy, earlier this month. “Importantly, a robust testing program would allow America to welcome back international visitors, a segment of travel that has effectively disappeared since the start of the pandemic.”<br/>
FAA chief Steve Dickson says he has some suggestions for new changes to the Boeing 737 MAX after piloting the grounded jetliner Wednesday. "I like what I saw on the flight," said Dickson, a former airline pilot who flew earlier versions of the 737. "That doesn't mean I don't have some debrief items going forward," said Dickson after his two-hour flight from Seattle's Boeing Field. Dickson said he'd like to see tweaks "not so much in the procedures, but in the narrative that describes the procedures." Federal regulators are still evaluating Boeing's proposed safety changes to the embattled design after a pair of fatal crashes abroad killed 346 people, grounding the plane worldwide in March 2019. Dickson stressed his unorthodox flight was not part of the official FAA recertification process — which Dickson said is in the home stretch. The 18-month grounding has cost Boeing at least $18b. And it has missed a series of target dates for getting approval for the plane to again carry passengers. Before the Covid-19 pandemic it had been expecting approval for the plane by the middle of this year. But the pandemic, and the resulting plunge in air travel worldwide, has led virtually all airlines to park a large percentage of their planes, reducing the need for Boeing to win the approval for the plane to fly sooner than later. The daughter of Joseph Waithaka, who was killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, called the flight a "gimmick." "It's nothing but a clown in a suit to reassure the public that everything is fine," Zipporah Kuria said in an email shared by her attorney. "It's clearly a PR stunt for the FAA and a free endorsement for Boeing." Dickson told reporters the flight was "not a publicity stunt."<br/>
French investigators have called for a review of the design and maintenance of titanium alloy engine parts to ensure they guard against the risks of metal fatigue following an engine blowout on an Airbus A380 exactly three years ago. France's BEA agency made the recommendation in a final report into the accident in which an Air France jet carrying more than 500 passengers lost the front section of one of its four engines while flying over Greenland, before landing safely in Canada. The move follows a perilous investigation involving a 21-month international aerial and ground search across the ice sheet to find a crucial titanium alloy fragment, buried 3 metres below the surface and just a metre away from a hidden crevasse. The probe focused on the fan hub at the centre of a 3-metre-wide fan at the front of the engine made by Engine Alliance, co-owned by General Electric and Pratt & Whitney. The BEA said a recovered fragment had shown tiny fatigue cracks in a titanium alloy called Ti-6-4 and urged regulators - the FAA and EASA - to carry out a review of design, manufacturing, maintenance and certification processes. "Neither the manufacturer nor the certification authorities had anticipated this phenomenon in this alloy during the design of the engine," the BEA said. Such recommendations by leading investigators do not have to be followed automatically but typically carry some weight.<br/>
South Africa will not allow tourists from countries with higher coronavirus infection and death rates, including Britain, the United States and France, to enter when its borders open up on Oct. 1, ministers said on Wednesday. But business travellers with scarce and critical skills including diplomats and investors from countries considered “high-risk”, which also include the Netherlands, Russia and India, can enter, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said. “We will review the data every two weeks,” Pandor told a news conference, saying the government would be guided by epidemiological data when deciding which countries were deemed high-risk. President Cyril Ramaphosa this month loosened pandemic restrictions in South Africa, which had one of the world’s strictest lockdowns at the height of its COVID-19 outbreak. The easing included opening up to air travel, bringing relief to the badly battered tourism industry. “Airlines from high-risk countries are not necessarily banned, but their crew will be required to isolate ... at the cost of their employer,” Pandor said.<br/>
Singapore will open its borders to Australians from next week, but will continue to exclude Victorians from entering the country. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) released a statement Wednesday saying that, from midday on Thursday (2pm AEST), October 1, Australian citizens could apply for an Air Travel Pass for entry to the country on or after October 8. Applicants must have remained in Australia for the previous 14 days before entry and undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival at Changi Airport. Only after obtaining a negative result will they be allowed to freely roam Singapore. Victorians or anyone who has been in Victoria during the previous 14 days will not be allowed to apply. Singapore is also opening its borders to travellers from Vietnam under the same conditions. "Both countries have comprehensive public health surveillance systems and displayed successful control over the spread of the COVID-19 virus," CAAS stated. "Over the last 28 days, Vietnam has zero local COVID-19 cases, while Australia (excluding Victoria state) has a virus local incidence rate of 0.02 per 100,000. The risk of importation from these countries is low." COVID-19 tests at the airport should take about 12 hours before a result, according to CAAS, but could take up to 48 hours. Visitors must take a taxi or other private transport to their accommodation and remain there until they receive the result. They must also download Singapore's contact tracing app, TraceTogether, and keep it activated during their stay.<br/>