The UN aviation agency on Friday predicted "prolonged depressed demand" for air travel and more financial woes for airlines, following a year of fewer flights and big losses blamed on the pandemic Air travel plunged 60% in 2020 as nations closed borders and restricted travel to slow the spread of Covid-19, the ICAO said in a report. The near-term outlook, it said, "is for prolonged depressed demand, with downside risks to global air travel recovery predominating in the first quarter of 2021, and likely to be subject to further deterioration." With just 1.8b passengers taking to the air during the first year of the pandemic, compared to 4.5b in 2019, airline losses reached US$370b, according to ICAO figures. Airports and air navigation services providers lost a further US$115b and US$13b, respectively. And severe liquidity strains, the ICAO said, are now "placing the industry's financial viability in question and threatening millions of jobs around the world." A recovery, the ICAO said, will hinge on the successful rollout of vaccines, which have now started to be distributed.<br/>
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Several international airlines have streamlined flights to South Africa this week following travel restrictions meant to limit the spread of a new coronavirus variant fuelling a rapid infection resurge. A growing list of countries are limiting travel to and from South Africa since a more transmissible variant of the virus, dubbed 501Y.V2, was announced in December. The new border closures have forced major airlines to either suspend or reduce flights in and out of Africa's most industrialised economy. Emirates this week announced a 13-day halt on all South Africa routes for "operational reasons". KLM said it had to modify its schedules after the Dutch government restricted travel from South Africa to Amsterdam, forcing the company to cancel several flights this week. Lufthansa also told AFP it was "adjusting its flight program" to South Africa to "reduced demand". The curtailing comes amid a worrying resurge in South Africa's coronavirus infections -- widely attributed to 501Y.V2 -- that forced authorities to impose a new set of restrictions in December.<br/>
Delta, United and American Airlines are refusing to allow passengers travelling to Washington next week to pack firearms in their checked luggage, citing safety concerns. United and American joined Delta on Thursday in taking the new safety measure as security in the US capital was ramped up in advance of Joe Biden’s inauguration as president on January 20. The airlines will begin enforcing the ban this weekend, and United said its policy would last until January 23. The airlines will to allow law enforcement officers to carry weapons in the baggage hold. Southwest is now the largest US carrier still allowing all passengers to carry weapons in their checked baggage. The airline said it was considering a temporary change to its policy. US airlines, their employees, federal agencies and lawmakers are grappling with aviation security in the wake of the January 6 riot at the US Capitol building. There have been multiple reports of Trump supporters causing disruptions on flights and at airports as they have travelled to and from Washington. Our first priority in aviation safety and security is to keep any problems on the ground<br/>
The TSA on Friday said it is assessing hundreds of people to determine whether they should be barred from flights as it steps up security ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration. “Currently, TSA is processing hundreds of names with law enforcement agencies for a thorough risk assessment,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said. “Our intelligence and vetting professionals are working diligently around the clock to ensure those who may pose a threat to our aviation sector undergo enhanced screening or are prevented from boarding an aircraft.” TSA said it is also increasing the number of Federal Air Marshals on some flights, random gate screenings and more law enforcement and canine explosives-detection teams. It is also stepping up staffing at some train stations. The additional measures come after the deadly riot at the US Capitol last week and a spate of flight disruptions, some of them politically-motivated. Following the riot, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents some 50,000 cabin crew members at more than a dozen airlines, raised safety concerns about “mob mentality behavior” on some flights to Washington DC last week and said people who participated in the riot should be prohibited from flying. The FAA promised it will take a zero tolerance policy for unruly behavior on flights and that it will fine them up to $35,000.<br/>
The US Treasury Department on Friday began distributing $15b in new payroll assistance to airlines, money allocated by Congress to help more than 32,000 aviation workers return to jobs through at least March 31. Large airlines receiving assistance must repay 30% of it to the government in 10-year, low-interest loans. They must also issue warrants to the government as part of the assistance and must agree to extend restrictions on executive compensation and a ban on paying dividends and share repurchases through March 2022. The Treasury said Friday it was initially awarding more than $12b in payroll support for major passenger air carriers and had released $6.1b on Friday. Treasury and airline officials said the government plans to release the remaining payroll assistance by the end of March. Delta said it expects to receive $2.9b in total aid this round, with $830m in the form of an unsecured loan. The airline said it received the first installment of $1.4b on Friday. Southwest said it expected to receive $1.73b in total and received $863.7m on Friday.<br/>
The UK will step up its mass coronavirus vaccination program this week, offering shots to millions more people, as the country shuts its borders to anyone who hasn’t tested negative. Vaccines will be offered to people aged 70 and over, and those deemed “clinically extremely vulnerable” from Monday -- the third and fourth priority groups. PM Boris Johnson called it a “significant milestone” in the vaccination effort. The government aims to offer the vaccine to all UK adults by September, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Sunday. So far, more than 4.3m people have received their first dose, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. Meanwhile, ministers will close travel corridors with other countries from Monday, meaning that all visitors from overseas will require a negative test result within 72 hours of travel to enter Britain. Health officials will step up checks to make sure they self-isolate at home for the next 10 days. The government hasn’t ruled out setting up quarantine hotels or using GPS trackers to make sure people stay put. Raab told Sky News it would consider “all possibilities” to enforce Covid rules and prevent any new variants of the virus derailing the UK’s vaccination efforts. Forcing travelers to stay in dedicated hotels on arrival would still put the UK many months behind other countries, such as Australia which introduced the policy last March.<br/>
Britain’s government said on Saturday it would give financial aid to airports before the end of March, after the industry called for urgent support as tighter COVID-19 rules for international travellers start on Monday. Aviation minister Robert Courts said the government would launch a new support program this month. “The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme will help airports reduce their costs and we will be aiming to provide grants before the end of this financial year,” he announced on social media, adding that more details would follow soon. From 0400 GMT on Monday, all travellers to Britain must have a recent negative COVID-19 test and be prepared to quarantine at home for 10 days on arrival. Britain’s current lockdowns ban most international travel, meaning that airline schedules are currently minimal. But the withdrawal of any quarantine-free travel will be a further blow for the industry. The latest restrictions were prompted in part by a third wave of the disease that has caused record daily death tolls in Britain, as well as concern about a new coronavirus variant discovered in Brazil. London’s second-largest airport, Gatwick, said the support would help preserve jobs at a time when it had suffered a large reduction in passenger numbers.<br/>
Australia may not fully reopen its international borders this year even if most of the population is vaccinated against coronavirus, the head of its health department said on Monday as the country recorded zero local COVID-19 cases. Australian authorities are also looking at potential adverse effects of the Pfizer vaccine after Norway reported a small number of deaths in old people who received the shot. “Even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus,” Brendan Murphy said. Australia, which has managed the coronavirus better than many other nations through targeted lockdowns and high rates of testing and contact tracing, reported zero local COVID-19 cases on Monday. Victoria, which is hosting the Australian Open, reported four positive cases in overseas travellers, all associated with the tennis, taking the total to nine. The cases have prompted authorities to send three Australian Open charter flights into hard quarantine, forcing more than 70 players into a 14-day hotel room isolation.<br/>
All rows. That’s how Health Canada described the impact of two Air Transat flights that landed in Montreal from Haiti this week, purportedly carrying so many infected passengers that everybody on board was at risk. And while Transport Canada made negative COVID-19 tests mandatory on Jan. 7 for passengers boarding a Canada-bound plane, flights from Haiti are exempt from this rule until Jan. 21. Both TS663 on Jan. 10 and TS665 on Jan 13 — operated using dual-aisle, wide-body Airbus A330s capable of carrying between 345 and 375 passengers — were identified by Health Canada as flights with confirmed COVID-19 cases. Initially listing TS663’s affected rows as “unknown,” Health Canada updated the flight’s status on Friday to “all rows.” Saturday’s update added TS665 to the list, likewise listed as “all rows.” A third Air Transat Montreal-to-Haiti flight, TS663 on Jan. 3, is also listed by Health Canada, with COVID-19 infections impacting rows 44 to 49.On Friday, the Toronto Sun reported 35 International flights landed at Canadian airports since the negative COVID test rule was enacted between Jan. 7 and Jan. 13 — the most recent arrival on the list.<br/>
When Boeing ended a long commercial drought last month by handing over 737 Max jets to two top customers, the transactions marked a little-noticed break with tradition. The planes were built in 2019 but recorded as 2020 models when they were delivered, having sat dormant during the longest jetliner grounding in US history. The seemingly innocuous distinction could provide some financial relief for the beleaguered aerospace giant, which lobbied appraisers to accept the new approach. Hundreds of Max jets valued at about $20b are poised for similar age-defying treatment as they emerge from storage lots to join the fleets of such carriers as American Airlines and United. Their vintage will be based on when they’re delivered, even if that doesn’t happen for another year or two while air travel inches back from the coronavirus pandemic. Such arcane details are crucial to Boeing’s campaign to restore a little luster to its best-selling plane, which was banned in March 2019 after two deadly crashes. A newer model year adds millions of dollars to appraisals, a critical boost for a jet fighting to regain its footing in a depressed aircraft market. The company’s Max 8 planes have slipped below Airbus’ slightly smaller A320neo in value -- a humbling setback for Boeing after decades in which the 737 commanded a premium. “With the grounding being longer than expected and then followed by the Covid pandemic, values and lease rates have taken a hit,” said Douglas Kelly, senior vice president for asset valuation with Avitas Inc. “The A320neo has declined also, but not as much as the Max.” Story has more.<br/>
A US move to increase pressure on Chinese companies could threaten the nation’s ambitions to compete with Boeing and Airbus. The Trump administration’s addition of Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, better known as Comac, to a Defense Department list of companies with alleged Chinese military ties comes just days after a breakthrough in the state-backed jet manufacturer’s effort to win customers when an Indonesian airline agreed to buy its planes. A spokesperson for Comac had no immediate comment. If President-elect Joe Biden doesn’t reverse the move, American investors will be prohibited from buying securities of companies on the list, and will have to divest their holdings by November. That won’t impact Comac because it’s not publicly traded, but other companies Trump initially put on such lists -- including Comac shareholder Aviation Industry Corp. of China -- have since found themselves targets for more severe sanctions, including curbs on access to American technology. That could be potentially crippling for Comac, which relies on American imports for its jet engines and other parts, according to Shukor Yusof, founder and aviation analyst at Endau Analytics. “China doesn’t have the domestic capability to provide the necessary components so they’re very much reliant on US components,” Yusof said. Comac’s C919, a narrow-body alternative to Boeing’s 737 model and Airbus’s A320, is in its test phase. About 60% of the main suppliers to the C919 are American companies. “The engines are the hardest part,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst George Ferguson said. “There are only two and both have American leads: GE and Raytheon.”<br/>
A Scottish court has rejected a third appeal on behalf of the only man convicted of the bombing of an American airliner over the town of Lockerbie in 1988. Five judges from the Court of Criminal Appeal, led by Scotland’s most senior judge, Lord Carloway, upheld the verdict of the original trial in a written ruling published on Friday. The family of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who died in 2012, argued that the conviction had been a miscarriage of justice. Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 for the killing of 270 people in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in southwest Scotland. His release in 2009 caused a political storm, with the Scottish government attacked by the US, the families of victims and UK political parties.<br/>