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Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, pleaded on Friday for US airlines to halt their plans to cut thousands of jobs, telling them that an agreement on further fiscal support for their sector and possibly the rest of the US economy would come soon. “The massive furloughs and firings of America’s airline workers jeopardise the livelihoods of tens of thousands and threaten to accelerate the devastating economic crisis facing our nation,” Pelosi said. “Today I am calling upon the airlines to delay their devastating job cuts as relief for airline workers is being advanced in Congress.” Pelosi said the federal aid for airlines to keep their employees on payroll — extending the support offered early in the pandemic — would either come through a broader stimulus package being hammered out with the Trump administration, or from a standalone bill tailored for the aviation sector. But the standalone bill sponsored by Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio from Oregon was blocked hours later by Republicans, who objected to bringing it to the floor through unanimous consent, which dispenses with a recorded vote. Pelosi’s call for airlines to halt their job cuts highlighted the mounting pressure on Congress and the White House to reach a compromise on new fiscal support to avoid deepening the economic pain heading into the November election. On Thursday evening the House of Representatives passed a $2.2tn stimulus package, which was roundly dismissed as excessive by congressional Republicans and the White House. Pelosi and Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, continued their negotiations on Friday on the hunt for a deal. While Pelosi suggested that US president Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis might alter the dynamics of the negotiations by emphasising the seriousness of the health crisis, she also laid out several areas of lingering disagreement with the administration, including the scale of help for state and local governments, the language related to unemployment benefits, and the amount of tax credits for child care.<br/>

The positive coronavirus test for a high-profile Air Force One passenger raises the possibility that has concerned aviation experts for months: that the virus can easily spread inside a confined aircraft cabin. Experts fear the infection potentially puts at risk hundreds of people who travel on, operate and maintain "the flying White House" -- threatening not only a highly recognizable icon of America, but also the smooth operation of a key national security tool used to evacuate the president in a crisis. Administration officials said Friday that presidential senior adviser Hope Hicks was showing coronavirus symptoms while she flew on the world's most famous jet earlier this week, raising the concern her infection could be linked to the infections of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. Experts have cautioned that during the pandemic, the unique air flow dynamics in the confined cabin of a jetliner -- even one as large as the Boeing 747-200, known in the military as a VC-25 -- could put unmasked passengers at a risk of catching the deadly virus. Administration officials said Friday that Hicks began displaying symptoms on the flight back from the President's Wednesday rally in Minnesota and was isolated in a separate cabin. She was seen deplaning Air Force One from a rear set of steps not typically used by the President. "Social distancing is much easier on Air Force One than any commercial airliner," said Professor Yan Chen of Purdue University, a researcher who studies the airborne spread of coronavirus inside an airliner. Chen said most passengers do not sit in cramped rows on board the multi-room, highly modified jet, "but complete isolation is very difficult." Chen said the air onboard large jets, including commercial airliners and Air Force One, is typically filtered through High Efficiency Particulate Air, or HEPA, filters, which are designed to catch most particles. The result is the air even on large planes is completely replaced every few minutes.<br/>

The escalation of a long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has seen Ukraine International Airlines and various other carriers cancelling flights to Yerevan. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan imposed martial law as the countries accused each other for the renewed clashes from September 27, 2020. Heavy artillery fire from both sides resulted in nearly 100 casualties, including civilians. Armenia released a picture of an Armenian Su-25 jet it claimed was shot down by a Turkish F-16 on September 29. Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan, denied the claim. Following calls for a ceasefire from France, Russia and the US, Armenia on October 2 said it was prepared to engage with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to re-establish a ceasefire. The disputed region is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but ethnic Armenians have controlled the territory since a 1988-1994 war between the two former Soviet republics. The latest fighting was the heaviest seen in the long-running conflict since 2016, reports said. Azerbaijan banned all commercial passenger flights, except services to Turkey, amid the escalating conflict. While Yerevan remained open to commercial traffic, Armenia issued a NOTAM, asking all operators to monitor the status of large sections of airspace in the UDDD/Yerevan FIR near the eastern border. Tactical rerouting and short notice closures were likely and operators were advised to carry additional fuel accordingly, reports OpsGroup.<br/>

Holiday quarantine rules have eroded consumer confidence and airport Covid-19 testing is the only way to open up international travel and restore demand, say industry bosses. The travel sector faces weekly chaos under the Government’s current approach whereby the list of countries that are quarantine-exempt is updated every Thursday. “We desperately need to open up international travel again and testing – alongside a more targeted regional quarantine policy – is the only way to do that,” said a spokesperson for industry body Airlines UK. Travel leaders responded to news that the Government is due to make an announcement on airport testing “in the coming days,” which followed Heathrow’s signal that its testing trial could start later this month. "We can see Brits really want a holiday but their confidence to book one continues to erode as the rules around travel and lockdowns change [...] a robust testing regime in place at airports will help boost confidence," said Alan French, CE of Thomas Cook.<br/>

Easier state aid rules allowing EU governments to pump trillions of euros into companies ranging from airlines to tour operators and events organisers may be extended to mid-2021, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said on Friday. The EC in March loosened the rules, which are designed to ensure that EU countries do not give an unfair advantage to local businesses, to help firms hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Vestager to date has cleared almost E3t of state aid, with Germany accounting for 54% of the amount and France and Italy 14%. “The effects of the crisis will stay with us for a while. That’s why we are proposing to prolong the Temporary Framework until mid-next year and adjust it to continued needs of businesses, while protecting the EU’s Single Market,” Vestager said. Vestager proposed extending the looser regime to June 30, to allow countries to contribute to the fixed costs of companies that are not covered by their revenues, and to allow governments that have acquired stakes in virus-hit companies to exit from the firms through an independent valuation.<br/>

The Danish Transport Authority (Trafikstyrelsen) has told 12 airlines they must refund cancelled flight tickets by December 1. Amongst the 12 airlines are major operators including SAS, Ryanair, Norwegian and EasyJet. The exact date by which refunds must be made depends on the date on which customers claim the refund, according to the agency. Claims made before October 1 must be refunded by November 15, while claims made from October 1-November 15 must be repaid by December 1. Claims made after November 15 must be repaid within seven days. The deadlines have been set after a large number of cancellations affected customers with various airlines as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Many customers are yet to receive refunds despite having claimed them under consumer rights laws. The Transport Authority said in a statement that it had “shown understanding for the difficult situation” faced by airlines during the spring and summer, when an extraordinarily high number of refunds were claimed. But the 12 airlines have now been informed that the money must be refunded by December.<br/>

Kiwis will be able to enter some Australian states without quarantining in two weeks' time, Australia's Deputy PM has announced. From midnight on October 16, New Zealanders will be able to travel freely over the ditch - but they will need to quarantine on their return to Aotearoa. The system will be one-way initially, so Australians will not be allowed to enter New Zealand. Only a few states and territories will be involved in the scheme. "Northern territory and New South Wales are very much open, and we welcome those New Zealanders coming here," Michael McCormack said Friday. McCormack said the bubble would present an opportunity to fill agriculture jobs, saying there is "a lot of wool to be shorn". "We've got work to be done here in Australia, and we can't do it all ourselves," he said. PM Jacinda Ardern told media earlier on Friday that international tourists will not be allowed into New Zealand until it is safe. "We will not open the borders for quarantine-free travel with Australia until it is safe to do so, because doing it too early risks losing all of the freedoms that we already have in our economy," she said.<br/>

Changi Airport Group said the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic isn’t abating as officials behind the world’s best airport warned of a “daunting” period ahead. Passenger traffic for the Singapore airport declined for the first time in more than a decade in the year ended March, as a slump in the last two months of the period wiped out earlier gains, serving as a harbinger of a deeper slump. To brace for “a prolonged crisis,” Changi suspended operations in two terminals to save on operating costs as flights dropped to the lowest levels in its history. “The battle with Covid-19 has only just begun,” the company said in its annual report. “The future does appear daunting with the situation showing no signs of abatement.” Amid all the gloom in May, Changi was voted the world’s best airport for an eighth consecutive year, according to a ranking by Skytrax. Changi Airport in 2019 opened Jewel, a shopping and entertainment complex with 1.5m square feet of stores and attractions including a rainforest, hedge maze, and the world’s highest indoor waterfall. But the annual report revealed a grim picture of a world-class hub reduced to a fraction of its normal business from the early days of the pandemic. To conserve cash, the company has implemented salary cuts of as much as 30% for management and staff, and recommended no dividend payout for the year. It has also suspended the construction of a fifth terminal for at least two years. Profit plunged 36% to S$435m due to an impairment charge by the Tom Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, which it holds a 51% stake, and worsened by the collapse in international travel. The Jewel shopping and entertainment complex helped boost revenue 2.6% to S$3.1b in the period. Travel recovery is “highly dependent on how countries around the world manage border controls, the relaxation of air travel requirements and the development of viable medical treatments for the virus,” it said.<br/>

The outlook for the aviation industry has deteriorated again due to rising coronavirus infections and renewed travel restrictions, Airbus COO Michael Schoellhorn was quoted as saying on Saturday. With air travel at a fraction of normal levels due to restrictions and travellers’ fears related to the pandemic, airlines have slowed deliveries of new aircraft. Airbus has said it needs to shed 15,000 posts worldwide. Schoellhorn said the situation in early autumn was worse than the company had expected in the summer, adding that the planned 15,000 job cuts would be the minimum. As some Airbus factories were already underutilized before the pandemic, labour unions now fear that the management could decide to shut down entire locations. At least for Germany, Schoellhorn ruled out such a move. “In terms of substance, I do not see any German locations at risk at the moment,” he said.<br/>