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Airline passengers will need to take Covid-19 tests before flying long after a vaccine for the viral infection is introduced, according to the head of the airport that was Europe’s busiest before the pandemic struck. The time required for a global vaccine roll-out means testing must go hand-in-hand with inoculation if international travel is to return to meaningful levels, Heathrow airport CEO John Holland-Kaye said Wednesday. “Even with the UK getting early access to a vaccine it’ll take a year and a half to vaccinate the entire country,” Holland-Kaye said. “It’s going to take much longer before even the fastest vaccine can really have a massive impact around the world.” International flights have barely revived from groundings earlier this year as countries impose travel curbs to stem fresh outbreaks of the coronavirus. While Pfizer Inc.’s announcement of a vaccine that appears to prevent 90% of infections buoyed airline stocks, it’s not clear how air-transport regulators will respond and how quickly the breakthrough will benefit the industry. The current imperative is to quickly introduce Covid-19 tests for people arriving in the UK from high-risk areas in order to slash quarantine periods that are putting almost all potential customers off flying, Holland-Kaye said. Later, pre-departure tests should see people screened 72 hours before flying and again on landing, potentially obviating the need for self-isolation, the CEO said. Testing could ultimately be eased as countries get the disease under control, aided by a vaccine, though it may take “a number of years to get to that point.” UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Monday that a task force is making good progress toward a plan for testing on arrival, which will be introduced once the current national clampdown is eased, though he didn’t specify when.<br/>

Spain will from Nov. 23 demand a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours for air travellers arriving from countries with a high risk of contracting COVID-19, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, adding to an array of internal restrictions. One of Europe’s main COVID-19 hotspots with 1,417,709 cases and 40,105 deaths, Spain had increasingly become an exception in the region for its policy of - so far - not asking visitors to show a negative swab test on arrival. It will now use EU criteria to define which countries are classified as high risk, the ministry said, and require test certificates in Spanish or English at airports. Health Minister Salvador Illa said the rule would apply to non-EU countries with more than 150 cases per 100,000 people over the past 14 days. EU countries above that level of incidence, or those with more than 50 cases per 100,000 and with over 4% of all tests giving positive results, will also be affected by the test rule. There will be no testing at Spain’s land borders, Illa said. “We will ask the airlines to collaborate and check for travellers’ PCR (swab) tests before boarding,” Illa said, adding that Spain had no plans to impose mandatory quarantine for foreign arrivals.<br/>

Passenger flights between London and New York could be running by Christmas if the Government gives the green light, according to Heathrow airport's CE. In an interview, John Holland-Kaye said an industry working group had drawn up plans for a trial scheme under which passengers could have a test up to 72 hours before flying and a second test on arrival at the airport. If negative, they would avoid any quarantine in the US or UK. The scheme is being considered by the Government's testing taskforce, headed by Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, and Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, alongside separate plans for a single Covid test and release regime five days after arrival in the UK to slash quarantine by nine days. Holland-Kaye said he believed there was a "good chance" the London-New York trial would be backed by the taskforce after talks between the US and UK governments, adding: "We can definitely get that up and running by Christmas." Its final approval hinges on the two governments agreeing mutual recognition of the validity of each other's tests. Mr Holland-Kaye said such a deal would be a trailblazer and would be followed by other countries worldwide. He said: "It's a scaleable test with a politically and economically important market. It would be very quickly copied by the countries around the world who are looking to the UK and US for leadership." The London-New York route is the busiest in the world, accounting for 5% of all flights in and out of Heathrow. US flights overall account for 20% of Heathrow's capacity. Holland-Kaye said the US government wanted to pilot pre-departure testing and could turn to France or Germany if the UK did not go ahead. "That would be a huge setback for the UK," he added.<br/>

Dubai is seeking a buyer for the cooling system operations of its biggest airport as Gulf Arab states lean on asset sales and debt to shore up their finances. The government entity overseeing the main airport’s infrastructure has hired Standard Chartered as adviser on the transaction, with the entire business valued at around $750m, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because details are private. As part of the deal, investors obtain a long-term lease to operate the assets, they said, offering steady returns for the duration of the contract. The company is looking to offer a controlling stake and is approaching local and international district cooling specialists, as well as global infrastructure players, the people said. Talks are at an early stage and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached. A deal would generate much-needed revenue for Dubai. Similar to other governments in the Gulf, the emirate is trying to contain the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic amid a broader economic downturn linked to low oil prices. It’s already joined a regional debt binge in recent months, with the emirate tapping public markets for the first time in six years and its sovereign wealth fund also issuing bonds. Selling state assets is more rare, with the latest deal done in 2019, when Dubai-owned Meraas Holding agreed to let Brookfield Asset Management own and operate some of it’s retail holdings. A potential sale would also allow the airports owner to hand over the handling of the mammoth district cooling operations to more specialized and cost-efficient operators. With a surface of over 2 million square meters, Dubai’s international airport is one of the world’s largest and busiest travel hubs. It is the home of Emirates airline.<br/>

Boeing Thursday raised its rolling forecast for China's aircraft demand for the next 20 years, making the country a bright spot in the aviation market even as COVID-19 decimates global deliveries over the next few years. Chinese airlines will need 8,600 new airplanes through 2039, 6.3% higher than Boeing’s previous prediction of 8,090 planes last year. Those would be worth $1.4t based on list prices, the US planemaker said. In October, Boeing cut its 20-year forecast for global airplane demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “While COVID-19 has severely impacted every passenger market worldwide, China’s fundamental growth drivers remain resilient and robust,” said Richard Wynne, managing director, China Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Not only has China’s recovery from COVID-19 outpaced the rest of the world, but also continued government investments toward improving and expanding its transportation infrastructure, large regional traffic flows, and a flourishing domestic market mean this region of the world will thrive.”<br/>

Airbus is seeking to spur demand for its smallest jetliner by pitching the A220 model as a tool for cutting costs and trimming capacity in the post-coronavirus travel market. The European company, which took control of the former Bombardier jet in 2018, is also promoting its ability to fulfill multiple roles spanning short hops between cities to longer trips on routes with limited demand, Antonio Da Costa, said Airbus’s marketing chief for single-aisle planes. “We can’t say we’re in a seller’s market, but we do see good prospects,” he said. “The A220 is well placed because it offers low operating costs, a flexible platform for long and short missions, and is building on a good market basis.” The plane, which seats as few as 100 passengers, suffered a setback this week when Air Canada canceled 12 of its 45 total orders and deferred 18 planes. At the same time, almost 100% of the current A220 fleet has returned to service, a figure that’s ahead of other models, according to the executive. Many operated even at the height of lockdowns in the spring and summer when global fleets were largely grounded. “In a pandemic airlines go for the most efficient, lowest cost,” Da Costa said. “This was the aircraft of choice, it was flying around most of the time.” Air Baltic Corp., the launch customer for the A220 -- then the C Series -- in 2016, responded to the crisis by saying it would retire all other aircraft and become the first carrier in the world to operate only that model. While the focus is on securing deliveries of the 507 aircraft in the A220 backlog, Da Costa said Airbus is talking with airlines about new orders for the jet, which comes in two versions, one seating up to 120 people and the other as many as 150, with a range of almost 6,400 kilometers.<br/>