IATA DG Willie Walsh believes it would be unfair to restrict air travel only to fully-vaccinated passengers, as he again urged “sensible responses” from governments to reopening air travel markets. Walsh noted not everybody has access to the vaccine and some people may not be able to have the vaccine for medical reasons. “The idea that you restrict travel to only those who have been vaccinated would be wrong and unfair. Therefore I think we need to be careful,” he says. ”I think there is case to be made for people who are vaccinated to be treated differently, and we have seen that already with a number of countries recognising that the risk is significantly different, and therefore people who can show evidence they are fully vaccinated are free to travel without restriction, while people who have not continue to undergo a sensible testing regime. I think in the short-term that is not an unreasonable situation to have. But the idea going forward into the future that the only way you can travel is if you are vaccinated, I think that would be wrong and deeply regrettable.” <br/>
general
President Joe Biden said Thursday the US is reviewing when it can lift restrictions that ban most-non US citizens from traveling to the United States from much of Europe after German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue. "It's in process now," Biden said of discussions about when restrictions could be lifted. He said he expects to be able to answer "within the next several days what is likely to happen... I'm waiting to hear from our folks in our COVID team as to when that should be done." Merkel said Biden told her the same that he told the press and they discussed the impact of the COVID-19 Delta variant. "It has to be a sustainable decision. It is certainly not sensible to have to take it back after only a few days," Merkel said. Airlines and others have urged the administration to lift restrictions covering most non-US citizens who have recently been in Britain, the 26 Schengen nations in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. Numerous countries not subject to travel restrictions have far higher COVID-19 rates than many European countries covered by the restrictions in place since March 2020.<br/>
The FAA Thursday instructed airlines to inspect a pair of cabin air pressure switches on all Boeing 737 planes, citing safety concerns. If the switches fail, oxygen levels could fall dangerously low inside a plane without warning. That could incapacitate flight crews, making them lose control of the plane. “Addressing these failures requires immediate action,” the agency said in a directive. Airlines have not reported any failures that led to a dangerous drop in oxygen levels during flight. But in September, an unnamed airplane operator said the switches on three planes — all different 737 models — had failed a test. Boeing decided late last year that those failures were not a security issue, but the company and the F.A.A. later concluded that they represented a threat after further investigation and analysis. The FAA’s directive applies to all 737 models, including the troubled 737 Max, which was banned globally in March 2019 after two fatal crashes. That ban began to be lifted late last year and the Max has been used on thousands of flights since. The order, known as an airworthiness directive, makes mandatory a recommendation that Boeing issued to its customers last month, the company said. “Safety is our highest priority, and we fully support the FAA’s direction,” Boeing said.<br/>
Flight simulators from Atlanta to Dallas to Miami and elsewhere are humming as airlines scramble to get hundreds of pilots trained to meet a surge in bookings that kicked off this spring as vaccinations rolled out and Covid-era restrictions eased. Domestic leisure travel has recovered to 2019 levels, while business travel is also rebounding, airline executives said this month. Airlines have received $54b in federal aid since March 2020 in exchange for not laying off workers. But voluntary departures, changed fleets and the rapid rise in travel demand have created a need for pilot training that industry experts say is without parallel. Reduced flight schedules also meant pilots weren’t getting in their minimum takeoffs and landings required to maintain their flying status. Training pilots on new aircraft can take weeks while annual retraining can take a few days. “What is unique about this experience is the drop-off in business [early in the pandemic] was an existential threat to the business,” said Bryan Terry, managing director and global aviation leader at Deloitte. “Then what came, the unexpected part, the return to travel came faster than expected.” That “puts a very tight timeline” on the pilot training, he added. Getting enough pilots through training that can become lengthy as they change aircraft, will help determine how well airlines respond to the demand recovery. <br/>
Europe’s most polluting businesses have accused the EU of jeopardising investment and innovation after Brussels unveiled ambitious plans to halve the bloc’s emissions by 2030 in an effort to curb global warming. Carmakers, airlines and heavy industry all hit out at the proposals, which include a de facto ban on new diesel and petrol cars from 2035, a tax on aviation and maritime fuel, and the decision to phase out from 2026 free pollution credits allocated under the EU’s Emissions Trading System. The ETS, which sets a price on polluting, has also been extended to the shipping industry for the first time. Just hours after the EU published its plan, many companies and trade bodies were preparing to lobby their own governments to reject it, signalling a tough battle ahead for the European Commission as it negotiates with member states to pass the road map into law. In the aviation industry, Lufthansa agreed that ambitious climate protection and a carbon price were “both right and necessary” but said it would be disadvantaged against global competitors. It said the combination of the phase-out of carbon credits, a binding quota for sustainable aviation fuels and, in particular, a kerosene tax would hobble European airlines. The German carrier said that a financing mechanism should be developed to help pay for sustainable fuels, which were several times more costly than kerosene. “Only then will [the road map] be competitively neutral.” The head of Iata, the global aviation trade group, was more scathing. Willie Walsh accused Brussels of an “own goal” over plans to tax fossil fuel-based jet fuel. “Making jet fuel more expensive through taxation scores an ‘own goal’ on competitiveness that does little to accelerate the commercialisation of sustainable fuel,” he said. The European aviation trade body, A4E, joined the chorus of disapproval, saying the measures would make flying more expensive for passengers. <br/>
Russia will increase its production of Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft and plans to deliver 30 of the planes to domestic airlines by the end of 2021, the head of the state-owned United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said Thursday. The regional jet entered service in 2011 and was the first passenger jet built in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. The state has poured billions of dollars into its development. It is only used by Russian airlines. “The Sukhoi Superjet is ... used intensively at this difficult pandemic time as air traffic has fallen,” the UAC executive, Yury Slyusar, told President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on Thursday. Thirty of the planes will be delivered to airlines this year, bringing the number of operational Superjets to more than 180, Slyusar said. Only 12 of them were delivered to airlines last year, its manufacturer, Irkut Corporation, has said.<br/>
New Zealand has paused the trans-Tasman bubble to Victoria for at least four days starting on Friday. The new rules mean anyone who has been in the Australian state from 1.59am (NZT) on 16 July cannot cross the Tasman regardless of where they catch their flight. It comes after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Thursday afternoon that the state would head into a five-day snap lockdown, after cases rose to 16. Already 1500 primary close contacts have been asked to fully isolate. The country’s COVID-response minister, Chris Hipkins, said “As with previous pauses, we acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience that comes with any interruption to Trans Tasman travel, but given the ongoing level of uncertainty around transmission in Melbourne, this is the right action to take. It is also in keeping with our consistently cautious approach to prevent COVID-19 entering the New Zealand community.”<br/>
The second phase of Thailand’s reopening got off to a tepid start amid a surge in coronavirus infections, with officials still optimistic about an ambitious plan open up the whole country by end-October. The ‘Samui Plus’ travel arrangement, which allows vaccinated tourists to enter Koh Samui and other cities in the southeast Surat Thani province, went ahead as scheduled on 15 July. However, tourism officials have revised downward the expected arrivals under the scheme, as the country battles its worst-ever wave of infections that has left capital Bangkok and several provinces under lockdown. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects 1,000 foreign tourists in the first month. This compares to the TAT’s previous forecast of 2,000 travellers within the first month, which was disclosed in a 8 July Bangkok Post report. Under the scheme, tourists have to stay in a government-approved hotel for a week, and can only leave their accommodation on the fourth day.<br/>
Canada and Quebec are ready to spend a combined C$693 million ($550 million) on aerospace projects that cut carbon emissions, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, a boost for high-tech jobs ahead of an expected fall federal election. The total will be shared between training specialist CAE Inc , the Canadian unit of US engine maker Pratt & Whitney, and Textron, the parent company of Bell Helicopter. When in-house company spending is added, the total rises to more than C$1.8b, officials said. Trudeau said the move would create and maintain 12,000 jobs in the province of Quebec. That province accounts for almost a quarter of the seats in the House of Commons and is crucial to his hopes of retaining power. Confirmation of support came after Reuters reported Canada would “co-invest” with Pratt to bring a hybrid turboprop engine to first flight as part of wider aerospace funding. “There is fierce global competition to see who will develop the next cleaner aircraft or the next technology which will revolutionize the sector,” Trudeau told reporters.<br/>