general

A surge in Covid cases and severe winter storms created a miserable holiday travel season for hundreds of thousands of stranded airline passengers. But airlines' staffing cuts were also to blame for the 20,000 US flight that have been canceled over the last two weeks. Airlines went into the busiest travel period of the past two years with significantly fewer employees than they had before the pandemic hit in early 2020. That stretched staff too thin and left the airlines unable to adjust when a large number of employees tested positive for Covid and bad winter weather hit major airport hubs from Denver to Washington. So it shouldn't have come as a surprise that travel didn't go smoothly this holiday season. In fact, it was predicted by some industry experts. "Granted, Omicron wave was a swift surprise. However, it was made worse by a failure to plan for any hiccups, be it weather or virus," said Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines 737 pilot and spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, the union at the nation's largest airline. "Bottom line, management sold tickets it couldn't fulfill with any duress. It doesn't seem they stress-tested their ops plan." The airlines all said they were doing their best to accommodate passengers in the face of widespread problems. Many of the flights were canceled in advance to allow the greatest possible notice to passengers. For example, nearly 300 US flights originally scheduled for Wednesday have already been canceled. And all the airlines say they are doing what they can to hire the staffing needed so that they don't have future problems.<br/>

Travelers faced more frustrating news Wednesday, with more than 1,700 flight cancellations, a sign that staffing shortages and weather-related issues continue to stymie airlines’ efforts to get customers to their destinations. There is no indication when flight operations may stabilize. Monday, when more than 3,000 U.S. flights were canceled, was the worst day for those traveling during the holiday period. By Tuesday, the number had dropped to just over 1,500, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Even so, since Dec. 24, the travel plans of thousands of people have been disrupted by a combination of bad weather and staffing shortages. Those shortages have been attributed to a rise in coronavirus infections among airline employees — a trend that mirrors what is happening in other business sectors. Nearly 20,000 US flights have been canceled since Christmas Eve. JetBlue trimmed more than 1,200 flights from its schedule this month to try to better aligning available staffing with flight offerings. Over the past two weeks, virtually all U.S. airlines have canceled or delayed flights, leaving travelers with few options for rebooking. Weather is often a factor during the days around Christmas and New Year’s, but operations have been complicated by higher-than-expected numbers of employees taking sick leave because of the coronavirus.<br/>

The chair of the NTSB said Wednesday the agency is halting travel unrelated to investigating crashes through at least the end of January. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told employees in an email seen by Reuters that because of "substantial COVID numbers across the country - to include the Washington, D.C. area" that "agency leadership has made the decision to temporarily pause non-mission travel, which includes outreach, training, advocacy, and conferences." The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant railroad, highway, marine and pipeline accidents. The restrictions will prevent NTSB employees from participating in two major events - the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Government/Industry Meeting of SAE International, a global association of aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle engineers and technical experts. Homendy noted both are "attended by thousands of people around the globe" and many NTSB personnel were due to participate. She said the goal "is to protect our workforce while prioritizing the conduct of mission work. The safety and health of our employees is of the utmost importance to ensure that we can continue carrying out our critical safety mission." The NTSB will reevaluate the restrictions at the end of January, she said.<br/>

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has handled 25.5m travellers in 2021, marking a 22% surge compared to 20.9m passengers a year ago. Compared to 2020, Royal Schiphol Group airports witnessed a rise in traveller numbers in 2021, although the figures were still less than pre-pandemic levels. The number of passengers at Eindhoven Airport (increased 28% from 2.1 to 2.7m over the period while Rotterdam The Hague Airport reported 48% growth in the figure from 0.5 to 0.8m. Schiphol recorded a total of 266,967 air transport movements in 2021, up 17% from 227,304 in 2020. Air transport movements made a higher recovery than passenger traffic as airlines strived to maintain their networks as much as possible. However, the figure was 46% lower compared to 496,826 in 2019. Through AMS, the Netherlands was directly linked with 296 destinations, 118 of which were intercontinental.<br/>

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday scaled back restrictions on people traveling to England as the Omicron variant appears to be so widespread that measures tightened in November can no longer stem the spread. Starting Friday, vaccinated travelers will no longer need to take a test before their journey, Johnson said to Parliament on Wednesday. They will still need to take one within two days of arrival, he said, though a rapid antigen test is enough. As of Sunday the government will not require a more expensive PCR test. The changes were welcomed by the country’s hard-hit aviation industry. Johnson defended the stricter travel restrictions that were put in place in late November, when the Omicron variant was first identified, as necessary to slow its arrival. “But now,” he said, “Omicron is so prevalent, these measures are having limited impact on the growth in cases, while continuing to pose significant costs on our travel industry.” The decision announced Wednesday effectively takes Britain back to the same rules it operated in October. But unvaccinated passengers will still be required to take a pre-departure test and to self-isolate on arrival for 10 days, during which time they must take two PCR tests. There were 194,747 daily cases recorded in the U.K., according to data released on Wednesday, near the record of 218,724 cases announced on Tuesday. Johnson’s announcement covered England only, but Wales said it would take a similar step and Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to follow suit. Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, said the relaxed rules were a “hugely welcome move at a critical time in the booking season for passengers.”<br/>

The ICAO has said Pakistan’s civil aviation regulator has resolved significant safety concerns that arose from a 2020 scandal over fake pilot licences, Pakistani authorities said on Wednesday. Pakistan grounded 262 airline pilots in June 2020 after they were suspected of cheating on mandatory licence tests - a scandal that tainted Pakistan’s aviation industry and its flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which European and U.S. aviation regulators barred from there territories. “It has withdrawn its objection on significant safety concerns,” a spokesman for Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, Saifullah Khan, said, referring to the ICAO. The scandal came to light following the crash of a PIA plane in May 2020 in the city of Karachi, in which 97 people were killed. Pakistani officials accused 262 pilots, a vast majority of whom were flying commercial aircraft, of having someone else take their mandatory exams for qualifying as a pilot. Following the scandal, the ICAO asked Pakistan to undertake immediate corrective action and suspend the issuing of any new pilot licences. A nine-member ICAO committee carried out a 10-day audit in Pakistan, which was concluded in early December. Pakistan’s aviation authority distributed a statement it said came from the ICAO stating: “The Committee determined that the actions taken by Pakistan had successfully resolved significant safety concerns.” Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority has said it hoped it could resume licensing pilots in February.<br/>

With a month to go before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics organisers have begun a "closed loop" operation to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak among Games participants from leaking into China's general public. The 2022 Games, which open on Feb. 4, are set to take place as the world grapples with the highly transmissable Omicron variant, although China, which has a zero-tolerance COVID policy, has reported just a handful of Omicron cases. Organisers said on Wednesday that the "closed loop" bubble, in which participants can only leave if they are exiting the country or undergo quarantine, had been activated as planned on Tuesday, the same day that President Xi Jinping toured several Games facilities. Xi expressed "firm confidence" that Games staff "will continue to do a good job in all preparations to ensure the complete success of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics," state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday. Restrictions at Games venues in Beijing and Zhangjiakou in neighbouring Hebei province will be much tighter than those during last summer's Tokyo Olympics. On Tuesday, the closed loop arrivals and departures section at Beijing Capital International Airport handled its first flight of passengers from Tokyo's Narita, the Civil Aviation News of China reported. The loop restricts Games-related personnel to certain zones in and around Olympics venues to avoid any contact and risk of transmission with the local population. Overseas participants will fly directly into and out of the closed loop.<br/>

Export-Import (Exim) Bank of Thailand has provided financial assistance to local airlines totalling more than 6.2b baht to increase their liquidity and restructure their debt, says bank president Rak Vorrakitpokatorn. He said the financial aid includes the suspension of loan repayments and debt rescheduling, with a total debt value of 3.5b baht. These relief measures are in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has adversely impacted the tourism sector. The bank also provided loans of 2.7b baht to the local airlines to boost their liquidity and retain employment. Late last year the Thai tourism industry improved as more people travelled, especially during November and December. Rak said Exim Bank has been closely monitoring the pandemic situation in the early part of this year to see if the number of infections is rising and whether that is affecting people's travels. The bank uses this information to assess how much financial assistance to offer its clients, he said. Rak said state-run banks have to continue supporting virus-hit businesses so they can maintain operations during the pandemic. These businesses need to be reinforced so they can drive the economy after the end of the pandemic, he said.<br/>

Novak Djokovic was denied entry to Australia after federal officials overruled a state vaccine exemption that sparked an uproar, underlying the complex alignment of Covid policies that’s become a hallmark of the nation’s pandemic journey. The tennis star, who was due to contest the Australian Open this month despite doubts over his vaccine status, provided insufficient proof to enter the country under current pandemic rules, the Australian Border Force said Thursday. While he was earlier granted a medical exemption to enter the state of Victoria, the federal government revoked that decision after officials questioned the athlete for hours at Melbourne Airport. “Mr Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently canceled,” the ABF statement said. “Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa on entry or who have had their visa canceled will be detained and removed from Australia.” Djokovic’s lawyers are appealing the decision and he’s been moved to a Melbourne hotel while that process takes place, the ABC and Sydney Morning Herald reported. He is chasing a record 21st Grand Slam victory after winning nine Australian Open singles titles, including the past three tournaments. The backflip is the latest example of the confusion surrounding Covid guidelines that’s plaguing both officials and citizens as case numbers continue to surge. Throughout the pandemic, states have largely set their own policies on the entry of overseas and local visitors, as well as lockdowns, but the federal government ultimately decides on who can enter the country. <br/>