Lufthansa and German state railway Deutsche Bahn will cooperate on express-train services that could replace short-haul flights amid heightening concern about aviation’s carbon footprint. Trains will link Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Muenster and Munich with Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub non-stop for the first time, according to a statement Monday. Services will start in July, with more cities following in December. An increasing focus on the environmental impact of flying has pushed some countries to take steps to discourage shorter trips, while there’s also evidence of people opting to make longer land journeys to avoid taking the plane. Lufthansa typically loses money on German domestic flights, providing an additional incentive to shift to rail, though a spokesman said it will evaluate customer acceptance of the move before terminating any air links. Pressure on airlines to take steps to cut their CO2 profiles has ramped up following a series of state bailouts that’s seen governments increase their influence over flag-carrier airlines.<br/>
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United Airlines is facing a class-action lawsuit over emotional distress after an emergency landing last month in Denver, according to paperwork filed Sunday in a US District Court of Colorado. On Feb. 20, United Flight 328 was forced to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after the right engine exploded shortly after takeoff. No one aboard the flight was injured. The lawsuit calls the ordeal a near-death experience and says United was negligent in its infliction of emotional distress. Questions have surfaced about inspections on the plane's engines after the initial examination of the engine revealed damaged fan blades. The lawsuit also claims "most (if not all) passengers, suffered physical symptoms as a result of this intense experience, including: nausea, tachycardia, shaking, symptoms of shock, and following the flight, insomnia... This emotional distress was entirely foreseeable and would not have occurred but for United’s breach of duty." Story has more.<br/>
Singapore Airlines will begin trialling a coronavirus digital travel pass developed by aviation's industry body next week, the carrier said Monday, the first airline to pilot the scheme as the pandemic-hit sector seeks to recover. The app, developed by the IATA, will store information on passengers' health, including whether they have had virus tests or vaccines, to streamline travel as borders reopen. Singapore's flag carrier said it would offer travellers heading from the city-state to London between March 15 and 28 the chance to participate in the pilot if they have a phone operating on the iOS system. "Our partnership with Singapore Airlines for the first full deployment of the IATA Travel Pass will help get the world flying again," said Nick Careen from the industry body. Participants in the pilot scheme will need to take pre-departure COVID-19 tests, and will be able to view their results and whether they are confirmed to fly on the app. They will need to show their confirmed status in the app to check-in staff before their flight.<br/>
Turkish Airlines has succeeded in overcoming the impact of the pandemic when compared to its rivals during the pandemic year of 2020 when the airline sector was among the most severely hit sectors by the outbreak, the carrier’s CEO said Monday. During the pandemic, the civil aviation sector was one of the most affected sectors, CEO Ilker Aycı said, and the industry has left behind the most challenging year of its history. Avcı stressed that the airline companies across the world received financial support during the pandemic and despite the cash injections, they cut jobs to compensate the virus losses, while the THY has taken a different stance by neither receiving cash support nor laying off employees. Boosted by the pandemic need, the cargo transportation branch of the national carrier became the fastest and largest growing cargo carrier, he said. He congratulated and thanked all the employees of the company for their hard work and contribution during the challenging period.<br/>
EgyptAir ordered suspending flights with the port city of Casablanca, Morocco starting last Friday until further notice, based on the Moroccan authorities’ instructions. Morocco has suspended flights with numerous countries as part of the precautionary measures to curb the spread of the pandemic. The Moroccan suspension decision is set to extend until 21 March.<br/>
Hiking the price of international flights to pay for greenhouse gas emissions, putting some people off flying here, would be a good thing, Air NZ’s chief environmental adviser Sir Jonathon Porritt says. His comments follow a suggestion from Simon Upton, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, for a distance-based passenger tax – adding as much as $155 to an economy class fare to the United Kingdom, or $25 to the cheapest seats to Australia – to fund climate-based initiatives. Such a fund might raise up to $400m a year. Air NZ’s sustainability advisory panel, which Porritt chairs, will meet online over three days at the end of the month, and Upton’s passenger tax idea, paid at departure, is on the agenda. Porritt won’t say if he backs a passenger tax as he hasn’t spoken to other panel members. Also, before a possible endorsement, he wants to see the tax’s design, and how it might work with charges like the international visitor levy and Air NZ’s voluntary offset scheme, FlyNeutral. He’s realistic about how difficult it is for an airline – whose core product causes greenhouse gas emissions – to reduce emissions, and is firm the national carrier must remain internationally competitive.<br/>