Airports around the world are being advised to step up security efforts to protect COVID-19 vaccine shipments amid police warnings of potential targeting from criminal networks. The recommendation from a global airports body comes as pharmaceutical companies and airlines are carrying out the largest logistical operation of its kind to distribute vaccines designed to combat the global pandemic. As part of a broader advisory bulletin on vaccine distribution recently sent to members, Airports Council International recommended affected airports liaise with local authorities and conduct risk assessments on shipments given potential threats. The bulletin was posted Friday on the group’s website, a spokesman said. “The sensitive nature of the vaccines, the high level of demand there will be for obtaining them and the initial short supply has the potential to generate some attention by persons or groups with malicious intent,” it said. “Consideration should be given to increased protection of these goods and/or the facilities that will house them. In many cases, this requires coordination with local security authorities.”<br/>
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US airlines could receive $15b in additional federal aid to pay their workers under the latest bipartisan coronavirus relief package, which could be finalized as early as Sunday, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the new round of aid, carriers would have to call back more than 32,000 workers who were furloughed this fall. The CARES Act in March had allotted $25b for airlines on the condition that they maintained minimum service levels and kept workers on payroll through Sept. 30. Labor unions and airlines urged lawmakers to approve additional aid as furloughs loomed, but Congress and the White House remained at odds over a deal for a national coronavirus aid package. After the conditions of the original aid expired, United and American Airlines in October started furloughing about 32,000 employees, while those carriers and other airlines have shed tens of thousands of other jobs after urging workers to take buyouts and early retirement. The additional support for the struggling sector would keep airline workers on payroll until the end of March, if approved. The TSA Sunday said it screened 1.07m people at US airports, up 25% from a week earlier but less than half of the nearly 2.5m people it screened a year ago.<br/>
An FAA test to gather data on returning the Boeing 737 Max to service was improperly influenced by the company, according to a US Senate investigative report released Friday. The 101-page report, based on a whistle-blower account, alleged that the FAA and Boeing officials were attempting to create “a pre-determined outcome” by essentially coaching pilots before testing their reaction time to a failure similar to what occurred in a pair of crashes involving the Max. “It appears, in this instance, FAA and Boeing were attempting to cover up important information that may have contributed to the 737 Max tragedies,” the report said. The FAA last month approved the jetliner’s return to flight, following a global grounding that began in March 2019. Boeing redesigned key flight-control software after the crashes, one off the coast of Indonesia in 2018 followed by another in Ethiopia in 2019, that killed a total of 346 people. “Our findings are troubling,” Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “The report details a number of significant examples of lapses in aviation safety oversight and failed leadership in the FAA. It is clear that the agency requires consistent oversight to ensure their work to protect the flying public is executed fully and correctly.” The FAA said in a statement on Friday night that “we are carefully reviewing the document, which the committee acknowledges contains a number of unsubstantiated allegations.”<br/>
Few corporate disasters are so big that they can be seen from space. Boeing’s 737 Max made that cut, with satellite images showing row upon row of undelivered planes, grounded after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Now the recovery will start in earnest, with regulatory approval and the restart of commercial flights imminent. The US FAA last month approved the 737 Max for flight once more, and the EASA, the second key global regulator, has set Tuesday as the final deadline for problems or objections to be raised before it too gives a green light. The reintroduction of the 737 Max is a key moment for Boeing in a crisis that has cost it well over $20b, and a CE. At a time when the pandemic has caused the biggest slump in commercial air travel ever seen, Boeing cannot afford any further problems with its bestselling plane. The twin crises have forced Boeing to make swingeing job cuts, with 30,000 out of 160,000 workers expected to be made redundant by the end of next year, but it is spending millions to try to avoid further mishaps. It plans to hire 160 well-remunerated instructors to help pilots with the new systems, and to bring in 24/7 live monitoring of flights. The first paying passengers on the recertified 737 Max in the US (Brazilian airline Gol operated the first commercial flight on 9 December) will take off on 29 December from Miami airport to New York’s LaGuardia. American Airlines will run one return flight a day on that route up to 4 January, before gradually bringing back more. Story has more.<br/>
Boeing’s 737 Max is set to return to the skies in Canada with a local twist in the cockpit, after Ottawa became the last major Western regulator to lift a 20-month safety ban. Small print in Thursday’s Transport Canada announcement sheds light on a regulatory split over the use of a less common tactic to overcome cockpit distractions, deepening international disunity over the lessons from two fatal crashes. Transport Canada joined the US FAA and other regulators in requiring more training and revisions to MCAS anti-stall software implicated in the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed 346 people. But unlike the FAA, Canada will give pilots an option to intervene in an electrical system to silence an alarm thought to have distracted crew as they tried to control the doomed jets. In an unusual move, pilots in Canada will be allowed to pull a circuit-breaker or electric fuse to silence an erroneously activated “stick shaker,” which vibrates the control column and makes a loud noise when the jet risks losing lift. “Normally, pulling circuit breakers is considered an outdated practice and should only be done when directed by a checklist and not as a method of troubleshooting,” said Tim Perry, president of Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Canada. Perry said he backs Canada’s procedure: “Upon thorough evaluation, we deemed it safe.” The Canadian push to let pilots pull a circuit-breaker is further proof of regulators’ willingness to check each other’s homework and could increase pressure to be heard from pilots.<br/>
The head of Europe's aviation safety agency, EASA, has said he is "certain" Boeing's 737 Max is now safe to fly. Executive Director Patrick Ky said his organisation had "left no stone unturned" in its review of the aircraft and its analysis of design changes made by the manufacturer. The plane was grounded in March 2019. That was after it was involved in two catastrophic accidents, in which a total of 346 people died. It has already been cleared to resume flights in the US and Brazil. EASA expects to give permission for it to return to service in Europe in mid-January. The plane's first accident occurred in October 2018, when a Lion Air jet came down in the sea off Indonesia. The second involved an Ethiopian Airlines version that crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, just four months later. Both have been attributed to flawed flight control software, which became active at the wrong time and prompted the aircraft to go into a catastrophic dive. Since the Ethiopian crash, EASA has been carrying out a root-and-branch review of the 737 Max's design, independently from a similar process undertaken by the US regulator, the FAA. The review, says Ky, went well beyond the immediate causes of the two accidents and the modifications proposed by Boeing. The aim, he says, was to look at anything which could cause a critical failure. In order to return to service, existing planes will now have to be equipped with new computer software, as well as undergoing changes to their wiring and cockpit instrumentation.<br/>
US lawmakers are making a final push in 2020 to win approval of landmark reforms to how the FAA certifies new airplanes in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes, five people briefed on the matter said Saturday. On Nov. 18, the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously passed a bill to reform how the FAA certifies new airplanes, grant new protections for whistleblowers and bolster misconduct investigations and discipline management at the FAA, among other reforms. The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a similar bill the same week. Lawmakers hope to attach significant reforms to a massive bill expected to be voted on in coming days that would provide about $900b in COVID-19 relief and fund the government’s operations. One congressional aide said “House and Senate committee negotiators on that issue have gotten to a good place on it.” On Friday, Senate Commerce Republicans released a 102-page report that found Boeing officials “inappropriately coached” test pilots during recertification efforts after the 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people. The committee said it appeared FAA and Boeing officials “were attempting to cover up important information that may have contributed to the 737 MAX tragedies.”<br/>
The US FAA said Saturday it had approved the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine by pilots and air traffic controllers. The announcement follows the FAA’s Dec. 12 approval for pilots and controllers to use the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech The US aviation regulator said pilots and controllers must not fly or conduct safety-related duties for 48 hours after receiving doses. The FAA said it “will monitor the patient response to each vaccine dose and may adjust this policy as necessary to ensure aviation safety.” On Thursday, groups representing aviation unions and American Airlines, United, Delta and other airlines, wrote all US governors asking them to “prioritize aviation frontline workers for allocation of the vaccine in your upcoming implementation plan.” The groups noted that “aviation workers are frontline workers who either encounter the traveling public frequently or are required to perform our work in close proximity to our colleagues and perform our jobs onsite.” Earlier this month, the FAA sent guidance to airports to prepare for vaccine distribution, including other facilities that may serve as alternate or diversion airports.<br/>
Two passengers flying on separate airlines were hit with proposed fines on Friday following incidents in which they refused to wear masks and allegedly assaulted flight attendants. The FAA is seeking penalties of $15,000 and $7,500 in the cases, which occurred in August, it said in a press release. The FAA’s action is the strongest yet by the government to affirm airline policies requiring passengers to wear face coverings as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government hasn’t itself enacted a mask requirement, but the FAA said “federal law prohibits physically assaulting or threatening to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on an aircraft.” In one case, a passenger on an Allegiant Air Inc. flight from Clearwater, Florida, to Mascoutah, Illinois, who had balked at instructions to wear a mask hit a flight attendant and grabbed the attendant’s phone while screaming obscenities, the FAA alleged. The flight was diverted as a result of the incident. The FAA is seeking the higher of the two penalties in this case.<br/>
Airport workers in the US are on the frontline of the Covid pandemic yet many feel they are being unnecessarily exposed to risk through inadequate safety equipment or failure to offer sick pay, according to a new survey. Of almost 900 workers from 42 airports across America, 80% said they felt their work puts them at increased risk of Covid-19 with one in five saying they hadn't been given PPE by their employer, airport or airline, the Service Employees International Union survey reported. Concerns were also raised about inadequate training, pressure and lack of time off and healthcare -- more than half those surveyed said they don't have the right to paid sick leave. Airports and airlines have told CNN that their workers are properly protected, however, the union said its survey revealed that many staff, who are often contracted by external companies, felt let down. SEIU Executive VP Rocío Saenz says that the union conducted the survey in September 2020 after hearing stories about health and safety concerns from airport workers across the country. "We wanted to get a sense of how widespread these concerns about health and safety were," she saod. "We also knew that Black and brown communities were especially impacted by Covid-19 and airport workers come from these communities. These workers are a critical piece of the industry and shouldn't be left out of the response to Covid." Of the almost 900 workers surveyed in the report, 37% were Latinx/Hispanic and 32% were Black/African American. Immigrants accounted for 54% of those surveyed. Terminal and cabin cleaners, baggage handlers, security officers and wheelchair attendants were among respondents to the union's questions. The report highlights concerns about inadequate workplace protection from Covid. Only half of the airport workers surveyed said their employer provided them with masks.<br/>
Britain's government said Sunday it would hold a crisis meeting after countries worldwide banned arrivals from the UK over a new highly infectious coronavirus strain it said was "out of control", as the WHO called for stronger containment measures. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to chair the COBR emergencies committee on Monday, his Downing Street office said, after a slew of nations from Sweden to Turkey blocked arrivals from Britain by air and crucial transit country France moved to block people and goods crossing the Channel. COBR would "discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK," a Downing Street spokesman added. The ban on all but unaccompanied freight travelling crossing to France comes as companies are scrambling to shift merchandise with days to go until Britain finally quits EU trade structures in the wake of Brexit. Late Sunday, Britain's critical south coast port at Dover said it was closing to all accompanied freight and passengers due to the French border restrictions "until further notice". Alarm bells were ringing across Europe -- which last week became the first region in the world to pass 500,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic broke out a year ago -- as the new, even more infectious strain of the virus appeared to be raging in parts of Britain.<br/>
Airlines like Virgin Atlantic and BA should face “strong action” from regulators for refusing to issue refunds to customers complying with England’s new tier 4 Covid restrictions, consumer advocates have said. Virgin Atlantic has told customers it will offer full cash refunds only if flights are cancelled by the airline. Travellers who are hit by new tier 4 restrictions and follow the new stay-home orders in south-east England will, however, be allowed to rebook their flight fee-free on only two occasions until December 2022, or transfer the ticket to another person. BA is sticking to a similar policy that only lets customers rebook for free or request a voucher to travel at a later date. “As always, if a customer’s flight is cancelled they are entitled to a full refund or a voucher,” the airline said. Ryanair is also refusing to offer refunds, saying customers booked on to UK flights between 20 and 24 December would be allowed only to move their booking fee-free to any date before 15 March, unless flights are cancelled or banned by EU governments. The consumer rights group Which? said airlines who fail to offer full refunds should face strong repercussions by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Meanwhile, the discount airline easyJet is offering full refunds for customers affected by the new tier 4 restrictions, as well as vouchers and fee-free rebooking, regardless of whether flights are cancelled.<br/>
Spain, Ireland and Hungary have tried and failed to loosen EU airline ownership rules in a draft aviation deal with the UK, two people with knowledge of the matter said, out of concern about Brexit’s impact on BA owner IAG, Ryanair and Wizz Air. France and Germany are said to have rejected a softening of longstanding rules that require EU airlines to be owned and controlled by EU nationals or else lose their licences. While the ownership issue poses no immediate threat to flights, it brings a longer-term challenge to some of Europe’s biggest aviation names, with or without a trade deal. British investors will be deemed non-EU after the Brexit transition ends on Dec. 31 - a headache for airline groups with EU-licensed carriers and large UK shareholder bases. “There’s been a last-ditch effort from a few member states to get something more liberal in the agreement on ownership and control,” said an aviation source briefed on the discussions. “There is not a hope in hell of it happening,” the source added. “The big pushback came from France and Germany.” London and Brussels have for months been negotiating a post-Brexit aviation accord to accompany a broader trade deal. The trade talks appeared to be on a knife-edge on Friday, with time running out for an agreement. But the rebuff to Spanish-led efforts means that even a deal breakthrough would leave ownership problems unsolved.<br/>