International air travel will likely remain sluggish in the near term as uncertainties over the omicron Covid variant linger, according to an aviation analyst. Brendan Sobie, independent analyst at Sobie Aviation, said omicron has hit passenger confidence in “travel right now because things are changing every day.” “The recovery we were hoping we were going to have continuing into the first half of next year, its just not going to happen. That’s going to be a setback,” Sobie said Thursday. “Because we don’t know too much about this variant and we don’t know what’s around the corner.” While much remains unknown about omicron, the World Health Organization warned that the variant is spreading “significantly faster” than the delta strain and could change the course of the pandemic. The highly infectious variant has now been detected in at least 89 countries and forced some governments to impose stricter containment measures during the holiday season.<br/>
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Airlines face an uncertain few weeks over the holidays and into January as the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant upends what’s traditionally one of the busiest periods of the year for flight sales. Discount giant Ryanair Holdings Plc slashed its earnings guidance Wednesday as travel restrictions related to the strain weakened Christmas and New Year bookings, while Deutsche Lufthansa AG said Thursday it plans to cut about 10% of its winter schedule. Other European carriers will likely be assessing their capacity plans, according to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Alex Irving. “Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizz Air all operate in broadly the same market,” Irving said. “It’s highly unlikely the same pressures affecting Ryanair aren’t hitting other airlines.” Although airline stocks rallied Thursday following reports that omicron is likely not as severe as previous iterations of Covid-19, countries across Europe are bringing back travel restrictions and even lockdowns. Britain is battling record daily case numbers and France and Germany’s ban on UK travelers was part of the reason for the gloom at Dublin-based Ryanair.<br/>
A trade group representing major US airlines urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to halve its recommended quarantine time for individuals with breakthrough cases of Covid-19, warning the current 10 days could lead to labor shortages and flight disruptions. “As with healthcare, police, fire and public transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may exacerbate personnel shortages and create significant disruptions to our workforce and operations,” Airlines for America CEO Nicholas Calio wrote in a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Thursday. The letter, which echoes what Delta wrote to Walensky on Tuesday, shows the airline industry’s increasing concern about the impact of the guidelines as Covid cases, particularly of the omicron variant, increase around the country. Not everyone in the industry agrees with the push. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, the country’s largest flight attendant union, wrote to Walensky on Thursday arguing in favor of the current recommendations. “Staffing flights with crewmembers who may still be symptomatic, infectious, or both by shortening them on necessary isolation time will only make this situation worse,” Nelson wrote. She said while the majority of flight attendants are vaccinated, some might not have received booster shots. “Flight Attendants should not be expected to return to work until they test negative and do not exhibit symptoms,” Nelson continued. “We do not know if 10 days represents that ‘magic number,’ but we do not see the justification for reducing the number of days at this time.”<br/>
US aviation regulators on Thursday expanded their warning about 5G service set to launch Jan. 5 on new frequencies, saying potential interference could have a broad impact on aircraft safety systems. The FAA issued a Safety Alert for Operators warning that “a wide range” of aircraft safety devices could malfunction and laid out the process it will follow in coming days to potentially issue specific restrictions on flights. The FAA actions come as telecommunications and aviation companies agreed on Wednesday to share more data in an attempt to head off what has become a tense standoff over whether the 5G service could disrupt airlines and helicopter operations. “The FAA is working with the aviation and wireless industries to find a solution that allows 5G C-band and aviation to safely coexist,” the agency said that accompanied the release of the alert and a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin. In the alert, the FAA identified 17 different safety systems and aircraft functions that could fail if 5G airwaves interfere with radar altimeters, which use radio waves to calculate an aircraft’s altitude. As talks with the telecommunications industry are underway, the FAA is preparing what are known as Notices to Air Missions that may restrict flights in dozens of locations, it said. <br/>
The US TSA has screened more passengers than on the comparable day prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The government body, which is responsible for security at about 450 airports across the USA, today says that on 22 December 2,081,297 people passed through its checkpoints. That’s almost double the number on the same day in 2020, and 7% more than the 1,937,235 who travelled on that day in 2019. It’s the highest percentage over pre-Covid figures since the beginning of the crisis, and the fourth time that the 2021 number of travellers has exceeded the previous number two years ago. The other days were 1 July and 2 July, at the start of the Independence Day holiday long weekend, and on 29 August, which marked the end of the traditional summer holiday travel season in north America. Daily security screenings at US airports dropped to a low of 87,534 on 13 April 2020, as the coronavirus tore around the world, leading to a precipitous drop in passenger demand during most of 2020. Since then, as vaccinations have rolled out across the country, domestic travel has returned to levels similar to those prior to the global health crisis, with many full and overbooked flights. Airlines have spent the last months scrambling to bring crews and aircraft back into their regular operations to satisfy that demand.<br/>
Early data published by airports body ACI Europe covering the three weeks since the Omicron variant emerged indicates passenger traffic at airports in the region has fallen by a fifth. While some drop in traffic during the three-week period covering late November and the first half of December may be expected given it is a lull period before the Christmas holiday season, the estimated 12 point drop in load factors on flights from European airports – from 66% to 54% three weeks later – indicates demand failed to keep pace with capacity. ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec says: ”It is no surprise that the flight bans to Southern Africa and the patchy travel restrictions imposed by many Governments on other markets – including within Europe – have directly impacted traffic levels in the past weeks. Business travel has been the first to recede, now followed by leisure travel given the extreme uncertainty and prospects of more restrictions both on travel and local life.” The airports body does report a partial pick up in passenger traffic, up 9%, in the past week, and a two-point improvement in load factors to 56%. That ties in with the start of festive season travel. ”Last week’s data shows that only ’visiting family and relatives’ travel is somehow holding up for now, as Europeans are craving getting together and reuniting with loved ones for Christmas,” Jankovec notes.<br/>
Hong Kong has detected a suspected omicron case in an airport cleaner, marking the first time the more infectious variant has jumped through the city’s fortress-like border controls and infected a person living in the community who hasn’t recently traveled. The 64-year-old man who cleaned toilets designated for use by new arrivals thought to be infected with Covid-19 has himself tested preliminarily positive, according to the government statement. Initial tests suggest he is carrying the omicron variant, though whole genome sequencing is needed to confirm the findings. He appears to be the first person in Hong Kong who hasn’t recently traveled and yet contracted the highly infectious omicron variant. While the Asian financial hub has confirmed 34 omicron cases to date, all were in people with prior travel history and most were detected upon arrival or in quarantine. The news comes as lab studies emerge showing that even a booster shot of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine, used by a third of vaccinated people in the city, isn’t sufficient to protect against the spread of omicron. The patient last went to work on Dec. 22, the day he developed symptoms. He has no recent travel history and mainly worked in the bathroom used by people with imported cases while they waited to be transferred to the hospital. A preliminary investigation showed he likely acquired the infection at work. The news underscores the risk of omicron to Hong Kong, where only 4.3% of the population has received a booster shot as they’re currently only available to high-risk groups. Lab studies from researchers in the city found two vaccine doses from Germany’s BioNTech SE or China’s Sinovac aren’t sufficient to protect against omicron, which may spread up to 70 times faster than previous strains of coronavirus. <br/>
At least 80 domestic flights have been cancelled in Australia on Christmas Eve as COVID-19 isolation requirements put a strain on the country’s airline staff. A Sydney Airport spokesman told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age there were 80 domestic cancellations on Friday across all airlines, from more than 500 flights. An airline staff member who did not wish to be identified told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that departure boards at Melbourne and Brisbane airports were earlier on Friday displaying previously scheduled services that had been changed in the lead-up to Friday, creating a sea of red and making it look like there were more cancellations than there actually were. These departure boards have subsequently been updated to accurately reflect airline operations, the staff member said. Comment is being sought from Melbourne Airport. A Jetstar spokesperson said its cancellations and scheduling adjustments were due to staff COVID-19 isolation requirements. “Unfortunately like many people in Sydney and Melbourne, a large number of our frontline team are being required to test and isolate as close contacts given the increasing number of cases in the general community, and as a result we have had to make some late adjustments to our schedule,” the Jetstar spokesperson said.<br/>