A campaign by coronavirus-stricken aviation giants to persuade the world it’s safe to fly has been questioned by one of the scientists whose research it draws upon. Dr David Freedman, a US infectious diseases specialist, said he declined to take part in a recent presentation by global airline body IATA with planemakers Airbus, Boeing and Embraer that cited his work. While he welcomed some industry findings as “encouraging”, Freedman said a key assertion about the improbability of catching COVID-19 on planes was based on “bad math”. The Oct. 8 media presentation listed in-flight infections reported in scientific studies or by IATA airlines, and compared the tally with total passenger journeys this year. “With only 44 identified potential cases of flight-related transmission among 1.2b travellers, that’s one case for every 27 million,” IATA medical adviser Dr David Powell said. IATA said its findings “align with the low numbers reported in a recently published peer-reviewed study by Freedman and Wilder-Smith”. But Freedman, who co-authored the paper in the Journal of Travel Medicine, said he took issue with IATA’s risk calculation because the reported count bore no direct relation to the unknown real number of infections. “They wanted me at that press conference to present the stuff, but honestly I objected to the title they had put on it,” the University of Alabama academic said. “It was bad math. 1.2b passengers during 2020 is not a fair denominator because hardly anybody was tested. How do you know how many people really got infected?” he said. “The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” IATA maintains that its calculation is a “relevant and credible” sign of low risk, a spokesman said in response to requests for comment from the organisation and its top medic Powell. “We’ve not claimed it’s a definitive and absolute number.”<br/>
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The US CDC Monday issued a “strong recommendation” that all passengers and employees on airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-share vehicles should wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The interim guidance also calls for facial coverings at transportation hubs like airports and train stations. “Broad and routine utilization of masks on our transportation systems will protect Americans and provide confidence that we can once again travel more safely even during this pandemic,” the CDC said. Airlines, Amtrak and most public transit systems and US airports already require all passengers and workers to wear facial coverings, as do most airports. But the White House in July opposed language in a bill before Congress that would have mandated all airline, train and public transit passengers and workers to wear masks. In July, the White House Office of Management and Budget said legislation requiring masks was “overly restrictive.” It added that “such decisions should be left to states, local governments, transportation systems, and public health leaders.” The CDC said transport operators should ensure all passengers and employees wear masks “for the duration of travel” and should provide information to “people purchasing tickets or otherwise booking transportation” on the need to wear masks, as well as where possible making masks available. It said transit operators could exempt children under two or people with written instructions from a medical provider.<br/>
More than a million people passed through airport checkpoints on Sunday, the first time the TSA has screened that many people since mid-March. While that represents a symbolic milestone for the travel industry, US airlines are still losing billions of dollars a month as they brace for much weaker demand for tickets this winter. The number of people screened by the TSA on Sunday was down about 60% compared with the same day a year ago. Last week, Delta and United both said that operating revenue in the three months through September had fallen nearly 80% compared with last year. That period spanned much of the summer, which is typically the busiest season for airlines. The steep decline in travel has forced airlines to cut to the bone, tweaking every part of the business as they hope to capitalize on what little demand remains. <br/>
During a pandemic that has wreaked havoc with global travel, Enrique Beltranena is something of a rarity: a happy airline boss. Volaris, his Mexican low-cost airline, has added, not cut, routes during the crisis, has a healthy balance sheet and is “cautiously optimistic” in its outlook, he said. But with three major carriers forced into bankruptcy protection and another three halting operations altogether because of the pandemic, Latin America is staring at a difficult future for its industry and the likelihood that travel options will be permanently reduced. The region that remains the centre of the pandemic — with nearly 40 per cent of daily deaths — sucks up money from tourism in a normal year. This year is exceptionally bad and likely to remain so, with travellers seeking to escape the northern hemisphere winter expected to stay away, in part because of restrictions on flights to Europe from all Latin American countries except Uruguay. “What all this process is going to do is delay growth [of the industry] in the region,” said Pablo Ceriani, president and CE of state-owned Aerolíneas Argentinas. Peter Cerda, VP for the Americas at the IATA, believes many regional airlines will come out of the crisis smaller and operating fewer flights. “That will limit opening new destinations,” he said. He expects it will take until 2024 for international flights to recover to pre-pandemic levels and that even domestic routes will take until 2023 to pick up. Within the region, people will start to travel again, especially to visit friends and family, but they are unlikely to journey far. “Long-haul business travel will take longer to recover,” he added. Stephen Trent, director of Americas airline research at Citi, said Mexico, Central America and Colombia remained “within short-haul international flight range from the US” but for the south of the continent, “it’s a different issue . . . maybe now there’ll be sparser choices for example for flights from the US to Buenos Aires”. Story has more.<br/>
UK airlines desperately need a coronavirus testing regime in place avoid a “really, really bleak winter” for the industry, according to Tim Alderslade, CE of Airlines UK. “All airlines today are effectively going bankrupt,” he states during the Airlines 2050 conference. “It’s just a matter of time, depending on their own balance sheets and their own economic situations.” Calling on the government to take action on the introduction of pre-flight coronavirus testing as soon as possible, Alderslade says “we know the clock is ticking”. He notes progress on testing is being made by the UK government through a task force which is due to report its findings soon, but cautions that “airlines are running out of money, and if we cannot get a testing regime in place, economic measures come to the fore”. On the latter point, he highlights the importance of the UK’s economy-wide furlough scheme in helping airlines through the last few months, but laments that little sector-specific support is available looking forward. In the absence of either a comprehensive testing regime or further financial help, UK airlines could collapse. Then, ”you are effectively outsourcing your connectivity to heavily subsidised overseas carriers”, Alderslade states.<br/>
Passengers flying from Heathrow will from Tuesday be able to get tested for Covid-19 for GBP80 with a result within an hour, the UK airport has announced. A purpose-built facility run by two private firms, Collinson and Swissport, will allow rapid coronavirus checks for passengers flying to destinations that require pre-departure tests, including Hong Kong and Italy. Airlines including BA, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific are among the first to be offering these to passengers in Terminals 2 and 5. “Many other countries are already using testing to keep their borders safe while restarting trade and travel,” said John Holland-Kaye, CE of Heathrow. “These facilities will make it easier for passengers going to those countries to get a test and have the potential to provide a service for arriving passengers.” Transport secretary Grant Shapps has meanwhile set a target of December 1 to have in place faster privately manufactured coronavirus tests that could halve quarantine times for overseas arrivals to the UK. The new “test and release” system could shorten to seven days the two-week quarantine currently imposed on people flying in from foreign countries with high rates of Covid-19 infection. “My ministerial colleagues and I have agreed a regime based on a single test provided by the private sector and at the cost of the passenger after a period of self-isolation,” Shapps said. The testing capacity of the NHS would not be affected, he added. “Public Health England will set the quality for the test itself and then it will be up to the private sector to provide a test up to that quality,” he added. It is unclear whether arrivals would receive a testing kit in the airport to administer at home themselves or have to return to the airport to be tested under the government’s plans.<br/>
Canada prolonged its ban on non-essential US travel for another month in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19, with both countries in the grips of a second wave. Restrictions along the world’s longest undefended border -- which began in March -- will remain in place until Nov. 21, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced Monday. “Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe,” he said. An exception for trade means most commerce between the two nations continues. Hard-hit airlines and the battered tourism sector are nonetheless pressuring Justin Trudeau’s government to loosen restrictions.<br/>
The Liberal government should ensure airline passengers receive refunds for flights cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, opposition parties demanded Monday. The demand follows seven months of trickling revenues for carriers devastated by the collapse in global travel, with passenger numbers in Canada down 90% year over year in July and little improvement since. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc left the door open to a bailout, including the purchase of airline shares by Ottawa, in an interview Sunday. LeBlanc said Canadians expect stringent conditions on any federal airline funding, such as addressing the issue of travel vouchers. The Conservatives and NDP highlighted reimbursement as a key condition of a potential bailout. "If sector support is provided, it absolutely must be tied to refunds for passengers," Conservative transport critic Stephanie Kusie said in an email, calling the need for aid "beyond urgent." NDP transport critic Niki Ashton said thousands of customers have been "ripped off" after paying for a service that was never rendered and receiving travel vouchers instead of reimbursement, leaving many out of pocket during a recession. "It's not about helping CEOs, it's about protecting Canadian jobs and making sure passengers get their money back," Ashton said during question period in the House of Commons.<br/>
A South Korean fund established to prevent major companies from going bankrupt during the Covid-19 pandemic is selling its first bonds, as struggling carriers seek support. The 40t won ($35b) Key Industry Stabilization Fund, managed by Korea Development Bank, plans to take about 200b won in bids for 3.5-year notes on Tuesday, according to person familiar with the matter. The bonds are guaranteed by the government. South Korea created the fund in May to prevent companies from collapsing in seven key industries including aviation and shipbuilding that are big employers. Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-biggest carrier, will receive 2.4t won from the fund after its stake sale collapsed. If the fund significantly increases debt sales going forward, that could strain the government bond market, which is already planning record issuance this year, said Kim Ki-myung, credit analyst in Seoul at Korea Investment & Securities Co.<br/>