As politicians and business leaders sharpen their focus on climate change, the airline industry is accelerating its progress on becoming more climate-friendly. Flights have a huge carbon footprint: on a return trip between London and New York, for example, CO2 emissions for each business-class passenger will be more than 1.2 tonnes, according to ICAO calculations. As the sector takes on the huge task of decarbonisation, airlines are seeking advice from lawyers on how to approach it. “This may turn out to be . . . a quantum leap for the entire industry,” says Kevin Lewis, co-head of law firm Sidley Austin’s aviation and airlines practice. It has advised United Airlines and American Airlines, among other aviation companies, on their sustainability goals. He points out that airlines are developing new technologies and materials, “both for the vehicle itself and everything that goes in it, and the fuel and the infrastructure to create it”. In October, before the COP26 UN climate change conference, leading airlines pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 — an ambitious target for a polluting industry whose revenues have plummeted during the pandemic. Aviation accounts for about 2% of human-induced carbon emissions globally and 12 per cent of emissions from transport, says the Air Transport Action Group, an industry non-profit group focused on sustainability. “The whole industry is committed to completely transforming itself from consuming all that energy in a way that puts out a lot of carbon on a defined timeline, to an industry that does it in a carbon-neutral way,” Lewis says. Story has more. <br/>
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Several congressional Democrats are reviving legislation to regulate fees that airlines charge for things such as checking a bag, changing a flight or picking a seat. The legislation would require that fees be “reasonable and proportional” to the airline’s cost of providing the service. It will also require airlines to let children under 14 sit with family members at no extra charge. One of the bill supporters, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., accused the airlines of “robbery in the skies — taking fees and charges for stuff that costs them nothing.” He said airlines can charge high fees because Congress hasn’t stopped them from doing so. Airlines say fees have kept fares lower for people who don’t want the services that are covered by the fees. Airlines “offer a robust variety of air-travel options, giving passengers the ability to choose the services that best fit their individual needs and preferences,” said Carter Yang, a spokesman for the trade group Airlines for America. Prospects for the legislation are uncertain. Similar bills have failed to get through Congress, and one of the most despised fees has largely disappeared: Most U.S. airlines dropped ticket-change fees after the pandemic devastated air travel last year.<br/>
After nearly a decade of delays and billions of euros over budget, Berlin's long-awaited airport, Berlin-Brandenburg, finally opened on October 31, 2020. But turbulence has continued for BER during its first year of operation, with a long list of problems and passenger complaints: lengthy check-in and security lines; confusing layout and signage; cramped, dirty bathrooms; and bacteria found in drinking water, just to name a few. Most recently, a fire alarm on November 5, which was possibly triggered by a passenger smoking in a restroom, resulted in an evacuation and, for many passengers, another security check mandated by the federal police, even if they had already been screened. Although many departures were held back to accommodate the delay, travelers still missed their flights. That was preceded by another challenging situation in early October during Germany's fall school holidays, a popular travel time for locals. Hours-long check-in and security lines again led to missed flights and irate passengers, some venting their frustrations on social media with videos and photos of lines snaking through the airport. Others reported long waits for baggage pickup.<br/>The airport, which is owned by the federal government and states of Berlin and Brandenburg, also faces a financial crisis. With passenger numbers a fraction of pre-pandemic figures, the company lost approximately $1.16b in 2020, with more high losses expected in coming years. By 2026, BER will require an additional E2.4b. "We need money quickly," CEO Aletta von Massenbach recently told German newspaper Tagesspiegel.<br/>
The British airline industry has called for a new package of economic support and for the additional testing of fully vaccinated passengers to be scrapped, in a public attack on the latest UK travel restrictions aimed at tackling the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The CEs of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair and easyJet described the new pre- and post-departure testing of UK-bound passengers as “disproportionate” and at risk of causing “permanent scarring” to the industry. The open letter, which was also signed by the heads of Loganair, Jet2, Tui and the industry association Airlines UK, was published early on Monday ahead of a meeting between executives and government officials later in the day. “Whilst we fully recognise the need to take steps to contain the initial impact of the Omicron variant, travel has been singled out with the introduction of disproportionate restrictions,” the executives said. “Further, pre-departure and upon-arrival testing clearly add very little value to our Covid protection, but unnecessarily disrupt Christmas for families as well as businesses while severely damaging the UK travel industry,” the executives added. Under the new measures, travellers to the UK must take a PCR coronavirus test before departure and after arrival, adding expense and complication to journeys. Previously, fully vaccinated passengers were only required to take one lateral flow test, two days after landing. The airline industry has asked for those measures to be scrapped when they are formally reviewed by the government on December 20 and for new economic support to “bridge the sector through the crisis”. Airline executives will request an extension to outstanding pandemic loans issued by the government and, if the travel restrictions are not lifted soon, a new aviation sector furlough scheme, according to one person familiar with the sector’s thinking. Given the level of debt already taken on by some airlines, the industry is also likely to ask for grant support, the person added.<br/>
Heathrow has said passenger numbers were 60% lower in November than before the coronavirus pandemic and there were “high cancellations” among business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas for Christmas as Omicron spreads. The UK’s largest airport said the government’s travel restrictions had dealt a fresh blow to travel confidence and predicted it was likely to take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. This week ministers said passengers arriving in the UK would have to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a post-flight test, because of fears about the spread of the new variant. “[The] high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions,” the airport said in an update. Heathrow said the drop in traveller confidence owing to the new travel restrictions had negated the benefit of reopening the all-important corridor to North America for business and holiday travel last month. Eleven African countries have been added to the government’s red list, requiring travellers to quarantine before reuniting with families. “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas,” said John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow. “It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow. Let’s reunite families for Christmas.” Heathrow said that if the government could safely signal that restrictions would be lifted soon, then employers at Heathrow would have the confidence to hire thousands of staff in anticipation of a boost in business next summer.<br/>
Nigeria plans to ban flights from Argentina, Britain, Canada and Saudi Arabia from this week in retaliation for being added to those countries' red lists over the detection of the Omicron coronavirus variant last month, the aviation minister said. Several countries have restricted the movement of people from some African nations since the Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong. It has since spread to at least 57 countries. In recorded comments shared with journalists on Sunday, Nigeria's aviation minister Hadi Sirika said he had recommended that the four countries should be placed on a COVID-19 "red list," which would entail a ban on flights. "We have given our input as aviation that it is not acceptable by us and we recommend that those countries, Canada, UK, Saudi Arabia and Argentina be also put on red list, just like they did similarly to us," Sirika said. "So, I am very sure between now and Monday or perhaps Tuesday maximum, all those countries will be put on the red list. Once they are on the red list, which means they are banned, their airlines will also be banned." Britain was the first country to announce a travel "red list", which Nigeria has described as unjust and unfair.<br/>
The Beijing Winter Olympics will mainly rely on temporary and chartered flights from cities such as Tokyo and Singapore to bring in athletes for the Games due to China’s tight travel curbs and amid concerns over Covid-19, an official said on Friday. “The omicron variant has already spread to over 50 countries, according to WHO data,” said Zhang Liang, an official with the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, at a briefing. "The epidemic prevention situation is still severe and complicated.” The Beijing Olympics, which are due to begin on Feb. 4, will rely on chartered and temporary flights to bring in athletes and other Games attendees, with commercial flights as a supplement, said Zhang. Athletes and other attendees will have to arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport before entering a closed loop, strictly separated from other areas of China, where they will remain for their entire stay before leaving.<br/>
Reservation for international flights to main airports in Thailand has jumped more than 20% this month as the country is entering the high season for tourism. Airports of Thailand said on Thursday night that confirmed slots for airlines from overseas destinations this month had accounted for 9,483 flights so far this month, a 24% rise from November. The airport-operating agency also said a total of 17,132 flights would land at its airports in the last two months of this year, most of them in December. The increasing number of flights reflected more air travel to Thailand during the peak season of the tourism sector, AoT said. More flights will likely be added this month, said the state-owned airport operator. Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai and Phuket are its facilities serving international travellers since the government reopened the country on Nov 1. A total of 186,938 travellers entered the country since the reopening day, mainly through Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket, according to Department of Disease Control data to Wednesday. Americans and Germans were top international visitors arriving in the kingdom.<br/>
The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) expects up to a six-fold jump in passenger traffic in the new year — as domestic travel ramps up and international border restrictions gradually ease — though it warns that full recovery is still elusive. In a report detailing its outlook for the Malaysian aviation sector, MAVCOM says recent developments, such as the establishing of quarantine-free travel schemes as well as domestic travel bubbles, point towards a “positive outlook” in the new year. For 2021, the commission says total air passenger traffic “is estimated to be closer” to its best scenario forecast of between 6.9 and 7.8m passengers. In September, when travel restrictions were slowly easing, Malaysian carriers saw passenger traffic jump 57% month on month. By October, traffic had more than doubled month on month. Still, these figures were very much below pre-pandemic levels: MAVCOM states that they represented 5.3% and 15% of traffic in pre-pandemic 2019, respectively. In the new year, MAVCOM estimates passenger numbers to be between 32.6m to 49m, a significant leap from 2021 estimates. This also represents up to 45% pre-pandemic traffic, states the commission. It also expects airlines to gradually expand seat capacity on the back of pent-up travel demand. <br/>
Teen pilot Zara Rutherford landed in Seoul on Saturday from Russia, the first Asia stop on her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo. In August, the 19-year-old British-Belgian departed from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium on her 51,000-km journey, which is to span five continents and 52 countries, including the United States, Greenland, Russia and Colombia. "It has been challenging," Rutherford told reporters at Gimpo International Airport after arriving from Vladivostok in her bespoke Shark ultralight plane, the world's fastest microlight. "I was stuck in Alaska because of visa and weather issues for a month and I was stuck in Russia for a month because of visa and weather issues," she said. "I was hoping to complete it by Christmas but I guess that’s not happening anymore, but it’s an adventure." Rutherford, who is to remain at in hotel before her planned departure for Taiwan on Monday, said she expects to complete her journey by mid-January.<br/>