The risk of COVID-19 spreading on flights appears “very low” but cannot be ruled out, despite studies showing only a small number of cases, the WHO said. “In-flight transmission is possible but the risk appears to be very low, given the volume of travellers and the small number of case reports. The fact that transmission is not widely documented in the published literature does not, however, mean it does not happen,” the WHO said. The characterisation of the risk echoes the findings of a US Defense Department study that last week described the probability of catching the disease on airliners as “very low”. Some airlines have however used more robust language to describe the risk of onboard transmission. Southwest and United have both said that recent studies had found that the risk was “virtually non-existent”.<br/>
general
The US, state governments and some foreign countries should replace quarantines and travel bans on airline passengers with COVID-19 testing of travelers before departure and upon arrival, airline and business groups said on Thursday. They said the move would boost US international air travel, which is down 78% year-over-year for the most recent seven-day period, according to airline industry data. The groups, which include the IATA, Airlines for America, the US Chamber of Commerce, airline unions and the US Travel Association, called on the Trump administration, state governors and international partners “to pursue a risk-based and data-driven approach to COVID-19 testing which would obviate the need for quarantines and travel bans so that the travel network can be safely re-opened.” The groups added that “travel quarantines are decimating our industry.” Currently, 18 US states have some type of quarantine for arriving travelers, the groups said. Hawaii last week began allowing airline passengers who tested negative for COVID-19 to avoid a two-week mandatory quarantine upon arrival. The United States still has in place entry bans on nearly all non-US citizens who recently were in China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Iran and countries in the so-called Schengen border-free area of Europe. Nearly all of Europe still bans most US travelers, while the UK allows Americans to visit but requires a two-week quarantine upon arrival.<br/>
Flight attendants have taken on various roles in the public imagination over the last century: nurse, companion in the skies, doting provider, glamorous traveler. Though commercial flights have become much cheaper and more frequent since the TWA heyday, there’s still an inherent magic to air travel that rests on the cabin crew providing safety and comfort. The job is far from a traditional 9-to-5. Perks include schedule flexibility, international travel and, in some cases, work uniforms designed by the likes of Zac Posen and Vivienne Westwood. Oh, and an office above the clouds. “It’s hard not to appreciate the moment when the sun shines in through the airplane window,” said Allie Malis, 30, an American Airlines flight attendant. “It gives me perspective on how I want to spend my working hours and my life.” But for the time being, that view is out of reach for many flight attendants. Earlier this month, United and American furloughed more than 32,000 employees. Among them were about 15,000 flight attendants, or close to 12% of the total flight attendant work force. Many flight attendants have been grounded for months, but since the furloughs were announced, the number has shot up. Now they are forced to wait as the government deliberates over a stimulus package. And while the future of travel remains uncertain, some are considering giving up a career that has afforded them stability and adventure, and become a way of life. Story has more.<br/>
Airlines spent the first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic slashing routes and parking hundreds of planes to cut costs as passenger numbers fell to the lowest levels since the 1950s. US airlines are now launching new routes, hoping they can turn a recent rebound in air travel into desperately needed revenue after losses topped $20b this year. Some airlines are moving into some of what are normally a few of the country’s most congested airports, hoping to make inroads as air traffic is relatively low. “It’s a game of musical chairs,” said Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst and former airline executive. JetBlue last month announced two dozen new routes, including several from United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to the Caribbean. Southwest last week unveiled plans to fly into Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport where United dominates as well as Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a United and American Airlines stronghold. Meanwhile, United launched a host of new routes to Florida for the holiday season and is aiming to return to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport early next year after a more than five-year absence. United this weekend plans to extend those nonstop flights to Florida into Q1 2021 for later winter and early spring travel. “It has been all about cash burn over the last six months,” Ankit Gupta, United VP of domestic network planning. “Going forward, hopefully we will be able to change those metrics now that we are trying to get out of survival mode and rebuild the airline again.” Story has more detail.<br/>
A coalition of airline and travel industry groups is urging top U.S. officials to develop standards for rapid testing and other measures to sidestep the growing quarantine restrictions imposed by states. Eighteen states have some type of quarantine for people arriving from Covid-19 hot spots, but “this patchwork of rules is confusing and discourages travel,” the group of 20 industry associations said in a letter Thursday. The federal government should step in to impose national protocols, such as rapid tests for the coronavirus, contact tracing and centralized risk assessments, said the letter to the heads of the departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Transportation. “Travel quarantines are decimating our industry,” the group said. Establishing requirements for testing before travel would be easier to enforce and lower risks compared to the current system, they said.<br/>
China doesn’t have a clear timetable for when Boeing’s 737 Max can return to service, though it has been holding talks with the company as well as US and European aviation regulators, the head of the country’s civil aviation authority said. Feng Zhenglin, director of the CAAC, told reporters at a briefing in Beijing that the issue of the grounded Max was “high on our minds” and that there’d been some technical collaboration on the matter with US and European counterparts. Three criteria need to be approved before China allows the Max to fly again, Feng said Thursday. Any change of design needs to approved, pilot training must be comprehensive, and the conclusions of investigations into the two accidents involving the plane need to be clear and improvement measures effective. China was the first major jurisdiction to ground the Max following the second of two crashes that killed a total of 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia. China’s move in March last year sparked a cascade of groundings in other countries even as the US FAA said at the time the plane was safe to fly. There were nearly 100 Max planes in operation in China prior to the grounding, making it the biggest market for the jet. The Big Three -- Air China, China Eastern and China Southern -- are all Max customers, along with about 10 other carriers in the country. Europe’s top aviation regulator said last week the plane is safe enough to fly again before the end of this year. Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, said China had participated in some of the Max reviews but hadn’t been involved in flight testing. “I honestly don’t know where they are” with their evaluation, Ky said.<br/>
India is reopening its borders to international visitors in a bid to revive economic growth even as the South Asian nation battles the world’s second-worst coronavirus outbreak. PM Narendra Modi is using a dip in new Covid-19 infections to prise open the economy from a strict lockdown, welcoming foreigners on business trips, but not tourists. While regular scheduled commercial flights remain off limits for the time being, overseas travelers can use other options, including flights under a government repatriation program, so-called air-bubble agreements, and private charters, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Thursday. Ships will also be permitted. All travelers must “strictly adhere” to the guidelines on quarantine and other rules. The surprise decision comes after the number of daily infections in India dropped to around 55,000 versus almost 100,000 last month. A government panel of scientists said this week the nation may have seen a peak in new infections and could contain the outbreak by February. But critics have attributed that decline to lower rates of testing as the disease spreads to the country’s vast hinterland. All existing visas -- except electronic, tourist and medical ones -- will be restored immediately, the government said. People holding expired visas can apply again and foreigners wishing to visit for business, conferences, work, study, research or medical reasons will be allowed to apply, the government said.<br/>
The Canadian government and the province of Alberta are launching a pilot program to test eligible returning travelers for COVID-19, allowing them to leave quarantine once they receive a negative result, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said on Thursday. The move could potentially bring relief to the country’s struggling airline and tourism industries, which have lobbied the federal government to ease travel restrictions and a strict 14-day quarantine rule. Canadian citizens, permanent residents, foreign nationals allowed entry into Canada and essential workers with no symptoms can volunteer to get tested at the Calgary International Airport and one land border crossing starting Nov. 2. Such passengers can then leave their place of quarantine once they receive a negative result, as long as they commit to getting a second test six or seven days after their arrival, participating in daily check-ins and following other public health measures. However a federal minister said individuals would have to quarantine between the first and second negative test results. “My understanding is that there would be a quarantine requirement in those six days period so that they could not go and super spread,” Bill Blair, minister of public safety, said Thursday. Canada has had a mandatory quarantine for all travelers entering the country since March. “COVID-19 is still here, but we’ve come a long way since March,” Kenney said. “We must find ways to bring back safe travel if we’re ever going to get the economy firing again on all cylinders.”<br/>
The operator of Japan’s Narita airport said Thursday it will reduce user charges for airlines currently operating international or domestic passenger flights in a bid to help their businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Narita International Airport said it will waive landing and parking charges for all scheduled domestic flights, while reducing the amount for international flights. The measure will be put into effect retroactively from April. It will be in place until the number of flights exceeds 50% of those logged in fiscal 2019 and a recovery trend can be expected. “We are staking everything to maintain the aviation network of the country,” said Akihiko Tamura, the company’s president. For international flights, small-sized aircraft will receive a Y30,000 ($280) reduction, while Y70,000 will be cut for medium- or large-sized planes with a maximum takeoff weight of 100 tons or more. The number of arrivals and departures between April and September at the airport near Tokyo dropped 64% from a year earlier to 47,986. The number of passengers tumbled 94% in the same period due to travel restrictions imposed amid the pandemic, according to the company.<br/>
Airbus is preparing to ramp up output next year of its most important jet, the A320neo, in a sign of growing confidence on the part of the European planemaker that jetliner demand is poised to recover. While no decision has been made, suppliers have been told to be ready to support a monthly rate of 47 A320neo-family planes per in the second half of 2021, Airbus said in an emailed statement Thursday. The company slashed the target rate of its popular single-aisle workhorse by a third in April, when demand evaporated as the coronavirus crisis gutted travel demand. “We plan to maintain the rate 40 up till summer next year and we have asked the supply chain to protect up to rate 47 to be prepared for when the market recovers,” Airbus said. The optimistic assessment suggests that Airbus is comfortable enough with demand to bet on an increase despite recent capacity cuts and order deferrals by major customers. Analysts have been warning that the production outlook for the European manufacturer and US rival Boeing may not be sustainable. Airbus didn’t say exactly when it expected to gear up, and said it may still make minor adjustments. “We have done a re-evaluation of the situation after the summer period,” Airbus said. “We have refined the plan for the A320 family programs based on our current view of the market.” Airbus’ optimism is surprising given airlines’ recent gloom over near-term prospects, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson. “One of the most successful airlines on the globe, Southwest, just told us they have 20% too many employees and too many airplanes,” Ferguson said. Airbus could be attempting to time the market’s recovery while ensuring suppliers are prepared to ramp up, he added.<br/>
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is considering sharply scaling back its staff and budget for developing the first domestically manufactured passenger jet, effectively freezing the operation amid a slump in demand caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, sources close to the matter said Thursday. The Japanese firm’s subsidiary Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. has been developing a small aircraft called the Mitsubishi SpaceJet, previously known as the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Its initial delivery to ANA, originally planned for 2013, has been postponed to 2021, or possibly later, due to problems with parts and a lack of technical experts. The new passenger jet, if successfully launched, would be the first commercial aircraft manufactured in Japan in half a century following the YS-11 turboprop plane by Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corp., a public-private company. The government had pushed for the development of domestically built jets in the early 2000s after the YS-11 project failed to bear fruit as a business. As a result, Mitsubishi Heavy, a manufacturer of fighter jets and rockets, launched the regional jet project in 2008 and the maiden flight took place in November 2015. Mitsubishi Heavy is expected to announce the decision on Oct. 30 when it unveils a new medium-term business strategy, the sources said.<br/>