Airlines continue to cancel and delay flights by the thousands as their operations struggle with an untold number of workers calling out sick with coronavirus. Carriers have canceled more than 1,620 flights as of Thursday afternoon and delayed more than 1,350 nationwide according to flight tracking site FlightAware. On Wednesday, US airlines canceled a total 1,790 flights and delayed another 6,097 flights. Southwest has canceled 562 flights, or 18% of its total schedule, as of noon Thursday, more than any other US carrier. United has canceled 227 flights, 11% of its Thursday schedule. United is now offering pilots who pick up extra trips up to three times their normal pay through the end of the month. Airlines have 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. And all the airlines say they are doing what they can to hire the staffing needed so that they don't have future problems. But these widespread challenges have become far more frequent, with airline employees complaining that they've been stretched to the breaking point by difficult work conditions.<br/>
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The FAA said Thursday that precautions adopted by AT&T and Verizon in order to deploy new 5G service offer fewer protections for airline flights than those used in France. The two wireless carriers this week agreed to adopt similar precautions to those in France and to delay the use of C-Band spectrum for wireless service until Jan. 19. The FAA said there are "big differences" between the precautions in France and the United States, adding that 5G airport buffer zones in France cover "96 seconds of flight" while safety precautions around US airports "only protect the last 20 seconds of flight."<br/>
The timeline for Comac’s C919 narrowbody programme to enter commercial service has once again slipped, though the airframer remains optimistic of getting the type certified. Comac had set a target for type certification and delivery to launch customer China Eastern Airlines by end-2021. However, a 2 January statement from Comac stated that its fleet of six test aircraft were still “undergoing test flights in several locations in the country”. It offered little explanation as to why the programme was delayed yet again, though it blamed the “dual impact” of the coronavirus pandemic and “external environment”, which it says posed an “unprecedented test” for the company. A 27 September report from Reuters, citing unnamed sources, says the C919 programme — touted to be a homegrown competitor to Airbus’ A320 family and Boeing’s 737 programme — faces the likelihood of missing “certification and production targets”, amid stricter US export rules. The C919 is highly dependent on Western technologies, including its two CFM International Leap-1C turbofans. Meanwhile, China’s strict zero-infection strategy impacted testing schedules, with at least one flight test location affected because of restrictions stemming from the outbreak, says Comac. <br/>
China will aim to have over 270 civil airports by 2025, part of the next five-year development plan for the aviation sector, Han Jun, an official with the aviation regulator, told an online press conference on Friday. As at the end of 2020, China had 241 civil airports.<br/>