European authorities have formally approved a hike in the Airbus A220-300’s maximum seating to 149 passengers, contingent on an overwing exit slide modification. The aircraft had previously been limited to 145 seats. Air France is planning to introduce its first A220-300 with a layout of 148 seats, due to be delivered to the carrier in September. Introduction of an over-performing Type III exit, with a dual-lane overwing slide replacing the single-lane slide, enables the carriage of additional passengers, says the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. EASA also points out that separate airworthiness approval is needed for the installation of the individual customised cabin layout as well as the necessary cabin adaptations up to 149 seats. Similar exit slide modifications have enabled Airbus to add a few extra seats to the A320neo family. Air Baltic and Swiss are the only other European operators of the A220, both of them fitting their -300 variants with 145 seats. Air Baltic had originally stated that it would take the -300s with a 148-seat configuration. Czech Airlines had intended to operate its A220s with a 149-seat layout but the future of its order is uncertain following the carrier’s filing for insolvency earlier this year. Bombardier had previously unveiled a high-density 160-seat option for its CS300 – the aircraft which became the A220-300 following Airbus’s acquisition of the programme – but this involved the addition of another pair of overwing exits.

Heathrow Airport has warned that it risks having fewer passengers in 2021 than in 2020 as UK government travel restrictions continue. The UK's largest airport also says in its six-months results that it is falling behind European rivals in terms of cargo and trade activity. "Recent changes to the government's traffic-light system are encouraging, but expensive testing requirements and travel restrictions are holding back the UK's economic recovery and could see Heathrow welcome fewer passengers in 2021 than in 2020," it says. It adds that fewer than 4 million people travelled through Heathrow in the first six months of 2021, a level that would have taken just 18 days to reach in 2019. The airport now predicts 21.5 million passengers in 2021, a 2.7% drop compared with 2020 or a 73% decline compared with 2019. Heathrow notes that cargo volume remains 18% down on pre-pandemic levels, while Frankfurt and Schiphol are up by 9%. Trade routes between the EU and the USA have recovered to nearly 50% of pre-pandemic levels while the UK remains 92% down. "The UK is emerging from the worst effects of the health pandemic, but is falling behind its EU rivals in international trade by being slow to remove restrictions," states Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye. "Replacing PCR tests with lateral flow tests and opening up to EU and US vaccinated travellers at the end of July will start to get Britain's economic recovery off the ground." Heathrow Airport says its cumulative losses from the Covid-19 pandemic have now reached £2.9 billion ($4 billion). In the first six months of 2021, its revenue fell to £348 million from £712 million, while it made an adjusted loss on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £33 million, from a profit of £222 million in the year-ago period.

South African Airways' low-cost subsidiary Mango has been placed in business rescue. "The situation with Mango is quite unfortunate," SAA's interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo has told broadcaster eNCA. "What we can say is that the board and shareholders have agreed that Mango will go into business rescue." He adds that negotiations with labour and key stakeholders are ongoing. SAA itself emerged from business rescue at the end of April. It is awaiting approval for its air operator's certificate from the regulator before it can resume operations. Kgokolo expects SAA will receive its AOC by 30 July after agreeing a deal with pilots on training and submitting a portfolio of evidence to the regulator. "If the AOC is confirmed by this week, what we plan to do as early as August is get back into cargo. Cargo will probably go in first before we talk about the passenger restart date," he tells eNCA. SAA plans to resume operations with a fleet of eight aircraft, he adds, with a careful focus on the choice of routes and costs to ensure the new business is sustainable.