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Airlines are back. That's the message major U.S. carriers are sending investors after grappling with coronavirus-induced uncertainty for two years. With travel demand roaring back after a setback due to the Omicron variant of the virus early in the year, American Airlines Group, United Airlines and Alaska Air Thursday said their revenue in the current quarter would surpass pre-pandemic levels even as their capacity remains below that of 2019. As a result, they all expect to be profitable in the quarter through June. Last week, rival Delta also forecast a return to quarterly profit, citing "historic" high bookings. "A pent-up demand wave for air travel is unraveling the long-term doom-and-gloom sentiment around major airlines," said Colin Scarola, vice president at CFRA Research. The pace of recovery in demand as well as the bullish outlook have helped airline shares pare losses suffered since the onset of the pandemic. The NYSE Arca Airline index is still down 32% from its levels in mid-February 2020 -- but has gained 37% since early March. CFRA on Thursday lifted its 12-month target price for United Airlines Holding Inc's shares by 37% to $63 after the Chicago-based carrier said it is on course to post the highest quarterly revenue in its history. While the surge in bookings is largely driven by leisure travelers, carriers said office repoenings and easing border restrictions have bolstered the outlook. <br/>

US airlines are facing a pilot shortage that’s complicating efforts to ramp up flights, forcing them to step up training programs, recruit foreign pilots and even replace planes with buses. The industry needs to hire an average of 14,500 new pilots each year until 2030, according to federal labor statistics. But carriers say there’s no way they can bring on that many due to long lag times for credentialing. Worse, experts say the staffing bottleneck is unlikely to end anytime soon. “The pilot shortage for the industry is real and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,” Scott Kirby, chief executive officer of United Airlines Holdings Inc. said earlier this week on a conference call. That will likely force United to keep 150 regional planes parked despite increased domestic travel demand, he said. The issue isn’t new -- airlines already faced difficulty finding and retaining pilots before the pandemic -- but a purging of employees at the start of the downturn in 2020 has left the industry ill-prepared for a rebound. Thousands of pilots accepted buyouts or retired early when federal aid to avoid furloughs failed to cover all the airlines’ labor costs, especially for veteran pilots earning six-figure salaries. Two years on, airlines are unable to find enough qualified crews to fully reinstate route maps.<br/>

Amsterdam's Schiphol airport urged travellers to stay away for several hours on Saturday as a strike by ground personnel at the start of a school holiday caused chaos at Europe's third-busiest airport. "The terminal is too full at the moment ... Schiphol is calling on travellers not to come to the airport anymore," airport authorities said in a statement issued shortly before noon (1000 GMT). Almost three hours later the airport said passengers were welcome again but would still face long waiting times and possible delays or cancellations. Police closed down highway exits to the airport briefly on Saturday afternoon as lines at departure gates stretched out of the airport buildings. A Schiphol spokesperson said the temporary closure was necessary to guarantee safety and to get as many as possible of the thousands of frustrated passengers aboard their often-delayed flights. Baggage handlers for KLM had early on Saturday gone on a previously unannounced strike to press demands for higher pay and better working conditions.<br/>

Poland failed to reach agreement with air traffic controllers on Friday in a dispute over pay and conditions, a trade union spokeswoman said, moving airlines closer to what European authorities have said could be mass flight cancellations. The disruption, affecting not only flights to and from Poland but also those passing through the country's airspace, could start on May 1, the day after the end of the notice period for air traffic controllers who chose to quit rather than accept new working regulations they say threaten safety. Talks will resume on Sunday afternoon, the spokeswoman said. European air safety body Eurocontrol said Poland's Civil Aviation Authority will drastically cut the number of flights in Polish airspace if no agreement is reached. "As of 1 May, the Polish CAA will implement a flight cancellation programme to significantly reduce the number of flights into/out of Polish airspace," Eurocontrol said. "It is anticipated that there will be enough controllers for the approach to Warsaw airports to operate ... with a total capacity of around 170 flights. The two Warsaw airports were expected to handle on average 510 flights each day in May." According to the Polish air traffic controllers' union, 180 out of 206 controllers working in Warsaw chose to resign rather than accept the new working conditions. Forty-four of the 180 have already left, and the notice period for the remaining 136 ends on April 30.<br/>

For almost two years during the coronavirus pandemic, one of the two terminals at London’s Gatwick airport stood empty as passengers stayed at home and the travel industry battled for survival. The mothballed South Terminal became an eerie place: the shutters were drawn at shops and restaurants, baggage carousels and boarding gates were closed, and motion-sensitive lights flickered on to interrupt the darkness. Police used the empty space for training drills, and many of the planes were left indefinitely on the tarmac, their engines wrapped in covers to protect them. Gatwick was not alone. The aviation industry was in the deep freeze after demand for flying collapsed because of global travel restrictions brought in to control the spread of Covid-19. Airline and airport executives bemoaned a historic crisis and many governments funnelled direct cash support to help the industry survive. Companies shed tens of thousands of jobs, loaded up on debt and parked planes to ride out the disruption. But after 24 months of crisis management, passengers are suddenly coming back so quickly that the industry does not know what to do with them. The number of scheduled flights has recovered to 89 per cent of 2019 levels this month, having fallen to just a third in April 2020, according to a Financial Times analysis of data from Cirium, a consultancy. The revival comes as border restrictions loosen across much of the world, setting off a scramble at airports and airlines to ramp up operations, rehire staff and get planes back into the air. Some markets were more resilient than others, particularly larger countries such as the US and China, which were shielded by continued demand for domestic flying. But the industry is now recovering around the globe, even in parts of Asia-Pacific where borders have just begun reopening.<br/>

Hong Kong will allow non residents to enter the financial hub from May for the first time in more than two years, a small step in unwinding stringent coronavirus restrictions which have turned the city into one of the world's most isolated places. Hong Kong's rules for airlines that carry infected COVID-19 patients will also be eased slightly, the government said in a statement on Friday, with the threshold for suspending incoming flights rising to five infected passengers from three currently. A ban on individual airline routes will be shortened to five days from 7. Foreign travellers will be subject to the same procedure as residents, the government said. The announcement comes with daily infections under 1000 for more than a week from a peak of more than 70,000 on March 3. Hong Kong's borders have essentially been closed since early 2020 with very few flights and weeks long quarantine for arrivals.<br/>

Boeing is preparing for a new delay in the 777X program that would push first deliveries by at least a year into early 2025, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters. The delay is in line with an estimate given by the plane’s biggest customer - Emirates Airlines - whose president, Tim Clark, told Aviation Daily in an April 7 story he did expect to receive its first Boeing 777X before 2025. The source confirmed the delay, first reported Friday by the Air Current aviation industry publication that said Boeing expects to delay the certification target until late 2024 - or by another nine to 12 months for the wide-body aircraft - with deliveries to follow in 2025. Reuters reported last month the FAA warned Boeing in a March 21 letter that existing certification schedules for the 737 MAX 10 and 777X were “outdated and no longer reflect the program activities.” Boeing had earlier said it expected to win certification for the 777X by the end of 2023. Certification is needed before Boeing can begin deliveries.<br/>

Air Lease Corp said Friday it would write off the value of the 27 jets it has remaining in sanctions-hit Russia, a move that is expected to lead to charges of about $802m. Global aircraft leasing companies have been scrambling to repossess more than 400 jets worth almost $10 billion from Russian airlines, which have mostly been unresponsive to demands for surrendering the jets. "It is unlikely that the company will regain possession of the aircraft that have not been returned and that remain in Russia," Air Lease said. The write-off, which includes 21 company-owned jets and six aircraft in Air Lease's managed fleet, will be reflected in the first-quarter earnings report slated for May 5. Air Lease said it does not expect the write-off to result in material future cash expenditures and that it was pursuing insurance claims to recover losses relating to the aircraft.<br/>

The day war broke out, one of Ukraine’s most decorated pilots stepped onto the balcony of his three-story home to watch a battle raging at a nearby airport. From where he was standing, the pilot, Oleksandr Halunenko, could see the explosions and feel the shudders. The Russians were invading his country and he was worried about something close to his heart. Mriya. The plane. In a hangar a few miles away rested the world’s largest airplane, so special that only one was ever built. Its name is Mriya, pronounced Mer-EE-ah, which in Ukrainian means The Dream. With its six jet engines, twin tail fins and a wingspan nearly as long as a football field, Mriya hauled gargantuan amounts of cargo across the world, mesmerizing crowds wherever it landed. It was an airplane celebrity, aviation enthusiasts say, and widely beloved. It was also a cherished symbol of Ukraine. Halunenko was Mriya’s first pilot and loved it like a child. He has turned his home into a Mriya shrine — pictures and paintings and models of the aircraft hang in every room.<br/>But that morning, he had a terrible feeling. “I saw so many bombs and so much smoke,” he said. “I knew Mriya could not survive.” The war in Ukraine, not even two months old, has already destroyed so much: thousands of lives, entire families, happiness and security for countless people. But it has also destroyed material things that mean a lot — homes burned to the ground; supermarkets that fed communities smashed by shelling; toys and prized possessions scorched beyond recognition. Story has more.<br/>