general

Airline pilots are making mistakes because they have become rusty because of the lack of flying time during the coronavirus pandemic. Dozens of pilots have told NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System that they have made errors since getting back into the cockpit. On one occasion a pilot forgot to disengage the parking brake when pulling away from the gate. Another pilot struggled to land a plane in heavy wind, only succeeding in doing so at the third attempt. Other incidents included a first officer forgetting to turn on the de-icing system, which ensures that the altitude and speed sensors operate properly. According to the aviation analytics company Cirium, nearly a third of the world’s passenger jets have been parked either in central Australia or the Mojave Desert in California. “It’s a real issue, there simply is not enough flying time for the number of pilots rostered,” said aviation consultant, Bob Mann. “That is particularly true of certain kinds of plane, like wide-bodied aircraft used for long-haul international flights. I think there is some complicity on the part of regulators. For example, pilots are expected to have conducted three take-offs and landings within 90 days. That is considered a minimum, but this has been waived during the pandemic. Regulators have also waived the period in which refresher training should be done because there is so little flying time and not enough pilots to conduct simulator training sessions."<br/>

The US CDC issued a sweeping order late Friday requiring the use of face masks on nearly all forms of public transportation Monday as the country continues to report thousands of daily Covid-19 deaths. The order, which takes effect at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, requires face masks to be worn by all travelers on airplanes, ships, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares and at transportation hubs like airports, bus or ferry terminals, train and subway stations and seaports. President Joe Biden on Jan. 21 ordered government agencies to “immediately take action” to require masks in airports and on commercial aircraft, trains and public maritime vessels, including ferries, intercity bus services and all public transportation. While airlines and most transit modes already require masks, the CDC order will make not wearing a mask a violation of federal law that could make it easier for flight attendants and others to enforce. US airlines raised concerns this week about passenger requests to opt out of mask-wearing on health grounds. The CDC order says airlines and other transit modes may require medical documentation and consultation by a medical specialist as well as requiring a negative Covid-19 test from a passenger in order to board a plane or other mode of transportation.<br/>

The US this week started requiring travelers to show negative Covid-19 tests before flying to the US from abroad. Now the Biden administration is “actively looking” at whether to mandate Covid-19 tests before domestic flights, a senior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Tuesday. Airlines balked. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly asked on a quarterly call Thursday, “Why pick on air travel? “If you want to test people, test them, but test them before they go to the grocery store. Test them before they go to a restaurant,” Kelly said. “Test them before they go to a sporting event.” On Wednesday, the US Travel Association, an industry group that represents large hotel chains, Airbnb and several airports said the plan would be “unworkable,” because Covid testing availability varies so much across the country. The travel industry and airlines in particular have been among the hardest-hit businesses in the coronavirus pandemic. Travel restrictions aimed at stopping the disease from spreading around the world and concerns over catching the virus has devastated demand. Domestic testing requirements could further impact bookings, which airline executives this week warned aren’t likely to rebound until more people are vaccinated.<br/>

Mexico City’s international airport will set up facilities to perform COVID-19 tests to help passengers who need to show they are free of the virus to enter other countries, the government said on Sunday. The Benito Juarez International Airport will work with airlines to install the testing labs, which would be outside the terminals, the government said. Other areas could also be used for testing if necessary, it added. Mexican health regulator COFEPRIS has approved the measure. <br/>

Canada's decision to suspend flights by its major airlines to Mexico for three months to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic could cost the Mexican tourism industry around $782m in lost revenue, Mexico's government said on Sunday. Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco made the estimate on the basis there could be up to 791,000 fewer tourists as a result of the suspension Canada imposed from Sunday through April 30, his ministry said. Still, the losses may end up smaller, Torruco said. The minister said Canada could also miss out on 372,000 Mexican visitors and $368m in lost revenues because of freezing the flights. Mexico has not moved to suspend flights to Canada, although one airline, Aeromexico, said it would halt flights to Canada from the second week of February until the end of April.<br/>

China has temporarily banned entry of foreign nationals travelling from Canada, even if they hold valid Chinese residence permits for work, the Chinese consulate in Toronto said. “All foreign nationals who hold valid Chinese residence permits for work, personal matters and reunion are temporarily not allowed to enter China from Canada,” the consulate said Saturday. Entry with diplomatic and service visas will not be affected, it said. The suspension comes as Canada clamps down on cross-border travel due to COVID-19 concerns. Canada reported 4,255 new cases on Saturday, with 19,942 deaths since the start of the pandemic. All airline passengers arriving in Canada will be required to take a COVID-19 test at the airport and wait in a hotel for up to three days at their expense until the results arrive, PM Justin Trudeau said on Friday.<br/>

Domestic flights in China have entered a steep downward trend in the past few days, according to data released by Eurocontrol, as the country approaches its traditionally busy Lunar New Year holiday period amid a jump in Covid-19 cases in some regions. On 25 January, the number of domestic flights was down 36% versus the same day in 2019, at 7,590 – the lowest total since May 2020, Eurocontrol data shows. Figures had reached near-parity – and sometimes exceeded – pre-crisis levels in the final few months of 2020. Indeed, domestic flights were on an upward trend from late February 2020 onwards, having plummeted to fewer than 2,000 per day as the severity of the Covid-19 situation became apparent in late January. With China saying it had brought the virus under control, domestic flight numbers trended upwards until they exceeded 12,000 per day at several points in October 2020 around the Golden Week holiday.<br/>

Germany has effectively halted private travel to and from Ireland, the UK and South Africa to contain the spread of coronavirus mutations. The new regulation, applicable also to Portugal and Brazil, outlaws travel “except absolute exceptions” and comes into effect from midnight on Friday. “We have to get ahead of the situation; that means we have to make preventative decisions so the virus cannot spread further,” said German interior minister Horst Seehofer. The new rules will not affect cargo transport, transit passengers at airports, German citizens or foreign nationals who live permanently in Germany. Otherwise the new regulation will allow arrivals from the five banned countries only on health or “urgent humanitarian grounds”. Germany will review the new regulations on February 17, along with other restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19.<br/>

UK carriers including BA, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic will hang on to lucrative take-off and landing slots without having to use them this summer after ministers extended waivers to controversial airport rules. Airlines have parked their fleets during the crippling disruption caused by the pandemic, prompting the suspension of rules forcing airlines to “use or lose” their slots 80% of the time. The suspension since the pandemic started has been criticised by rival airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air, which argue the waivers are anti-competitive and hope to profit from the disruption in the industry. The decision is also a blow to London’s Gatwick airport, which has seen many of its biggest airlines switch their remaining operations to Heathrow, and was pushing for airlines to be forced to use their slots. The DoT will extend the waiver, which was due to be lifted in the spring, through the summer season, Airport Coordination Limited said on Friday. The decision illustrates that ministers are expecting another difficult summer for the European airline industry as travel curbs widen. Take-off and landing rights are among airlines’ most valuable assets and can be traded for tens of millions of pounds. “The risk for the UK is that a blanket waiver . . . may discourage airlines who are prepared to restart operations from investing in the UK market,” said Chris Butler, an analyst at ACL, which coordinates slot distribution. Airlines may decide there are better opportunities for growth through gaining slot rights elsewhere in Europe, he added.<br/>

The number of passengers using South Korean airports fell sharply last year due to the fallout of the new coronavirus outbreak, marking the first drop in 12 years, data showed Sunday. The number of people using 15 airports across the nation came to 65m last year, down 58.8% from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the first time that the number of airport passengers declined since 2008, when the country was in the midst of the global financial crisis. At that time, the number of airport users fell 1.7%. The sharp fall in airport passengers came as international air travel was disrupted due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway west of Seoul, saw the number of passengers reach around 12m last year, sharply down from 71m the previous year, the data showed. Jeju Airport on the country's southern resort island of Jeju, meanwhile, attracted the most passengers with 21m last year, followed by Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul with 17.5mi.<br/>

All states and territories moved on Sunday night to impose restrictions on those arriving from Perth after large parts of WA entered a five-day lockdown. In particular were on a Qantas 737-838 flight to Canberra and will now have to isolate in the capital. It follows a quarantine hotel security guard in WA testing positive for what is believed to be the more transmittable, British strain of COVID. The infection is the first locally acquired case WA has seen in 10 months.<br/>

Transatlantic jets that "surf the jetstream – taking full advantage of winter winds – can cut fuel burn and emissions by up to one-sixth, say researchers at the University of Reading. Airlines would cut costs by reducing wear on engines as well as saving fuel, while passengers could benefit from faster journeys – typically touching down 21 minutes earlier on a flight from New York to London. A team led by Professor Paul Williams calculated the savings by analysing all 35,000 flights between London Heathrow and New York JFK in December, January and February last winter. The results appear in Environmental Research Letters in a paper titled “Reducing transatlantic flight emissions by fuel-optimised routing”. The shortest ground distance between the two airports, known as the Great Circle route, is 3,451 miles. But the most efficient way to fly between the two cities is the routing that exploits the “wind field” – the moving map of wind speed and direction. It minimises the “air distance,” which is the key variable for fuel burn and CO2 emissions. Professor Williams said: "What really excites me about our new study is that flights could get shorter and faster without actually increasing their airspeed. This is purely an effect of aircraft making better use of the jet stream winds to boost their ground speed. It is literally a free ride from the atmosphere.” Story has more.<br/>

Elevated demand for dedicated air cargo services will persist for several years until there is a meaningful return of passenger services, according to leading figures in the air cargo industry. Even with the rollout of vaccines “this [market] will continue for the foreseeable future”, Martin Drew, Etihad’s VP for sales and cargo said 26 January. Drew says the carrier’s cargo unit has had “a record year in revenue teams” for 2020 and is expecting “a similar number this year”. Steven Polmers, chairman of The International Air Cargo Association, notes that a return of passenger belly capacity will “take a little longer that we hope or than we would like”. The benefit to air cargo is not only firmer rates but that “we can continue to use passenger aircraft for cargo only ops, that will help us keep a certain network in place to meet global demand.” Lufthansa Cargo CE Peter Gerber believes that the recovery will be “much slower than we [previously] expected.” Passenger airlines had been eyeing a post-Q1 “spring peak”, but “this is not going to happen. Lockdowns are still in place and are even more serious than they used to be”. Once vaccination programmes are accelerated and improved weather results in lower Covid-19 numbers, “then I would expect with the end of the second quarter we will see some recovery” Gerber says. However he is only expecting a return to around 50% of 2019’s passenger traffic levels for the year.<br/>