The US government may expand coronavirus requirements for travelers beyond Britain as early as next week, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters Wednesday. The CDC and other US agencies held a lengthy call with US airlines Wednesday that discussed expanding the requirements, sources briefed on the call said. The US government on Monday began requiring all airline passengers arriving from the United Kingdom - including US citizens - to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of departure. The CDC said Wednesday that “efforts are currently ongoing in the US to assess the risk reduction associated with testing and other recommended preventative measures, determine what a feasible testing regime for air travel may look like, and gain some level of agreement on standards for a harmonized approach to testing for international air travel.”<br/>
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At least 22 people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in an attack at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, officials say. There was at least one explosion shortly after a plane carrying the war-torn country's newly formed government arrived from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Aid workers and officials were among the casualties. But the prime minister said he and his cabinet were "fine". The information minister accused Houthi rebels of a "cowardly terrorist act". Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states launched a military operation to defeat the Houthis and restore President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi's rule. TVideo footage of Wednesday's incident showed that there was a large blast as passengers began leaving the plane that had flown the new cabinet to Aden. A crowd that had gathered on the tarmac to welcome the ministers fled as thick smoke billowed from the airport terminal. The sound of gunfire was heard soon afterwards. The cause was not clear, but a security source told Reuters news agency that three mortar shells landed on the terminal. Saudi television channel Al-Hadath meanwhile broadcast a video that it said showed a missile hitting the tarmac and exploding.<br/>
The federal government says it plans to require air travellers to test negative for COVID-19 before landing in Canada in response to concerns that people vacationing abroad could bring the novel coronavirus home with them. Cabinet ministers met Wednesday morning following criticism from the premiers of Canada's two largest provinces that federal efforts at the border were too loose and allowing new cases and strains of the virus to enter the country. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said all passengers on flights entering Canada will soon be required to have a negative PCR test three days before their arrival. It wasn't immediately clear when the new requirement will be put in place, with LeBlanc saying more information would follow in the coming days. It does not appear to apply to anyone crossing by car into Canada through a border point with the United States. "Right now, the greatest concern that we have heard among Canadians is the impact of international travel at our airports," Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said.<br/>
An air traffic control center that serves Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was closed for several hours on Wednesday for cleaning after an unspecified number of employees tested positive for the coronavirus, grounding flights at one of the world’s busiest hubs. The disruption at the center — which handles high-altitude air traffic for most of North Texas, Northwest Louisiana and the southern parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas — caused ripples of delays and diverted flights across the country. The Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center suspended operations from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. so the facility could be disinfected, according to the FAA, which did not say how many employees had contracted the virus. Both Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field reported substantial disruptions to their operations.<br/>
US trade officials said on Wednesday they were increasing tariffs on certain European Union products, including aircraft-related parts and wines from France and Germany, amid an ongoing civil aircraft dispute between Washington and Brussels. The Office of the US Trade Representative said it was adding tariffs on aircraft manufacturing parts and certain non-sparkling wines as well as cognacs and other brandies from France and Germany. The USTR did not say when the tariffs would take effect but noted that additional details would be "forthcoming". The new tariffs are the latest action in the 16-year US-EU dispute over civil aviation subsidies involving European aircraft company Airbus and its US-based rival Boeing. The USTR said on Wednesday the EU had unfairly calculated tariffs against the United States allowed by a September WTO ruling in the ongoing dispute: "The EU needs to take some measure to compensate for this unfairness."<br/>
The vaccines are coming, Ryanair's advert trumpeted. Michael O’Leary’s budget airline launched its “jab and go” marketing campaign that launched on Boxing Day, which encouraged customers to book their Easter and Summer holidays. Ryanair - like other airlines - could benefit from the widespread adoption of so-called vaccination passports, an idea that has flitted in and out of popularity throughout the year. The idea of coronavirus-based travel passes were touted back in March in the UK when Philipa Whitform, the chair of the all parliamentary group for vaccines said they could help track which workers had contracted Covid-19. The passports hinged on rapid testing, but the idea failed to take off due to limits in capacity and accuracy. But now, some see vaccines as a far more reliable proof of immunity. Biometrics could be used to confirm the identity of a person and match it with their jab record and in theory could allow travellers to move freely throughout the world knowing they cannot catch the virus. The Government has said there are no plans for a UK vaccine passport. But Andrew Bud, the CE of iProov, which is develops a biometric verification system, says the NHS would be "completely capable" of producing such a passport. "Institutionally, if it's going to be part of your identity then there is only one organisation that you will trust to do that, and that's the NHS," Bud says. "I don't think they'll trust anyone else with a vaccination status." While UK start-ups such as iProov, Veridium and Onfido have all looked at how digital IDs for coronavirus immunity might work, the idea remains controversial.<br/>
In light of the new curfew times and other restrictions to slow the rate of Covid-19 infections, domestic airlines have announced adjustments to flight schedules to comply with the lockdown regulations. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night extended the curfew restricting South Africans’ movement between 6am and 9pm. In light of the new times, domestic and regional airlines in South Africa had adjusted their early morning and evening schedules so that customers can comply with the country’s new curfew with minimal disruption to their travel plans. Airlink said yesterday the airline was adjusting its schedule of early morning and evening departures and that the changes would affect flights originally due to depart before 8am and arrive after 8pm. “These schedule adjustments will provide customers departing on morning flights with sufficient time to commute to airports and complete the necessary health, security and immigration checks without breaking the curfew. It will also enable passengers landing on evening flights to complete the arrival procedures and commute to their homes or accommodation by the 9pm curfew,” Airlink.<br/>
Passengers on domestic flights in Thailand will not be allowed food or drink on board in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus. “It is forbidden to eat and drink during flight operations,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (EKAT) warned airlines. Domestic carriers are told: “In case of emergency, crew may consider providing drinking water to passengers, which is to be done in an area as far away from the other passengers as possible.” Airlines will also be prohibited from handing out newspapers and magazines, though the safety card will continue to be available. The aviation authority said: “Currently, the Covid-19 epidemic is increasing in many areas. “The government has set public health measures to raise the level of surveillance and preventive measures, which will be an important part of resolving the above situation quickly.” The new rules take effect from New Year’s Eve. The two longest domestic flights in Thailand link the northern city of Chiang Mai in the north with the island of Phuket and the mainland resort of Krabi in the south. Flights on both routes take two hours.<br/>
Six airlines have agreed to not charge passengers extra if they change destinations or travel dates of bookings made under the government's Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) co-payment scheme, following the new Covid-19 outbreak. Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said Wednesday that amid growing concerns over local infections, authorities have asked people to cooperate by refraining from travelling across provinces and through Covid-restricted areas. Six participating airlines -- Thai Smiles Airway, Nok Air, Viet Jet Air, Thai Lion Air, Bangkok Airway and Thai AirAsia -- have agreed not to collect fees from booked passengers wanting to postpone their flights or change their travel routes. Each airline will announce details, he said.<br/>
It was a fitting place for an industry in need of a miracle. In October, Air Belgium moved two planes to Lourdes, the Catholic sanctuary in France, to park up for the winter. The planes -- both Airbus A340-300s, of which the airline only has four in total -- have been parked at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees airport for long-term storage. A spokesperson for Air Belgium blamed the "reduced demand and current operational restrictions due to Covid-19" and said the aircraft had been parked temporarily "to defer maintenance." The airline is one of many struggling in the pandemic. Aviation has been particularly hard hit by Covid-19, with legal restrictions on travel joined by an unwillingness to fly by members of the public. Looking at the profit-and-loss reports for Q3, the extent to which airlines have been crippled becomes clear. North American passenger jet arrivals dropped by 48% year-on-year, according to December figures released by aviation analytics company Cirium, while Latin America was barely better, at 46% down. Europe numbers, meanwhile, have been devastated -- over 70% down, year on year. Even in Asia Pacific -- which has controlled the pandemic better than other regions -- arrivals are still over 30% lower now than they were this time last year. Back at the end of October, figures were even more grim -- international flights were down 75% year-on-year, according to Cirium (though domestic flights were better, down 36% globally). As the second wave of the pandemic has spread across the globe, airlines have taken drastic action to cut costs -- from downsizing aircraft to retiring entire fleets and cutting routes. Story has more.<br/>