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Lufthansa and Swiss-Italian shipping conglomerate MSC have expressed an interest in acquiring a majority stake in ITA Airways, the successor to bankrupt Alitalia, in a sign of how the pandemic could reshape parts of the European aviation industry. Geneva-based MSC on Monday said it aimed to create a partnership with the Italian government, which fully owns ITA Airways, alongside Lufthansa, setting off a period of 90 days for exclusive negotiations. MSC, the world’s largest container shipping group, added that the deal would help it expand into air cargo, a sector that has thrived during the pandemic, while strengthening the Frankfurt-based airline’s network in Europe. ITA said MSC and Lufthansa had asked for Italy’s government to maintain a minority stake in the airline. The German carrier confirmed the partnership with the shipping group without offering further details. The approach to the Italian government came after ITA Airways flew its maiden flight in October, emerging from the rubble of bankrupt 75-year-old Italian flag carrier Alitalia following years of losses and state-backed rescues. Rome took control of Alitalia in 2020 after attempts to find a private buyer failed as the pandemic ripped through global aviation. ITA took over the Alitalia brand for just E90m, far short of the original E290m asking price. Italy’s government has said the new carrier will have to be profitable by 2025, something Alitalia failed to achieve in the 21st century. From the outset ITA’s chair Alfredo Altavilla has said the new carrier would need to do a deal with another airline to give it the scale to compete with other major European carriers. He said Monday that the potential deal was a “very compelling solution” for ITA. “It’s a great opportunity for us to expand into the cargo business, and Lufthansa is a great solution for our passengers,” he said.<br/>

Germany's Lufthansa has rescheduled at least two flights to Ukraine this week, in one of the first changes to air traffic since the latest step-up in tensions between Russia and the West. A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Kyiv on Sunday afternoon was moved to Monday morning, with Lufthansa service centre staff saying this was because crew could no longer stay in Kyiv overnight due to the current "problems", a Reuters reporter who witnessed the announcement said. Tensions have escalated after Russia massed an estimated 100,000 troops within reach of the Ukrainian border, although Moscow denies any intention of invading. Several countries have issued warnings over the risk of flying near Ukraine's eastern border region, some 450-550 miles south-east of Kyiv, since Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down in 2014, killing all 298 people on board. The US FAA recently renewed a ban on US airlines flying over parts of eastern Ukraine. Canada warned last week of "heightened military activity" and the "threat posed by miscalculation and miscommunication". Lufthansa's Frankfurt-Kyiv flight scheduled for Monday afternoon was moved to Tuesday morning, Frankfurt airport's online departure board showed, while no such flight featured on Wednesday. "We have adjusted our flight schedule to Ukraine for operational reasons only," a Lufthansa spokesperson said on Monday, while another confirmed there would be no layovers in Kyiv for the time being. Both did not comment further on the situation. The Frankfurt airport website showed a 10:10 pm Lufthansa flight on Monday to the Ukrainian city of Lviv, which is about 540 km west of Kyiv, was due to go ahead. Lufthansa serves Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa in Ukraine.<br/>

An alliance of airlines and airports called for changes to the European Union's planned climate change legislation on Monday, arguing it will make them less competitive with non-European rivals. Taking aim at aviation, a sector deemed responsible for up to 3% of global emissions, the EU presented plans last July that foresee stricter rules on CO2 emissions and the use of synthetic fuel blends, as well as the implementation of a kerosene tax. The alliance, whose nearly 20 members include all Lufthansa (subsidiaries, Air France-KLM and major airports such as Frankfurt and Amsterdam's Schipol, argues long-haul flights via non-European hubs would not be subjected to the same associated costs, leading to a potential shift in business to such carriers. The alliance rejects a kerosene tax outright and proposes that the environmental protection surcharge be based on the entire flight route, not just feeder flights bringing passengers from the EU to international hubs such as Istanbul or Dubai. In principle, the alliance is however in favour of the EU's "Fit for 55" climate package, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.<br/>

A blanket of heavy snow covered the Greek capital on Monday, from the Acropolis hill to the coast in the south, disrupting air traffic, bringing transport to a halt and leaving scores of drivers stranded overnight in a highway. Rescue crews struggled to free hundreds of drivers whose cars halted for hours on an Athens ring road as the storm, named Elpida, swept Greece and covered the city with a thick layer of snow. Heavy snowfall is rare in Athens but the city has now been hit by snowstorms for a second consecutive year. Greek carrier Aegean Airlines cancelled all but five flights on Monday and said it expected schedules to be disrupted on Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. <br/>

Turkish authorities temporarily halted all flights at Istanbul Airport on Monday due to heavy snowfall in the city, which was blanketed in white, while winter weather snarled transportation across the country. The heavy snowfall halted some of Istanbul's ferry services, shut some roads and caused visibility problems for drivers. Nationwide, the Disaster and Emergency Authority said some 4,600 people were stranded due to weather and more than 6,700 were taken to shelters, while thousands of containers of food supplies were delivered to those in need. Many parts of Turkey have been hit with heavy snowfall since last week, which coincided with a winter break at most schools. Turkish Airlines said it had cancelled all flights from Istanbul Airport until Tuesday 0100 GMT to ensure "travel safety and for our passengers" and to prevent them from being stranded at airports.<br/>

Air India is being criticised by unions over plans to introduce Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight checks for cabin crew. The new rules were issued in an internal memo saying that a “grooming associate” will make the checks quarterly. “Grooming associates have been assigned the task of recording observations on the BMI management/grooming/uniform turnout of cabin crew when they report for a flight or standby duty at CCMCO (Cabin Crew Movement Control Office)” reports India Today. ”Cabin crew who are well-dressed and well-groomed according to uniform standards and regulations, present a positive and professional image of the airline.”Union officials have hit out at the new policy saying that any BMI checks should be carried out by medial professionals and not “grooming associates”. “This stressful BMI check during for reporting at CCMCO is bound to disturb crew's mental preparation through giving rise to flight safety issues and pre-departure when cabin crew is required to conduct rapid review and briefings,” said the All India Cabin Crew Association. What the airline regards as an appropriate BMI result has not been revealed. Many experts argue that the BMI is not an accurate health measure. People with small frames, large frames, muscular and athletic people, can fall into the "overweight" or obese categories all too easily. It is useful as a tool to track the average changes over time in populations, but at an individual level it doesn't really serve as a reliable tool.<br/>

Air New Zealand CE Greg Foran says despite being prepared for an Omicron outbreak the airline is bracing for “a bumpy few weeks” with Covid-19 infections and isolation requirements expected to impact staffing levels. Meanwhile, an airline representative group says it is concerned that significant disruptions will occur to flights and the aviation network as a whole if close contact isolation times are not reduced by the Government. Omicron outbreaks overseas have wreaked havoc in the aviation sector with airlines having to cancel flights because crew were needing to isolate due to Covid-19 infection, or being a close contact of a case. On Sunday Foran said, after an Air New Zealand crew member tested positive for Omicron, about 15 crew had been stood down as close contacts. On Monday he said that other crew members were showing Covid-19 symptoms, and he expected more cases to be confirmed. As of Tuesday morning there had been no further positive cases at Air New Zealand, and no more had been stood down, a spokeswoman for the airline said. Foran said Air New Zealand had planned for the impact Omicron would have on the business, both from staff illness and isolation requirements. “To be prepared is half the victory but regardless we will need to hold on tight as I know it will be a bumpy few weeks,” Foran said. The airline was discussing with the Government how critical workers were going to be handled in terms of stand-down time and testing, he said. “If we need to stand down close contacts for 14 days, you can see how this reduces your staff count pretty quickly.” E tū union head of aviation Savage said for an airline like Air New Zealand, cabin crew could not just swap back and forth between aircraft types. “They’re trained to operate certain aircraft, and it takes time to retrain,” Savage said.<br/>