The EU is likely to discuss reintroducing travel restrictions on visitors from the US next week as coronavirus case numbers rise again. The US has breached the threshold to be included among non-EU countries that enjoy unrestricted travel into the bloc, according to a person familiar with the situation. The EU lifted restrictions on the US in June, adding it to a list of countries from where non-essential travel into the bloc is allowed, after America’s epidemiological situation met the bloc’s criteria. But the latest data show the US is now well above the EU limit of no more than 75 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the previous 14 days. The rate is just under 270 cases per 100,000 and increasing, said the person. That’s driven a rapid rebound in the European aviation industry to almost 70% of pre-pandemic capacity, according to OAG data, even though the US hasn’t reciprocated on travel access. Routes between the EU and US have recovered to almost 50% of pre-pandemic levels after Brussels chose to let in fully vaccinated Americans. Removing restriction-free access to US travelers could be a major blow for carriers including the likes of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. The Biden administration has kept foreign travel restrictions in place despite pressure to allow visitors from places like the EU. US officials have cited rising delta variant cases as one reason for that decision. A spokeswoman for Airlines for Europe, a trade group that respresentes European airlines, said that despite the spread of the delta variant, “increasing vaccination levels means the incident rate should not be the only criteria dictating policy decisions.”<br/>
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The worst may be over for Gulf airlines — at least for now — after Britain moved the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain to medium-risk status from high. Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul carrier prior to the coronavirus outbreak, said interest in travel picked up overnight, while Qatar Airways expects a surge in bookings. Arrivals will no longer need to quarantine in a government-approved hotel. The move comes as the UAE also lifted a ban on transit passengers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and African countries and opened its borders to people from those nations who have been fully vaccinated. The UK and India are among the UAE’s key markets and the restrictions had significantly impacted operations at the Middle East’s trade and travel hub. The oil-rich nation is home to Emirates, Etihad, FlyDubai and Air Arabia. The partial reopening of vital transfer hubs in the Middle East and key routes across the North Atlantic is stirring predictions that inter-continental travel is on its way back after a devastating slump.<br/>
Israel’s airlines have asked the Health Ministry to replace the quarantines with a third corona test. Roni Numa, the country’s corona airport commissioner, is in favor of this proposal and open to other possibilities, his spokesman said Sunday. He said he believed there is a reasonable chance the government would accept this compromise in a meeting with the Health Ministry late Sunday. Starting Wednesday, travelers from the US, France, Italy, Germany, Greece and about 20 other countries will be required to isolate for a minimum of seven days, even if they are fully vaccinated or recovered, after the government put those countries under a severe travel warning. That ruling caused “mass hysteria” among travelers, leading many to cancel or defer their flight plans, travel agents said.<br/>Israel’s pandemic travel regulations are among the strictest in the world, and many, including top health professionals, have charged that there is no scientific justification to require so many travelers to isolate themselves after flights. Other countries, like Great Britain, have been removing quarantine requirements in recent days for fully vaccinated travelers.<br/>
China stepped up measures to protect its capital Beijing, as an uptick in coronavirus cases driven by the more infectious Delta variant spread across multiple cities in the country. The National Health Commission reported on Saturday 107 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland for Aug. 6, compared with 124 a day earlier. Of the new infections, 75 were locally transmitted, the health authority said. That compares with 80 local cases a day earlier. Most of the local cases were in the eastern province of Jiangsu. Those currently outside Beijing in higher risk areas should temporarily postpone their return, and others should provide a negative COVID-19 test, according to details of a Saturday meeting by local officials reported by the Beijing Daily. Epidemic prevention measures at railways, highways and airports should be strengthened, they said.<br/>
Airbus has encountered issues with the production of its flagship narrow-body model, just as it begins ramping up jetliner build rates following coronavirus lockdowns. Customer Air Lease Corp. said on an analyst call that some A321neo handovers due this year have been pushed back as Airbus struggles with pandemic and supply-chain issues. The lessor added in a filing that the A330neo wide-body has also been affected to a lesser extent. “Airbus has advised us to continue to expect several months of delivery delays relating to such aircraft scheduled to deliver through 2022,” the Los Angeles-based firm said in the filing Thursday. “These delays also have impacted airline operations and the profitability of certain airlines.” An Airbus spokesman said here’s no systemic delay, though “a few aircraft could be some months behind.” The company said any shortfall can be addressed by the end of the year.<br/>
Canadian border agents ended a work-to-rule action late Friday after reaching a tentative agreement with the federal government, according to their union. Nearly 9,000 staff at the Canada Border Services Agency began the action earlier in the day, including guards at airports, land borders, commercial shipping ports, and post facilities. The work-to-rule action involved agents remainin on the job but slowing down their labor, leading to widespread service delays. The union said it was seeking an improved workplace environment and parity with other law enforcement officers. “We are relieved that CBSA and the government finally stepped up to address the most important issues for our members to avoid a prolonged labour dispute,” Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Chris Aylward said. “The agreement is a testament to the incredible hard work and dedication of our bargaining team who worked through the night to reach a deal.”<br/>
Lhasa Gonggar Airport in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region opened its newly constructed Terminal 3, which is the biggest in the region, for operations on Saturday, marking a significant milestone in the region's rapid infrastructure development that could significantly boost passenger and cargo transport and help the region become a global logistics hub for South Asia, experts said on Sunday. With the new terminal, the airport is expected to meet an annual handling capacity of 9m passengers and 80,000 metric tons of cargo, handling more than 75% of the passenger flow of all airports in Tibet, according to the airport. The expansion project, which started over three years ago, included the 88,000-square-meter terminal, which is over three times the size of the original terminal and has 21-stand parking apron, a supporting air traffic control facility and new communication and airfreight facilities. The expansion project of Lhasa Gonggar Airport started in December 2017 with an investment of 3.9b yuan ($603m). In recent years, infrastructure construction in Tibet has accelerated with many civil aviation, railways and highway projects, said Liu Zongyi, the secretary-general of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. "This is expected to help build the region into an international logistics hub for South Asia," Liu said on Sunday.<br/>
Auckland International Airport says it will start work on a NZ$1b-plus project to merge its domestic jet operations with its international terminal early next year. Auckland Airport had advanced design work and signed construction contracts for a new domestic jet hub prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it was one of several major infrastructure projects that were cancelled or deferred at the airport when the pandemic arrived. Auckland Airport CE Adrian Littlewood said the project was back on and had been refined to produce an even better end result. The first stage of the project was expected to get underway in early next year and cost $30 million. It would involve demolition work and relocating important back-of-house infrastructure that would make up the footprint of the planned domestic hub. Littlewood said construction was estimated to take five years and would begin as soon as phase one was completed. “That’s our approach unless something dramatic happens with Covid that materially changes conditions.” After infrastructure for jet operations was built work would begin on bringing over regional services from the old domestic terminal, he said. “The aim is to get under one terminal.”<br/>
Rolls-Royce senses that the aerospace industry is sceptical about hydrogen’s potential as a fuel for long-haul operations. The engine manufacturer’s CE, Warren East, expressed reservations during a half-year briefing on 5 August. “This isn’t a Rolls-Royce thing,” he says. “This is an industry thing. For long-distance international travel the industry doesn’t see a technology solution that’s appropriate – other than synthetic aviation fuel.” Rolls-Royce, whose engine activities depend heavily on the long-haul sector, has embarked on a programme to ensure that its civil aircraft powerplants are compatible with 100% blends of sustainable aviation fuel. “Hydrogen will play its part in lots of different sectors [but is] probably less likely to play a part in long-distance international travel,” says East. He says full electrification, hybrid powerplants, and hydrogen “all…have their role to play” in the short-haul sector. But in the long-distance widebody space, it’s going to be sustainable aviation fuel." He believes that the cost of such fuel “at scale” will be around twice the fossil fuel, but stresses: “That’s a little bit of an industry guess – not a Rolls-Royce guess.” East states that the manufacturer could potentially benefit from the scaling-up of sustainable fuel production, because it requires a similar scaling-up of electrical production for which Rolls-Royce can offer small modular nuclear reactors.<br/>