The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula erupted early on Tuesday and sent up an ash plume 10 kilometers (six miles) high, posing an increased threat to air traffic, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) said. The team issued a code red Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation, noting that ash explosions 15 kilometers (9.32 miles)high could occur at any time. "Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft," it said. The ash cloud following the eruption drifted to the west and south and measured 400 by 270 kilometers, the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences said on Telegram. Russian media reports indicated it was continuing to spread. One of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanoes, Shiveluch has had an estimated 60 substantial eruptions in the past 10,000 years, the last major one being in 2007. It has two main parts, the smaller of which -- Young Shiveluch -- scientists have reported as being extremely active in recent months, with a peak of 2,800 meters (9,186 feet) that protrudes out of the 3,283 meter-high Old Shiveluch. Bondarenko said the volcano erupted at 6:31 a.m. local time and that ash was falling on local villages including Klyuchi, where according to a TASS report quoting the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, ashfall was measured at 8.5 centimeters (3.35 inches), the highest level in 60 years.<br/>
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Chinese airlines undertaking the biggest hiring drives in more than three years as travel rebounds are facing a deluge of applicants for cabin crew roles as fresh university graduates turn to the relatively high-paying career in a bleak job market. In contrast to Western countries, where cabin crew roles are relatively low-paid and mostly do not require a university degree, becoming a flight attendant in China typically requires a bachelor's degree and preferably passing a challenging government-administrated English test. During the pandemic, the total number of flight attendants in China fell by around 11,000, or an 11% drop from the pre-pandemic level of 108,955 in 2019, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, due to attrition rather than the widespread layoffs seen in the West. Carriers including Xiamen Airlines, China Southern and Spring Airlines are now on a hiring spree as domestic travel recovers and they plan to resume flights to popular international destinations. They can pick from an overwhelming number of applicants at a time when a record 11.58m college graduates are about to enter one of the country's worst job markets in decades. The gloomy global economic outlook has weakened export demand and companies in sectors like technology, education and property are cutting staff. Hainan Airlines, which plans to hire more than 1,000 flight attendants this year, has already received more than 20,000 applications, it told Reuters. Its job fair held in Jinan in February attracted 900 candidates and the company hired just 60 people, meaning a selection rate of around 6%.<br/>
When the Chinese government announced last month that it would fully reopen its borders to foreign travelers, the news came as a jolt of relief to the millions of Chinese immigrants overseas who have been separated from their relatives since 2020. But a flood of visitors has yet to arrive. Many people are struggling to even book a plane ticket, stymied by high prices and a lack of direct flights. Liu Wei, 62, who lives in San Diego, recently spent hours at a local travel agency filling out a pile of paperwork to obtain a long-term visa to China. After searching for weeks for a flight, she bought a ticket for later this month to reunite with her sisters in the northeastern port city of Dalian. Round-trip business-class tickets from San Diego to Dalian cost between $6,000 and $10,000, she said, double what she typically paid before the pandemic. “I miss the choice and the freedom to go back and forth,” said Liu, who used to visit China every summer. “It’s been such a tragedy for us to not be able to go back to our own country.” For nearly three years, China maintained some of the harshest travel restrictions in the world, largely sealing off its borders to business travelers, tourists and relatives of Chinese nationals. The ruling Communist Party enforced a “zero Covid” policy, attempting to eradicate the coronavirus with prolonged lockdowns and mass testing. Overseas visitors who did manage to enter China were sometimes forced to quarantine for up to two months at their own expense. Some travelers even had to undergo anal swab Covid testing, triggering protests from governments outside China. China’s isolation had broad ripple effects. Universities shut down academic exchanges with the mainland, and multinational companies shifted their supply chains to other countries. The millions of Chinese immigrants overseas — in countries like the United States, Britain, Canada and Malaysia — suffered the heaviest emotional cost, unable to return home to care for sick parents or bury relatives who died during the pandemic. In December, China abruptly ended its “zero Covid” policy and soon began to ease border restrictions, removing quarantine requirements for international arrivals. The following month, business travelers were allowed to return on special visas. Story has more.<br/>
Airlines are getting back on their feet under eased Covid-19 travel restrictions, but travelers face ascending airfares as travel demand rockets above flight supply. Airfares rose some 25% on average compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the airline industry last Thursday. Korean Air Lines’ economy class round-trip ticket for Incheon-Beijing flights, including tax and fuel surcharge, ranged from 455,000 won to 838,000 won ($345 to $635) on April 1. For Incheon-Atlanta flights, fares ranged from 1.94m won to 5.21m won. Fewer than 10 seats were priced below 2m won. Round-trip flights to Osaka rise above 600,000 won during the weekends, which were usually below 400,000 won in 2019. Flights to Germany begin at 1.4m won, up from 1m in 2019. The fare hike also applies to domestic routes. A one-way ticket for Gimpo-Jeju flights during the weekend costs around 50,000 won in April. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Gimpo-Jeju flights charged half the current price. The slow recovery of supplies has contributed to the rising cost. Korean Air Lines currently operates a total of 622 flights per week, 33% short of the number of flights compared to April 2019. The number of flights to the Americas recovered to 94% of pre-pandemic figures, but trips to Japan linger at 60% and China at 45%. Low-cost carriers are also flying fewer domestic flights this year.<br/>
Airlines are defending their expensive tickets, saying the rates reflect a spike in operational costs due to surging fuel prices and several other<br/>factors. Wutthiphum Jurangkool, Nok Air CE, said airlines are also facing a surge in prices of several items in the aviation supply chain following the pandemic. These include the price of jet fuel, which accounts for about 30% of overall operations, due to the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as an increase in the price of spare parts and aircraft insurance, said Wutthiphum. Other major costs derive from a longer aircraft leasing contract of 3-4 more years. Despite a lower leasing rate, Wutthiphum said an older fleet would normally require a high maintenance cost which pushed up overall operational costs. Last week, the issue of costly domestic airfares went viral as passengers complained on social media about high ticket prices, such as from Bangkok to Trang for 7,595 baht, compared to Singapore on the same date at 4,200 baht. Wutthiphum said airfares during the high-demand holiday period would typically surge as most passengers would fly from Bangkok to other provinces, causing an imbalance in traffic and prompting airlines to adjust their prices to control costs.<br/>
High pollution levels in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai and surrounding provinces are keeping tourists away and alarming locals, with the government on Monday, April 10, urging residents to avoid outdoor activities. For several weeks last month the city was at the top of air quality information platform IQAir’s global chart on poor air quality, ahead of Lahore, Pakistan and New Delhi, India. Chiang Mai, known for its scenic mountainous views, temples and chic cafés, received 10.8m visitors in pre-pandemic 2019, but hotel bookings in the city have dropped to 45% occupancy, the Thai Hotel Association Northern Chapter president Phunut Thanalaopanich told Reuters on Monday. That is far short of the 80% to 90% expected ahead of this week’s Thai New Year holidays, known as Songkran. Addressing the deteriorating air quality in the north, Thailand’s health ministry urged the public to avoid outdoor activities and wear masks that can filter particles. Chang Mai, Thailand’s third-biggest city, reached 289 on IQAir’s air quality index (AQI) index in March, which measures the level of inhalable fine particles in the air. On Monday it had eased to 171, but was still 19 times over the World Health Organization’s recommended level.<br/>
Boeing intends to restore production of its bestselling 737 MAX jet to its 2019 rate of 52 a month by January 2025 as it seeks to fully recover from two deadly crashes and the COVID-19 pandemic that curtailed output, two people familiar with the matter said. After increasing monthly MAX production rates to 38 in June, Boeing's current plans call for 42 MAXs a month by January 2024 and 47 by June 2024, the sources, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. The company previously said it wanted to return production to about 50 by 2025 or 2026, but a more specific ramp-up plan outlined for suppliers and seen by Reuters had not been reported. It currently builds 31 a month. Boeing, which has not provided details of its production plans, declined to comment. As Boeing fights to recover from those crises, faster rollouts of the lucrative MAX are seen as the most critical task for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and the unit's CEO Stan Deal, who told reporters in March production rates would rise from the current rate of 31 jets "very soon." If successful, the 52-production rate would mark the first time Boeing has manufactured the jet at that volume since 2019, when it curtailed monthly production to 42 planes in the wake of the crashes. The US planemaker further pared back MAX rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Success in achieving the 52-jet rate by January 2025 would allow Boeing to defend a 40% market share of the narrowbody market, which analysts see as the lowest level required to maintain a duopoly as its European rival Airbus also increases single-aisle production. Airbus, which on Thursday announced plans to build a new production line in China, expects to produce 65 single-aisle jets a month by the end of 2024 before ramping to its ultimate target of 75 a month in 2026.<br/>