Airlines battered by COVID-19 are prepping for key roles in the mass vaccine rollout that promises to unlock an immediate boost for the sector - and beyond that, its own recovery and survival. Big challenges await carriers leading the airlift, as well as the drugmakers, logistics firms, governments and international agencies planning the deployment across networks blighted by the pandemic. The gargantuan effort should nonetheless help airlines involved to trim their crisis losses, experts say, while bringing additional benefits to the broader sector, from supporting cargo pricing and revenue to restoring routes. Developing vaccines in record time was the easy part, or “the equivalent of building base camp at Everest”, according to WHO vaccines director Kate O’Brien. “The delivery of these vaccines, the confidence in communities, the acceptance of vaccines and ensuring that people are in fact immunized with the right number of doses - (this) is what it’s going to take to scale the peak,” she said recently. Story has more.<br/>
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The CEO of British aviation and energy firm Stobart Group warned that air travel needs to start again from April, or some airlines might vanish. “Airlines absolutely need a positive injection, and that means really from April, we need to get people traveling. I think without that, the government are probably going to need to support the airlines in fact, or they’ll disappear, you’ll get a consolidation of airlines,” Warwick Brady said Monday. “Unfortunately, for the traveling public that’ll be less choice and things will be much more expensive and I think it’ll be a big hit to the economy,” he added. Travel data company Cirium has estimated that 43 commercial airlines from across the globe have failed since January, but has also warned that the worst is not over. Stobart Group owns London Southend Airport and provides services such as baggage handling at other UK airports. Brady said free, 15-minute on-departure coronavirus testing at airports would help the aviation industry recover, after lockdowns and quarantine rules hit the industry hard. “Next summer is absolutely critical, and we believe that pre-departure testing plus the vaccine needs to get people traveling again, otherwise the economy is going to be significantly deteriorated … The government do need to step in, I think we need to make pre-departure testing free for all passengers departing UK airports,” Brady stated.<br/>
European health authorities have urged EU governments to end mandatory testing and quarantine for air travellers, stating that such measures are ‘unlikely’ to halt the spread of Covid-19 in communities where the virus is already established. The document, published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), calls for the cessation of air travel restrictions, and affirms that travellers pose little risk in destinations where the virus has already taken hold. It states: “Entry screening, quarantine and border closures for incoming travellers are unlikely to prevent the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into a community, although they might delay it for a short period of time. The vast majority of cases [are] locally acquired... In most countries, once the virus has been introduced into the community, imported cases are likely to contribute little to the ongoing spread of [infection].” Testing of air travellers is also “not recommended” by the guidelines, especially where health resources are scarce. Such measures “may detract public health resources and laboratory capacity from essential public health activities”, it warns. <br/>
IATA and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) have protested some countries’ practice of imposing Covid-19 test regimes intended for passengers on flight crew. IATA and IFALPA note that ICAO guidelines recommend that crew not be subject to the same screening and testing as passengers. It observes that more countries are demanding proof of negative coronavirus test prior to departure, and a second negative test upon arrival. Some regulators only allow crews with a negative test to have a layover. “These measures not only contravene the recommended ICAO global guidance, they fail to take into account the fact that interactions with the local population are minimised,” says IATA senior vice president Gilberto Lopez Meyer. “For example, crew on layover are often restricted to the hotel. Such measures also ignore the fact that airlines already comply with the requirements of their home country health protection and monitoring programs to manage crew health, which typically includes measures to reduce the risk of infection.” IATA and IFALPA also add that the cost of such testing is expensive, adding and additional $950,000 to the cost of the flight over a year.<br/>
Air freight demand continued its recovery in October, IATA figures show, as global cargo tonne-kilometres expanded 4.1% month on month. As a result, global demand as measured by CTKs was just 6.2% below the same month last year, after a 7.8% drop in September. Capacity, as measured by available cargo tonne-kilometres, was down 23% year on year in October. International capacity was down 25%. “Demand for air cargo is coming back – a trend we see continuing into the fourth quarter,” states IATA CE Alexandre de Juniac. “The biggest problem for air cargo is the lack of capacity as much of the passenger fleet remains grounded.” He adds: “The end of the year is always peak season for air cargo. That will likely be exaggerated with shoppers relying on e-commerce – 80% of which is delivered by air. So the capacity crunch from the grounded aircraft will hit particularly hard in the closing months of 2020. And the situation will become even more critical as we search for capacity for the impending vaccine deliveries.” IATA’s data also shows strong regional variations in demand. For North American and African carriers, demand rose 6.2% and 2.2% year on year, respectively, while Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe all had falls of over 10%. Even in these markets, however, demand was significantly greater in October than in September.<br/>
A senior US House lawmaker on Monday urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to delay the auction of portions of a key spectrum band, warning it could impact a nearby aviation frequency band. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio urged a delay in the auction of C-Band spectrum that starts Tuesday over concerns it could jeopardize aviation safety. He cited a six-month review of 5G network emissions with safety-critical radio altimeter performance by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) that found serious risks of harmful interference on all types of aircraft. DeFazio called on the FCC to work with the Federal Aviation Administration and aviation industry experts “to ensure that the safety of the hundreds of millions of Americans who fly each year is not endangered by the FCC’s rushed plan.” FCC spokesman Will Wiquist said the commission has “no plans to delay the auction.” The FCC concluded in its order that its rules “would protect radio altimeters used by aircraft. And we continue to have no reason to believe that 5G operations in the C-Band will cause harmful interference to radio altimeters.” The C-band is a block of spectrum used to deliver video and radio programming to 120 million U.S. households. The FCC added that the “altimeters operate with more than 200 megahertz of separation from the C-band spectrum to be auctioned, more protection than is afforded in some other countries.”<br/>
Airbus is on track to deliver about 530 aircraft this year, according to a person familiar with the matter, after a second-half push to clear jet backlogs eased some of the impact from the coronavirus pandemic. The European planemaker made progress toward meeting the internal target when it reported 64 deliveries for November on Monday. Handovers stand at 477 for 2020 with one month still to be reported, according to an Airbus statement. The full-year goal represents a drop of almost 40% from 2019’s record pace, though one that could have been worse without a sustained push to increase handovers in recent months. Airbus abandoned its annual forecast for 880 deliveries in March, as the coronavirus began to have a major impact on travel and airline revenue. Handing over more than 500 aircraft this year would be a “good sign,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson. “The more they deliver, the less cash burn.” There remains a significant amount of uncertainty in deliveries, Stefan Schaffrath, an Airbus spokesman, said before the November delivery figure was released. He declined to comment on specific numbers or targets.<br/>
The biennial Paris Air Show scheduled to take place in June 2021 has been canceled due to uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. All exhibitors will get a full refund, and the event will next be held in 2023, the French Aerospace Industries Association said in a statement on Monday. The show at Le Bourget airfield outside the French capital is among the largest aviation events in the world, where airlines typically announce large orders and manufacturers showcase new models. The move comes after the coronavirus outbreak upended global aviation, forcing major manufacturers Airbus and Boeing to pare back output and fire thousands of staff. Airlines are expected to lose a combined $157b across 2020 and 2021, according to industry group IATA. That’s almost 60% more than it suggested in June and five times the deficit racked up during the 2008-2009 recession. The equivalent event at Farnborough, southwest of London, was canceled in 2020 and will next be held in 2022. The English town hosts shows on an alternate basis with Paris.<br/>