A US judge in Texas on Tuesday temporarily restrained United Airlines from placing any employee on unpaid leave who receive religious exemptions from the company for COVID-19 vaccinations until Oct. 26. The Judge also temporarily restrained the airline from denying any late requests for religious or medical accommodations.<br/>
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India plans to sell Air India’s regional arm separately, days after Tata Sons Ltd. emerged as the highest bidder for the parent carrier in an auction that didn’t include the unit, underscoring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempts to steer the state away from involvement in private-sector business. The sort of market Alliance Air services is distinctly different from that of its parent and the government therefore took a decision to exclude it from the sale process, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the top bureaucrat at India’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday. The administration expects to complete the Air India sale by December, with a ground-handling unit being hived off first, he said. India is targeting to raise as much as 1.75t rupees ($23.2b) in the year through March 2022 to make up for a pandemic-linked drop in tax revenue. The broad proposals include an initial public offering by Life Insurance Corp. of India -- which could be the country’s largest -- as well as selling stakes in companies including Bharat Petroleum Corp. Alliance Air operates 18 ATR-72 turboprop planes to 47 destinations, connecting the likes of capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai to smaller towns across the nation, according to its website. Market leader IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., also operates a fleet of ATR aircraft to connect so-called tier-2 and tier-3 regional hubs. <br/>
Dozens of people queued outside Singapore Airlines’ customer-service center on the fourth floor of a luxury shopping mall on Orchard Road in downtown Singapore, in some cases waiting for many hours to speak to staff about flights now opening up from the city-state. A sign outside the center indicated that customers should be prepared to wait for three hours or more due to high demand. A security guard stood at the front of the line to shepherd people inside, where they would spend up to 30 minutes speaking with airline representatives. It’s been like this since Saturday, when Singapore announced it would allow quarantine-free visits for arrivals from several countries including the US and UK on so-called vaccinated travel lanes. Singapore Airlines has added more staff at the center to try to cope with the surge in interest. It opens at 9:30 a.m. and typically closes at 6 p.m., but those hours have been extended. <br/>
Air New Zealand will be transforming one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets into a vaccine clinic on Saturday, the national vaccination day when the Government hopes to vaccinate as many Kiwis as possible. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins teased some of the plans for the day being dubbed “Super Saturday” during Wednesday’s 1pm press conference, including the national airline’s involvement. The Dreamliner-turned-vaccine clinic would be located at Auckland Airport. “I’m told people will be vaccinated in business class before waiting out their time in economy class with snacks provided,” he said. Air New Zealand has been approached for more comment on the initiative. Other initiatives included vaccination campervans heading up and down the country, and the Department of Conservation using its four-wheel drives and boats to distribute the jab to people in remote areas.<br/>