general

The CDC is weighing new measures that could allow for expanded travel after unveiling Covid-19 testing requirements for people flying into the US, said Martin Cetron, director of the agency’s division of global migration and quarantine. Lifting travel restrictions on countries such as Brazil and European Union nations is part of ongoing discussions, Cetron said in an interview Wednesday. Whether to make allowances in the future for people who have been vaccinated is also under debate, he said. “Protecting the global public’s health while minimizing the interference to travel and trade is essentially our goal,” he said. “This testing order is really a recognition and another step in that direction.” The agency’s discussions are taking place as it works to implement the new rules, which take effect Jan. 26 -- after President-elect Joe Biden takes office. The European and Brazilian travel bans were enacted last year when the pandemic was just emerging, and they haven’t changed much since then, Cetron said. While the priority is promoting public health, the CDC is also mindful of the economic damage from broad travel bans, he said.<br/>

Airlines and airports are stepping up security ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week, while the FAA said it will crack down on unruly passengers with stiff fines. The measures come in the wake of last week’s violent pro-Trump riot at the US Capitol, an FBI warning about the possibility of armed protests, and a series of politically motivated disturbances on flights and at airports. “Reagan National and Dulles International, are operating normally, and passengers can expect to see an increased law enforcement presence from now through next week’s presidential inauguration,” said Christina Saull, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the three largest airports in the tri-state region, also said it is increasing police presence there. Los Angeles International Airport is “enhancing our operational procedures for the upcoming 2021 US Presidential inauguration,” a spokeswoman told CNBC. “We are prepared to respond to any event that might occur at LAX.” United is increasing staffing at Washington, DC-area airports, including its Dulles, Virginia, hub and crews will overnight at airport hotels, away from the city center, through Jan. 21, said spokeswoman Leslie Scott. American is suspending alcohol service on flights to and from Washington DC and Baltimore from Jan. 16 through Jan. 21, a step it took following last week’s riot. Pre-departure announcements will “further emphasize the importance of following crew member instructions” and wearing masks. Airline labor unions have expressed safety concerns after several incidents on board over the last eight days and following the pro-Trump riot.<br/>

Boeing named long-time engineering executive Mike Delaney as its chief aerospace safety officer, adding a new senior management position in the wake of two fatal crashes of the company’s 737 Max jet. The job gives Delaney broad control of internal safety initiatives and a seat on Boeing’s executive council, CEO Dave Calhoun said Wednesday in a message to employees. The planemaker announced the move less than a week after agreeing to bolster its internal safety oversight as part of a $2.5b settlement with the US Justice Department. Delaney will take charge of some of the measures put in place during the Max crisis. That includes a safety organization that former CEO Dennis Muilenburg created to give executives and the board greater visibility into emerging issues and employee warnings if they feel unduly pressured by superiors. Muilenburg was ousted in late 2019 for fumbling Boeing’s response to the crashes. The Max, Boeing’s best-selling jet, was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after the accidents killed 346 people. The U.S. ended a 20-month flying ban in November, provided that airlines complete a list of repairs and put pilots through simulator training. Effective Wednesday, Delaney will report to Boeing’s chief engineer, Greg Hyslop, with accountability to a board safety committee that was also created in response to the tragedies. Beth Pasztor, who had served as the board liaison, will continue to lead Boeing’s Product and Services Safety group, Calhoun said.<br/>

Brexit is driving up the cost to export UK goods using an air-freight method that British companies have relied on to cope with flight bans triggered by a fast-spreading coronavirus strain. Lufthansa has introduced a surcharge on UK shipments sent by truck to airports in the EU for onward delivery, according to a notice sent to a customer. The fees on so-called flight trucks can add as much as GBP3,000 to the cost of sending a 20-foot container full of high-value items like urgent documents, electronics, or perishable seafood to places like China or Japan. Normally, about half of air cargo is flown directly to its destination from the UK in the holds of passenger jets. But the virus has curtailed air traffic, reducing the amount of belly freight. That’s driven up prices while shifting more volume to dedicated freighters which are in short supply. The problem has worsened for UK shippers since the more infectious virus variant began spreading rapidly in December, triggering added travel curbs. In response, logistics firms are relying on flight trucks to get UK goods to their destinations. Countries including China, Asia’s largest economy, have indefinitely banned passenger flights arriving from the UK, so some goods are being trucked to Brussels or Paris to start the air-freight part of their journey. The airlines say the added charges will compensate for the cost of security checks on these shipments, which are required under terms of the UK’s exit from the EU’s single market since Jan 1. <br/>

Regional jets are likely to become an important tool for some of Europe’s mainline carriers as the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis begins, according CityJet CE Pat Byrne. “Airlines will be anxious to preserve slots,” he said Wednesday. “They will be anxious to protect market position [and] they will be anxious to defend routes they previously had… The tactical weapon for doing that is the regional jet.” Aircraft the size of the Irish wet-lease operator’s Bombardier CRJ900s will therefore “be most in demand, soonest”, Byrne believes, because “loads will be light” and airlines will have a “very critical eye” on trip costs. With no aircraft of that gauge “in their armoury”, mainline operators will do “the obvious thing” and “wet-lease it in”, he states, rather than uneconomically deploying larger types from their own fleets. In support of this view, Byrne cites North America, where CRJ900s, CRJ700s and Embraer 175s are “the aircraft that are back in the air first”. CityJet has spare wet-lease capacity after four of the carrier’s five contracts with airlines “literally evaporated” last year during the first wave of the pandemic, Byrne recalls, as customers “invoked force majeure” amid a near-total collapse in air travel. Almost overnight, Air France, Aer Lingus, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa withdrew their business with the operator. “SAS did not, thank God, because we recognised that we had a mutual dependency on each other, because we were responsible for an enormous proportion of their regional network,” says Byrne. But with a drastically reduced customer base, CityJet emerged from an Irish Examinership process in August, “a hell of a lot lighter than we were”.<br/>

Fewer than 9 million passengers passed through Hong Kong International Airport last year, the lowest level since 1985, new data is expected to show this week, reflecting nearly a full year of Covid-19's devastating impact on air travel. Hopes of a near-term recovery also appear bleak, according to the IATA, which on Tuesday lashed out at the city's pandemic measures, in particular the Christmas Eve decision to raise quarantine from 14 to 21 days. "Twenty-one days of quarantine is a very solid blocking point for an air traffic recovery. Everybody will be totally deterred from travel," Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of the global airline body, said at a media briefing. The criticism dovetailed with new IATA data showing advanced flight bookings had weakened towards the end of last year, despite the roll-out of vaccines. Annual passenger figures due to be released by the Airport Authority this week are expected to show an approximate 89% drop in the number of people travelling in, out and through Hong Kong International Airport. Fully 93% of the estimated 8.8m arrivals came in the first three months of 2020, before borders were effectively sealed off from visitors in March. Traditionally one of Asia's busiest airport hubs, HKIA welcomed 71.5m travellers the year prior.<br/>