Airport operator Aena expects traffic through its Spanish terminals to recover to pre-pandemic levels this summer, a company source said on Friday. The company estimates that between March and October, airlines will offer 220 million seats to and from Spanish airports, or about 3.6% more than in the same period in 2019, the source said. Domestic, short-haul and long-haul flights to Latin America will lead the recovery while traffic to the United States and Asia will remain below pre-pandemic levels, the source said. The number of passengers through its airports jumped by nearly 58% to nearly 120 million in 2021, Aena reported last month, though that was still just 43.6% of pre-pandemic levels. The company said it will lower its 2022 tariffs by 3.17% compared to what it had charged to airlines in 2021 to be more competitive compared with other European airports.<br/>
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Australia on Monday fully reopened its international borders to travellers vaccinated against the coronavirus after nearly two years of pandemic-related closings as tourists returned and hundreds of people were reunited with family and friends. More than 50 international flights will reach the country through the day, including 27 touching down in Sydney, its largest city, as the tourism and hospitality sectors look to rebuild after getting hammered by COVID-19 restrictions. “It is a very exciting day, one that I have been looking forward to for a long time, from the day that I first shut that border right at the start of the pandemic,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in the island state of Tasmania, which relies heavily on tourism. Airports witnessed emotional reunions, including that of Sue Witton, who had not seen her son Simon for two years. “Seven hundred and twenty-four days apart and it means the world to me. I don’t want to let him go, it’s just beautiful. Thank you for having me back. I’m just so grateful, so, so grateful,” she told reporters at the Melbourne airport.<br/>
Unvaccinated Airways staff are adding to a staffing shortage at Auckland International Airport’s air traffic control tower, which had to close temporarily last week after being left unattended. Last week New Zealand's air navigation service provider Airways sent a notice to all pilots that air traffic control services at Auckland Airport would be unavailable for 15 minutes on Monday, February 14. On Friday the New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA), the union representing air traffic controllers, issued a safety bulletin warning members it has become aware of “significant staffing shortages” at Auckland Airport’s air traffic control tower which has, and may continue to, cause short notice tower closures for periods of 15 minutes or more. “We are currently trying to ascertain the duration of this situation however, it appears to be ongoing in the near term,” the NZALPA note said. Members were reminded to consider their fuel reserves to cover contingencies in the event of future short term Auckland Airport tower closures, it said. A short notice closure effectively reduced the Auckland Airport control zone to “Class G” airspace, it said. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) describes Class G airspace as not requiring an entry clearance, and safe operation depends on a “see, detect, and avoid” principle. New Zealand’s air traffic controllers are trained and employed by Airways, which is 100 per cent state-owned. An Airways spokeswoman said it had been reducing the number of staff on shift in its Auckland Airport tower because of declining air traffic volumes and the growing spread of Omicron in the community.<br/>
Brazil planemaker Embraer said on Friday its board approved a three-year pause in the development program of its E175-E2 jet. In a securities filing, the company said it now sees E175-E2 jets entering into service in 2027-2028. The company added the rescheduling of activities was associated with “ongoing discussions between US airlines and pilot unions” due to the “maximum take-off weight (MTOW) limit for aircraft with up to 76 seats, as well as global market conditions for commercial aviation and continued interest in the current E175 jet in the North American market.”<br/>