The peak body representing the world's airlines has distanced itself from Qantas' compulsory vaccination stance, saying the policy is a "bit premature" and that testing was more critical than vaccines. The CEO of the IATA, Alexandre de Juniac, was speaking in Geneva following the association's annual general meeting which called on governments to end quarantine and border bans and replace them with testing. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce grounded the airline's international fleet when the Australian government closed the border and banned citizens from leaving unless they obtained a government-approved exemption. However, the airline is operating a handful of repatriation flights underwritten by the federal government. Qantas - which is a member of IATA - is not expected to restart long-haul international passenger flights until at least mid-2021 leaving foreign state-backed airlines including Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and Emirates to continue commercial operations that are limited to around 30 people per flight. Joyce said this week that passengers would be required to be vaccinated in order to fly. When asked by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age if other airlines would copy Qantas' stance, IATA's CEO Alexandre de Juniac said the subject was a "bit premature". "For the moment, we have had this very good news on the vaccine but it is a bit premature to say when and how the vaccination progress will be spread all around the world and the whole world will be done," de Juniac said. "What we think is the emergency now is to implement the testing process."<br/>
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Mesa Air Group, the parent company of Mesa Airlines has signed a new five-year contract with American Airlines to operate 40 Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft for the Fort-Worth-based carrier beginning on 1 January. The Phoenix-based regional carrier says on 25 November that the contract replaces aircraft agreements that had been set to expire in 2021 and 2022. “This new contract will position Mesa for long term stability and improved performance on our American operation,” says Mesa CE Jonathan Orenstein. Mesa currently has 53 CRJ-900s in service and 11 in storage. Altogether it has about 342 daily departures and 3,200 employees.<br/>
Malaysia's finance minister has sent a strong signal that Malaysia Airlines will benefit from state financial support to ensure its survival, as talks continue over a possible debt restructuring to salvage the national flag carrier. Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that MAS' sole shareholder Khazanah Nasional -- a state wealth fund wholly-owned by the government -- has been told to put the airline in a "position of strength" to support the domestic economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. "The Ministry of Finance has spoken to Khazanah and asked them to ensure that MAS continues to be in the position of strength to support the economy when it recovers," said Tengku Zafrul, an ex-banker who was appointed in March.<br/>