The boss of the world's busiest airport for international passengers has said Covid passports are the only way to restart mass foreign travel. Dubai Airports CE Paul Griffiths said: "I don't think there is an alternative." Critics of the digital systems argue they discriminate against those who cannot get vaccinated. But Griffiths says he is a complete supporter of the documents, which he says are "inevitable". "I think the problem is not the vaccine passport and its discrimination. It's the need to roll things out and have a proper globally equitable vaccine programme," he said. The World Health Organisation and World Travel & Tourism Council are among those opposed to vaccine passports amid fears they will create a "two-tier society". Last month, Dr Mike Ryan from the WHO repeated concerns about the ethical and fairness issues surrounding vaccine passports. "They do need to be considered, especially in a world where vaccine is distributed in such a grossly inequitable way," he said.<br/>
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Airlines and logistics groups are racing to snap up sniffer dogs to meet new regulations to screen goods on cargo flights as part of tougher rules to crack down on terrorism. Demand for K9 or police dogs, able to sniff out explosives, has surged with worries of shipment delays as operators struggle to find animals and X-ray screening equipment in time for a July deadline. It is the latest threat to supply chains, already strained because of the coronavirus crisis and the online shopping surge that have driven up demand for international shipping. Air cargo has also been stretched because of the sharp rise in demand for goods at a time when many passenger planes, which usually carry half the freight volumes, remain grounded. The rules, which mean all goods on international cargo flights must be screened, have been brought in by the ICAO. The deadline is causing particular problems in the US where groups were a long way off from meeting the ICAO rules and there was uncertainty over whose responsibility it was to screen the cargo. It expands existing requirements to check freight in the belly of passenger aircraft in response to a printer cartridge bomb plot in 2010 that targeted two cargo planes bound for the US from Yemen. Glyn Hughes, CE of The International Air Cargo Association, said sniffer dogs were unparalleled in their ability to detect dangerous cargo. “Canine detection systems are so accurate,” he said.<br/>
The FAA said Friday it was requiring US operators of 143 Boeing 737 Classic series airplanes to check for possible wire failures stemming from an investigation into an Indonesia crash in January. The 737 Classic is an older generation of planes more than two decades old. The FAA said the issue affected 1,041 737-300, -400 and -500 Classic series airplanes worldwide, but many are currently out of service, because of COVID-19 or other issues. The FAA is issuing an airworthiness directive for operators to verify that the flap synchro wire, which plays a role in the operation of the aircraft’s auto-throttle system, is securely connected to a safety sensor. The wire failure could go undetected by the auto-throttle computer on affected airplanes and pose a safety risk. The FAA is requiring some speedier checks than had been suggested by Boeing, which said late on Friday that it was "engaged in ongoing efforts to introduce safety and performance improvements across the fleet." The newer 737 MAX and 737 NG are unaffected by the directive. The FAA and Boeing identified the potential problem during the investigation of the Jan. 9 crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 in the Indonesian capital. Story has full details.<br/>
PM Justin Trudeau’s government has begun preliminary internal discussions about reopening the border with the US, even as Canada remains well behind its neighbor in vaccinations. Senior officials have begun to formally talk about options for how to proceed, three people familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition they not be identified. One question under consideration is whether to employ a two-track system in which quarantine and testing requirements would be relaxed for vaccinated travelers. A separate official speaking on condition they not be named disputed there were any new developments or discussions on the border, saying there has been no discernible change in policy. “We brought forward significant restrictions at our borders over a year ago to limit the spread of Covid-19 in Canada,” said James Cudmore, director of communications for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. “Every month, the federal government consults with public health officials to understand which modifications are required to the existing measures at our borders to keep our communities safe from Covid-19... Minister Blair is in regular contact with his American counterparts about issues relating to our shared border. Until the conditions on both sides of the border change very substantively, the measures at our borders will remain intact.” Any reopening of the border would be gradual and contingent on declining cases in both countries, the officials said.<br/>
Portugal has said it will welcome British tourists from Monday, removing some of the uncertainty hanging over the long-awaited reopening of international travel from the UK. The decision ends doubts for airlines and travel companies over whether Portugal would open its borders in time for holidaymakers to take advantage of decisions by the governments in England, Wales and Scotland to allow international travel to resume on Monday. Northern Ireland has yet to outline its plans. The London office of Portugal’s National Tourist Board said in a statement on Friday that the Portuguese foreign ministry was revoking travel restrictions for British visitors that had excluded tourists. The statement said all visitors to Portugal would have to show a negative PCR Covid-19 test made 72 hours before departure. The tourist board was also working to ensure that “testing capacity in Portugal will meet the demand from tourists”. Portugal is critical for the tourist industry as it is the only major European travel destination on England’s “green list” of 12 countries and territories for which a 10-day quarantine rule for returning visitors has been waived. Several of the others are barely inhabited, while hotspots including France and Spain are “amber”, meaning people returning must self-isolate at home for 10 days. Story has more details.<br/>
Three passengers were taken to hospital with serious injuries and 17 were arrested after a mass brawl erupted in the departure lounge of London’s Luton Airport on Friday — a fight caught on video by onlookers. The fight, which started in the post-security ‘airside’ zone at about 8am, sent others scurrying for safety as punches and kicks were thrown between duty free shops and restaurants. Video posted to social media showed blood spots on the floor of the north London terminal, which is popular with budget airlines including Wizzair and Easyjet. At least a dozen were seen involved in the violence as others could be heard shouting and pleading for the violence to stop. An airport spokesman said: “We are shocked and saddened by this incident. “We take a zero tolerance approach to violence and continue to assist the police with their enquiries. We would like to apologise to any passengers affected.”<br/>