Two U.S. senators on Thursday urged airlines and regulators to take steps to reduce flight cancellations and delays after more than 2,700 Memorial Day weekend flights were cancelled. Travelers are bracing for a difficult summer as airlines expect record demand and are still rebuilding staff after thousands of workers left the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a letter to detail steps the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) "is taking to hold airlines accountable for serious disruptions and to ensure consumers are wholly and justly compensated." They added: "While some flight cancellations are unavoidable, the sheer number of delays and cancellations this past weekend raises questions about airline decision-making." They wrote Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines (AAL.O), Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), United Airlines (UAL.O) and others seeking an "update on airlines' plans to reduce and minimize the impact of such delays and cancellations going forward." Airlines are working to hire and train more workers to accommodate the growing demand. Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian told reporters Wednesday in New York the airline is working to train new employees "as we're seeing historic surging demand."<br/>
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The United States on Thursday added 71 Russian and Belarusian entities to its trade blacklist including several aircraft factories and shipbuilding and research institutes in its latest effort to deprive the Russian military of US technology and other items. The export restrictions are among a raft of new sanctions the Washington imposed on Thursday in response to Russia's war in Ukraine, including prohibitions on additional Russian oligarchs and members of the country's elite. They include 70 Russian companies and other entities like several units of the Russian Academy of Sciences, including A.A. Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems and the V.A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences and one Belarus entity. The companies added include several aircraft plants and the Voronezh Joint Stock Aircraft Company, one of the largest Russian factories for passenger and cargo aircraft, according to several research reports. Also added was the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, which has manufactured nearly 7.000 aircraft of more than 20 types since 1934 and produces the MC-21 family of airliners. In total the Commerce Department has now added 322 entities to its economic blacklist for support of Russia’s military since February.<br/>
Holidaymakers who battled lengthy queues and delays leaving the UK could encounter further problems on their return journey as hubs in Europe and the US struggle with their own travel disruption. Tourists have faced severe hold-ups at UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham as they took advantage of relaxed Covid travel restrictions to enjoy a break at half-term. Those who have been lucky enough to avoid the mass cancellations of flights by airlines such as easyJet and Tui could face problems getting back into the UK both by air and rail as other transport hubs in popular holiday spots reported disruption. In Ireland, passengers at Dublin airport faced lengthy queues that stretched out of the terminal doors. Pauline Moore, who missed her Ryanair flight from Dublin to Stansted on Sunday morning, said in a Facebook post that the situation at the airport was “total bedlam”. A press release from the airport acknowledged the problem it had coping with so many travellers and said it intended to implement a new plan to “improve queue management, maximise the availability of staffing resources, and increase the number of security lanes open at peak times”. Dutch airline KLM last week largely suspended ticket sales for flights leaving from Amsterdam Schiphol airport – Europe’s third busiest – after queues stretched into the streets. One easyJet customer told the Independent that the situation at the airport was “complete chaos” and that people were behaving “like animals”.<br/>
Airline passengers should take just one carry-on bag on holiday with them and not check-in luggage to avoid delays, according to industry figures. The GMB union, which represents aviation workers, said if people don't check-in luggage it "limits the disruption". Hundreds of flights have been cancelled this week due to staff shortages across the sector. The industry has met with the government to address the problems. "It is one less thing to worry about. If people can check in online and do not take bags, that limits the disruption," Andy Prendergast, national secretary of the GMB, told The Daily Telegraph. "It's not a magic bullet but it does reduce the chance of there being problems." Meanwhile Paul Charles, CE of travel consultancy PC Agency, said: "The smaller the bag, the less time you spend in security queues. That would reduce the queues during the busiest weekend of the year so far." John Irving, CE of Liverpool Airport, said he was not advising travellers to limit their luggage. But he said: "I think people have to make their own decisions to be honest on what they think is right for them, whether or not that's carrying hand luggage or getting there three hours earlier than their flight." So far, at least 377 flights out of the UK have been cancelled since 25 May, according to flight tracking firm Cirium, affecting thousands of people who booked holidays over the half-term break and the Jubilee bank holiday weekend.<br/>
Travellers trying to get away from the UK over the Jubilee bank holiday weekend have been advised to arrive no more than three hours before their flights as snaking queues add to the chaos at short-staffed airports. Tui and Ryanair are among airlines and holiday companies advising customers to arrive at UK airports three hours before their flights to allow time to check in, rather than the usual two-hour slot. But customers arriving six or seven hours before flights were causing more problems, one travel industry executive said. “The ecosystem works when people come when they are intended to come and join the queue.” Tui said that since the disruption earlier in the week — a result of a lack of airport staff to service flights amid soaring demand — schedules had stabilised and it expected to send 27,000 people on holiday on Friday with no further cancellations except six flights out of Manchester airport. The Anglo-German holiday company said on Tuesday that it planned to cancel six flights a day from Manchester until the end of June, as that was where problems with staffing have been most acute. Between Thursday and Sunday, 10,794 flights are expected to depart from the UK, according to the aviation tracker Cirium, with capacity for some 1.9mn passengers. Between May 30 and Thursday morning 207 flights had been cancelled, with Gatwick airport the most badly affected. The issues have been widespread across Europe, industry executives said, with long delays reported at airports including Brussels, Schiphol in Amsterdam and Bratislava.<br/>
Nepal’s civil aviation regulators are looking to tighten guidelines for aircraft operations in adverse weather conditions, following the fatal crash of a Tara Air turboprop on 29 May. According to a notice from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) dated 31 May, airlines and airports will have to “suspend operations” in case of adverse weather conditions. When submitting flight plans, airlines will have to “collate [and submit] the weather information of the destination and flight path”. Only the air traffic services reporting office can approve the flight plan, the authority adds. The regulator is also mulling making it mandatory for two pilots to fly a single-engine aircraft, and has set up a five-member technical advisory team. A draft proposal is expected within seven days, it states. On 29 May, a Viking Air DHC-6-300 Twin Otter operated by Tara Air crashed at a height of 14,500ft. It was operating the Pokhara-Jomsom route, and was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members, none of whom survived. Preliminary investigations by the CAAN point to adverse weather as a likely contributing factor to the crash. The turboprop’s recorders have been retrieved from the crash site and sent to Kathmandu for analysis. The crash is the latest in a string of safety incidents to hit Tara Air. In 2016, another Tara Air Twin Otter crashed while operating the Pokhara-Jansom route, killing 20 passengers and three crew. In 2010, Tara Air suffered another fatal Twin Otter crash, resulting in the loss of 19 passengers and three crew. This accident saw the aircraft crash into Mt. Palunge while operating the Lamidanda-Kathmandu route.<br/>
South Korea's prime minister on Friday said the country will lift its quarantine requirement for foreign arrivals without vaccination from June 8 and also start lifting aviation regulations imposed for international flights. However, the government will maintain the requirement of a negative PCR test result prior to entry and a PCR test within 72 hours after arrival. "While there was a 7-day quarantine obligation for non-vaccinated foreign arrivals until now, such requirement will be eliminated from June 8 regardless of their vaccination status," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told a pandemic response meeting, adding the country's COVID-19 situation had stabilised. Han said any aviation regulations imposed at Incheon International Airport will be lifted from June 8 to ensure that flights can operate in a timely manner, as current restrictions on flights and flight operation times have caused inconveniences such as lack of tickets and rising prices.<br/>