France will try out a Covid-free status digital pass for air travellers with flag carrier Air France starting a month-long trial for some flights, Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said Thursday. Airlines battered by travel restrictions are pushing hard for a global standard that would reassure passengers over contagion risks onboard and accelerate an eventual recovery for the sector. For Air France flights to the French Caribbean territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe, passengers will have to present a phone app that shows either a vaccination certificate or a recent negative Covid test. The system would require partnerships with testing facilities that would provide the digital proof. "The goal is to see if it works well in real-time" by reducing checks that are drastically slowing boarding and arrival procedures, Djebbari said. "It could offer a preview, or at least a large-scale test, of a future 'travel pass'" that would "ensure against fraud and shorten waiting lines," he said. He did not specify if Air France would use a system being developed by the IATA.<br/>
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Aeroflot’s board has approved the transfer of 10 Boeing 737-800s from its fleet to that of its low-cost budget sister carrier Pobeda. The aircraft will be sub-leased from April-June this year according to the board decision, although the possibility of a postponement remains. Aeroflot Group says the lease periods range from 79-90 months. Alongside the additional 10 737s being transferred this year, Pobeda will take another 40 from Aeroflot over 2022-23. This is part of a fleet restructuring to optimise the networks and capacity of Aeroflot Group’s carriers. Pobeda is set to start services on 10 domestic and two international routes this year, the group states. Pobeda is opening a base at Moscow Sheremetyevo and will take over low-yield destinations from Aeroflot.<br/>
Vietnam’s central bank is proposing to offer D4t ($174m) of loans to help the national flag carrier as it struggles amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds will be provided to Vietnam Airlines through credit institutions and refinanced by the central bank, which will not charge interest on the refinancing, according to 8 March circulars published on its website. “We are getting opinions from [people concerned] before having [the] final document,” the State Bank of Vietnam tells Cirium, adding it will share more detailed information later.<br/>