Virgin Atlantic will launch a pre-departure Covid testing trial for flights to the Caribbean in a bid to persuade ministers to drop travel restrictions completely. Passengers on flights to Barbados, Antigua and Grenada will be asked to take an antigen test on departure, and a PCR test on arrival in accordance with local country rules. A “test and release” scheme for UK arrivals will start on Dec 15. A two-week quarantine will be cut to five days on presentation of a negative Covid test. The aviation industry favours a more sophisticated testing regime that will negate the need for any restrictions and allow airlines to make a meaningful return to the skies before a vaccine is widely available. Bosses say departure testing is twice as effective as quarantining. The Virgin trial, which will last for six weeks, follows the announcement of Covid pilot initiatives by the likes of United and British Airways. On Thursday Delta and Alitalia launched “quarantine free” services from the US to Italy. Although the US has banned travellers from Europe, airline executives believe the White House is considering lifting the restrictions. Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic chief executive, said: “The new UK test to release scheme is a vital first step in re-opening the skies, but we must now move rapidly towards a single test pre-departure regime in order to ensure the survival of UK aviation and protect 500,000 jobs reliant on the sector.”<br/>
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German charter airline Condor does not expect to find a new owner until 2022 at the earliest, its CE said. The carrier had agreed a sale to Poland’s national carrier LOT for about E300m, but LOT’s owner, Polish Aviation Group (PGL), pulled out of the deal in April when the coronavirus crisis grounded air travel. “I do not see that we will have an investor process in the next 12 months,” Condor’s Ralf Teckentrup told journalists, adding that he expects negotiations to take place in mid-2022 at the earliest. Condor, a former unit of collapsed holiday company Thomas Cook, has so far survived the COVID-19 pandemic with 550 million euros of state aid, but airline industry experts expect German state lender KfW to initiate a sales process eventually. Teckentrup said Condor was using 10-15% of its capacity at the moment but was optimistic about lifting that to 60-75% next summer, citing the potential availability of coronavirus vaccines and rapid testing.<br/>
Japanese budget airline Peach Aviation on Sunday entered the pleasure flight business and offered its first sightseeing flight service. Faced with a slump in travel demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the airline hopes to improve its earnings through the new business. What prompted Peach Aviation, based in Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture, to start pleasure flight services was a proposal to do so by the Kansai Sky Friends Association, which is made up of local elementary and junior high students who are interested in the world of aviation. About 120 people, including members of the association, got on the first sightseeing flight by the airline. The aircraft left Kansai International Airport in the city of Izumisano, Osaka, flew for about two hours over the Shikoku and Kyushu regions and returned to the same airport. During the flight, the passengers learned about the work of pilots and cabin crew members. Peach Aviation, a unit of ANA Holdings, aims to promote its pleasure flight services for utilization for school trips.<br/>
The total liabilities of Philippine Airlines — including its outstanding obligations to foreign aircraft suppliers — stand at almost US$5b, making its proposed debt restructuring plan the largest in the country’s history. “This [amount] is due to new accounting rules on [aircraft] leases that were implemented in 2019, ” a company insider said, even as he explained that the actual amount of loans excluding these assets was “much smaller than that.” According to company insiders, the flag carrier’s total liabilities are expected to fall to around $3b once its rehabilitation plan is approved by US courts, possibly as soon as next month. “PAL will likely seek US court protection once it has 67% of its creditors or lessors agreeing to its request for restructuring, ” another industry source familiar with the airline’s situation said. “This is to ensure that dissenting creditors follow and don’t throw off the restructuring plan — it’s the usual Chapter 11 filing done by US businesses to ensure business [continuity], ” he added. “It will be filed in the US since 75 per cent of creditors are based there and they have specific courts with knowledgeable judges on restructuring.”<br/>