US air travelers rose to the most in more than eight months as flyers brushed aside the advice of public health officials to avoid trips around the Thanksgiving holiday. Passengers at domestic airport checkpoints totaled 1,176,091 on Sunday, the US TSA said Monday. That’s the most since March, when the coronavirus pandemic gutted travel demand. US air travelers rose to the most in more than eight months as flyers brushed aside the advice of public health officials to avoid trips around the Thanksgiving holiday. Passengers at domestic airport checkpoints totaled 1,176,091 on Sunday, the US TSA said Monday. That’s the most since March, when the coronavirus pandemic gutted travel demand.<br/>
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The Department of Transportation has set new standards for how it would determine whether airlines are being unfair or deceiving passengers, giving a boost to the industry in the Trump administration’s final weeks by issuing rules that consumer groups say will make it harder to rein in bad behavior and craft new protections. The department said it was taking the step, which it says in some cases merely writes existing practices into the federal government’s formal rule book, in the interest of transparency and consistency. “The rule will benefit the public and regulated entities,” it said. The rules, finalized Friday, are technical but opponents say their bureaucratic language masks how one of their provisions, in particular, will dramatically slow the Transportation Department’s efforts to outlaw “unfair or deceptive practices.” The changes will allow airlines and other industry players to seek formal hearings to hash out factual issues before a practice is banned or new protections are put in place. The change was sought by the airline industry, which complained in the early days of the Trump administration that recently imposed consumer protection rules made it more difficult to do business and had asked the government to ease up. Under the Obama administration, the Transportation Department required airlines to disclose the full cost of tickets, including taxes and fees; give passengers 24 hours to cancel a ticket after booking; and took other steps designed to protect consumers from delayed or oversold flights. Airlines for America, which represents the major carriers and supported the new rules, thanked federal officials for taking action.<br/>
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Monday it had ended a 2013 regulatory proceeding that had sought to lift the ban on using mobile phones while in flight on US airlines. The FCC said in 2013 it would consider allowing air travelers to make mobile phone calls and text messages above 10,000 feet, but never finalized it. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in 2017 recommended ending the proceeding. The commission, in adopting the recommendation three years later, noted strong opposition from US airline pilots and flight attendants. The “record is insufficient to determine any reasonable solution that would strike an appropriate balance of competing interests,” the FCC said in closing the proceeding. Pai, in 2017, had said he stood “with airline pilots, flight attendants, and America’s flying public against the FCC’s ill-conceived 2013 plan to allow people to make cellphone calls on planes ... Taking it off the table permanently will be a victory for Americans.”<br/>
Ottawa is rolling out a wave of new funding for pandemic-battered industries including tourism, the arts and regional aviation, with smaller companies top of mind -- and large airlines notably absent. The aid, dubbed the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP), comes on top of a newly expanded emergency loan program already in place for small businesses, and technically is not limited to certain industries. Meanwhile the devastated tourism sector will have access to one-quarter of the more than $2b that Ottawa is doling out to regional development agencies through June 2021. Rent relief and nearly $700m in capital investments are en route to airports over six years. Another $206m in support is bound for regional aviation, including smaller airlines, via a new "regional air transportation initiative" overseen by regional development agencies. But an aid package targeting big players such as Air Canada and WestJet Airlines remains in the works as talks with Ottawa continue. The regional aviation support comes with question marks, as well. "A regional initiative, what's that?" asked John McKenna, CEO of the Air Transport Association of Canada, which represents some 30 regional airlines. "We have no idea. We have not been consulted. We have no idea what they're referring to," he said. "Never mind new initiatives, try to support the existing services so they survive."<br/>
On Sept. 15, an Indonesian flight carrying 307 passengers and 11 crew to the northern city of Medan momentarily veered off the runway after landing, sparking an investigation by the country’s transport safety regulator. It found the pilot had flown less than three hours in the previous 90 days. The first officer hadn’t flown at all since Feb. 1. The incident underlines an emerging risk from the coronavirus pandemic: pilots aren’t getting enough opportunity to fly because airlines have grounded planes and scaled back operations due to a slump in demand for air travel. In its preliminary report, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee said the pandemic has made it harder to maintain pilot proficiency and flying experience. The Lion Air aircraft involved was an Airbus SE A330, one of 10 in the carrier’s fleet. Because Lion Air doesn’t have a simulator for the A330, its pilots are trained at third-party facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Covid-19 travel restrictions have made those harder to access. “Regular flying keeps your mind in the cockpit,” said Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation safety consultant who was an adviser to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. “Being away from flying for such a long time brings in some complacency. Add loss of income, uncertainty about jobs or the future of the airline, that brings in additional stress. With an increase in stress levels, proficiency drops.”<br/>
Airlines around the world are predicted to spend around US$2.8t on new aircraft by 2039 despite the current COVID-19 crisis, according to Cirium, the travel industry data and analytics company. Worldwide deliveries during 2020 are expected to be 45 percent lower than in 2019, but it's predicted the industry will recover enough to spend the nearly NZ$4 trillion total over the next two decades. Asian markets will be the growth engine for the global aviation industry, accounting for an expected 43% of deliveries. The 2020 Cirium Fleet Forecast predicts that 43,315 new passenger and freighter aircraft will be delivered between 2020 and 2039. This represents an 8 percent drop compared to the 20 year outlook in the 2019 Cirium Fleet Forecast and includes some 4600 fewer deliveries in the next decade. Cirium Head of Marketing and Analysis Chris Seymour says COVID-19 has put a handbrake on the speedy growth of aviation over the past few years. "Following 10 consecutive years of uninterrupted demand growth, the 2020 COVID-19 crisis has led to a dramatic reduction in global traffic and record industry losses," Seymour said. "Worldwide deliveries during 2020 are expected to be 45% lower than in 2019. However, the numbers will gradually recover and surpass the previous peak [in 2018] during 2025, assuming traffic bounces back as predicted."<br/>
Japan plans to temporarily cut its aviation fuel tax by 80% at most to help the airline industry, which is struggling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday. The nation is considering lowering the tax from 18,000 yen ($172.58) per kiloliter to 4,000 yen during fiscal 2021, the report said. But the government and the ruling coalition will carefully discuss the level of tax cut as the nation needs to secure funds for managing airports, the report said.<br/>
Saudi Arabia agreed on Monday to let Israeli airliners cross its airspace en route to the United Arab Emirates after talks between Saudi officials and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, a senior Trump administration official said. Kushner and Middle East envoys Avi Berkowitz and Brian Hook raised the issue shortly after they arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks. “We were able to reconcile the issue,” the official said. The agreement was hammered out just hours before Israel’s first commercial flight to the UAE was planned on Tuesday morning. The Israir flight was at risk of being canceled with no overflight agreement. The direct flights are an offshoot of normalization deals Israel reached this year with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan. “This should resolve any issues that should occur with Israeli carriers taking people from Israel to the UAE and back and to Bahrain,” the official said. Kushner and his team were to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later this week, as well as the emir of Kuwait. One goal of the trip is to try to persuade Gulf Cooperation Council countries to end a three-year blockade of Qatar.<br/>
A passenger attacked a National Guard soldier at San Juan Airport after being asked to put on a face mask. The man, identified as Adrien William, was filmed wildly hitting out at airport officials dressed in hazmat suits after arriving in Puerto Rico from the US on 28 November. Video of the event was uploaded to social media by several onlookers, including CBS journalist David Begnaud. “A man who arrived in Puerto Rico on a flight from the US, yesterday, attacked a P.R. National Guard soldier who twice told him to put on a mask at the baggage claim in San Juan, according to @PRNationalGuard,” he tweeted. “The man also refused to fill out mandatory travel declaration forms.” Begnaud added that William had been taken into police custody following the incident. Later videos show William lying on the floor while being restrained by airport police. According to the police report, “A man identified as Adrien William did not follow instructions regarding the use of a mask or provide personal data, and following this attacked the complainant in the face.” The guard he attacked then “proceeded to make a civil arrest”. The report adds that he refused medical assistance.<br/>
Algeria will allow some domestic flights to resume from Dec. 6, the government said on Monday, as authorities seek to ease the financial impact of coronavirus curbs on state carrier Air Algerie. Air Algerie will resume all flights to southern towns and half of its flights to and from northern airports, the prime minister’s office said. The airline suspended international and domestic flights in March. The government has said Air Algerie is expected to record a loss of around $272 million this year from the coronavirus. <br/>
Starting on Tuesday, all travellers entering Taiwan are required to present negative Covid-19 PCR test results. The test must be taken within three days of departure from the place of origin. Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) announced the new policy on Nov 18. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung cited the upcoming holiday season and influx of returning Taiwanese as the reasons for the change. Imported infections have risen since October due to an increase in the number of Taiwanese returning to the island as other parts of the world reel from second and third waves of Covid-19 cases. The CECC is anticipating a new wave of infections in the coming months, and hopes the new rule will help to curb the virus' spread. Prior to this month, only foreigners were required to be tested and provide proof of their negative results to enter the island. Taiwanese and those with permanent residency were exempted.<br/>
European regulators are cautioning that flight-management system databases and charts for western Russia might be outdated as a result of the data workload created by an extensive restructuring of the region’s airspace. The restructuring – which takes effect on 3 December – is centred on the Moscow flight information region but affects nine other surrounding FIRs. Overhaul of the airspace structure will result in major changes to standard departure and arrival procedures, introduction of new transitions, and adjustments to waypoints, navaids or descent profiles. “This created a substantial increase in the volume of aeronautical data that…providers have to code in their flight-management system navigational databases,” says the EASA in a 27 November bulletin. It says that data providers have informed the regulator that coding of all the necessary information “cannot be ensured in a timely manner”. Such data is regularly updated according to the Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control cycle, the latest of which is designated AIRAC 2013. EASA warns of a number of possible scenarios, such as charts being outdated as the flight-management system database is updated, or missing procedures in the database. Data providers including Jeppesen, Lufthansa Systems and Navblue have issued alerts to customers regarding the potential deficiencies.<br/>
Customers can now choose from about 17,000 items on the iShopChangi platform, more than triple the number available before the coronavirus outbreak struck. That is one of the ways Changi Airport Group (CAG) has moved to help retailers at the airport reach out to non-travellers in Singapore, as international travel remains at a standstill amid the pandemic. CAG said online sales by Changi Airport retailers have surpassed pre-pandemic numbers, though it did not provide specific figures. Said CAG spokesman Ivan Tan: "Currently, more than 90 per cent of our customers are non-travellers... Wines and spirits, beauty and electronics continue to be most popular with our customers." The pivot to online sales comes with barely any travellers passing though the airport. Passenger traffic remains at less than 5% of what it was before the pandemic, and retail sales at Changi Airport have plunged 74% this year. At Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, which have remained open, only about half of the outlets in the transit areas are operating. Operations at T4 have been suspended, while T2 remains closed after plans for upgrading works were brought forward. Tan said work has been done to transform Changi's food and beverage business through the launch of the Changi Eats food delivery service in June. There are now 40 brands offering over 800 food, drink and snack items on the platform. He said the number of orders received had grown almost fivefold since its launch, proving it was "plugging a market gap and demonstrating how we are value-adding to our customers".<br/>