The Biden administration is considering easing travel restrictions to Southern African countries as US infection rates of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus rise, top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said on Monday. "We likely are going to pull back on that pretty soon because we have enough infection in our own country," Fauci said at the National Press Club. "We're letting in people from other countries that have as much or more infection than the Southern African countries. So likely we are going to look at that very carefully to see if we can pull back." The United States on Nov. 29 barred nearly all foreign nationals if they had been in one of eight southern African countries including South Africa within the last 14 days. It was not clear when the restrictions might be lifted but travel industry officials said it could happen as soon as this week. The White House did not immediately comment. The CDC last week started distributing free COVID-19 home test kits to international travelers at several airports. The CDC encourages - but does not mandate - international air travelers to get a new COVID-19 test upon arriving in the United States. New rules took effect on Dec. 6 requiring nearly all people flying to the United States to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within one day of travel.<br/>
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Across the United States, coronavirus cases are surging and the Omicron variant is spreading, throwing the scheduling of schools, concerts and sports leagues into question. Just days away from a holiday weekend, Americans are also grappling with whether to change their traveling or gathering plans. Millions are forging ahead, but, for many, a sense of unease has crept in. More than 109 million Americans are expected to travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, a 34% increase from last year, according to AAA. The number of airline passengers alone is projected to rise 184% from last year.<br/>
Boeing CEDave Calhoun and Airbus Americas CEO Jeffrey Knittel on Monday urged the Biden administration to delay planned deployment of new 5G wireless services, saying it could harm aviation safety. The executives in a joint letter seen by Reuters to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asked him to support postponing AT&T and Verizon’s planned Jan. 5 deployment of C-Band spectrum 5G wireless. “5G interference could adversely affect the ability of aircraft to safely operate,” the letter said, adding it could have “an enormous negative impact on the aviation industry.”<br/>
The US Department of Justice is urging a federal judge to prohibit Boeing’s former 737 Max technical pilot from presenting evidence suggesting he is being made a “scapegoat” for two crashes. The former pilot, Mark Forkner, is on trial in US federal court over allegations that he misled the Federal Aviation Administration and two Boeing customers about the 737 Max’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). On 13 December, Forkner’s attorneys presented evidence that, in October, an FAA official told the US government that Forkner was being made a “scapegoat” for two 737 Max crashes and should “not be charged”. That FAA staffer and two others later created a PowerPoint presentation outlining their belief that the DoJ was pursuing a “false narrative”. Forkner’s team said the FAA refused to allow it to interview the officials. Its 13 December filing requests a court order prohibiting the agency from interfering. But the DoJ is pushing back, asking Judge Reed O’Connor to block Forkner’s attorneys from soliciting testimony or presenting evidence that suggests Forkner is a scapegoat. In a 17 December court filing, the DOJ argues it has not indicted Forkner on charges related to the two Max accidents. Those include the October 2018 crash of a Lion 737 Max 8 and the March 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 in which a combined 346 people were killed.<br/>
UK authorities have embarked on a campaign to prepare aviation personnel for the cessation of recognition of European Union licences and approvals at the end of next year. The campaign follows the UK’s withdrawal from European Union Aviation Safety Agency membership at the beginning of 2021, following the country’s ‘Brexit’ referendum decision to leave the EU. Recognition of UK licences and certifications by EASA was immediately halted on 1 January, and pilots holding UK licences are not permitted to fly aircraft registered in the EU. But the UK Civil Aviation Authority adopted a two-year grace period – running to the end of 2022 – during which it is continuing to accept EASA approvals for operating and maintaining UK-registered aircraft. The UK-EU’s post-Brexit political agreement has severely restricted route rights available to UK carriers, forcing some to establish EU-based subsidiaries in order to access the intra-EU market. According to the CAA there are “presently no signs” that parts of the agreement will be renegotiated to allow mutual recognition of the approvals. With the termination of this period just over a year away, the CAA and the UK Department for Transport have started urging pilots, engineers and EU-registered organisations conducting training and maintenance to start applying for UK certification and licences. The CAA says the grace period provided “some flexibility” to adapt to the post-Brexit situation, but the validity of the EASA approvals “will cease” at the end of next year.<br/>
Manchester Airport has apologised after some passengers missed their flights over the weekend as staff shortages caused long delays. Passengers branded the delays of up to three hours at security and an hour at baggage reclaim as a "shambles". The airport said it had faced "a greater number of passengers than expected and a higher-than-usual rate of staff absence". It said queues "were longer than we would have hoped" and apologised. A spokesman for the airport said it had "experienced longer security queues than we would like". "Wherever possible, travellers are being prioritised within the queue, but we are aware some people have unfortunately missed flights and, along with their airlines, we have been working to support their onward travels as best we can," he said. "Due to additional pre-departures checks, as countries update guidance for travel, it is very important that passengers arrive at least three hours before their scheduled flight time. We apologise to all affected for any inconvenience caused and are working to rectify the situation as soon as we can."<br/>
Israel on Monday added the United States and Canada to its “red list,” barring its citizens from traveling to those countries without a special exemption, as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government attempts to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. Israel’s red list, which now includes 58 countries, has rapidly expanded since late November, when the government closed the borders to foreigners soon after Omicron was identified. Israel has not yet experienced the kind of crippling new virus wave seen in the United States or Britain, and having started to give citizens a third vaccine dose before almost any other country, its population is more protected from Omicron than most. But in a speech on Sunday, Bennett said that it was only a matter of time before the variant caused another wave of infections in Israel. He called on people to work from home if possible, and to get children ages 5 and older vaccinated. “The time that we bought is running out,” Bennett said. “Omicron is already in the country, from the Knesset to kindergartens, and it is spreading fast.” On Sunday, 1,004 people in Israeli tested positive for the coronavirus, the first time in two months that the daily case total had crossed a thousand. Health experts are following Israel’s cases to judge whether a third dose of the vaccine protects against serious illness.<br/>
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on Monday carried out air strikes on the international airport of the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa after asking civilians to immediately evacuate, state media reported. The coalition called on the workers of international and humanitarian organisations in the airport to immediately evacuate as it had taken "legal measures to deal with the threat operationally," state media said. The coalition said it lifted the protection off specific sites in the airport and carried out strikes on "legitimate military targets" in it. "The operation comes in response to threats and the use of the airport's facilities to launch cross-border attacks," it said. The strikes hit six sites, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki said, including places used for launching attacks by drones, training drone personnel, housing trainers and trainees, and storing drones. "Destroying these targets will not have any effect on the operational capacity of the airport, and will not affect managing the airspace, the air traffic, and ground handling operations," the spokesman said.<br/>