US and Canadian officials are set to meet Tuesday to discuss how to eventually lift pandemic-related border restrictions between the two countries, but no immediate action is expected, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday. US and Canadian business leaders have voiced increasing concern about the ban on non-essential travel at land borders because of COVID-19 that was imposed in March 2020 and has been renewed on a monthly basis since. The measures, which also apply to the US-Mexico border, do not affect trade or other essential travel. The current restrictions are set to expire June 21, but US and industry officials expect they will be extended again. Reuters reported on June 8 the Biden administration was forming expert working groups with Canada, Mexico, the European Union and the United Kingdom to determine how best to safely restart travel after 15 months of pandemic restrictions. A meeting is expected to occur with Mexico later this week and meetings with the United Kingdom and EU are currently set for next week, but the timing could still shift, three people briefed on the meetings said.<br/>
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Tourism businesses pushed PM Justin Trudeau to relax stringent Canadian border rules in time to salvage the summer travel season, calling for a nationwide plan to reopen the country as the Covid-19 pandemic eases. The Tourism Industry Association of Canada, the National Airlines Council of Canada and other business groups lambasted the government’s lack of clarity over future travel rules, even as vaccination rates climb rapidly. They also asked for a vaccine certification process and harmonized rules between provinces, which have at times made entry even more restrictive. “The data today justifies a renewed approach to border measures,” Susie Grynol, president of the Hotel Association of Canada, told reporters Monday at Ottawa’s airport. “Canada cannot afford to be left behind as other countries around the world begin to reopen. We cannot afford to lose the second summer in a row.” About 64% of Canadians have received one dose of a vaccine so far but only 12% have received two shots, according to data from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Rates of infection and hospitalization have seen sharp declines in most of the country. Trudeau’s government has so far paid little heed to pleas from the business community. Its only concession came last week, when it said it would end a mandatory hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated Canadian residents arriving by air. But that won’t take effect until July, and Trudeau himself will adhere to it upon returning from international summits in Europe this week.<br/>
European transport commissioner Adina Valean is urging EU states to take a bolder approach to introducing long-strived-for modernisation of air traffic management in Europe. The Commission last September launched a fresh attempt to reinvigorate air traffic reform in Europe, proposing an upgrade to the Single European Sky (SES) regulatory framework to accelerate implementation. This has ambitions to cut the region’s air transport emissions by 10%. Progress in implementing the SES initiative, which dates back more than 20 years, has long been mired in political deadlock. Previous modernisation proposals from the Commission, SES 2+, were put forward in 2013 but not concluded. Addressing the Airlines for Europe Aviation Summit on 10 June, Valean stressed how key reforming Europe’s air traffic management system could be in delivering on the bloc’s wider environmental ambitions. “I am hearing a lot about the members’ talking about sustainability and reducing the footprints of economic activities, and their commitments to it. But it is very frustrating when I see they cannot commit on something which is as simple as a modernising the air traffic management – and I am talking about modernising in an age in which we should talk about innovation,” she said.<br/>
Britain is unlikely to reopen overseas travel to the major European holiday destinations until the beginning of August, UK ambassadors have warned. With domestic unlocking delayed for four weeks, Toni Mayor, the head of the Hosbec association of Valencia region hoteliers, said he did not expect to see UK tourism take off until August, following a meeting with Hugh Elliott, the UK ambassador. Turkish tourist chiefs are also understood to have received a similar message after meeting with UK Foreign Office officials, and are not expecting any lifting of overseas travel restrictions out of the UK until the beginning of August. It comes as airlines have also started shrinking their schedules until late July in face of the Government’s decision to push back “freedom day” by a month and the anticipated further delay in expanding the green list for quarantine-free travel. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet are cancelling flights until after the new July 19 date as demand plummets. Virgin Atlantic pushed back journeys from Heathrow to Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago until October as well as transatlantic flights until mid-July. Budget airline easyJet has started dropping trips to Greece and France up until July 17 as Britons face a second summer trapped at home. Paul Charles, the CE of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said the uncertainty over any prospective restarting of foreign travel was strangling the industry. He urged ministers to set a date, even if it was the beginning of August.<br/>
UK safety regulators are urging pilots to pay close attention to speed checks during the take-off roll, after three incidents three days at London Heathrow involving suspected pitot blockage by insects. The separate incidents – which occurred during 9-11 June – involved aircraft of different types, all of which had been parked for periods of three to seven days at different locations within the hub airport. Airspeed discrepancies resulted in crew actions, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority. It has not identified the operators or aircraft affected. “Initial feedback suggests a form of insect infestation may have contributed to these events,” it adds, although a formal probe is underway by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. “These events may not be isolated to this airport and the time for the blockages to occur is unknown.”<br/>
General Electric and France's Safran Monday unveiled plans to test-build an open-bladed jet engine able to reduce fuel use and emissions by 20% as they prolonged their historic CFM International joint venture by a decade to 2050. The "RISE" engine, positioned as a possible successor to the "LEAP" model used on the Boeing 737 MAX and some Airbus A320neo, will feature a design with visible fan blades known as open-rotor and could enter service by the mid-2030s. The system will also contain hybrid-electric propulsion. CFM is the world's largest jet engine maker by the number of units sold. It is the sole engine supplier for the Boeing 737 MAX and competes with Raytheon Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney for airline engine selections on the Airbus A320neo. The technology demonstrator project comes as the industry prepares to battle over the next generation of single-aisle planes like the MAX and A320neo in the busiest part of the airplane market while facing mounting environmental pressure. Industry sources have said Boeing is considering launching a replacement for its slightly larger and long-range single-aisle 757 that could pave the way for a replacement of the MAX. But it has deferred a decision on whether to move relatively quickly - a step that would require an available conventional engine - or wait for the arrival of technology like open-rotor with hybrid propulsion.<br/>
An Abu Dhabi fund is backing a startup aircraft leasing company run by former Ryanair chief financial officer Howard Millar to build a fleet of 100 jets over the next three years. Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, part-owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, is an anchor investor in Sirius Aviation, which is headquartered in the emirate. Millar, who left Ryanair in 2014 after 23 years, told Reuters Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners invested $100m in Sirius, which has joint ventures with US investment firms Corrum Capital and HPS Investment Partners. Sirius, established in March 2020, on Monday announced it had acquired its first 10 jets. “We have arrived. We are getting on with business,” Millar said. The Abu Dhabi-based lessor plans to build a 100-jet fleet of mostly older model Airbus A320 ceo and Boeing 737 NG jets already on lease with airlines. “Single aisle aircraft are the workhorse of aviation despite what is going in the world,” Millar said, referring to the coronavirus crisis that has decimated the airline industry. Sirius acquired the 10 jets, a mix of older model A320 and 737s, from Asian lessor BOC Aviation. They are on lease to Southwest Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad Airways and Spirit.<br/>
Around 10 customers were gathered outside the Rich & Good Cake Shop outlet at Jewel Changi Airport a few minutes before it opened for business on Monday. It had been more than a month since the shop was shuttered, when Jewel and the passenger terminals at Changi Airport were closed to the public in May to control a growing cluster of COVID-19 cases. Jewel was initially slated to reopen on May 27, but the closure was extended by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group (CAG) as an “added precaution”. “(The crowd) is actually slightly more than what we expected, we were expecting it to be totally empty because dine-in is still not allowed,” said Ms Jerelyn Foo, the company's media and operations manager. “But it’s definitely less compared to what we had before the closure,” she added.<br/>
The tourism and aviation industries are hoping the country's mass vaccination scheme can improve travel sentiment and gradually bolster the economy. The Phuket sandbox model, scheduled to welcome vaccinated foreigners starting July 1, is a big test for airlines with other destinations watching to see if they can bring back international tourists as well. "After passenger traffic recorded a whopping 90% decrease in May, bookings this month have improved because of vaccinations and less worry regarding the third wave," said Nok Air CE Wutthiphum Jurangkool. Nok Air has increased the frequencies of flights by 20% this month, up from 30-40 flights per day during the third wave. For Phuket, the airline plans to operate codeshare flights with Thai Airways to fly foreigners who complete a 14-day quarantine in Phuket to other destinations, offering eight Bangkok-Phuket flights per day to test demand. Woranate Laprabang, CE of Thai Vietjet (TVJ), said the second and third waves happened so close together that every airline had to reduce flight frequencies, including TVJ, which is operating less than 20% of its total flights in December. "Still, the mass vaccination scheme is a good sign," he said. "TVJ hopes the government will commit to its goal of vaccinating 70% the population this year."<br/>