The head of the FAA will tell US lawmakers on Thursday that the agency is taking a new stance in overseeing the safety efforts of airplane manufacturers like Boeing. “Our approach to aircraft certification and safety oversight has changed. The FAA’s relationship with manufacturers is evolving,” agency Administrator Steve Dickson says in prepared testimony for a hearing before a US House of Representatives panel. “We are prioritizing oversight of manufacturers and working to focus that oversight on safety-critical areas. We are delegating fewer responsibilities and demanding more transparency from them, and evaluating key assumptions prior to delegating functions in certain areas.” Congress in December approved legislation boosting FAA oversight of aircraft manufacturers, requiring disclosure of critical safety information and providing new whistleblower protections in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people and led to the plane’s 19-month US grounding. Dickson is slated to testify before a Transportation Committee subcommittee at a hearing that comes nearly three years since Lion Air 610 crashed in Indonesia.<br/>
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EU countries are trying to reach agreement on ways to ease pandemic travel restrictions within and into the bloc as leaders work to boost Covid-19 vaccination levels. One option under discussion ahead of a two-day EU summit in Brussels is a plan to effectively scrap the traffic-light system of green and red areas in the bloc that has been used to govern travel rules and instead allow anyone who has been vaccinated to travel freely, according to a European Commission informal proposal seen by Bloomberg. The plan would rely on the use of the widely adopted EU digital Covid passports, which have allowed travelers to cross borders without tests or quarantines since the summer if they can show they’ve been fully inoculated or recovered from the virus. Travelers without a Covid pass could be required to undergo tests after arriving in their destination. “Given the very sizable impact on the exercise of free movement, persons traveling within the EU should in principle no longer be required to quarantine save for very exceptional situations (e.g. new variants of concern),” the EC proposal says. Other jurisdictions have begun to open up rapidly in recent weeks after a slower start, with the UK simplifying its own traffic light system to a green and red list, with the latter now featuring only seven countries as of last week. The US, meanwhile, will admit vaccinated foreigners starting from Nov. 8, spurring demand on transatlantic routes that rank as the most lucrative for airlines and travel firms.<br/>
Morocco has banned flights to and from the UK due to the coronavirus pandemic. Several UK airlines and holiday companies have been told by the Moroccan government that flights will be suspended from 23:59 BST on Wednesday until further notice. Flights between Morocco and Germany and the Netherlands have also been suspended. The BBC has contacted the Moroccan embassy and tourism office, as well as the UK Foreign Office for comment. Latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said that Morocco's weekly rate of reported coronavirus cases on 14 October stood at 10.4 per 100,000 people, compared with 445.5 per 100,000 people in the UK. On Tuesday, the UK reported 43,738 new Covid-19 infections, with new cases above 40,000 for seven days in a row. The number of patients in hospital rose by 10% in a week to 7,749 on Monday. The UK government updated its advice on travel to Morocco to state that the Moroccan government has suspended direct flights between the UK and Morocco for an unspecified period of time. UK passengers are not banned from travelling from the country, but must travel via a third country to do so.<br/>
The UK is leading a push to get more countries to sign up to net-zero goals in aviation as part of the COP26 climate talks later this month. The International Aviation Climate Ambition Coalition is a new group of countries aiming for emissions cuts in the industry, and will be launched in Glasgow, Scotland, according to an official program. COP26 President Alok Sharma said on Wednesday he hopes for more announcements on aviation at the summit. The coalition will comprise states “that want to meet the challenge of net zero for aviation, and are encouraging all states to do the same,” the program says. It plans “an ambitious and comprehensive declaration on aviation emissions.” The UK is leading the drive, according to people familiar with the situation. The effort would pave the way for the adoption of tougher carbon goals at the next ICAO assembly in September 2022. Pressure has been building to stiffen targets set via ICAO, a United Nations agency through which international aviation agreements are coordinated. This month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for making more ambitious and credible ICAO emissions targets “an urgent priority.” <br/>
Middle Eastern operators will take delivery of 3,000 new aircraft over the next two decades, with a strong widebody presence, Boeing estimates in its latest forecast for the region. Ahead of the Dubai air show in November, the airframer states that these deliveries will include 1,320 widebody types as well as 1,570 single-aisle aircraft. They will be complemented by 70 freighters and 40 regional jets. Boeing estimates that the Middle East region’s fleet will increase by more than 2,000 aircraft – rising from the current figure of 1,500 to more than 3,500 by 2040. The single-aisle and widebody sectors will more than double their fleets – to 1,750 and 1,570 aircraft respectively – while the number of freighters will rise from 80 to 150. Two-thirds of the overall deliveries will support expansion, with the remainder for replacement. Boeing’s backlog data lists over 500 aircraft yet to be delivered to Middle Eastern customers, led by 777X and 787 orders to Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, plus 737 Max jets for Flydubai. Among other customers for outstanding orders are Gulf Air and Oman Air, plus lessors ALAFCO and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.<br/>
Kuwait has lifted all COVID-19 restrictions for vaccinated people, its prime minister, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, told a news conference on Wednesday. He did not give further details during the televised event. Kuwait airport will resume operating at full capacity from Oct. 24, the cabinet spokesman told the same news conference. The Gulf country has been witnessing a gradual return to normal life as daily cases of coronavirus have steadily declined. The latest easing includes permitting the holding of conferences, weddings and other social events, provided that attendance is limited to those who have been vaccinated. Wearing masks remains mandatory in public places.<br/>
Thai government officials on Wednesday inspected the readiness of the country's airports to welcome quarantine-free travellers, due to return next month after almost two years of strict COVID-19 rules that halted vital tourism. From Nov. 1, the country will allow vaccinated arrivals from low risk countries to return to its popular destinations like Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Tourism before the pandemic was a leading driver of the economy, accounting for 12% of GDP. But the tourism authority has forecast foreign arrivals will drop to just 100,000 this year, down from 40m in 2019 before the pandemic struck. "November 1 is the first step," Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob said during a visit to Bangkok's Don Muang airport Wednesday. "Foreign tourists and investors from at least 10 countries which are in health-safe zones, as well as doing great financially, can come to visit and spend in the country." Thailand piloted reopening earlier this year in its resort island of Phuket, allowing fully-vaccinated tourists to skip Thailand’s mandatory two-week quarantine provided they remained on the island. But Saksiam said the wider reopening would be even simpler for travellers, as testing on arrival could be done at hotels and other accommodations rather than at the airport.<br/>
British satellite operator Inmarsat Holdings Ltd said it’s the first foreign operator to get India’s approval to sell high-speed broadband to planes and shipping vessels. Inmarsat will access the market via Indian state-owned telecommunications company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, after BSNL received a license from India’s Department of Telecommunications, the London-based company said in a statement Wednesday. Inmarsat has struck deals with Indian airline SpiceJet and the Shipping Corp of India Ltd, CEO Rajeev Suri said. The operator already offered reliable but low-data “L-band” services in India. The new license lets it offer much faster 4G-like “Ka-band” broadband on its GX network. Millions of Indian consumers and businesses are flooding onto the internet, and businesses are jostling to provide it. Inmarsat’s connectivity comes from satellites in geostationary orbit, but it will likely end up competing with new deep-pocketed low-earth orbit satellite rivals like Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp and Indian telecommunications tycoon Sunil Mittal’s OneWeb, which beam broadband from much closer to the earth.<br/>
Vietnam will allow airlines to increase flight frequencies on major domestic routes through end-November, as the country eyes restoring regular flights with Singapore. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), in a 21 October notice, says the frequency increase will apply to three routes — Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi, Hanoi-Da Nang, as well as Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang. From 21 October to 14 November, the CAAV will allow up to six flights a day, with an additional daily flight allowed from 15 November until the end of the month. The authority did not disclose how flight frequencies would be distributed among domestic carriers, which include flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, low-cost carrier VietJet Air, as well as privately-owned Bamboo Airways. As for other domestic routes, the CAAV maintains its previous guidelines which stipulate that each carrier only be allocated one daily flight per way, per route. Passengers travelling on domestic flights have to be fully-vaccinated, or be certified to have fully recovered from a coronavirus infection, or be tested negative up to 72 hours before travelling. The capacity upgauge comes two weeks after the country allowed domestic flights to resume, following a particularly severe wave of coronavirus infections. Separately, Vietnam has agreed to work with Singapore towards reopening commercial flights between both countries. <br/>
The New South Wales government has launched a A$60m ($45m) fund aimed at luring back international carriers to Sydney, as the country begins to crack open its borders. Known as the Aviation Attraction Fund, it is part of a broader A$530 million lifeline the New South Wales state government is doling out to “supercharge” its tourism and travel economy. Shortly after the announcement by the state government, airport operator Sydney Airport says it will match the fund dollar-for-dollar, creating what it calls a “war chest aimed at turbo-charging the return of international airlines to the state”. Like major airports around the region, Sydney Airport has suffered from a steep decline in passenger numbers since the coronavirus outbreak began in early 2020. Travel restrictions, coupled with tightly-shut international borders, have led to a 97% decrease in passenger numbers against pre-pandemic 2019. Sydney Airport chief Geoff Culbert adds that 18 international carriers have completely halted flights to Sydney. “Today’s announcement will put us back on the map as Australia’s gateway and accelerate our return to pre-pandemic levels of passenger traffic,” Culbert says.<br/>