Airlines should brace for another harsh summer season with demand for travel not likely to pick up until the second half of the year at the earliest, according to an analysis by Midas Aviation. What’s usually the busiest time for vacations is likely to be as quiet as 2020, when plans for a significant recovery from the early months of the coronavirus pandemic never materialized, said John Grant, partner at Midas. Carriers are expected to slash two-thirds of the seats they currently have scheduled for the coming months, according to the report. The predictions reflect a resurgence of infection rates in many countries, debates that have slowed the pace of vaccine rollouts and government dithering over travel restrictions, said Grant, who is also chief analyst at aviation data group OAG. Lufthansa this week reined in capacity plans for 2021 to 40% of pre-pandemic levels, and London’s Heathrow airport -- Europe’s busiest in normal times -- cut passenger forecasts. Moves by the UK, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and others to impose restrictions on new virus hotspot India are also a blow, as that country’s carriers had made significant strides toward a full recovery. Despite progress in vaccine rollouts in many parts of the world, governments have become cautious about restarting travel to prevent the import of new variants that could prove resistant to jabs. “Lots of talk, lots of discussion but nothing that will provide reassurance to someone to make a booking and put a couple of hundred pounds on an airfare,” said Grant.<br/>
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The US will restrict incoming travel from India, a decision announced by the White House on Friday as the Indian government tallied another worldwide record for daily coronavirus cases with more than 400,000. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement the restrictions would begin on Tuesday. Though Psaki did not specify which limitations would be imposed, they are expected to resemble other international travel restrictions, which bar non-American citizens from entering the US if they have been in an affected country in the last 14 days. The Biden administration announcement came on the day India reported more than 300,000 new cases of Covid-19 for the ninth day running. Official data shows about 3,000 people a day are dying from the disease, although most experts believe the true number is far higher. Psaki said the White House took action following advice from the Centers for Disease Control, citing the “extraordinarily high Covid-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India”. Kamala Harris, the US vice-president whose mother immigrated to the US from India, said national security advisers also recommended the move.<br/>
If you’re traveling on a plane, train or bus, don’t put that face mask away yet. The TSA said Friday it will extend its mask requirement, which also applies in airports and train stations, through Sept. 13. The rule took effect Feb. 1 and was set to expire May 11. The agency said that children up to 2 and people with certain disabilities will continue to be exempted from the mask rule. Violations can carry fines of up to $1,500 for repeat offenders. Separately, a spokeswoman for the FAA said Friday that the FAA will continue its zero-tolerance policy against disruptive airline passengers as long as the TSA mask rule is in effect. The FAA is seeking much larger civil penalties — some topping $30,000 — against a small number of passengers that it accuses of interfering with airline crews. TSA officials said the mask rule matches health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recently said that fully vaccinated people can travel safely, but it still recommends that they wear masks and maintain distance from other people. About 100 million Americans, roughly half the nation’s adults, have been fully immunized against COVID-19. Airlines and their unions had pushed for an extension of the federal mask rule as a stronger alternative to airline-imposed rules.<br/>
Portugal is extending until May 16 flight restrictions that stop non-essential travel from countries including Brazil with high coronavirus incidence rates, and added India to the list due to the rapid rise in infections there. Travellers from countries where 500 or more cases per 100,000 people have been reported over a 14-day period - which also include South Africa, France and the Netherlands - can only enter Portugal if they have a valid reason, such as for work or healthcare, the government said on Saturday. Arrivals must then quarantine for 14 days. The decision on India means Portugal is joining a growing number of countries imposing such restrictions. Neighbouring Spain also on Saturday said passengers arriving there from India must go into quarantine for 10 days to avoid spreading COVID-19, a government bulletin said. <br/>
Britain has been urged to publish its “green” list of countries where people from England will be able to travel as soon as possible as the May 17 date for the restart of holidays nears. The parliamentary Transport Committee on Saturday called on the government to provide the details of its three-tier “traffic light” system for rating destination countries based on their COVID-19 safety. Ongoing uncertainty over when and where people can travel could cost further jobs in the already battered travel, aviation and tourism sectors, warned the committee. “There are just 16 days until international travel is expected to resume on 17 May. Incredibly, passengers and industry are still in the dark about which countries they can visit and the requirements to do so,” Transport Committee chairman Huw Merriman said. The government said in mid-April it would announce which countries were in which category in early May, ahead of a plan to allow holidays again from May 17 at the earliest.<br/>
India on Friday extended the suspension on international commercial flight operations till May 31, 2021. However, international passenger flights under air travel bubble arrangements will continue. "In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the above subject... regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 31st May, 2021," the circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. The circular said that the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA. Passenger air services were suspended on March 25, 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.<br/>
International and domestic airlines are adding flights out of India to bring home residents and citizens as the nation’s coronavirus outbreak goes from bad to worse. Air India plans to increase its weekly frequency of flights to the US to 32 starting May 11, up from the current 29. That compares with about 33 weekly flights before Covid. Korean Air and Asiana meanwhile are planning to charter flights from India to help South Koreans there wanting to return. Both carriers, which had previously halted all scheduled services to the South Asian nation because of the pandemic, are working with regulators to finalize the flights’ details. India now has the world’s fastest-growing Covid caseload with 18.8 million confirmed instances. The nation set another record Friday with 386,452 additional cases. Deaths rose by 3,498 to 208,330. The political and financial capitals of New Delhi and Mumbai are in lockdown and this week, the US told its citizens to get out of India as soon as possible.<br/>
A record-breaking wave of Chinese tourists will hit the road for the Labour Day break, and with borders still shut many will be travelling domestically, to more remote locations and for longer, giving China's economy a powerful short-term boost. The holiday will be China's first long break in largely COVID-free conditions, and will unleash months of pent-up yearning for travel. Millions had missed the chance to go out earlier this year during the long Lunar New Year break due to a domestic coronavirus outbreak. Up to 200m trips will be made by tourists domestically, exceeding the 195m in 2019 before COVID-19, according to data from online travel giant Trip.com Group, setting a new all-time high for the holiday. That's in stark contrast to the rest of the world where many countries are still struggling to bring the virus under control, let alone open up domestic or even international travel. "This May Day holiday will see greater enthusiasm for long-distance travel across provinces in mainland China," Trip.com said. Mass vaccination in China's biggest cities has also boosted confidence to travel. Nie Wen, an economist at Hwabao Trust, told Reuters 300 million travellers can be expected, including tourists and people who had been unable to visit family before, equal to the population of the United States. Some tourists are even taking extra days off from work to turn the May 1-5 holiday into a nine-day break, with the aim of visiting far-flung domestic locations as substitutes for COVID-hit destinations abroad, according to tour agents.<br/>
Pakistan will reduce the number of international flights into and out of its airports by 80% to help curb rising COVID-19 cases, the government said on Saturday. The restrictions will come into effect on May 5 and will run to May 20, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement, though it did not specify which flights or destinations would be affected by the measure. The controls will be reviewed on May 18, the government said in a statement endorsed by the National Command Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan's response to the pandemic. The restrictions will be applied to chartered and private flights as well as scheduled services. All international passengers upon arrival at Pakistani airports on remaining services would be required to undergo rapid antigen testing (RAT) and will also have to show an RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours before boarding a Pakistan-bound flight. Passengers with a negative COVID test will still undergo self-quarantine at home for 10 days, and those found positive will be shifted to a self-paid facility for the same period of time. <br/>
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has issued a new guideline recommending stricter Covid-19 control measures for all domestic flights, following the detection of new infections linked with seven recent flights to and from Phuket airport. On Saturday, the Phuket Covid-19 information centre requested that 157 passengers on board seven recent domestic flights be tested and go into quarantine after cases were diagnosed on their planes. The centre also released seating charts highlighting those who had sat nearest the sources of infection. In the new guideline issued by the CAAT, which took effect on Saturday, all airlines are being asked for cooperation to limit the number of flights between 11pm and 4am. This is to avoid causing hold-ups in passengers' journeys and keep the flight schedules in line with the running times of other public transport services. Airports are now required to take both passenger and visitor temperatures on entry and exit, with airport officials responsible for promptly alerting local health authorities to anyone a reading higher than 37.5C or who displays visible signs of illness. All airlines are also advised to ensure in-flight social distancing, while both airlines and airports are required to notify passengers that they have to avoid travelling in the event they are confirmed to have Covid-19 or are contacts of a confirmed case.<br/>
Airbus is working with engine makers to scale up production as the planemaker prepares to increase output of its top-selling A320-series jets in the second half of this year and beyond. Safran, which makes engines with General Electric, is getting ready for a strong pick-up starting next year, CEO Oliver Andries said on a conference call Friday. As output gains pace for A320s and Boeing’s 737 Max models, Safran executives warned there could be “typical’ bottlenecks in supplies such as parts that need to be forged and cast. Its CFM International venture with GE makes engines for both single-aisle jets. The remarks come a day after Airbus reiterated a target to raise A320-series output later this year, saying it’s preparing for a “steep” ramp-up in 2022 and 2023. On a call, executives for the European planemaker said they’re analyzing the supply chain with special attention to engines, where some parts “are always at the edge.” Engine supplies were a limiting factor for Airbus before the coronavirus pandemic hit demand, and executives at the Toulouse, France-based planemaker said it was premature to assume that those pressures won’t reappear once activity picks up again. The downturn affected suppliers’ readiness, Andries said.<br/>