The United States is developing a "new system for international travel" that will include contact tracing for when it eventually lifts travel restrictions that bar much of the world's population from entering the country, a senior White House official said Wednesday. White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients told the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board the administration does not plan to immediately relax any travel restrictions citing COVID-19 Delta variant cases in the United States and around the world. "The American people need to trust that the new system for international travel is safer even as we - I mean at that point - we'll be letting in more travelers," Zients said on Wednesday, adding it will eventually replace existing restrictions. "We are exploring considering vaccination requirements for foreign nationals traveling to the United States," Zients said. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at the same meeting that the spike in COVID-19 cases is preventing lifting international travel restrictions. "We want to move to a metrics-based system," Raimondo said. "Before we can do that, we have to get a better handle on the domestic situation, which requires us to get everyone vaccinated." Zients said the new plan would replace the current restrictions and would be "safer, stronger and sustainable." He did not lay out specific metrics for when the administration might relax restrictions.<br/>
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Chile announced plans to reopen its borders to visitors on Wednesday in a bid to revive its ailing tourism industry ahead of the Southern Hemisphere summer and following a successful vaccination drive that has seen COVID-19 infections in the country plummet. Travelers will be required to show a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours before entering Chile, undergo a mandatory 5-day quarantine, have medical travel insurance and show proof of vaccination, public health chief Paula Daza said. Daza warned visitors not to book their trip to Chile until their vaccination certificate was validated by the Chilean health ministry, which could take a month. Visitors without vaccines - including children - will only be allowed to enter under strict criteria, such as for humanitarian reasons. The Chilean Association of Airlines (ACHILA), which has pushed for the reopening of borders, said the new regulations changed nothing in practice. "Considering the high percentage of vaccinated [people] in our country and the low level of contagion and positivity, the measures announced by the government...continue to be [among] most restrictive...in the world," the group said. The group urged the government to eliminate the quarantine requirement and allow children too young to receive vaccines to enter the country to facilitate travel. The debate comes as life begins to return to normal in Chile, which boasts one the world's highest vaccination rates, with 73% of the population now inoculated against COVID-19. Borders were closed to visitors in March 2020 when the pandemic first hit, and again in April 2021 when Chile experienced a fiercer, second wave of the virus.<br/>
Several airlines and European air navigation service providers are to test a new service intended to offer airlines exceptional route changes and tactical adjustments, to provide a more efficient trajectory particularly for flights affected by critical operational issues. Pan-European air navigation organisation Eurocontrol says the trial, beginning 15 September, will last for two months and cover the airspaces of France, Germany, the UK and Ireland, Switzerland, and the Benelux sates. The service – known as the ‘Customer Initiative’ – is “unique”, claims Eurocontrol, and aims to relieve pressure on airline operation control centres. It will focus on flights involved in “priority situations” such as those in which carriers face crew duty limitations, high-impact delays, curfews, and serious schedule disruptions which might lead to a “network shockwave”, adds the association. Air navigation services will offer trajectory strategies including higher cruising altitudes, co-ordinated tactical directs, or non-standard routes to assist airlines that are encountering operational problems. “The focus is on achieving high-value results, in particular by proposing the best possible flight planning options – which might not be detected by flight planning software – and by guaranteeing on-time arrival,” says Eurocontrol.<br/>
Norway’s competition regulator has made a case for longer runways at some of the country’s smaller airports with the aim of increasing interest in public service obligation route tenders in future. It outlined the argument in a wide-ranging submission to the transport ministry’s consultation on its national aviation strategy, in which it also warned against providing more state support for established carriers in future to ensure new operators can establish themselves. The Norwegian Competition Authority argues that if the decline in passenger levels continues beyond the pandemic, the probability will increase that more Norwegian air routes will become monopoly routes. But it notes air routes with only one operator that are not commercially profitable can be designated PSO routes and subsidised by the state. It notes that all such routes, with the exception of Oslo-Rores, are currently operated by one operator – Wideroe. ”The Norwegian Competition Authority believes that a review of the airport structure should be made and steps taken to get more companies involved in the tender competitions for these routes,” it says, specifically arguing extending runways to enable more types of aircraft to be deployed would enable more companies to participate in such tenders. Norway has provided state support to Norwegian operators during the pandemic, but senior advisor at the competition authority, Elisabeth Steckmest, says such support should not be at the expense of new start-up operators. Story has more.<br/>
Top emitters of carbon are not disclosing the full risks associated with climate change, reducing the chances of meeting global emissions targets, a study by Carbon Tracker and the Climate Accounting Project (CAP) said on Thursday. The CAP is an informal team of accounting and finance experts drawn from the investor community and commissioned by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), while Carbon Tracker is funded by around 30 charitable foundations. Of 107 listed companies assessed in the study, across sectors including oil and gas, automobiles and aviation, more than 70% did not reflect the full risks resulting from climate change in their 2020 accounts, the report released on Thursday by Carbon Tracker said. "Based on the significant exposure these companies have to transition risk, and with many announcing emissions targets, we expected substantially more consideration of climate matters in the financials than we found," Barbara Davidson, senior analyst at Carbon Tracker and lead author of the report, said. "Without this information there is little way of knowing the extent of capital at risk, or if funds are being allocated to unsustainable businesses, which further reduces our chances to decarbonise in the short time remaining to achieve Paris goals," Davidson added.<br/>
General Electric is neither expecting nor planning for a significant spike in demand for commercial air travel that would jolt aviation back to pre-pandemic levels and suddenly improve the fortunes of its aircraft engine division, and instead intends to manufacture as much of its own luck as it can, GE’s CE Larry Culp asserts. Global aviation’s recovery is the number one priority for US-based GE, which also has healthcare and renewable energy divisions in its portfolio. “That’s our biggest, best business in so many ways,” Culp said on 14 September. “You saw that in [our] 2019 profile from a profit [and] a cash perspective. Covid really hit that business hard.” While Culp has been “encouraged” by commercial aviation’s sequential growth this year, the damage wrought recently by the delta variant of Covid-19 has cast doubt any assumptions one can make about the timing of a full recovery. “We’ve watched departures intently in [aviation],” he says. “As of this morning, global departures are off 2019 levels [by] 27%. We see China down 13%, the US down 10%, Europe down 35%.” The number of global flights on 13 September was down 34% versus the same day in 2019, Cirium data shows. Culp insists that GE Aviation is “well positioned” for aviation’s recovery, which he believes is “inevitable”.<br/>