More airlines on Wednesday joined legal action against the Britain over its travel curbs, adding to pressure on the government to relax restrictions that are putting businesses and jobs on the line. EasyJet and tour group TUI said they had joined the action led by Manchester Airports Group (MAG) aimed at challenging the government for an alleged lack of transparency over travel rules. The two airlines join the country's other biggest travel firms Ryanair, BA and Virgin Atlantic as interested parties in the case. A spokesman for MAG, the claimant in the case, said the court had accepted its application for an expedited hearing and the government, specifically the transport minister and the health minister, had until Monday to file a defence. "We cannot comment on legal proceedings," said a government spokesperson. A date for a hearing is likely to be set either later next week or for the following the week, added the spokesperson.<br/>
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Nearly 200 flights to and from Sydney Airport have been cancelled on Thursday after most state and territories shut their borders to large parts of NSW. On Wednesday night, Queensland upgraded its restrictions to include all of Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Shellharbour. WA, SA, the ACT and Victoria have also introduced tough restrictions. It comes as Sydney’s Bondi cluster rose to 31 cases and NSW Premier Gladys introduced some of the toughest restrictions on citizens since the original lockdown – including wearing masks in offices. As of 9am on Thursday, 183 flights arriving and departing Sydney Airport were cancelled, with that number set to rise later today. The last time states and territories locked out NSW at Christmas due to the Northern Beaches cluster, it cost Qantas alone $400m.<br/>
Hong Kong will ban passenger flights from Indonesia from Friday, deeming the country's arrivals "extremely high risk" for the coronavirus. The Hong Kong government said late on Wednesday it was suspending flights after the number of imported COVID-19 cases from Indonesia crossed thresholds set by the global financial hub. Hong Kong has already banned arrivals from India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines, using a flight suspension rule triggered when there are five or more passengers who test positive for one of the variant COVID-19 cases on arrival, or 10 or more passengers found to have any strain of the disease while in quarantine. The Chinese special administrative region has recorded over 11,800 cases and 210 deaths due to the coronavirus. Most of the city's recent cases over the past month have been imported. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said that Hong Kong's ban was "temporary" and that migrant workers affected by the new regulation should contact their employers and agents.<br/>
Direct flights from the southern city of Shenzhen to Beijing have been suspended until at least July 1, booking apps showed, ahead of celebrations for the Chinese Communist Party’s founding in the capital on that date. China’s most populous province Guangdong is battling a COVID-19 outbreak, with 170 confirmed local cases between May 21 and June 21. No new confirmed local cases were reported for June 22. Of the cases, eight were recorded in Shenzhen, while 146 were reported in the provincial capital Guangzhou, though direct flights were still available to Beijing as of Wednesday, booking apps such as CTrip and Fliggy showed. A Shenzhen government official who declined to be identified and two airline representatives confirmed flights from Shenzhen to the capital had been suspended. Flights to other mainland destinations appeared to be operating as normal. The airport in Foshan city, which borders Guangzhou and has seen 12 cases in the last month, announced that it was suspending all flights until July 7 due to the pandemic.<br/>
New Zealand has allowed the Boeing 737 Max to resume flying into the country, effectively lifting the two-year grounding imposed on the troubled type. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of New Zealand states that the move, which follows a “comprehensive safety review”, will apply to Fiji Airways, which plans to operate the type into New Zealand. The initial approval will apply to two of the carrier’s five 737 Max 8s, which had already joined its fleet at the time of the type’s grounding in March 2019. Fiji’s three other Max aircraft will “also be subject to CAA scrutiny” before being allowed to operate. Fiji Airways has not scheduled the 737 Max for operations into New Zealand, as border restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus mean that regular flights are non-existent now. There are currently no other airlines that operate, or plan to operate, the 737 Max into New Zealand. CAA deputy CE David Harrison says his agency has been working with its Fijian counterparts on returning the type into service. He adds: “We have thoroughly and independently reviewed the work undertaken by Fiji Airways to bring their 737 Max aircraft back into service and are confident these aircraft are safe to return to operation.”<br/>
Regulators have called for more rigorous checks when pulling some Airbus (AIR.PA) jets out of pandemic storage, following flawed cockpit readings that can suggest blocked sensors. Pilots rely on airspeed readings derived from external probes known as pitot tubes, which can become blocked by insect nests or dirt if they are not properly sealed during storage. The EASA said in a safety directive covering the Airbus A320 family that "an increasing number of operational disruptions have been reported due to airspeed discrepancies" as they return to the air. A spokesperson said the events included commercial flights and in most cases led to aborted takeoff. "EASA had no reports of any resultant injuries, aircraft or system issues," she said. Asked whether passengers had been on board, an Airbus spokesperson said it did not have a breakdown between passenger, freight or technical check flights. The reports prompted Airbus to carry out further computer simulations which suggested that problems with two out of three sensors may affect the plane's stability during take-off, though none of these events happened in operations, EASA said. The Airbus spokesperson said these follow-up actions were precautionary and that safety was its chief priority. EASA first reported an "alarming" rise last August in the general number of cases of unreliable cockpit indications during the first flight of jets leaving storage. It called on operators of all makes and models of passenger aircraft to be vigilant.<br/>
Trade power tensions, regulatory hurdles and attempts by the West to counter Chinese competition are delaying a return of the 737 MAX in China, frustrating Boeing Co as a potential rival demonstrates its growing influence. Six months after the West lifted an almost two-year flight ban on the MAX, there is no clear end in sight for the crisis surrounding Boeing’s fastest-selling jet in China - the first nation to ground it in 2019 after two deadly crashes in five months. The company had hoped for China to approve the MAX to return to the sky by the end of last year; in January 2021, Boeing said it expected the MAX to be approved by regulators everywhere by the end of June. Now, with help from the Biden administration, Boeing is stepping up efforts to convince China the plane is safe and reset its most strategic partnership as airlines start to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But people familiar with the discussions say regulatory and political obstacles mean any resolution is still months away. For Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun, that means seeing profits and market share slip to European rival Airbus. “I do know that if it goes on for too long, I pay a price,” he told a Bernstein conference this month. “I pay a price because they’re (China) the biggest part of the growth of the industry in the world.” Because of the China uncertainty, Boeing is not confident it can raise production beyond the 31 MAX planes per month level it expects to hit by early 2022, Calhoun said.<br/>
Saudi Arabia is considering building a new airport in the capital city of Riyadh, according to people familiar with the matter, a facility that would serve as a base for a new airline the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund is looking to launch as it targets a vast increase in tourist arrivals. The $430b fund said earlier this year it plans to invest in aviation to help capture the tourist boom envisioned by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The new airline, reported locally earlier this year, would serve tourists and business travelers, while existing flag carrier Saudia would focus on religious tourism from its base in Jeddah, said the people, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. The Public Investment Fund is also exploring the idea of investing billions in a new international airport in Riyadh, according to the people. The size of the facility and timeline for its construction haven’t been set and the PIF could decide not to move ahead with those plans. A spokesman for the fund declined to comment on the plans for a new airport in Riyadh. He referred to earlier commitments to invest in the sector and to study establishing a new company to “support the aviation sector aspirations locally and regionally.” The project, still in early stages of development, would further Saudi Arabia’s goal to attract 100m tourists a year by 2030.<br/>