Airlines, travel companies and passengers faced a third day of disruption on Tuesday as a growing list of countries banned travel from the UK to prevent the spread of a virulent new strain of coronavirus. At Heathrow, departure boards showed a swath of cancellations for many European and long-haul destinations. At least 37 countries in the EU and beyond have banned travel from the UK, amid global alarm over the new variant. The airport grounded 80 flights on Monday, while another 30 were cancelled at Gatwick, although domestic flights and routes to countries that were still accepting passengers, including the US, were operating. Roughly 200 flights were cancelled across the UK. Numbers were not yet available for Tuesday. About half of the flights scheduled to depart Glasgow and Manchester airports before 1pm on Tuesday were, however, grounded. Thousands of passengers across the country have been left scrambling to alter their plans. Some have been turning up at airports not knowing whether they can fly, and there is “real confusion over what is happening”, said Ruby McGregor-Smith, chair of the Airport Operators Association. “Clearly, it is such a fast-moving situation . . . as the hours go on, with more and more bans coming, it is very difficult for airports and airlines to actually communicate effectively,” she said. On Monday, 2,274 flights took off or landed in the UK, just over a third of the total on the equivalent day last year, according to NATS, the UK’s air traffic control service, which collated movement of all passenger, freight and private aircraft.<br/>
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The EC called on member states to reopen critical trade and passenger transport links to the UK while discouraging non-essential travel, a step toward ending the chaos at Britain’s busiest port. The Brussels-based commission said that freight transport to and from the UK must be allowed to continue uninterrupted but that any unnecessary journeys should be avoided “until further notice.” “Flight and train bans should be discontinued given the need to ensure essential travel and avoid supply chain disruptions,” the EU’s executive arm said Tuesday. The British government is desperately trying to re-open trade routes to France after a day of cross-Channel political bartering failed to end the impasse. France shut down freight traffic from Dover in southeast England at midnight on Sunday because of fear over a faster-spreading mutant strain of Covid-19 that forced the UK government to impose a strict lockdown on London and surrounding areas. Spain and Portugal, meanwhile, are among more than 40 countries restricting flights and effectively isolating the UK. EU ambassadors are set to discuss the recommendation later on Tuesday, and the bloc’s governments have previously vowed to coordinate their response. <br/>
Critical trade and transportation links between the UK and continental Europe are to resume after France agreed to end a suspension that crippled Britain’s busiest port at a time of high political drama over Brexit. EU citizens and residents able to show negative Covid-19 tests will be able to travel from the UK, according to French PM Jean Castex. The objective is now to have freight traffic moving by Wednesday morning, a French official said. France cut off shipments from Dover in southeast England on Sunday because of concern over a faster-spreading variant of Covid-19 that prompted the UK. government to lock down London and surrounding areas. What followed was two days of cross-Channel political bartering over the reopening of routes just as negotiations with the EU over a post-Brexit trade deal intensified. With less than 10 days to go before a transition period ends on Dec. 31, the upheaval gave a snapshot of the potential pain Britain’s closest continental neighbor can unleash.<br/>
French and EU citizens will again be allowed to enter France from Britain from midnight on Tuesday provided they have a negative COVID-19 test that is less than 72 hours old, the French prime minister’s office said. An announcement on the resumption of goods transport would be made later on Tuesday evening, the French transport minister said. France and several other countries closed their borders to Britain on Monday over fears of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and stranding many French citizens in Britain. “Planes, boats and the Eurostar (train) will start operating again from (Wednesday) morning,” French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said. The prime minister’s office statement said British citizens or citizens from third countries who have residence in France or the European Union can also enter the country or transit through it from Britain as long as they have a negative COVID test. UK citizens or people from third countries with legitimate professional or other reasons for travelling from Britain will also be allowed into France, provided they test negative.<br/>
The US government does not intend to impose COVID-19 screenings for passengers traveling from Britain after the emergence of a highly infectious new coronavirus variant there, people briefed on the decision said. White House coronavirus task force members backed requiring negative pre-flight tests after a meeting on Monday, but the Trump administration has decided not to take any action for the time being, the people said. Much of the world shut their borders to Britain after the discovery of a mutated variant of the novel coronavirus, though the EU recommended on Tuesday that members roll back sweeping closures to allow some travel. The Trump administration has repeatedly refused to issue mandates for many federal COVID-19 safety policies for air travel, making only strong recommendations on issues such as mask wearing. President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to mandate masks in interstate air, bus and train travel after taking office on Jan. 20.<br/>
Despite several states reporting an increase in coronavirus cases and California intensive care units at zero capacity, the US TSA has screened nearly 4.2m holiday travelers at airports across the US since Friday, edging toward new highs since the pandemic began. This, as a new strain of coronavirus is causing renewed concerns across the globe. On Monday, the most recent day for which TSA traveler numbers are available, the total count of 954,782 is in sharp contrast to the 2.5mpeople screened at the same time last year. Still, this week’s numbers are much higher than in recent weeks, closing in on Thanksgiving’s robust travel. With many schools already on Christmas break this week, it is traditionally the busiest time for airlines. Holiday numbers are on tract to exceed the 10.5m who traveled in the 10 final days of November for Thanksgiving this year, despite repeated warnings from the CDC to avoid traveling during the global pandemic. “The last three reported TSA throughput days have exceeded 1m in passenger counts. Prior to this weekend, there were a total of four days when reported throughput exceeded 1m during the pandemic (one in October and three in November),” said Helane Becker, a senior research analyst at Cowen Equity Research. “We forecast a spike in travel ahead of Christmas as people want to see family and friends at Christmas, but are willing to miss them at Thanksgiving. We expect demand to remain relatively elevated through New Years.”<br/>
Dozens of passengers on Canadian airlines have been slapped with fines or warning letters by Transport Canada in recent months for refusing to wear a mask on board a flight, with more incidents involving Alberta airports than any other province. A review of Transport Canada data reveals that WestJet passengers have been the hardest hit — with 50 of the 72 incidents, or nearly 70%, involving passengers on the Calgary-based airline. WestJet passengers were issued eight of the nine fines, known as administrative monetary penalties, meted out since June. The ninth fine was to a passenger who flew from Vancouver to Whitehorse on Air North in August. Transport Canada has issued 12 warning letters to passengers on Air Canada flights, two to Jazz passengers and two to people on Air Transat flights, while Air North, Calm Air, Flair, KLM and Swoop each had one passenger who received a warning letter.<br/>
Relatives of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims on Tuesday urged the EASA to delay approving the aircraft’s return to service, saying there are unanswered questions about its safety. Last month, the US FAA cleared the jet following design changes around systems involved in two crashes that together killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, sparking a global grounding and safety reviews. EASA has said it could formally lift its own ban next month, once public and industry feedback on its conditions for putting the jet back into service have been studied. In a letter to EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky and in comments filed with the agency, relatives and friends of Ethiopian Airlines crash victims said it should first finish its analysis of the modified aircraft and complete its safety report on the crash. “It would be impossible for EASA to conclude that the revised 737 MAX is safe before its own safety assessment is complete,” they said in the letter. An EASA spokesman said the agency does not comment on any received feedback at this stage of the recertification process. It plans to publish the final airworthiness directive in January, once all the feedback has been reviewed, he said.<br/>
Airbus is set to beat Boeing to be the world’s largest jetmaker for the second year in a row, ending 2020 by resuming deliveries of its A380 superjumbo to Emirates, though its final deliveries are likely to have dropped 35% from 2019 due to the pandemic. There were no immediate reports on Tuesday of deliveries or production being disrupted by travel bans imposed by many countries on Britain, where Airbus makes wings. No flights have been scheduled over the Christmas break of special Beluga transport planes, which carry aircraft sections under an exemption from most coronavirus travel restrictions. Barring widespread new travel upheaval, industry sources expect Airbus to deliver 550-560 planes in 2020 after it reached more than 520 this week, with nine days of the year still to go. But they cautioned deliveries are subject to an unusual number of variables and schedules are not set in stone. Airbus is unlikely to repeat a record surge of more than 100 deliveries in December last year. Airbus said on Monday it had delivered an A330neo to Uganda Airlines, though fresh doubts have surfaced over similar jets already built for troubled AirAsia X.<br/>