India is set to allow Boeing’s 737 Max jets to resume flights in the country within days, according to a person familiar with the matter, clearing one of the last remaining hurdles for the planemaker as it seeks to get the model flying again worldwide. The South Asian nation has been satisfied with the plane’s performance since it was un-grounded in the US, Europe and a number of other nations, and Boeing has met India’s own requirements, which included setting up a Max simulator there, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Rajeev Jain, a spokesman for India’s aviation ministry, said a decision on un-grounding the Max is awaited. A representative for Boeing said the company continues to work with global regulators to safely return the Max to service worldwide, adding that more than 170 out of 195 global regulators have opened their airspace for the model. Clearance in India will be a coup for Boeing, ending the plane’s more than two-year grounding in a country where Airbus SE’s A320-family of aircraft dominate the skies. It would leave China as the last major hurdle for Boeing, given almost all other major aviation markets have allowed the jet to fly again following extensive fixes.<br/>
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China's Ningbo airport has suspended inbound and outbound flights to the capital Beijing from August 11 due to a "public health incident", state television reported on Thursday. The eastern city where Ningbo Zhoushan port, China's second-largest container port by handling volume, is located has suspended services at a subsidiary Meidong port after an employee at Meidong port tested positive for COVID-19.<br/>
Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport has officially opened in east China’s Shandong Province. Xinhuanet reported that the new airport has been built to handle large aircrafts such as the Airbus A380 and is ranked as 4F. The completed first phase of the airport encompasses 16.25km², entailing an investment of $5.5b. The airport will have the capacity to annually manage 35m passengers, cargo of 500,000 tonnes and 300,000 aircraft take-offs and landings by 2025. It will reportedly provide connectivity to nearly 130 domestic destinations across the country, including major cities. Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport will also link the Qingdao region to 50 international destinations including 17 in Japan and the Republic of Korea. Additionally, the airport provides access to the metro and high-speed rail services.<br/>
Helicopter-taxi firm Blade Air Mobility, which ferries people to luxury destinations such as The Hamptons, on Thursday mandated that starting next month its passengers be inoculated against COVID-19. Eligible passengers should be fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to their flight, with some exceptions such as departures from Florida, the company said. Blade, which charges about $795 per seat for a one-way helicopter ride from New York to The Hamptons, added that it may refuse service to any passenger who does not provide a proof of vaccination. The company also operates flights between New York and Manhattan heliports. The New York-based company was among a raft of transportation firms, which went public through a merger with a blank-check firm. The company was valued at a pro-forma equity value of $825m at closing. <br/>
US oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, along with Chevron Corp, is seeking to bulk up in the burgeoning renewable fuels space by finding ways to make such products at existing facilities, sources familiar with the efforts said. The two largest US oil companies want to produce sustainable fuels without ponying up billions of dollars that some refineries are spending to reconfigure operations to make such products. Renewable fuels account for 5% of U.S. fuel consumption, but are poised to grow as various sectors adapt to cut overall carbon emissions to combat global climate change. Both Chevron and Exxon have massive refining divisions that contribute heavily to their overall carbon emissions. The companies have been criticized for a less urgent approach to renewable investments than European rivals Royal Dutch Shell and TotalEnergies, and have generally spent a lower percentage of their capital than those companies on "green" technologies. The companies are looking into how to process bio-based feedstocks like vegetable oils and partially processed biofuels with petroleum distillates to make renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable gasoline, without meaningfully increasing capital spending.<br/>
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reported that Phuket has welcomed its first direct flight from Hong Kong under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ programme that was launched on 1 July 2021, and which has to date brought over 19,000 foreign tourists to the island. Cathay Pacific flight CX771 with 134 passengers landed at Phuket International Airport at 10.40 Hrs. on 10 August 2021, to a dramatic water cannon greeting and warm welcome from the Airports of Thailand staff and TAT officials. The new Cathay Pacific service – one flight per week every Tuesday – added Hong Kong to a number of points in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East from where major airlines have been flying direct to Phuket since Phuket Sandbox programme began. This includes THAI from Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Paris, London, and Zurich, Singapore Airlines from Singapore, Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi, Emirates from Dubai, Qatar Airways from Doha, and EL AL Israel Airlines from Tel Aviv.<br/>