An agreement to provide $10b in US funding for COVID-19 aid has been reached in the Senate, lawmakers said on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the chamber, and Republican Senator Mitt Romney hailed the deal, but Schumer said he was disappointed that an agreement on $5b of global health funding had not also been reached. The deal provides $10b in funding for COVID needs and therapeutics by repurposing unspent COVID funds. It is well below the $22.5b the Biden administration had sought. Senate Republicans demanded any new requests for COVID funding be paid for by repurposing existing funds from prior COVID relief funds. Romney said the deal repurposes "$10b to provide needed domestic COVID health response tools." The White House said it was "grateful for the Senate's work on a bipartisan plan to help meet some of the country's COVID response needs" but still wants more funding. It urged Congress "to move promptly on this $10b package because it can begin to fund the most immediate needs, as we currently run the risk of not having some critical tools like treatments and tests starting in May and June." Schumer said the bill provides "urgently needed funding to purchase vaccines and therapeutics, maintain access to testing and accelerate the work on next generation vaccine research." Romney noted the agreement does not include funding for the US global vaccination program, but he said he is "willing to explore a fiscally-responsible solution." The bill cuts $2.31b from a COVID program to boost aviation manufacturing and repair businesses. The US DoT offered $673m nationwide in three rounds of awards in the $3b program to support aviation jobs. Some major aerospace companies like Boeing and General Electric opted not to participate.<br/>
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Jet fuel prices are soaring on the US East Coast, home to some of the world’s busiest airports, with buyers anticipating a worsening shortage as supply dwindles amid sanctions on Russian energy exports. Following Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the United States and allies slapped heavy sanctions on Russia, leading to a tightening in worldwide energy markets. Russia is the world’s largest exporter of crude and petroleum products, and the supply crunch is filtering through to global markets. The East Coast largely relies on shipments on the Texas-to-New Jersey Colonial Pipeline for refined products, as well as imports from Europe. However, Europe is dealing with its own supply strains, so distillate exports to the U.S. East Coast - also known as PADD 1 - are down nearly 60% on a year-on-year basis, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. East Coast jet fuel costs have reached record highs in recent days, with spot prices in New York Harbor exceeding $7.30 per gallon on Monday, more than double the seasonal average, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. “It is ridiculous what’s going on in PADD I with jet, and it’s not sustainable,” said Patrick DeHaan, lead petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. Refiners spent most of 2020 blending excess jet fuel into their diesel pool or refining it further into gasoline as the coronavirus pandemic severely hit air travel. Demand for jet fuel is now about 5% below 2019 levels, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. But US distillate inventories, which include heating oil and jet fuel, are currently about 20% below the average for the 2015-2019 pre-pandemic period, compared with deficits of 11% in crude and 1% in gasoline.<br/>
Russia plans to end restrictions on flights to and from 52 countries after April 9, part of its plans to reduce measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Monday. Russia plans to resume flights to and from Argentina, South Africa and other "friendly countries", Mishustin said, meaning those that have not joined the latest wave of Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation" to demilitarise its neighbour. Russia imposed broad travel restrictions at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, many of which remain in force, but has gradually expanded the list of countries deemed safe for air travel. Other countries with which Russia will resume flights after April 9 include Algeria, China, Lebanon, Peru and Pakistan, Russia's coronavirus task force said. Mishustin also said Russia would be lifting restrictions on travel across the land border between Russia and China. Russia has closed its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, including all 27 members of the European Union, in response to Ukraine-related sanctions targeting its aviation sector. Punitive measures imposed by Western powers have also forced Western firms to terminate leasing contracts with Russian airlines for over 500 aircraft.<br/>
Russian president Vladimir Putin has issued a decree setting out measures for fulfilling aircraft and engine lease payments, stating that they will be met in Russian currency. The decree on “temporary procedures” to meet obligations to certain foreign creditors was signed on 1 April. Hundreds of aircraft leased to Russian carriers remain in operation, despite the efforts of lessors to repatriate them in the wake of sanctions against the government. Obligations for leasing aircraft, engines and auxiliary power plants will be recognised as duly fulfilled, says the decree, if they are satisfied with transfer of the equivalent sum in Russian roubles calculated by the Central Bank of Russia’s official exchange rate. The decree applies to countries on the Russian government’s list of states which have supported the implementation of sanctions. It says the government will have the authority to determine an alternative procedure for meeting lease payments if necessary. Settling lease obligations with Russian currency had been among the considerations outlined by transport ministry legislators in response to the sanctions regime. Russia’s government has sought to retain as much of the leased fleet as possible, in order to maintain air transport connections, even to the point of transferring aircraft to its domestic registry in order to claim compliance with safety oversight.<br/>
Russian state technology firm Rostec’s joint venture with Sirena-Travel is preparing to enable Russian carriers to transfer to a domestic reservations system, to protect against possible problems with foreign booking platforms. The venture, RT-Transcom, is carrying out preparations under a state order in order to “protect the industry”. It says the system comprises a main platform for gradual transition of airlines plus a back-up which can be called upon for emergency and excess-demand situations. Rostec says larger carriers have participated in testing the system in order to assess the necessary technical requirements and to train personnel. “Transition of airlines to domestic software is designed to ensure a sufficient level of booking-system stability and data protection,” says Rostec deputy general director Alexander Nazarov. He claims that use of foreign systems can lead to “leaks of sensitive information” and other problems. Some 50 operators use the system, says Rostec, among them Red Wings, Utair, Yamal and Aurora.<br/>
Holidaymakers have been warned to expect disruption when travelling over the spring and summer, as airlines and airports struggle to rehire staff following the pandemic. The Easter getaway got off to a difficult start as British Airways and easyJet cancelled scores of flights on Monday because of staff shortages, including from rising Covid-19 infections. Airlines had already cancelled 1,143 flights to and from the UK between March 28 and April 3, up from just 197 over the same period in 2019, according to data provider Cirium. The cancellations come at the start of the first busy travel period since all UK Covid travel rules were removed. Industry bosses have celebrated surging demand for foreign holidays after two years of pandemic restrictions. But they also fear that airports and airlines will be unable to handle the mass return of passengers after companies cut tens of thousands of jobs to help them survive the pandemic, particularly as Covid infections soar once again. “Airlines are certainly seeing a high level of demand to fly, but are simply unable to cope with that demand due to a lack of resources. It’s a nightmare situation for airlines and airports at the moment,” said Paul Charles, a travel industry consultant. The Airport Operators Association has warned that operations could face “some strain” in the coming months, and told passengers to expect longer queues at peak travel times. Karen Dee, the lobby group’s CE, blamed “a very competitive labour market” and delays in government security background checks on new staff. One aviation executive said it was taking much longer than usual for staff to go through government-required background checks, in part because large parts of the travel industry had started recruiting simultaneously.<br/>
Climate change activists from the Extinction Rebellion group said on Monday they had blocked the entrance to an oil facility near London's Heathrow Airport on their fourth day of action. The group said about 30 protesters had blocked the Esso West oil facility in west London as part of the campaign to force the government to end its reliance on fossil fuels. The nationwide action by activists from Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, which began on Friday, is seeking to target oil terminals and refineries across Britain ahead of what they say will be greater disruption in London starting on April 9. "We’re here to say that climate action cannot wait," Andrew Smith from Extinction Rebellion said. "Right now, governments are choosing to exploit the crisis in Ukraine to hand out oil licences and continue the fossil fuel economy that’s destroying us." On Saturday, police said they had arrested 83 people in 24 hours over blockades at three locations to the east of London. <br/>
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was at 29,100 feet in clear afternoon skies over the hills of southern China, seemingly ready for a smooth landing in Guangzhou. The plane, a Boeing 737-800 NG, was only seven years old. One of China’s most experienced aviators was among the three pilots in the cockpit. But then, at 2:20 p.m. on March 21, the aircraft plummeted. Air traffic controllers made frantic calls that went unanswered. The pilots sent no mayday messages. The plane fell more than 20,000 feet in less than a minute, to 7,400 feet. Then it gained 1,200 feet of altitude in about 15 seconds, before a final plunge into a hillside covered in bamboo groves and banana trees. The plane was almost exactly vertical and approaching the speed of sound as it tore into the soft earth, with pieces of the aircraft driving as deep as 60 feet into the mud. Two pieces of a wingtip landed seven miles away. Investigators, including a seven-member team from the United States that arrived Saturday, are scrambling to understand what happened in the final minutes before the plane plunged headlong, killing all 132 people onboard. Every air crash investigation poses unique challenges. But this one, China’s worst air disaster in more than a decade, is even more of a mystery because the plane was obliterated by the extraordinarily high speed of its impact, at essentially a 90-degree angle. At the end of the search last week, rescuers said they had recovered 49,117 pieces from the wreck. China also maintains an unusually tight grip on information, censoring discussion and speculation online and allowing only limited coverage of the disaster. Chinese officials have closely guarded much of the information about the crash. Families of the victims have been monitored to prevent them from speaking with journalists or staging any protests. The names of the pilots have not been officially released, although a state-owned newspaper in Hong Kong published them anyway. Story has more.<br/>
Air Lease Corp confirmed its order for 32 Boeing 737 MAX jets on Monday, as it seeks to meet increasing demand for the narrow-body jets from airlines eager to tap into the rebound in air travel. The aircraft lessor, which had signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase new MAX jets in February, said the order will bring its MAX backlog to 130. US carriers said last month travel demand had roared back after a blip caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant and would remain strong. "The 737 MAX family enables airlines to optimize their fleets across a broad range of missions while reducing fuel use and carbon emissions by at least 20% compared to the airplanes they replace," Air Lease said. The company's order comprises 737-8 and 737-9 jets and will help it meet the demand for more fuel-efficient jets, Air Lease said.<br/>
German airport services provider Fraport cannot sell its stake in St. Petersburg airport before 2025, and even then such a sale would be subject to conditions and not necessarily help Ukraine, Fraport’s CE said Monday. “Our concession is linked to a sales ban until 2025,” Stefan Schulte said in a news conference, adding that selling the stake would not help stop the war as it would mean giving the Russian state an asset worth a low three-digit million euro sum. At the same time, the German group cannot influence what flights depart from the city, Schulte said in response to questions over concerns that military planes might take off from the civilian airport. “We only hold a 25% stake in the airport operator, so we are not involved in airport operations ourselves. But we also have no way of influencing take-off and landing rights,” Schulte said. “This is an issue for the respective air traffic control, who is allowed to start, who is allowed to land,” he added. Fraport also no longer does business in St. Petersburg in Russia and has no on-site staff there after it declared in early March it would suspend all activities in Russia.<br/>