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Dozens of former flight attendants from defunct Italian airline Alitalia stripped off their uniforms Wednesday, wearing only undergarments in a silent, choreographed protest in central Rome. Long financially ailing, Italy’s decades-old airline flew its last flight on Oct. 14. A new airline, ITA, began flying the next day, using some of Alitalia’s aircraft. It also bought the Alitalia brand, but it is taking on fewer than 3,000 of Alitalia’s 10,000 employees. Union officials say those who will work for ITA are being hired at significantly lower pay scales. Some 50 former flight attendants stood in rows in a square atop Rome’s Capitoline Hill, lowered their company shoulder bags to the cobblestone pavement, then slowly and in synch, removed their overcoats, then uniform jackets, then skirts, then stepped out of their high-heeled shoes. They remained barefoot, wearing only a slip, in silence for a few minutes. Then they carefully gathered up their garments and shoes and together shouted, “We are Alitalia!” Union leaders have been pressing for the government to extend unemployment benefits for as long as five years.<br/>

KLM has restarted flights to almost its entire pre-Covid network, with only one destination excepted. The Dutch carrier says intercontinental flights will operate at around 75% of capacity this winter compared to 2019. Plus it is launching services to four entirely new destinations – Mombasa, Cancun, Port of Spain, and Bridgetown. Starting 2 November, the carrier will run five weekly flights to Mexico’s Cancun, while scheduled service to Kenya’s Mombasa will commence in early December. The first combined flight to Port of Spain in Trinidad & Tobago and Bridgetown in Barbados began on 16 October, and will eventually be operated at three times weekly. The airline is also expanding capacity to various USA destinations, including Atlanta and New York JFK. It will serve Las Vegas and Miami this winter plus Minneapolis, which was reinstated during the summer. These routes will be operated at thrice-weekly frequency. KLM “began noticing a sharp rise in demand for travel to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands this summer”, it adds. “That is why the airline is also expanding capacity to the Caribbean and will double the number of flights to Curaçao to 14 a week.” In addition the carrier extend its network to South America, with its longest scheduled service - non-stop from Amsterdam to Santiago de Chile - continuing through the winter with three weekly flights. It will operate four flights a week to San José and Liberia in Costa Rica, up from two in last year, and a daily service to Panama City. In Europe, new destinations Zagreb and Poznan, which were launched in summer, will also continue in winter.<br/>

BA parent IAG’s shares are wiping out much of the past month’s gains on growing concerns about fuel prices, Covid-19 infections and a potential hike in airport fees. IAG fell as much as 4.7% Wednesday, and is on track for its worst three-day decline in almost a year. “Rising cases in the UK and higher oil prices are weighing on IAG shares, and undermining the return to profitability,” Luca Rescigno, a portfolio manager at Marzotto SIM, said in written comments. Peel Hunt analyst Alex Paterson cut his rating on the shares to hold from buy, citing a 19% jump in jet fuel prices in just a month. While an easing of U.S. travel restrictions should boost demand, “we do not expect yields to rise sufficiently quickly to mitigate the fuel cost pressure, which may worsen and be exacerbated by higher airport charges,” he wrote in a note. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday it would allow London’s Heathrow airport to increase charges by as much as 56%, spurring a backlash from airlines. Britain’s government, meanwhile, is hoping to avoid the re-imposition of pandemic restrictions, with new daily coronavirus cases persisting above 30,000 since early September. Still, for Rescigno, the fuel price spike remains the biggest risk. “There are probably easier stories -- such as airports -- to play the reopening trade, that are less affected by surging oil prices,” he said.<br/>

British Airways announced the start of vaccinated travel lane (VTL) flights between London's Heathrow Airport and Singapore on Wednesday. The airline's first designated VTL flight between the cities landed at 5.11pm at Changi Airport on Wednesday. "Customers must ensure they are fully vaccinated to travel. Children under 12 are exempt but must be accompanied by vaccinated adults," BA said. It added that fully vaccinated visitors who have tested negative for COVID-19 travelling to Singapore from London would no longer need to quarantine for seven days on arrival. Long and short-term pass holders must apply for a Singapore vaccinated travel pass seven days to 30 days before travel, it added. Singaporeans do not need to apply for the pass. Singapore began welcoming more fully vaccinated travellers on Tuesday, after extending its vaccinated travel lane scheme to eight more countries, including the United Kingdom. About 40% of the more than 2,400 people issued vaccinated travel passes to enter Singapore as of Oct 13 are travellers from the UK.<br/>

Kenya’s Treasury has agreed to consider an "appropriate recovery plan" for its cash-strapped flag carrier, Kenya Airways, in its 2022 budget in light of the airline's role in supporting the country’s recovery from COVID-19. This is according to the National Treasury's Budget Review and Outlook Paper (BROP) 2021, faulted by stakeholders and the public for not outlining a recovery plan for the airline. "Some state-owned agencies and parastatals require a state bailout and cash injection, e.g. Kenya Airways. The 2021 BROP has not outlined any measures to address this problem. An appropriate recovery plan should be considered in the budget review," they said. They argued the company was one of key state corporations “fuelling economic growth and the creation of employment” and should receive state support. “This is duly noted and will be done during sector allocations,” the Treasury wrote in response to the feedback. The National Treasury prepares and submits the BROP to the Cabinet for approval by September 30 each financial year in line with the country's Public Finances Management Act. Kenya's Business Daily reported the Treasury recently opened a three-day public hearing which is to inform sectoral budget proposals to be considered in the Appropriation of the Budget Bill for the next financial year. The Bill should be ready for parliamentary approval by March 31, 2022, a month earlier than legally required, because of elections slated for August next year.<br/>

Korean Air Lines said Wednesday it will resume flights to Hawaii next month after suspending the route for 19 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Korean Air made the decision to preemptively prepare for the post-pandemic travel demand as the government plans to adopt a "Living with COVID-19" scheme, under which COVID-19 is treated as an infectious respiratory disease like the seasonal influenza, with eased distancing being implemented. The national flag carrier will resume three flights a week on the Incheon-Honolulu route Nov. 3, the company said. Inbound passengers are exempt from a mandatory 10-day quarantine in Hawaii if they submit documents that prove they tested negative for COVID-19.<br/>