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The United States began requiring international travelers on Monday to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken no more than a day before their flights. The move, intended to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, is causing headaches for many passengers. Previously, fully vaccinated travelers could provide proof of a negative test taken within 72 hours of departure. The new requirement may be difficult for some to satisfy, because it can take more than a day to receive test results. The new rules have some travelers wondering if they can stick to their planned itineraries. They are one more hurdle to clear for Americans who are living outside the United States and for foreigners hoping to visit for Christmas and New Year’s. From London to Taipei, travelers have been thinking about the scenarios that could emerge on a trip, like what would happen if a flight is canceled or if the traveler tests positive along the way. Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tried to add some perspective on Sunday. “What we don’t yet know is how transmissible it will be, how well our vaccines will work, whether it will lead to more severe disease,” Dr. Walensky said. The stricter testing requirement for inbound travelers took effect just as airline travel was experiencing a rebound. The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the busiest travel day at US airports since February 2020, according to the TSA.<br/>

The US CDC Monday advised Americans against travel to France, Jordan, Portugal, and Tanzania, citing COVID-19 concerns. The CDC now lists 83 destinations at "Level 4: Very High" classification and also on Monday added Andorra, Cyprus and Liechtenstein to the highest travel advisory level. France said Monday it would close nightclubs ahead of Christmas and tighten social distancing measures in response to the emergent Omicron variant of the coronavirus, but that there was no need for new lockdowns or curfews. PM Jean Castex said a fifth wave of the pandemic was surging, but with 52m people now vaccinated - nearly 90% of those eligible - the situation was better than in previous outbreaks. The US imposed new rules, effective Monday, requiring international air travelers arriving in the US to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within one day of travel. Under the prior rules, vaccinated international air travelers could present a negative test result obtained within three days of their day of departure. Some airline officials said there is a three-day grace period to allow for some travelers to return to the United States with tests taken outside of the one-day window. A CDC spokeswoman declined to confirm that but said "CDC is exercising some enforcement discretion as this requirement is put in place." Effective Nov. 29, the White House barred nearly all foreign nationals from entering the United States from eight southern African countries over fears of the spread of the Omicron variant, but has not extended those travel restrictions to other countries where the new variant has been discovered. France said Monday it has now identified 25 positive cases of the Omicron variant.<br/>

The US aviation industry said on Monday new precautionary measures offered by AT&T and Verizon Communications were insufficient to address air safety concerns raised by the planned use of C-Band spectrum for 5G wireless. The Aerospace Industries Association said in a letter to Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel that the telecom plans “are inadequate and far too narrow to ensure the safety and economic vitality of the aviation industry.” The industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have raised concerns about potential interference of 5G with sensitive aircraft electronics like radio altimeters. The FCC, FAA and Verizon did not immediately comment. AT&T declined comment. On Friday, an aviation coalition including major airlines and airplane manufacturers met with the White House and other agencies and presented the National Economic Council with a proposal for additional safeguards. The letter said the aviation proposal “provides additional safeguards in, around, and on the approach to airports and heliports.”<br/>

European Union health ministers are expected to discuss Tuesday whether it’s advisable to adjust the travel curbs the bloc’s nations have imposed on southern Africa in response to the omicron variant, an EU diplomat said. One option under consideration is to require a PCR test for vaccinated third-country nationals from that region, which could allow a decision in a week or so to ease or lift some travel bans, according to an EU diplomat familiar with discussions ahead of Tuesday’s meeting in Brussels. The travel restrictions aren’t on the formal agenda for the meeting, and an EU official says that health ministers have no formal role in setting travel restrictions. The official said the meeting agenda includes booster doses, vaccination for children and measures states have put in place to combat the variant. European nations last month suspended most air travel from South Africa and six other countries in the region to stem the spread of the new variant while scientists try to assess its severity. Governments across the world tightened entry rules and some reintroduced quarantine measures, as airlines slashed thousands of flights. The EU coordinates travel guidelines within and into the bloc, but member nations are responsible for devising and implementing specific travel restrictions.<br/>

European regulators have issued a preliminary warning that patches of lightning protection may have been wrongly fitted on over a dozen Airbus A350 jets, while Delta Air Lines has joined a list of carriers facing “paint issues”. The proposed safety warning marks the first time manufacturing has come under regulators’ spotlight amid a growing commercial and industrial headache over flaws on the skin of the jets, which Airbus insists are safe to fly. The EASA said in a proposed airworthiness directive that Expanded Copper Foil (ECF), designed to safely disperse lightning strikes, may not have been installed properly on the wing covers of 13 jets. If a cocktail of factors comes together - including an adjacent fastener also being incorrectly installed - then a heavy lightning strike in the same zone could lead to fuel vapour igniting and “consequent loss” of the jet, EASA said. The proposed directive calls for gradual inspections and where necessary repairs, enforcing a bulletin from Airbus, but does not call for any of the 13 planes to be grounded. An Airbus spokesperson said the draft directive is a “normal part of the continued airworthiness process”.<br/>

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Monday said Minsk would retaliate to sanctions on its aviation industry with similar measures against air carriers from the European Union and the United Kingdom. The EU sanctioned Belarusian state-run airline Belavia last week, accusing it of flying in migrants as a tactic to destabilise European states, punitive measures that were coordinated with Washington. The ministry also said it would ban imports of certain goods from countries that impose anti-Belarus sanctions, without giving further details on the goods in question.<br/>

The German-Turkish joint venture that won a contract to run Turkey’s second-busiest airport in Antalya is seeking to borrow as much as E1.5b to finance the down payment, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Turkey’s TAV Havalimanlari Holding and German partner Fraport will set up a special purpose vehicle company to sign the airport contract with the Turkish airport authority known as DHMI, said people, who declined to be named because discussions are private. The joint venture will have three months to make the payment after the lease is signed with DHMI and is in talks with Turkish banks for the financing, the people said. It won the contract to run the Antalya airport for 25 years with a E7.25b offer, the second biggest on record for such a deal in Turkey.<br/>

Little is known about the potential dangers posed by the Omicron coronavirus variant but concern over its spread is already threatening to wreck reopening plans in Asia-Pacific. After more than 20 months of strict border controls and restrictions on daily life, many countries in the region had tentatively started to loosen up and live with Covid -- months after their European and North American counterparts fully reopened. But it took only a matter of days to change that. Last month, after South African scientists detected a new variant, dozens of nations imposed travel bans on visitors from several southern African countries. Some countries in Asia-Pacific have gone further by extending mandatory quarantines or shutting their borders to almost all foreign travelers. Scientists in the United States say it will take at least two weeks to know more about how the variant impacts vaccine efficacy and Covid treatments. As public health experts wait for the data, governments across the Asia-Pacific region aren't taking any risks. Many are acting quickly over concerns the new Omicron variant could spread into their territories, even in places with already-strict border rules or high vaccination rates. Experts say that's understandable. But, they say countries may need to adjust their expectations of what living with Covid looks like and improve vaccine equity as the virus becomes endemic. Story has details about reopening plans.<br/>

New Airbus A220 crew procedures for landing are being introduced after investigation into a dual-engine shutdown found that abrupt throttle movement can trigger erroneous detection of uncontrolled high thrust. Canadian investigators have been looking into an incident involving an Air Baltic A220-300 during which both Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines automatically shut down after the aircraft touched down in Copenhagen on 11 July. “The crew successfully stopped the aircraft with degraded systems and functions,” says regulator Transport Canada. While investigation to determine the root cause is continuing, it states, preliminary findings indicate that an erroneous uncontrolled high-thrust detection can occur above 16,000ft if the thrust lever is “manually and abruptly” moved to the ‘idle’ position. Abrupt movement of the lever involves suddenly changing its position – from above 80% N1 to idle – in less than 2s, it adds. Erroneous uncontrolled high-thrust detection during flight might not be annunciated on the cockpit displays but will still result in automatic engine shutdown upon landing – potentially leading to a runway excursion. The new procedure directs pilots to take action before landing if an abrupt manual retardation of a thrust lever towards idle is performed above 16,000ft. Story has more.<br/>