The first trials of a digital health pass that certifies airline passengers are Covid-free will begin this week in a push to reopen international travel fully after nearly nine months of disruption. The World Economic Forum-backed CommonPass project aims to create the first globally recognised proof that a passenger has tested negative for the virus before a flight, using a digital certificate downloaded to a mobile phone. CommonPass will not conduct tests. Instead it aims to establish standard certifications for Covid-19 test results and, eventually, proof that a passenger has been vaccinated against the virus. Steve Morrissey, a regulatory and policy executive at United, which is part of the pilot scheme, said the trials were “critical” to developing an alternative to the quarantine requirements and travel restrictions currently in force in many countries. United and Cathay Pacific are set to begin testing the digital health pass on routes linking travel hubs including London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore on Thursday. The aviation industry is hopeful that passenger testing can restart international travel but many governments, including the UK’s, have stuck to blunt measures such as self-isolation requirements for incoming passengers.<br/>
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All Nippon Airways has proposed to lay off staff as it tries to cut costs in the face of the global travel slump, Nikkei learned Wednesday. The Japanese airline is in discussion with its union over details of a severance package. Management also seeks to reduce monthly pay for around 15,000 employees. The cuts are expected to lower annual compensation by about 30% The coronavirus pandemic has decimated airline earnings and despite securing a 1t yen ($9.4b) credit line in June, ANA has been unable to turn its fortunes around as demand for travel remains weak. Parent company ANA Holdings posted a net loss of 108.8b yen for the April-June quarter and slashed bonuses for its staff by half over the summer. It has said it will not offer any winter bonuses, long a tradition of the company which considers these payouts part of "living wages" for its employees. But such cost-cutting efforts have not been enough to stem the outflow of cash. ANA has also been restructuring its business by selling off equipment, consolidating domestic routes that mainly use Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Itami Airport in Osaka and reducing office space. The proposed monthly pay cuts would be the first in 20 years to affect rank-and-file employees. ANA will offer up to two years of unpaid leave for career improvement activities. It will also continue furloughs begun in the spring. ANA's early retirement program dates back to 1992.<br/>
Singapore Airlines Group said it will resume its service connecting Singapore and Japan's Fukuoka next month after seven and a half months of hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The flight resumption on Nov 5 follows phased relaxations in entry restrictions for people travelling between the two countries that have begun in September. The once-a-week flight will connect the two cities on Thursdays. Starting in November, Singapore Airlines will also expand the route serving Singapore-Narita from three flights a week to five, while also increasing the route between Singapore and Kansai, a major airport in western Japan, from two flights per week to five. The airline will fly six flights to Narita per week from December.<br/>