IATA DG Willie Walsh has urged Latin American and Caribbean airlines to push back against attempts by suppliers to recoup lost revenue through higher charges, arguing the sector deserves better after proving its worth to a broad spectrum of society during the Covid-19 crisis. “We have seen that everybody suffers when aviation stops,” he told representatives at the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in Bogota on 25 October. “Covid-19 has dispelled the myth that flying only benefits the rich.” Walsh insists airlines are “far too important to be treated as a cash cow for governments to milk”. He specifically refers to “so-called partners in the value chain profiteering literally at our expense”, echoing comments he made earlier in October at the IATA AGM in Boston. His comments then drew a strong rebuttal from airports association ACI World. Undeterred, Walsh cites several examples of what he claims is the same dynamic playing out in the Latin America region. Argentina is increasing departure taxes, he says, while Costa Rica is raising airport security fees. In the Dominican Republic, meanwhile, ground-handling fees are rising, while El Salvador is adding an “agriculture inspection fee” to each airline ticket, according to Walsh. Such moves are “unacceptable at the time of crisis”, in his view, and notably contrast with airlines undertaking “drastic cost reduction” during the pandemic, supported by increased commercial borrowing and shareholder contributions. While some government financial help has been available to airlines, those in the Latin America region saw “government provide no direct financial support”, Walsh observes.<br/>
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The White House Monday said it will require airlines to check US-bound air travelers’ proof of Covid-19 vaccination and provide contact information to federal officials as part of new rules that take effect when the US lifts curbs on international visitors next month. The Biden administration earlier this month said it plans to lift pandemic restrictions that barred most visitors from more than 30 countries, including the U.K. and Brazil, on Nov. 8, allowing in vaccinated travelers. The rules were put in place first by the Trump administration in early 2020 and then extended by the Biden administration this year. The new rules, issued by President Joe Biden on Monday, will be applied to foreign visitors, including those coming to the US from countries that were not on the prohibited list. Exemptions to the visitors’ vaccine requirements include travelers under the age of 18 or those who have medical reasons prohibiting them from getting a vaccine, senior Biden administration officials said. Foreign visitors between age 2 and 17 must still take a Covid test three days before departure if they are traveling with a fully vaccinated adult. Other exemptions include those traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with low vaccine availability. A senior administration official said there are about 50 countries that would fit that bill, but that individuals who receive the exemption for low vaccine availability have to provide a U.S.-government issued letter stating the urgent need for travel. Officials consider fully vaccinated two weeks since the last dose of a Covid-19 vaccine or a single-dose vaccine like Johnson & Johnson’s. Digital and paper copies of vaccine certificates will be accepted. The CDC will require airlines to collect and track contact information from travelers and potentially share that with federal officials.<br/>
Two US lawmakers said Monday the TSA has issued just $2,350 in total fines to 10 passengers for failing to wear masks since February, despite thousands of reports of airport passengers failing to comply. House Homeland Security Committee chairman Bennie Thompson and Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, who chairs the transportation subcommittee, said in a letter that even though 4,102 reports of mask-related incidents were reported through mid-September, TSA has issued few fines and warnings to more than 2,000 passengers. "We urge you to implement these enhanced penalties to curb the rising number of mask-related disruptive passenger incidents that threaten the safety and well-being of Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), airport and airline workers, flight crews, and other travelers," the lawmakers wrote, asking for answers to questions by Nov. 15. A TSA spokeswoman said TSA Administrator David Pekoske "will respond directly to the members of Congress." Pekoske in July told lawmakers that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic there have been over 85 physical assaults on TSA officers. In August, the Biden administration extended requirements for travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through Jan. 18 to address COVID-19 risks. The current CDC order in place since soon after President Joe Biden took office in January, requires the use of face masks on nearly all forms of transportation with the primary exception of private cars.<br/>
The US government owes a patent holding company at least $103m because of the TSA's misuse of its technology for handling trays at airport security checkpoints, a Washington, DC-based federal court said. In an opinion made public Friday, the US Court of Federal Claims said the TSA used SecurityPoint Holdings' patented methods for most of its security screenings at the largest US airports since 2008 without compensating it. The US Department of Justice, which represented the US government, declined to comment. St. Petersburg, Florida-based SecurityPoint's founder Joseph Ambrefe offered the TSA a license to his patent in 2005 in exchange for the exclusive right to advertise on the trays at US airports. The TSA had success testing SecurityPoint's technology and equipment, but refused SecurityPoint's offer. The court said the TSA began using the same method with its own equipment later that year at most or all of the airports under its control, and SecurityPoint sued the US government for patent infringement in 2011. The government conceded that it had used the technology since 2008 in 10 airports including Dallas/Fort Worth, Boston Logan, Phoenix Sky Harbor and all three major Washington, DC-area airports. The court rejected the government's arguments that SecurityPoint's patent was invalid in 2015, leaving questions about the extent of the government's infringement and how much it owed in damages.<br/>
Latin American countries are increasingly turning to hiking taxes and tariffs aimed at the aviation sector, even as it struggles to recover amid the coronavirus pandemic, which will see it post losses in the coming years, the industry's main trade body said on Monday. Argentina has increased taxes on ticket sales, while Costa Rica plans to hike security tariffs for San Jose International Airport by more than 70%, the IATA said. Other hikes are due to come into effect in both El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, IATA DG Willie Walsh said. While the region is seeing recovery in air traffic, the aviation industry's "so-called partners" are engaging in a growing trend to increase taxes, Walsh said, referring to authorities throughout Latin America. "These are unacceptable in a time of crisis, and we cannot tolerate others following in their footsteps," Walsh said during the annual conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) in Bogota. Latin American airlines are forecast to see accumulated losses of $5.6b this year before falling to losses of $3.7b in 2022, Walsh added. "This crisis goes beyond anything we have ever experienced before," Walsh said. "The good news, however, is that I think the worst is behind us and we can see a path toward normality." According to IATA, domestic markets are expected to reach almost 75% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, although restrictions will keep international travel at 22% of pre-crisis levels due to ongoing measures to curb the spread of the disease.<br/>
An improved near-term passenger traffic picture will not translate into a speedier return to 2019 levels of air travel demand, according to fresh forecast data from airports body ACI Europe. The new forecast – released on the eve of the association’s annual congress – suggests the region will still only reach pre-pandemic airport passenger volumes in 2025, amid an “uneven and volatile” recovery. ACI Europe’s new base-case scenario is that passenger traffic at Europe’s airports will rise from 60% down on 2019 this year to -32% in 2022. The association’s previous base-case scenario, released in April 2021, had a weaker near-term outlook, with demand forecast at -64% and -36% in 2021 and 2022 respectively. The better outlook for passenger traffic in the remainder of 2021 and into 2022 is “thanks to the re-opening of the transatlantic market to European travellers as well as a progressive easing of travel restrictions on other long-haul markets – in particular in Asia”, ACI Europe says. But the new and previous forecasts converge at -15% in 2023 and -5% in 2024, suggesting the near-term traffic improvement will lose momentum. For 2025, the new base-case scenario has traffic 1% ahead, whereas the previous forecast was parity with 2019. ACI Europe’s new “optimistic” scenario, meanwhile, still sees the region achieving 2019 levels of traffic in 2024, while its new “pessimistic” scenario foresees parity with 2019 in 2026. Its previous outlook featured a much more severe “pessimistic” scenario and a less-steep recovery in the “optimistic” scenario.<br/>
A senior Airbus official on Monday defended the European planemaker’s output goals after it clashed with leasing companies worried about overproduction of jetliners. Airbus hopes to almost double production of its best-selling A320 family as air travel gathers pace following the coronavirus crisis. Critics have accused it of ignoring the impact on jet prices and service revenues. “The key to all this is that we have these firm contracts with our clients - we cannot say that we are not going to respect those contracts because we think they are too many for the business,” said Airbus Latin America president Arturo Barreira, on the sidelines of the ALTA airline conference in Bogota. “We have those commitments with our clients, so the demand is there and we are seeing that the interests of many airlines to improve the fleet are being reactivated,” he said. Industry sources said earlier on Monday Airbus had rebuffed calls for output restraint from leasing companies, which fear the effect of too much production on the value of existing assets. The dispute deepens an industry split over post-COVID demand after Airbus also received flak from engine makers and other suppliers over the pace of its planned output increases.<br/>