More people flew in the US this past weekend than any time since the coronavirus pandemic crushed air travel a year ago, which has fuelled the recovery hopes of US airline chiefs. The TSA said about 2.57m passengers went through airport checkpoints this weekend. About 1.36m travelled on Friday, making it the single biggest day for air travel since March 15, 2020, when US states started to implement a wave of restrictive lockdowns in response to the spread of Covid-19 — although that is 46 per cent fewer travellers than the same day in 2019. The weekend figures were the highest for air travel in a year, as some states loosen restrictions and university students travelled for spring break. The fall in new infections and rapid pace of vaccinations has also boosted some Americans’ confidence that the pandemic may be in retreat. Scott Kirby, United CE, told investors Monday that the airline expected to stop burning cash in Q1 if current booking trends continue. Ed Bastian, CE of Delta, reported “glimmers of hope”, pointing to daily net cash sales — ticket sales minus refunds — which a regulatory filing said were 30% higher for the first two weeks of March than the February average. Kirby said that business demand could stage a comeback late next year, and reach 2019 levels by 2023. However, Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, expressed concern about the jump in traveller numbers, warning Americans not to “relax” and let their guard down.<br/>
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US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg gave an upbeat assessment about summer travel prospects on Monday as a growing number of Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19. Touring a UPS facility just outside Washington, Buttigieg got a first-hand look at how it is shipping COVID-19 shots, while some airlines are reporting a rise in leisure bookings as more Americans get vaccinated. “I’m looking forward to summer travel. Of course, it’s got to be based on conditions. We’ve got to make sure that we’re getting folks vaccinated,” Buttigieg said. Wes Wheeler, president of Global Healthcare and Life Sciences at UPS, said the courier has delivered 80m US vaccine doses and about 110m worldwide. Between UPS and Fedex, the companies will have delivered 200m doses in the US by the end of March, he added.<br/>
US aviation regulators will continue what they call a “zero-tolerance” policy against passengers who refuse to wear face masks on airline flights. The FAA in January announced it was being more aggressive about enforcing existing federal laws that require passengers to follow the crew’s safety instructions, but the policy expired at the end of March. “The policy directs our safety inspectors and attorneys to take strong enforcement action against any passenger who disrupts or threatens the safety of a flight, with penalties ranging from fines to jail time,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said. “The number of cases we’re seeing is still far too high, and it tells us urgent action continues to be required.” The extension of the policy means it will last at least as long as the federal government requires mask use on flights.<br/>
Tens of thousands of people were without power on Monday and flights were grounded at Colorado’s Denver International Airport for much of the day as the region dug out from one of the most powerful late-winter blizzards in some two decades. The heavy storm punished parts of Colorado and Wyoming with up to 3 feet of snow and wind gusts of 45 miles per hour over the weekend, stranding motorists on major highways, and knocking down trees and power lines. Denver International Airport, which halted all inbound and outbound flights on Sunday afternoon after 2 feet of snow fell on runways, reopened them shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday. Airport staff gave blankets and water to the roughly 500 passengers that were left stranded at the airport overnight, the Denver Post reported. At one terminal, employees of a McDonald’s restaurant passed out free food, the paper said.<br/>
The German government on Monday urged citizens to limit travel amid the coronavirus pandemic as airlines reported a surge in bookings to traditional beach holiday destinations for Easter. Budget airline Eurowings announced at the weekend that it is laying on hundreds of extra flights to Mallorca over the Easter period, and travel giant TUI said it is opening hotels on the island early after Germany’s disease control agency removed the Spanish island from its list of ‘risk areas.’ While the requirement for people to quarantine on return from Mallorca and other Spanish holiday hotspots has now been lifted, the German government made clear it frowns on any such trips. “The appeal is to avoid any not absolutely necessary travel,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Adebahr, said that “the absence of a travel warning is no invitation to travel."<br/>
China Aircraft Leasing reported steady operating profit and revenues in 2020, as the key fundamentals supporting its operations for the long term “remain unscathed”, despite a massive hit to its bottom line. The lessor’s operating profit declined by 2% year-on-year to HK$949m ($122m), while revenues dipped by just 1.1% to HK$3.49b. However, net profit fell 62.7% to HK$334m in an “extremely challenging” 2020, in line with its profit warning for a 60-65% decline, issued at the start of March. In 2020, CALC delivered 10 aircraft – one fewer than in 2019 – through orderbook placement and purchase and leasebacks. It also disposed of 18 aircraft which resulted in a net gain of HK$514m, versus a HK$585m net gain from the disposal of 15 aircraft in 2019. As of 31 December 2020, CALC had 128 aircraft in its fleet, comprising of 103 owned and 25 managed aircraft, down from 134 at the end of 2019. Its A320ceo family fleet saw the greatest reduction, shrinking from 83 aircraft in 2019 to 74.<br/>
A new approach to making jet fuel from food waste has the potential to massively reduce carbon emissions from flying, scientists say. Currently, most of the food scraps that are used for energy around the world are converted into methane gas. But researchers in the US have found a way of turning this waste into a type of paraffin that works in jet engines. The authors of the new study say the fuel cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 165% compared to fossil energy. This figure comes from the reduction in carbon emitted from airplanes plus the emissions that are avoided when food waste is diverted from landfill.<br/>