Global airline industry body IATA said on Wednesday a digital travel pass for COVID-19 test results and vaccine certificates would be launched on the Apple platform in mid-April. The digital travel pass, currently in the testing phase, had been planned to be launched by the end of March. IATA Regional VP for Africa and the Middle East Kamil Alawadhi said it was expected to launch on the Apple platform around April 15, and later for the Android platform. “But the application will only achieve its success once airlines, different countries, airports adopt it,” Alawadhi said. UK-based carrier Virgin Atlantic said on Friday it would trial the IATA app on its London to Barbados route from April 16. Barbados has said it will accept the pass at its border, one of the first countries to accept a digital pass instead of paper documentation.<br/>IATA has said its travel pass will help speed up check-ins. “A huge amount of airlines have requested to be on board,” Alawadhi said.<br/>
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The aviation sector is calling for close collaboration in development of so-called “vaccine passports”, hoping such documents could promote re-opening of international travel following the yearlong coronavirus crisis. However, some industry participants insist such documents – which would prove a person has been immunised – should not be required to travel internationally. Executives say governments, airlines and others must work jointly to make such documents effective and accepted globally, while still protecting holders’ privacy. “Coming to grips with what that standard looks like and getting enough… countries to sign up – that’s the challenge,” says Boeing CE David Calhoun. “Do we need something? I think we absolutely do. I’m hopeful that coordination will begin in the next couple of months.” Vaccine passports have become a hot topic as more potential travellers are immunised against the coronavirus. The documents – also known as digital health passports – have been floated as a means by which governments can open international travel to more people. “The initiative has a lot of merit and will allow international travel to come back,” says Alaska Airlines CE Ben Minicucci. “If it unlocks international travel, then it’s worth pursuing.”<br/>
Global aviation companies made a plea on Wednesday for funding under a roughly $2t US infrastructure package proposed by President Joe Biden to revamp the economy, saying a cycle of modernization in the sector is long overdue. “Now is the time to reassess longstanding aviation infrastructure investment priorities and to fund critical projects,” Alan Pellegrini, head of the US division of French defense and aerospace group Thales SA, said at a US Chamber of Commerce aviation summit. Other speakers included the chief executives of leading US airlines and aerospace companies. Biden’s overall infrastructure plan will include hundreds of billions of dollars devoted to building and repairing roads, bridges, mass transit, schools and other infrastructure, according to details released by the White House earlier on Wednesday.<br/>
The FAA said Wednesday it had approved the design for the Boeing 737-8200, part of the Boeing 737 MAX series, a necessary step before the US planemaker can begin delivering the airplanes to Ryanair. The FAA said the 737-8200 incorporates all of the design improvements that were part the 20-month review of the 737 MAX that led to the ungrounding of the MAX in November, more than a year after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Ryanair first ordered the 737-8200 plane, which seats 197 passengers, in 2014. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency still must approve the aircraft, a move that could come soon after the FAA approval. Boeing said Wednesday it would “continue to work with global regulators to safely return the 737-8 and -9 to service. Our teams are also focused on ensuring future members of the 737 family meet all regulatory requirements.”<br/>
More than GBP4.5m of taxpayers' money has been spent on subsidising Isle of Man flights during the coronavirus pandemic. Infrastructure Minister Tim Baker said the routes to Liverpool, Manchester and Heathrow were "vital links". It would not be viable for airlines to operate flights during the border closures without the funding, he added. Loganair currently operates about 20 flights a week between the island and the three cities. Baker told the House of Keys that although the subsidy of London flights was a "judgemental area", cutting the services was "not in the island's best interests", he added.<br/>
Mandatory quarantine for local aircrew will be removed if enough staff are inoculated against the coronavirus, officials have told Hong Kong-based airlines, the Post has learned. The government is putting pressure on local carriers to boost vaccination rates, which reflect the slow uptake for jabs citywide, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. Airlines are being lured with the incentive of having costly quarantine measures removed, two sources said. Hong Kong introduced quarantine measures on February 20 for any local flight crew who had stayed outside the city. The rule exempted those arriving from mainland China, and Anchorage in Alaska, a key stopover for Cathay Pacific Airways freighter flights where crews in transit self-isolate. Aircrew must quarantine for 14 days, followed by seven days of self-health checks at home. Cathay Pacific requires staff to work for three weeks and do two weeks of quarantine at a hotel before returning to the local community. In a statement, the government said it was incorporating incentives for fully vaccinated people into its anti-epidemic measures.<br/>
Vietnam is eyeing the resumption of regular international passenger flights, targeting daily flights to partnering jurisdictions in September. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Transport to ramp up international flights in three phases, it says in a 31 March statement. This comes as Vietnam’s prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a call on 17 March for preparations to reopen international air travel, including the possibility of introducing “vaccine passports”. In phase one, flights are targeted at bundled flight and hotel travel packages for Vietnamese citizens serving 14-day quarantines. No timeline was provided. Phase two will be implemented from July, focusing on re-establishing air connectivity with other countries. There will be four weekly return flights for each airline in each destination country, which includes Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The flights are also subject to the quarantine capacity at Vietnam and the arrival airports.<br/>
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun warned that an extended impasse between the US and China over long-simmering trade issues will have competitive consequences for the largest American exporter. “We can’t afford to be locked out of that market. Our competitor will jump right in,” Calhoun said of European rival Airbus Wednesday. “Nothing good comes from restricted trade.” China is one of the last regulators of consequence that still hasn’t cleared Boeing’s 737 Max jetliners to resume flying after two fatal crashes that prompted a global grounding. China Eastern, a state-owned airline, revealed Wednesday that it is negotiating with Boeing for a potential Max order but cautioned of “great uncertainty” as to when deliveries would be allowed to resume. Boeing didn’t notch any orders from China for the Max, a critical source of revenue, while former President Donald Trump was in office, according to data posted on the company’s website. The planemaker sold two 777 freighters to China Cargo last year, breaking a sales drought that extended to late 2017. Calhoun praised the Biden administration for making progress with the European Union to end aircraft tariffs, while acknowledging the complex disagreements China will be far tougher to untangle.<br/>
Airbus chief Guillaume Faury insists a 2035 entry-into-service horizon for zero-emission aircraft is “credible”, given the advancing work on hydrogen power. Six months ago the airframer unveiled proposed designs for zero-emissions aircraft, including a blended-wing body concept alongside more conventional twinjet and turboprop configurations. “We think it’s going to happen,” said Faury, speaking during a Eurocontrol-hosted event on 30 March. “These are different architectures we’re looking at – among others – these are the main ones we’re looking at for future hydrogen aircraft.” Faury says the blended-wing concept is “very interesting”, because it is “well-suited for a high volume of fuel inside the aircraft” – pointing out that hydrogen is “bulky” compared with kerosene-based fuel. “To go a certain distance need more volume of fuel on board and that’s why we’re looking at different architectures,” he states.<br/>