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US airlines have begun the complicated process of calling back 32,000 workers they furloughed this fall, a condition struggling carriers need to comply with to receive $15b in additional federal payroll support. The aid also requires airlines to agree to keep employees on the payroll through the end of March and restore certain routes. The process is underway though President Donald Trump hasn’t yet signed the coronavirus relief bill. Bringing back more than 32,000 furloughed workers, including flight attendants, pilots and mechanics, requires restoration of security clearances and ensuring that returning workers are up to date on federally mandated training. Airlines will also have to untangle some furlough mitigation programs, such as no guaranteed pay, that were offered in exchange for maintaining medical benefits. The bill calls for airlines to provide backpay starting Dec. 1, prohibits dividend payments and caps compensation. The aviation job cuts, mostly at American and United, began this fall after the terms of the last package, $25b in grants and loans, ran out Sept. 30. Delta and Southwest employees escaped furloughs this year after tens of thousands of workers took buyouts, early retirement packages and temporary leave. Southwest earlier this month, however, warned close to 7,000 employees that they could be furloughed in March or April unless unions agree to pay cuts and other concessions, and Delta asked for more volunteers to take unpaid time off to help further lower costs. The aid will override at least briefly an agreement with the airline’s pilots for pay cuts in exchange for avoiding furloughs. “We have taken steps to expedite payments to all furloughed team members,” American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom said in staff memo on Tuesday, adding that funds should show up in their accounts on Thursday. “Luckily, the concrete hadn’t set yet,” said Dennis Tajer, a Boeing 737 captain and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American’s 15,000 pilots. Employees will be brought back on the job in phases.<br/>

Air travel from Britain to France resumed after a two-day halt, though eligibility restrictions and a new Covid-19 testing requirement limited the number of people able to board. A BA flight to Paris departed at 9:24 a.m. from London Heathrow on Wednesday, followed by one to Nice, according to the airport’s website. Both were delayed, and an earlier Air France departure was canceled, reflecting the challenges facing airlines and travelers alike. With two days to go before Christmas, trips to most other European countries remained blocked. Determined travelers may be able to navigate a maze of country rules -- Germany, for example, bars direct air travel, though its citizens can get home with a stop in France. More than 40 nations worldwide halted travel with the UK in the run-up to the busy holiday, after a new strain of highly contagious coronavirus began to spread in and around London. Entry into France remains limited mainly to nationals of the European Union, British residents of the EU or those with an essential need to travel, according to the website of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A spokesman for the UK Department for Transport said that mostly means French people returning home for Christmas. Lufthansa won’t be carrying passengers on its half dozen or so daily services from Britain to Germany for another week, with the planes transporting only cargo, a spokesman said. Those citizens desperate to get home can only do so by traveling via another country such as France, for which they’ll need the Covid test, and then making their way onwards, the German embassy in London said on its website.<br/>

Travelers from the UK visiting New York City will now be under a mandatory quarantine order, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday. De Blasio said that city sheriff’s deputies will be sent to the hotel rooms or homes of all people arriving from the UK to ensure they abide by New York’s two-week coronavirus quarantine mandate. De Blasio’s decision comes in the wake of scientists’ discovery of a new, more contagious Covid-19 variant that has been detected in Britain. “We cannot take chances with anyone who travels, particularly people coming in from the UK,” de Blasio said. Anyone who comes to New York, regardless of where they travel from, must complete forms with their contact information as well as where they are staying. Those travelers will then receive a quarantine order by certified mail, the mayor explained. Travelers who do not follow the quarantine requirement will face a fine of $1,000-a-day, he stated. “We don’t want to penalize people. Everyone’s been through hell this year,” De Blasio also said. “We don’t want to, but if you don’t follow quarantine you’re endangering everyone else in the city, right as we’re fighting the second wave.” New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, said on Tuesday he had contacted airlines that fly to New York state from the UK – British Airways, Virgin and Delta – and that they all agreed to test passengers before they got on board.<br/>

The boss of Britain's busiest airport says the latest round of travel bans has “effectively stopped” international travel. In a letter to the PM, John Holland-Kaye writes: “Over 60 countries have closed their borders to passengers from the UK. A previously successful UK industry that was ranked third in the world is reeling with tens of thousands of jobs at stake.” In the letter, which has been published on the Heathrow website, the airport’s chief executive reminds the prime minister that travel bans began within hours of the announcement on Saturday detailing Tier 4 restrictions for London and the South East. Holland-Kaye demands the unilateral introduction of a testing regime, with a PCR test 72 hours before departure and an additional rapid Lamp or antigen test at the airport. “The dramatic deterioration of the situation means that the Government must not delay any longer,” he writes. “Like many countries around the world which require pre-departures tests for aviation, the UK needs to quickly and unilaterally introduce this model, to demonstrate to the world it is serious about protecting their borders as much its own. This country is a trading, island nation reliant on its doors being open to connect with markets across the world. That is why I have been calling for a pre-departures testing regime as the basis for a common international standard to safely keep borders and economies open - the choice does not have to be between public health and the economy, testing can deliver for both.”<br/>

Supermarkets and their suppliers are planning an unprecedented airlift of fresh fruit and vegetables into the UK next week amid fears the lifting of a French blockade will not prevent some shortages in stores. One major supermarket, which declined to be named, said it had already begun flying in produce from Spain and north Africa and another said it was considering doing so, while the Lufthansa landed 80 tonnes of fruit and vegetables at Doncaster airport on Wednesday. The delivery, including lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, strawberries and citrus fruits came as the German airline said it was considering scheduling additional special cargo flights to meet demand. Supermarkets and their suppliers are scrambling to find alternative ways to stock shelves as thousands of lorries and vans remain stuck outside Dover. One cargo flight specialist, Air Charter Services, said it had received requests for 300 flights for fresh produce, which it would not normally carry.<br/>

Passengers flying into India’s biggest airports on Wednesday complained of long waits and confusion as authorities sought to impose rules to try to stop the spread of a new more transmissible variant of the coronavirus. Like many countries, India has suspended flights from Britain, where cases have soared because of the variant. People arriving from Britain before the ban came into force on Wednesday were being tested, including Kamini Saraswat whose plane landed in New Delhi just before midnight. Despite pre-booking a test, her turn came nine hours after arrival and she said she was still stuck at the airport waiting for the result. “There is no clear communication,” said Saraswat, 28. “There is no social distancing.” Cellphone footage taken by Saraswat showed long lines of passengers and crowds packed together around desks to get themselves tested. India’s hardest-hit state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, has taken additional measures, quarantining most passengers arriving from Europe and the Middle East for a week. Federal authorities have said that all required measures will be undertaken but have given few details of how the extra checks will be staffed. India’s plan to track down and screen all arrivals from Britain since Nov. 25 is also getting stretched.<br/>

International airlines say Victoria's new COVID-19 testing and quarantine regime for flight crew is unworkable and have threatened to suspend services to Melbourne in response to the state's attempt to plug a gap in its coronavirus defences. Two international airline crew members tested positive to the virus and were placed in hotel quarantine this week, Victoria's COVID testing commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed on Thursday. It comes a day after Victorian authorities imposed a new program of mandatory quarantine in government-managed hotels when transiting through Melbourne, similar to an approach NSW put in place this week. Unlike NSW, however, Victoria requires crews to take a COVID-19 test on arrival and they are only allowed to leave quarantine for their return flight once they have been cleared with a negative result. Airline staff who test positive are required to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine and their fellow crew members also face a stint in isolation. Airlines fear the rules could result in pilots and cabin crew being stranded in Australia leaving nobody to fly their aircraft out of the country. One senior source at an international airline, who asked to remain anonymous, said the company was considering suspending flights to Victoria. Another airline industry source with knowledge of the threats said three other airlines were also contemplating changes as a result of the testing policy. "We could be leaving a very expensive piece of metal on the ground," said the airline source. "We are seriously questioning if we continue operating to Melbourne."<br/>

The Supreme Court of Canada won't hear a case linked to a challenge about air passenger refunds for flights cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Air Passenger Rights organization wanted to challenge a Federal Court of Appeal decision that dismissed the group's bid for an injunction compelling the Canadian Transportation Agency to temporarily remove a post about refunds from its website while a broader case about the statement's validity plays out. The transportation agency said in March that airlines have the right to issue travel credits instead of a refund for cancelled trips in the "current context," though the agency later clarified that the online statement was "not a binding decision." Air Passenger Rights, an advocacy group, asked the appeal court in April to order the removal of the Canadian Transportation Agency's statement on vouchers from its website, which was posted following mass flight cancellations by airlines. While a Federal Court of Appeal judge in October cleared the way for Air Passenger Rights to challenge the regulator's overall stance on flight credit for travellers, Wednesday's decision means the statements on the agency's website can remain for now. Canadian airlines have generally offered credit valid for two years or more, but avoided offering reimbursement to customers whose flights were nixed because of the coronavirus crisis.<br/>

Airbus has solicited engine ideas for a narrow-body jetliner in development, drawing a proposal for a new geared design from General Electric. GE’s preliminary proposal, disclosed in a court opinion that has since been sealed, reveals previously unreported talks between the engine maker and Airbus for what the court described as a “next-generation” plane. It was unclear whether the Airbus plane would be a new model or an upgrade to an aircraft already in the company’s catalog, such as the A320neo or A220 single-aisle jets. The court decision also doesn’t say when GE proposed the new engine, when or whether the plane might come to market, or how far along any talks were. The move to seal the court decision indicates the high level of interest in what’s next for Airbus. The Toulouse, France-based company is building an extra-long range version of its A321neo that will allow airlines to offer long-distance routes with smaller, more fuel efficient aircraft. The A320neo family currently offers either LEAP 1A engines from a GE joint venture or Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G geared turbofan as options. The neo, which stands for new engine option, is itself a more fuel efficient version of the A320. While Airbus is working on developing hydrogen-powered aircraft, aviation watchers have also wondered whether a new conventionally fueled plane might be in the offing. Story has more.<br/>

Bombardier says it has received a firm order for 10 of its super-midsize Challenger 350 business jets, one of the largest orders of the year. The Montreal-based airframer says on 23 December that the transaction is valued at $267m. It did not name the customer. “This order highlights the tremendous value customers place on the unmatched capabilities of our aircraft,” says the company’s CE Eric Martel. “Bombardier’s newly refreshed portfolio and growing service network position the company well to respond to growing interest in private aviation and the enhanced safety it provides.” The Montreal-baesed airframer launched the 10-passenger 350 in 2013 at the EBACE trade show in Geneva, pitching the jet as a competitor to the Falcon 2000S, Gulfstream G280 and Textron Aviation Cessna Citation Latitude. It has offered numerous upgrades including, most recently, faster in-flight wifi and cabin updates. <br/>