Major US airlines are preparing for a massive airlift of COVID-19 vaccines that will not only boost their cargo business, but help bring back passenger flights that shut down during the pandemic, executives said. Travel demand is hovering around 40% of 2019 levels and will not return to normal until vaccines are widely distributed. In the meantime, the vaccine transportation itself could help airlines bring back parked jets and start reopening routes. “I think we’re going to reach a point fairly soon as multiple vaccines are approved that most of the planes that are operating are going to be carrying vaccines,” said Roger Samways, VP of Cargo Sales at American Airlines. “We’re really looking at what could end up being the largest single airlift in commercial aviation history,” he said. The vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc could receive US approval as soon as this week and may soon be followed by another from Moderna. The size and range of airline fleets and networks are key, as well as the ability to manage vaccines that require ultra-cold storage and the ability to quickly load them onto aircraft and unload them onto trucks for final delivery. Commercial planes normally carry around half the world’s air cargo in their bellies, with the remainder hauled in dedicated freighter planes. But a drastic reduction in passenger routes during the pandemic has slashed overall air capacity in the market. Airlines began operating cargo-only charter flights with essential goods early in the pandemic that have become the main driver of an international business that has otherwise collapsed. Story has more.<br/>
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US airlines were awaiting progress on COVID-19 relief proposals in Washington that could include another $17 billion in payroll support for an industry bracing for a renewed slump in air travel as cases spike across the country. The number of passengers screened at US airports dipped to 501,513 on Tuesday, the lowest number since July 4 as COVID-19 cases spike, and Delta's CE warned that the outlook remained bleak in the months ahead. An initial $25b in payroll support for airline employees expired in October, prompting tens of thousands of furloughs. Airlines have lobbied for fresh relief, arguing their infrastructure is critical to quickly and widely distributing COVID-19 vaccines. A summary of the draft legislation would provide payroll aid through the end of March, protecting workers and banning share buybacks and dividends and limiting executive compensation during that period. US carriers are burning $180m in cash every day, with passenger volumes down 65% to 70% and cancellations rising, industry lobby Airlines for America said Wednesday.<br/>
The EC is drawing up targets for airlines to use a minimum share of sustainable fuels, it said on Wednesday, after dropping a draft 5% goal that it deemed too low. The pledge came as the EU executive outlined measures to tackle transport's climate impact, including a goal previously reported by Reuters to have 30m zero-emission vehicles on Europe's roads by 2030. A late draft had included the 5% share of low-carbon fuels to be reached by airlines in 2030, rising to above 60% in 2050. Both targets were cut from the published version. EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said the Commission now intended to set higher goals for sustainable aviation fuel. "We will come out with an ambitious proposal later, because we thought we could do better than what was written in the initial draft," Timmermans said. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), which can be produced from biomass or renewable energy, currently account for less than 1% of Europe's jet fuel consumption. Their uptake has been stunted by high costs and weak demand from airlines, which have traditionally opposed mandated quotas. The industry's position is, however, evolving amid increasing scrutiny of its environmental impact. "The EU proposal for a SAF mandate could, under certain conditions, be a positive development in providing a degree of certainty to the market and driving production," said Michael Gill, head of ATAG, a global aviation sector lobby group. Those conditions include policy support for SAF development and avoiding anti-competitive effects, Gill said.<br/>
Airlines have seen a surge in UK domestic flight bookings for the Christmas bubble period, new figures reveal, as the industry has said it is ready to lay on extra flights to take pressure off the railways. Demand for internal domestic flights has more than doubled for the days either side of Christmas Day and Boxing Day compared to booking numbers for early December, data from the IATA has shown. The numbers come as Government guidance means that all Christmas journeys have to be completed within the five days from December 23 to December 27 when up to three households will be allowed to mix. The narrow window is expected to put huge pressure on rail and road networks as journeys that traditionally take place over the festive and New Year’s fortnight are condensed into just five days. Last week, ministers announced they are laying on extra trains and carriages as well as clearing more than 770 miles of road works to ease congestion over the holiday period. However, data for early bookings for internal flights showed people were also turning to the skies to make their Christmas getaway. IATA figures show that bookings in early December were only at around 19% of numbers for the same period in 2019. However, on December 23 and Christmas Eve demand had shot up to 49% and 43% respectively of bookings for the same period last year.<br/>
British holidaymakers will be barred from the EU from 1 January under current Covid-19 safety restrictions, with the EU commission indicating there will be no exemption for the UK. Only a handful of countries with low coronavirus rates are exempt from rules that prohibit nonessential visitors from outside the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) – with the UK included only until the end of the Brexit transition period. EU member states agreed in October to adopt a European council proposal to allow nonessential travel from a small group of countries with lower levels of Covid cases including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. An EC spokesman last week said there were no plans to extend that to the UK. “This is a decision for the council to make,” he said. Within the EEA, or Schengen-associated states, Norway has also confirmed it will bar UK visitors from 1 January. The imminent bracketing of British tourists with those of other non-EU countries such as Albania and Turkey underlines the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit. EU member states can override the European council recommendations in theory, should they wish to. Leisure airlines including easyJet had reported a surge in bookings for 2021 in recent weeks after news of a vaccine, but many of those trips will be in doubt. Under European rules, individuals can still enter the bloc in certain cases, mainly for work – including aid workers, care workers, diplomats, healthcare professionals, military personnel, seasonal farm workers and transport workers. Entry for study, transit, and urgent family reasons is also permitted.<br/>
The UK has abandoned EU tariffs on the plane manufacturer Boeing in the hope of securing a quick post-Brexit trade deal with the US. The UK’s move puts it at odds with the EU, which imposed retaliatory tariffs on US imports worth $4b after the WTO ruled that the US had given illegal state aid to Boeing, its aerospace champion. The tariff battle is part of a saga of trade disputes centred on illegal subsidies to Airbus, Boeing’s bitter European rival, and the US planemaker. The WTO had previously ruled that EU governments – including the UK, France and Germany – had provided illegal state aid to Airbus. Scotch whisky and woollen jumpers and pullovers were among the UK products hit with 25% tariffs by the US. The UK government acknowledged that its move was aimed at smoothing relations between the UK and the US as the president-elect, Joe Biden, prepares to take office in the White House in January. The Department for International Trade said the decision was “an effort to bring the US towards a reasonable settlement and show that the UK is serious about reaching a negotiated outcome”. However, any attempt by the UK to extend the EU tariffs after Brexit could potentially have faced a US legal challenge because the WTO ruling did not account for the UK’s departure from the EU. <br/>
China’s aviation regulator is recommending cabin crew on charter flights to high-risk Covid-19 destinations wear disposable diapers and avoid using the bathroom to reduce the risk of infection. The advice comes in a 38-page list of guidelines for airlines to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The sixth edition echoes similar instructions in previous, less lengthy versions. The Civil Aviation Administration of China said the recommendation applies for charter flights to and from countries and regions where infections exceed 500 in every one million people. The diaper advice is in a section on personal protective equipment, which also recommends the following for cabin crew: Medical protective masks; Double-layer disposable medical rubber gloves; Goggles; Disposable caps; Disposable protective clothing; Disposable shoe covers. Flight crew should wear masks and goggles, but they don’t need diapers. Other advice for the flights includes dividing the cabin into “clean area, buffer zone, passenger sitting area and quarantine area,” separated by disposable curtains. The last three rows should be designated as an emergency quarantine area, said CAAC. <br/>
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Thursday called for creating a tax system encouraging companies to invest in technology that helps the country achieve a carbon-free society, a document approved by the party’s tax panel showed. In a proposal to the government on tax reforms for next fiscal year, the LDP called for expanding tax exemptions for firms that increase carbon-free investment, according to the draft. It also proposed extending by two years tax reductions for environment-friendly cars, and cut the tax charged on aviation fuel to help airlines hit by COVID-19, the draft showed. <br/>
The Middle East Business Aviation Association’s MEBAA Show is the latest event to fall victim to the Covid-19 crisis. The Dubai-based convention, which had been rescheduled from its original December date to February 2021, will now next take place in December 2022. MEBAA founder and executive chairman Ali Alnaqbi says the association is cancelling the event with “deep regret”. “Due to concerns related to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and international travel restrictions imposed across numerous countries around the world, we believe this tough decision is in the best interests of health and safety of exhibitors, visitors, contractors and staff,” he says. Just days ago the Paris air show, due to be held in June 2021, became the highest profile casualty yet of the pandemic. The cancellation of the biennial event followed the axing of July’s Farnborough air show. Assuming a successful roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine globally, it means that November 2021’s Dubai air show – held in alternate years to MEBAA at Dubai’s DWC convention centre – is likely to be the first post-crisis multi-sector event on the calendar.<br/>