For the first time since the start of the pandemic, global leisure and business flights have risen to levels not seen since 2019. That’s according to the Mastercard Economics Institute’s third annual travel report, titled “Travel 2022: Trends & Transitions,” published yesterday. After analyzing 37 global markets, the report found that cross-border travel reached pre-pandemic levels as of March — a significant milestone for a travel industry that has been dominated by domestic travel since 2020. Global flight bookings for leisure travel soared 25% above pre-pandemic levels in April, according to the report. That was driven by the number of short-haul and medium-haul flights, which were higher in April than during the same time in 2019, according to the report. Long-haul leisure flights weren’t far behind. After starting the year at -75% of pre-pandemic levels, an “unprecedented surge” in international flight bookings brought these flights “just shy” of 2019 levels in less than three months, according to the report. Like airlines, global spending for cruises, buses and passenger railways rose sharply earlier this year, with tourist car rentals in March surpassing 2019 levels, according to Mastercard Economics Institute’s 2022 travel report. Business flyers, who have trailed leisure passengers for the entire pandemic, are returning to the skies as well. At the end of March, business flight bookings exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to the report, marking a key milestone for airlines that rely on corporate “frequent flyer” passengers. The return of business travel has been swift, as business flight bookings were only about half of pre-pandemic levels earlier this year, according to the report. The global upward trajectory comes despite a sluggish return to air travel in Asia.<br/>
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US pilot union Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) has pledged to block any attempt to raise the mandated pilot retirement age, which advocates say would help alleviate the pilot shortage. ALPA is also vociferously opposed to reducing minimum aeronautical experience requirements for pilots entering the field, claiming doing so would erode safety. Even though numerous US airlines have cancelled thousands of flights this year due to a dearth of qualified flight deck staff, ALPA contends there is no pilot shortage to alleviate. “This discussion is yet another attempt to distract the conversation from the real issue, which is the failure of airlines to deliver on a key goal of the multibillion-dollar relief plan Congress provided them during the pandemic,” Joe DePete, ALPA president, says on 19 May. That goal, says DePete, was “to effectively manage air-service operations as travel resumes”. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is reportedly working on finding consensus for legislation that would raise the mandatory pilot retirement age from 65. “ALPA strongly opposes this proposed legislation as there is no reason to change the retirement age today, and doing so would only increase costs for airlines as well as introduce unnecessary risks to passengers and crew alike,” he adds. Increasing the required retirement age to 67 or 68 would have “significant unintended consequences”, and displace pilots, ALPA says. The union adds that older pilots will be forced to leave “the most desirable international routes” because the international age limit set by civil aviation regulatory body ICAO is also 65. “When age-65+ airline pilots return to domestic-only flying, they will then displace more junior pilots and both cohorts may require training on different aircraft, adding to the training costs of air carriers,” ALPA says.<br/>
Airline and aviation groups are calling on Latin American and Caribbean governments to ditch Covid-19-related travel restrictions, saying the region’s aviation industry cannot recover with restrictions in place. “We can only expect a full recovery of aviation and all the industries that depend on it if Covid-related restrictions and requirements are removed,” airline trade group IATA says on 19 May. Other organisations supporting the position include the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association, Airports Council International and air traffic management trade group CANSO. Though some of the world’s countries have lifted or eased travel restrictions in recent months, many restrictions remain effective in Latin America and the Caribbean, the groups say. They call on governments in those regions to lift “all remaining” Covid-19 travel hurdles, including virus-testing prerequisites, vaccine and Covid-19 travel insurance requirements and, on some routes, mandates requiring passengers wear face masks. The groups note Covid-19 is now “pervasive throughout Latin America and the Caribbean”, and that cases of serious disease have declined to due widespread “population immunity”. “It has been proven that those countries without testing requirements are the ones where air transport is recovering faster,” they say. The pandemic hit Latin American airlines especially hard because many countries in the region effectively closed themselves from the globe during the pandemic. Also, unlike elsewhere, many Latin American government did not provide airlines with pandemic-related financial aide.<br/>
Britain said on Thursday it was introducing new sanctions against the Russian airline sector to prevent state-owned Aeroflot, Ural Airlines and Rossiya Airlines from selling their unused landing slots at British airports. The British government said it estimated the landing slots were worth GBP50m. "We’ve already closed our airspace to Russian airlines. Today we’re making sure they can’t cash in their lucrative landing slots at our airports," British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. "Every economic sanction reinforces our clear message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin – we will not stop until Ukraine prevails." Britain said Aeroflot, Russia's biggest airline and majority owned by the Russian state, was providing services for the Russian government and generating revenue for the Kremlin. It has already sanctioned the company's chief executive. Rossiya Airlines is a unit of Aeroflot, while Ural Airlines is privately owned. All three are now subject to an asset freeze.<br/>
China’s aviation industry lost a combined 84.3b yuan ($12.5b) last year, as the country kept its borders closed to keep out Covid-19. A rebound in domestic travel to pre-pandemic levels helped narrow total losses from 97.4b yuan in 2020, China’s aviation regulator said Thursday. Sales by airlines and airports rose 22% last year, but that was nowhere near enough to surmount the loss of business from international travel. Airlines are again doing it tough this year after the financial hub of Shanghai was locked down for six weeks and restrictions imposed in a raft of cities to stamp out Covid flareups. All of the big-three listed airlines posted wider Q1 losses.<br/>
Travellers flying out of Changi Airport will no longer have to present their passports or boarding passes when clearing immigration, after an initiative to use biometrics for verification is rolled out later this year. Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on Tuesday said: "We are working on an initiative where departing passengers at Changi need only present their biometrics for verification at the various departure touchpoints, without having to present any physical identity or travel documents." This will not only enhance user experience but also contribute to the new precautions needed for safe and healthy flying post-pandemic, he said during a closed-door dialogue at the Changi Aviation Summit. The Straits Times understands that the initiative will be rolled out progressively this year. A transcript of Teo's speech was published on the Prime Minister's Office's website on Wednesday. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had previously said that in future, Singapore residents leaving or arriving at Changi will be able to clear immigration without needing to present their passports.<br/>