general

The CEs of the largest US airlines asked President Biden on Wednesday to allow a federal mask mandate at airports and on planes to expire next month. The group also asked that the government drop a requirement that visitors from abroad provide a negative coronavirus test before traveling to the United States. “The persistent and steady decline of hospitalization and death rates are the most compelling indicators that our country is well protected against severe disease from Covid-19,” the CEs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and several other passenger and cargo carriers wrote in a letter to Biden. “Given that we have entered a different phase of dealing with this virus, we strongly support your view that ‘Covid-19 need no longer control our lives,’” they said, citing a phrase the president used in his State of the Union address earlier this month. The letter represents the first time that the industry has publicly united against the mask mandate, which was recently extended until mid-April. At a congressional hearing in December, Gary Kelly, the CE of Southwest, cast doubt on the effectiveness of masks on planes, but he stood alone. A day later, Delta’s CE, Ed Bastian, said, “Masks are going to be important as a safeguard for a while yet.” Earlier this week, TWU Local 556, the union that represents flight attendants from Southwest, wrote a letter to the Biden administration urging it to drop the federal mask mandate for public transportation.<br/>

A jury in Texas on Wednesday acquitted a former Boeing technical pilot, Mark A. Forkner, of defrauding two of the company’s customers, serving the federal government a defeat in its only criminal case against an individual connected to the troubled Boeing 737 Max jet. Forkner, who was also accused of deceiving the FAA, was facing four counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A jury found him not guilty shortly after both sides rested their cases on Wednesday in Fort Worth. “We had a great team and great client — and thank heavens for our independent, smart, fair judge and jury,” said Forkner’s lawyer, David Gerger. “They made all the difference.” Boeing earlier settled a criminal case brought by the federal government. Lawyers for the Justice Department argued that Forkner had lied to the FAA about flight control software used on the Max that was implicated in two crashes, which killed 346 people. Federal prosecutors contended that Forkner had downplayed the significance of the software to regulators to discourage stricter pilot training requirements that could have cost Boeing tens of millions of dollars. The software, known as MCAS (for Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), was designed to push down the plane’s nose in certain situations. The first crash occurred in late 2018 when Lion Air Flight 610 plummeted into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people aboard. Months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed near Addis Ababa, killing all 157 on board.<br/>

Russia’s move to transfer almost 800 foreign-owned jets to its own aircraft register amid foreign sanctions has triggered a wave of insurance claims from leasing firms whose fleets have effectively been commandeered. Lessors will assert that registering the planes in Russia when they’re already on the books in other territories amounts to a qualifying event for claims, including under their war-risk policies, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be named as the proceedings are confidential. While some notices had already gone out, the effort to re-register planes in Russia has given the process impetus, the people said. Fitch Ratings puts the insured residual value of aircraft held by Russia following its invasion of Ukraine at $13b, though with aggregate loss limits claims may be limited to $10b. That would still be by far the largest sum in the history of aviation insurance, it said. In a separate report, Moody’s Investors Service estimates up to $11b in losses. A number of the initial claims were made under so-called hull loss policies that kick in if a whole plane is written off, as if it had crashed or disappeared. The prospect of having a stronger case offers some encouragement to a jet-leasing sector that has the green light to repossess aircraft under international sanctions but no realistic way of doing so. At the same time, the value of the jets is likely to tumble as a moratorium on shipments of approved spare parts leads airlines to resort to non-standard maintenance. Insurers could still haggle over the size of payouts since Russia continues to recognize lessors’ ownership of the jets, according to the people. “It is unclear at this stage whether insurers will have to pay all these claims,” Moody’s said, citing a number of variables including the prospect of negotiations with airlines.<br/>

EU companies affected by sanctions imposed on Russia can get up to 400,000 euros ($440,360) in state support and compensation up to 30% of energy costs under looser EU state aid rules, the EC said on Wednesday. From airlines to carmakers to tourism businesses, thousands of companies across the 27-country bloc have reported severe disruption due to the sanctions. Companies in the agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture sectors can get up to 35,000 euros while businesses facing a liquidity crunch can get state guarantees on loans, subsidised loans. The Commission did not specify which sectors would qualify for the larger support. Companies facing soaring energy costs can get state aid up to 30% of costs, capped at E2m, the Commission said, confirming a Reuters story on Tuesday. "These sanctions also take a toll on the European economy and will continue to do so in the coming months. We need to mitigate the economic impact of this war and to support severely impacted companies and sectors," Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said.<br/>

The Russian government has transferred more than 50% of foreign aircraft to Russia's own registry as it takes measures to start using foreign aircraft located in Russia, PM Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday. Mishustin said hundreds of foreign aircraft had already been moved to the Russian registry, stressing that the key task was to ensure the safety of flights. Sanctions have disrupted the supply of most aircraft, parts and services to Russia. Russian airlines have 515 jets leased from abroad. Russia has passed a law allowing the country's airlines to place aircraft leased from foreign companies on Russia's aircraft register.<br/>

Bombardier has canceled plane orders because of Western sanctions on Russia, but the situation is manageable due to strong demand for business jets, CEO Eric Martel said on Wednesday. Martel said he has about a dozen lawyers working on the sanctions with the greatest complexity being the management of spare parts. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Montreal Council on Foreign Relations event. The private jet world is on high alert to avoid doing business with Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, a major effort in the secretive world of corporate aviation. Planemakers must be sure that a part shipped to a maintenance center won’t later end up on an aircraft owned by a sanctioned person or entity. “We need to ensure when we deliver spare parts who’s going to be the end user,” Martel said. Canada’s Bombardier and General Dynamics Corp’s Gulfstream are among the biggest suppliers of jets with Russian owners, according to analysts and brokers. Martel would not say how many specific orders were canceled or put off but said there are not that many. Bombardier has said it has stopped selling parts to buyers who would even register or operate planes in Russia. “The market is so strong that we can redeploy these aircraft in other regions,” said Martel, who added that the company’s parts sales in Europe “are going very well.”<br/>

Russia says it’s stepping up production and development of domestic airliners in light of sanctions that have virtually grounded its fleet of Western-built aircraft and trapped dozens overseas. Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borosov said the main focus will be on MS-21 wide body and SuperJet 100-seat airliners. “There has been no halt to the work of these enterprises and there will be none. Everyone is continuing work,” Borisov said, according to a government statement. “I stress again—we will press on with the implementation of our MS-21 and SSJ-100 flagship projects,” he said. <br/>

A new rule proposed by the US SEC would require airlines to disclose actual greenhouse-gas emissions in as little as two years. The move would bring an end to the industry’s vague approach to carbon emission reduction targets. Under the guise of improved climate-risk transparency for investors, the financial regulator would require large publicly listed companies to disclose carbon emissions and any material risks climate change poses to their “business, results of operations, or financial condition.” Large companies with public valuations of more than $700m would have to begin disclosing emissions in 2024, while smaller companies would have until 2025 or 2026 to do so. Nearly every US airline is classified as a large company — or “large accelerated filer” in SEC parlance — and would need to begin disclosures in two years. Only two publicly traded carriers, Mesa Airlines and Sun Country Airlines, are classified as smaller companies and would have more time to implement the new rule. Airlines for America (A4A), in a letter to the SEC in June 2021 that was released publicly on March 21, said it would “welcome” new emissions disclosure standards in order to “reduce the proliferation of ‘bespoke’ disclosure requests from investors.” The trade group called for a “deliberate, incremental approach” to implementing such rules. An A4A spokesperson declined to comment further on the proposed rule. The disclosure requirements would be a big change from how airlines have offered up their climate bona fides to date. The US industry has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050 with each airline touting different methods to achieve this goal. These range from buying new, more fuel-efficient jets to sustainable aviation fuel commitments and investing in electric and hydrogen propulsion technology. But, for the most part, each commitment has only come with emissions reduction percentages and not concrete numbers that an airline can be held to. Story has more.<br/>

Airlines expect traffic at Spanish airports this summer to be slightly above pre-pandemic levels although the war in Ukraine and more expensive jet fuel could affect the recovery, Spanish airport operator Aena said on Wednesday. Carriers have booked capacity for 216m passengers during the summer, 1.6% more than during summer 2019 before the pandemic hit, Aena said. A company source said last month passengers numbers could hit 220m during the summer. The pandemic devastated Spain’s crucial air industry, with tourism accounting for about 12% of the country’s economy before the pandemic. “General data for the 2022 summer is positive, but the degree of uncertainty is still high due to factors such as the pandemic evolution, the conflict in Ukraine and fuel price increase,” Aena said. About 1% of the booked traffic is on flights connecting Spain with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Traffic at the country’s two largest airports in Madrid and Barcelona will still be below pre-pandemic levels respectively at 95% and 90% of 2019, while expected traffic in the Canary and Balearic Islands is higher. <br/>

There are no flights taking off from Somalia’s Mogadishu airport due to an ongoing gun attack near its gate, a travel agent said Wednesday. “There is no taking off for flights for it is risky due to exchange of gunfire. Landing is possible,” said Mohamed Ahmed, a staff member of Tawakal Travel Agency.<br/>

Hong Kong is looking to resolve a problem over a ban on airlines which bring in COVID-positive passengers as it eases travel curbs that have sealed off the city for two years, its leader said on Wednesday. The government said this week a ban on flights from nine countries - Canada, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Britain, the United States, France, Australia and the Philippines - would be lifted on April 1 but it was not clear if airlines would face a two-week ban if they bring in infected people, as is currently the case. Many residents have not been able to return to the Chinese-ruled city because of a shortage of mandatory quarantine hotels and city leader Carrie Lam suggested in a media briefing more space would be provided. But an equally pressing issue for many has been the rule that bans an airline from flying to the city for 14 days if it carries several people who test positive for the coronavirus upon arrival. The city's flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific, said on Tuesday it would only operate one flight every two weeks from popular destinations including the United States and Britain because of the rule, compounding a feeling of isolation that many frustrated residents feel. Lam, asked what the government might do about the rule and if there was any chance it could be scrapped, said: "I can only say that we know the problem, and we are looking on how we could resolve this without compromising our border control measures."<br/>

Singapore will reopen its borders to all fully vaccinated travellers, removing all existing vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) and unilateral opening arrangements from Apr 1, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced on Thursday. Instead, it will transition to a new simplified travel framework - the vaccinated travel framework - where countries and regions will be classified into two categories - general travel or the restricted category. Under the framework, all fully vaccinated travellers, as well as children aged 12 and below, will be able to enter Singapore with just a pre-departure COVID-19 test from 11.59pm on Mar 31. They will also no longer need to apply for entry approvals or take designated VTL transport to enter Singapore quarantine-free. While they will continue to be subjected to a pre-departure test within two days before departure for Singapore, they will not be required to serve a stay-home notice or undergo an unsupervised antigen rapid test (ART) after arriving in Singapore. As for long-term pass-holders and short-term visitors aged 13 and above who are not fully vaccinated, they are generally not allowed to enter Singapore, with a few exceptions. This includes long-term pass-holders who are medically ineligible for vaccines as well as those who have valid entry approval such as compassionate reasons. For this group, they will be required to take a pre-departure test within two days before departure for Singapore, undergo a seven-day stay-home notice, and take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test after their isolation period. <br/>

Krabi, Buri Ram and Udon Thani airports are being upgraded to regional hubs, which will help sharpen Thailand's competitive edge in international aviation, according to Airports of Thailand (AoT). AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob aims to make Thailand an international aviation hub and the three airports will play a major role in achieving this. Currently, AoT operates six airports and is seeking to manage Krabi, Buri Ram and Udon Thani airports which are currently under the supervision of the Department of Airports (DoA). The management transfer plan, which has been in the pipeline since 2018, is likely to be submitted to the cabinet next month. Besides Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports, AoT has Chiang Mai and Phuket airports as regional hubs, which face passenger and ‎air traffic congestion, Nitinai said. AoT sees an opportunity in upgrading Udon Thani airport in the upper northeast as a gateway to Laos and Buri Ram airport in the lower northeast as a gateway to Cambodia. Krabi airport will strengthen the southern hub and accommodate a rise in air traffic after the Covid-19 crisis ends, he said. "The country will benefit because it will remove limitations on upgrading the industry and save on state budget. Air passengers will benefit due to seamless operations without having to fly to Bangkok for connecting flights," he said.<br/>