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Major US airlines said on Monday they have no immediate plans to resume stock buybacks after a Congress-imposed ban expired last month, amid pressure from unions to boost worker pay and fix operational issues. “Our highest financial priorities right now are restoring our balance sheet and investing in our employees and customers,” United Airlines said in an emailed statement. The carrier plans to take delivery of nearly 300 new aircraft over the next several years. As air travel roars back, airlines are also prioritizing on debt reduction following a borrowing binge during the pandemic. The big three national carriers - American Airlines, United and Delta Air Lines – had a combined $85b in net long-term debt at the end of Q2. Cost pressures due to a shortage of workers and mounting economic worries have also sparked investor concerns on carriers’ ability to repair balance sheets, likely limiting room for capital returns. “Delta’s top financial priority is restoring its financial foundation by generating sustained and meaningful profitability and cash flow to support debt reduction and reinvestment in the business,” the airline said. American Airlines pointed to CFO Derek Kerr’s interview in August to The Associated Press, when he said the carrier had no plans to do any share repurchases and all of its excess liquidity would be used to pay off debt. As part of the federal COVID-19 relief package, airlines had been prohibited from buying back their shares. The ban had expired on Sept. 30.<br/>

The US FAA is set as early as Tuesday to require that airline flight attendants receive at least 10 hours of rest time between shifts, an action that Congress directed in 2018, sources told Reuters. The FAA first proposed the rule in October 2021. Under existing rules, flight attendants get at least nine hours of rest time but it can be as little as eight hours in certain circumstances. The FAA declined to comment on Monday. Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers including American Airlines, Delta, United and others, had previously estimated the rule would cost its members $786m over 10 years for the 66% of US flight attendants its members employ, resulting from things like unpaid idle time away from home and schedule disruptions. Aviation unions previously told the FAA the majority of US flight attendants typically do receive 10 hours of rest from airlines but urged the rule's quick adoption for safety and security reasons. Last year, the FAA cited reports about the "potential for fatigue to be associated with poor performance of safety and security related tasks," including in 2017, when a flight attendant reported almost causing the gate agent to deploy an emergency exit slide, which was attributed to fatigue and other issues. The FAA estimated last year the regulation could prompt the industry to hire another 1,042 flight attendants and cost $118m annually. If hiring assumptions were cut in half, it said, that would cut estimated costs by over 30%.<br/>

The number of issued one-way flight tickets from Russia increased 27% the week President Vladimir Putin declared on Sept. 21 the country's first mobilization since World War Two, according to flight ticketing data from Spain-based ForwardKeys on Tuesday. The mobilization of men to fight in Ukraine has prompted thousands of fighting-age men to flee Russia to avoid a draft that was billed as enlisting those with military experience and specialties but has often appeared oblivious to service records, health, student status and even age. The data, which compared bookings from Sept. 21 to Sept. 27 to the week prior, shows the share of one-way tickets issued jumped to 73% the week of the announcement compared with 47% the previous week. "These numbers are quite remarkable and correlate with reports at the time of a sudden increase in ticket sales,” said Olivier Ponti, ForwardKeys' vice president of insights. Sixty percent of tickets purchased the week of the announcement had a departure date within 15 days, up from 45% compared with the week prior. The average lead time to departure decreased from 34 to 22 days, the company said.<br/>

Heathrow Airport said on Monday that it would lift its temporary passenger cap, which limits the airport’s capacity to 100,000 departing passengers per day, on Oct. 29. The London airport imposed the limit over the summer in an attempt to manage chaotic conditions amid a jump in travel as restrictions imposed early in the coronavirus pandemic were lifted. Citing staffing shortages that led to long lines and frequent cancellations, Heathrow first announced a capacity limit in July. It was originally set to end on Sept. 11, but in August the airport said it would extend the cap through most of October. A spokesman for Heathrow said on Monday that the cap would be lifted because the airport was seeing fewer last-minute cancellations and shorter waits for luggage. A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic, one of Britain’s largest carriers, said in an email that the airline welcomed the decision to end the capacity limit ahead of the winter travel season. Other airports around Europe have faced worker shortages in recent months. Last week, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said that it would be extending its passenger cap until early next year. Schiphol had previously said that it would limit departures to about 70,000 passengers per day through October, and in a statement last week said that it may reconsider the cap at the end of the year. Schiphol’s statement noted that it was working to address staff shortages, including with “improved rest rooms and better wages for security company employees.”<br/>

French airport group ADP confirmed its Paris air traffic outlook for 2022 and 2023, driven by a recovery in the Asian market and by travelers realising trips they were unable to make during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The group therefore remains confident and confirms its assumptions of traffic in Paris between 72% and 82% of the 2019 level for 2022 and between 85% and 95% for 2023", the company said in a statement, maintaining a forecast from July. Last month, the international airline trade body IATA said the global air travel industry's recovery from the COVID pandemic was gaining momentum. "Groupe ADP recorded very good levels of traffic this summer, both in Paris and in the rest of the world, and this dynamic has been confirmed in the recent weeks as well," added ADP's CE Augustin de Romanet. He previously said France's temporary unemployment legislation, which allowed businesses to keep their staff during lockdowns while the state assured their continued pay, allowed the group to swiftly re-start operations as the pandemic eased<br/>

The Italian market watchdog has cleared the multi-billion buyout bid prepared by the Benettons and US investment fund Blackstone on Italy's Atlantia, the two partners said, adding the takeover will start on Oct. 10. The takeover will end on Nov. 11, the investment vehicle of the two investors said on Monday. The Benetton family and the US fund, who have joined forces through investment vehicle Schema Alfa, aim to take the Italian airport and motorway operator private by the end of this year. <br/>

The Republic has inked an open skies agreement with the Western Pacific island nation of Palau which will allow airlines from both countries to fly between each other, and beyond to any third country. The Ministry of Transport on Monday said that under this agreement, the airlines will be able to fly any number of passenger and cargo services. They will also be able to operate with no restrictions on capacity, frequency, aircraft type or routing schedules. Minister of Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S. Iswaran signed the agreement with Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr. Iswaran said that the agreement demonstrates the close and growing relations between both countries. He added: "As the aviation sector recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, this agreement reaffirms our commitment to further strengthen our connectivity to the benefit of trade, tourism, businesses and our people." Mayur Patel, head of Asia at global travel data provider OAG Aviation, said the agreement could pave the way for future links, and would help with trade talks and enhance the relationship between the two countries. Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, described the open skies agreement as an “interesting development” for Palau, which has a population of fewer than 20,000. “The agreement links Changi Airport to an exotic new destination in a part of the world that’s increasingly becoming a sphere of interest amongst the superpowers,” said Shukor. Direct flights between Singapore and New Caledonia, another island situated in the Pacific Ocean, had restarted in July after a 25-year hiatus.<br/>

The number of flights that airlines have filed to operate in Changi Airport by the year end has already exceeded more than 80 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels - with China's opening strategy presenting a "major uncertainty" for Singapore's planners. Transport Minister S. Iswaran said in Parliament on Monday that his ministry makes projections based on flight plans that airlines file with Changi Airport in advance, as well as the opening of source markets, particularly in the Asia-Pacific. Already, the recent reopening of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan is likely to further increase year-end flights, as airlines respond to demand from Asian travellers, he said. Pre-Covid-19, China accounted for about 20% of Singapore's tourists. "China's opening strategy is something that we have to observe and China is a significant source for us. I think that is a major uncertainty that we have to watch out for," Iswaran said. "We plan with the capacity in mind, but we also need to be vigilant." Saktiandi was also worried that the authorities might have over-budgeted when it set the target for 80% of pre-Covid-19 flights by the year end. Iswaran said there is predictability to these figures, which are derived from airlines when they submit to Changi Airport for flight slots that they operate. Referring to ongoing recruitment efforts, Iswaran added that all aviation companies have been "throwing the kitchen sink at this". He had said previously that the sector wanted to hire another 4,000 people by the year end, restoring manpower to 90% of 2019 levels.<br/>

Auckland Airport has apologised after a group of travellers was forced to sleep on the floor of a hallway just metres from a departure lounge. The airport says leaving passengers out in the cold awaiting security processing is an unacceptable level of service. Early on Sunday more than 100 passengers were left stranded between their flight from Samoa and before their flight to Australia because the transit security screening point was closed overnight. The Airport’s general manager operations Anna Cassels-Brown told RNZ’s Morning Report that an alternative waiting department was being readied on Tuesday. “The key thing is, it is absolutely not a level of service that we want to provide,” Cassels-Brown said. “I am not happy that any of our customers had to sit in that hallway. I am not happy that elderly people or children were, it is completely below the level of acceptable customer service, and we are fixing it.” New Zealand’s borders reopened fully to all visitors in August.<br/>

Plane aficionados now have a chance to own a piece of one of the world’s most iconic aircraft -- Airbus SE’s A380, the largest and most spacious passenger jet. Airbus is holding a three-day auction of some 500 pieces of the superjumbo, starting Oct. 13. Items on sale include lamps, a bar, trolleys, seats, emergency exit signs, baby bassinets and even a cockpit rescue rope. People can also bid on artwork created by street artists using different parts of the aircraft, such as engine blades. A faux marble sink from a first-class cabin is going for as little as $2,000. Unveiled by Airbus in 2005, the A380 is the world’s largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-decker jet. It counts Middle East carrier Emirates as its biggest customer. The superjumbo plane was meant to revolutionize the civil aviation sector, but inefficient design and low demand during Covid led Airbus to stop A380 production at the end of 2021. Most of the parts up for auction come from an A380 MSN13, which entered service in 2008. Proceeds will flow to the Airbus Foundation, to help fund its humanitarian initiatives.<br/>

Airbus is opening a public competition to design a livery for its new A350 freighter, which is expected to conduct its first flight in 2024. The competition – to be formally launched on 4 October – will run for around eight weeks with submissions due by 28 November. Airbus says the successful entry will be unveiled on 15 March next year. “We are inviting professional designers, amateur artists or students, creative talents from all around the world to design the livery of our new [A350F],” it adds. It has issued various criteria with which the design must comply. The Airbus and A350F logos must be “clearly visible” and remain unmodified. Certain areas of the aircraft cannot be used for artwork while others, such as the cockpit area, tail cone, nacelles and wing fairings, can only support specific limited designs. But the company states that the size of the freighter means candidates will have over 1,000m² of surface available, primarily the fuselage and vertical fin. Entries should consider how the new aircraft “can benefit air freight operators and airlines from around the globe”. Airbus design specialists will work with the artist behind the successful entry, and the airframer says the livery will “showcase” the A350F to operators.<br/>