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Canada said Monday it will lift a near two-year flight ban on Boeing Co’s 737 MAX on Jan. 20, joining other countries like the US that have brought the aircraft back following two fatal crashes involving the model. Regulator Transport Canada also said in a release that it had issued an airworthiness directive to aircraft owners, aircraft maintenance engineers and foreign civil aviation authorities, along with an interim order that outlines requirements for airlines on additional crew training. Separately, Air Canada said it would resume Boeing 737 MAX commercial operations on Feb. 1. The airline said the aircraft would gradually return to its North American route network. Canada said in December it expected to rescind its flight ban on the Boeing 737 MAX in January after approving design changes to the aircraft, which was grounded in March 2019 following two fatal crashes.<br/>

Venezuela’s civil aviation authority said on Monday it is reopening flights to Panama and the Dominican Republic that it shut last month due to coronavirus pandemic. Last year, Venezuela allowed flights to Turkey, Mexico, Bolivia, Panama and the Dominican Republic, but weeks later halted air service to the latter two countries as part of its coronavirus prevention strategy. The flights to Panama and the Dominican Republic are once again authorized, the Civil Aeronautics Institute of Venezuela said in a statement posted to Twitter. Copa Airlines typically provides service between Venezuela and Panama, while Venezuela’s Laser Airlines has operated the Caracas-Santo Domingo route.<br/>

Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings will not lay off staff until March next year, trade union Verdi said on Monday, as part of efforts by the airline to rein in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some 2,000 ground staff and cabin crew at Eurowings will have their jobs secured until March 31, 2022 in return for reduced bonuses and a suspension of contributions to the company’s pension scheme, the trade union said. The agreement for ground staff has already been accepted by a large majority of Verdi members, while cabin crew will have until January 22 to vote, Verdi said. The trade union is also in talks about the possibility of Eurowings recruiting employees who lost their jobs at Lufthansa, Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky said.<br/>

A mass exercise to vaccinate 37,000 front-line workers in the aviation and maritime sectors began yesterday, paving the way for Singapore to revive its flagging airline industry. About 13,000 workers have registered to get their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine this week and the exercise is set to be completed within two months, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said during a visit to the vaccination centre at Changi Airport Terminal 4. The vaccinations are a very important step towards reviving Singapore's air hub, which has been decimated by the pandemic, he said. Passenger traffic at Changi saw a 98% year-on-year decline last November. If a substantial number of aviation and maritime workers are vaccinated, "whoever comes through will know that it is safe, (that) our people are cohesive and we work as a team", Mr Ong said. "This is a huge advantage in terms of our brand name," he stressed. "Singapore Airlines (SIA) can be the first vaccinated international airline of the world." Inoculating front-line workers will also protect Singapore, he added, noting that while the situation here is under control, the virus is "raging like wildfire" abroad. The T4 centre will vaccinate up to 2,000 people a day and capacity can be further expanded, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). Priority will be given to 20,000 front-line workers, including cabin crew, cleaners, security screeners and baggage handlers, who may come into contact with travellers from high-risk countries, as well as their belongings.<br/>

Singapore Airlines will operate five weekly flights to Dubai starting Monday, and deploy one of its newest aircraft, the Airbus A350-900, to serve the route. SIA operated its last Dubai-Singapore flight on March 21, 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. “Resuming services between Singapore and Dubai represents an important step in the rebuilding of our global network,” said Ryan Yeoh, General Manager for Gulf and Middle East at Singapore Airlines. “Despite the challenging times for the airline industry, the fundamental importance of air travel remains unchanged,” said Yeoh. “With the commencement of vaccination programmes in various countries such as the UAE and Singapore, there are some early signs of optimism about a recovery in air travel." SIA will ramp up existing services as the demand for both passenger and cargo services returns, added Yeoh.<br/>

The first direct flights between Qatar and two of the blockading nations – Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – took to the skies on Monday following the end of a three and a half year regional crisis earlier this month. In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt accused Qatar, among other things, of supporting “terrorism” and being too close to Iran, and severed economic and diplomatic ties. Qatar repeatedly denied the claims and said there was no justification for severing relations. A blockade was also imposed by the four countries by land, sea and air. Earlier this month, the four countries signed a declaration at the Gulf summit with Qatar, signalling the end of the blockade. All four have now announced the reopening of their airspace to Qatar. On Monday, the first commercial flight from Qatar to Egypt since the blockade, an Egyptair service to Cairo, took off from Doha airport. It was followed shortly by the arrival of an Air Arabia flight from Sharjah in the UAE.<br/>

EgyptAir has set new measures on flights heading to UK and France to protect travelers from contracting Coronavirus. The new measures come as part of the precautionary procedures announced by both UK and France on flights to its lands. Accordingly, EgyptAir demands its travelers heading to UK as of Monday to bring a negative PCR test at least 72 hours ahead of the travel date as a must to be able to board the plane. Children below 11 years old are exempted from this test. The same procedure was announced by Paris, going effective as of Monday.<br/>

Air New Zealand’s limited international schedule will remain in place until at least June 30, the airline says. The airline has announced the extension of its Covid-19 international schedule for the April through June period, in response to ongoing travel restrictions and low passenger demand. The schedule aims to keep air links open for essential travel and cargo movement on key trade routes. Air NZ’s general manager of networks Scott Carr said the release of the schedule would give customers confidence that the flights they see on the website now are the flights the airline is expecting to be able to operate. “July and beyond is an altogether different ballgame,” he said. “It's going to be a lot more complicated for us to be able to predict that. But we will get schedules out there that are reflective of what we expect to operate, and that will be in the next two to three weeks.” The airline’s customer service team was supporting those affected by the changes, while customers booked via a travel agent or third-party website should speak with their agent.<br/>