Health officials in India said on Friday that they would retest some 300 passengers on two flights who tested positive for the coronavirus upon landing in the northern city of Amritsar, as the results raised questions about the tests’ accuracy. Officials said that 125 people who flew from Italy to Amritsar tested positive on Thursday. All of the passengers had been required to show proof of a negative PCR test before boarding the flight, in line with Indian travel rules, said a spokesman for the airport in Bergamo, near Milan. Then, on Friday, at least 173 passengers on another flight from Italy tested positive after landing in Amritsar, said the city’s chief medical officer, Dr. Charanjit Singh. The high number of positive tests, all carried out by the same testing agency, SpiceHealth, created doubts about their accuracy, Dr. Singh said. “From tomorrow onwards, we are changing the testing agency,” he added. Reports of the positive tests created a stir in both India and Italy, especially considering the strict rules for traveling between the countries. Regular flights between them are suspended until the end of January. Both flights that arrived in Amritsar were chartered flights, believed to be carrying Indian nationals who work in Italy and their families. The Indian health authorities have designated Italy as a high-risk country for Covid-19. To board a flight leaving Italy for India, passengers need to show proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure, regardless of vaccination status. Upon arrival in India, all travelers are required to isolate for seven days.<br/>
unaligned
Iran said Friday it was prepared to hold bilateral talks with concerned countries over a Ukrainian airliner downed by its forces in 2020, ignoring a joint statement on reparations made by Canada and other states whose citizens were killed. Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine said Thursday they had abandoned efforts to talk to Tehran about reparations for an airliner brought down by Iran and would try to settle the matter according to international law. Most of the 176 people killed when Iran shot down the Ukrainian airliner in January 2020 were citizens from those four nations, which formed a group aiming to hold Tehran to account. "Despite certain countries' illegal actions and attempts to exploit this tragic event ..., Iran remains ready to negotiate bilaterally with each of the relevant states," Iran's Foreign Ministry said. It said any talks should respect "sovereignty, domestic laws and international obligations". Tehran says its Revolutionary Guards accidentally shot down the Boeing 737 plane, which was hit at a time when tensions were high between Iran and the United States. Tehran blamed a misaligned radar and an error by the air defence operator. A Canadian court this week awarded nearly $84m plus interest to the families of six people who died. In June, Canada said it had found no evidence that the downing of the plane had been premeditated. <br/>
Canada and its allies are being urged to aggressively reach into the Iranian government's pocket to find untapped sources of assets to compensate for the regime's downing of a commercial airliner two years ago. That includes a call to use US President Joe Biden's new high-profile ambassador to the world's international aviation watchdog -- Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who heroically landed a plane on water outside New York City more than a decade ago -- to spearhead that effort. At issue is how to compensate families and loved ones of the Jan. 8, 2020 tragedy that saw Iran's Revolutionary Guard shoot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran airport. All 176 people on board were killed, the majority with links to Canada, along with nationals of Britain, Sweden, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The Washington-based Foundation for Defence of Democracies says the US should target the money Iran collects from international airlines for using its airspace for overflights. The foundation says Sullenberger has a part to play in his new role as the newly appointed American representative to the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization. Toby Dershowitz, the foundation's senior vice president on government relations, said Iran lost about $96m in overflight revenue in 2020, a 50% decline over the previous year due to a decrease in flights because of PS752 and the COVID-19 pandemic. "Further targeting overflights through a coordinated ban, therefore, presents an additional path forward to induce Iran to take full responsibility for the PS752 downing," she said Sunday.<br/>
Ryanair said Friday that it plans to stop serving Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest, at the end of March and close its base there. Ryanair said it is closing its base in Frankfurt and reallocating its five planes there to other airports that “have responded with lower airport charges to stimulate traffic recovery.” The airline complained that instead of providing incentives as the aviation industry struggles with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Frankfurt Airport “has chosen to increase prices even further, making Frankfurt uncompetitive with European airports.” The Ireland-based company said that all Frankfurt-based flight crew “can secure alternative positions within the Ryanair network” and that passengers affected by cancellations would receive notifications and refunds “over the coming days.”<br/>
Aer Lingus regional operator Emerald Airlines will take over the State-supported Dublin-Donegal air service from next month. Scandinavian carrier Amapola Flyg has been flying the route under a stop-gap arrangement with the Government since July after previous operator Stobart Air collapsed in June. The Department of Transport has awarded a three-year contract to Emerald Airlines after putting the route out to tender across the EU in August. Emerald, run by well-known aviation figure Conor McCarthy, will launch its Dublin-Donegal service from February 26th, the day after Amapola’s contract ends, ensuring there will be no break between two. The airline will fly a 72-seat ATR aircraft twice daily each way between the two airports.<br/>
Emirates airline closed onboard lounges and social areas for passengers flying its A380 aircraft to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Gulf News reported. “In light of health and safety considerations, Emirates has temporarily modified some aspects of our onboard service,” the Dubai-based newspaper cited an Emirates spokesperson as saying. Dubai has rolled out one of the fastest vaccination programs in the world and it had managed to keep cases under control before the omicron strain emerged. The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai and Abu Dhabi are part, reported 2,759 cases on Sunday, the highest since March. Daily cases had fallen to below 50 at the start of December. Organizers of Dubai Expo 2020 exhibition, one of the biggest in-person events since the pandemic started, said last month they may close some venues temporarily for deep cleaning and sanitisation in response to positive cases.<br/>
Macao has announced a two-week ban on commercial passenger flights from regions outside mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong from midnight on January 9 to midnight on January 23 to prevent the spread of Omicron, according to the country's government information bureau. "All civilian flights from outside China are prohibited from carrying passengers to Macao from midnight on January 9, until 11:50 on January 23, 2022," it said. Two airlines likely to be affected by the temporary ban are Scoot and Qatar Airways, while most other airlines serving the Chinese special administrative region of Macao fly in from the mainland, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. The most popular routes from Macau Int'l are Shanghai Pudong, Taipei Taoyuan, and Beijing Capital. Hong Kong has also ordered a two-week ban from January 8 to January 21 on flights from eight countries as the city attempts to stem an emerging Omicron outbreak. Incoming passenger flights will not be permitted from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK, and the United States, including connections, according to a government statement.<br/>
A surge in Covid-19 cases has prompted airlines in the Philippines to cancel flights, while the health department warned of delays in virus test results amid staff shortage in laboratories. “Some cancellations or schedule adjustments are likely,” billionaire Lucio Tan’s Philippine Airlines Inc. said Friday. Many employees in ticket offices, contact centers and support teams can’t report to work, it said. Cebu Air said it preemptively canceled some flights through Jan. 10, and is reviewing schedules and monitoring manpower as some staff are on quarantine. Covid test results are taking longer to be released due to high demand and as workers in laboratories get sick, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a televised briefing Friday. This will also delay the reporting of infections, she said. St Luke’s Medical Center, in a Facebook post, said its turnaround time for RT-PCR test results is within two days. To avoid staff shortage, hospitals will also be allowed to shorten health workers’ quarantine to five days, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said late Thursday. Four in 10 persons checked for Covid-19 in the Philippines tested positive, according to health department data. Reported daily infections were 21,819 on Friday, compared to 2,961 a week before. The government tightened movement restrictions in the capital and nearby provinces this week, limiting capacity in some businesses. Economic managers estimate the move may cost the economy in 3b pesos ($58.4m) per week.<br/>