Willie Walsh has begun his tenure as director general at IATA by promising to be a "forceful voice" for the airline industry around the world. "I am passionate about our industry and about the critical work that IATA does on behalf of its members, never more so than during the Covid-19 crisis," states Walsh. He highlights the organisation's position "at the forefront of efforts to restart global connectivity", including through the developing the IATA Travel Pass, but also through many of the less visible processes that airlines rely upon, such as its financial settlement systems, Timatic, "and other vital services to support their day-to-day operations". Walsh adds: "Together, the IATA team is absolutely focused on restoring the freedom of movement that airlines provide to billions of people around the world. That means your freedom to visit friends and family, to meet critical business partners, to secure and retain vital contracts, and to explore our wonderful planet." He notes that the rollout of vaccines globally has raised the profile or the air cargo industry, while carriers are increasingly focusing on the need to reduce emissions. "My goal is to ensure that IATA is a forceful voice supporting the success of global air transport. We will work with supporters and critics alike to deliver on our commitments to an environmentally sustainable airline industry. It's my job to make sure that governments, which rely on the economic and social benefits our industry generates, also understand the policies we need to deliver those benefits," he adds. Walsh joins IATA after a 40-year career in the airline industry, most recently as the chief executive of IAG until September 2020, having served in the position since its inception in 2011. He served on the IATA board of governors for almost 13 years between 2005 to 2018, including serving as chair in 2016-17. He will work from the association's executive office in Geneva.

American Airlines plans to introduce quarantine-free flights from New York’s John F Kennedy International airport to Milan and Rome in Italy. The carrier says the move will allow travellers to skip Italy's post-travel quarantine requirements and maximise their time while in that nation. Passengers will have to show negative Covid-19 tests results before boarding the flight in New York and upon arriving in Milan or Rome. The airline will restart daily flights to Milan on 4 April and thrice-weekly service to Rome on 8 May after having suspended those routes for a year. Both flights will operate on Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The Dallas-Fort Worth-based carrier says customers near its hub in Charlotte, North Carolina, and in other markets, will soon be able to access GoHealth Urgent Care’s rapid PCR test capabilities, which will give customers PCR test results in approximately 30 minutes instead of waiting a days for the sample to be processed at a lab. American’s customers now have access to in-person testing at more than 150 local urgent care facilities or hospitals through GoHealth Urgent Care.

British Airways and a group of investors have invested $24.3 million in zero-emission aviation specialist ZeroAvia to accelerate the development of 50-plus-seater aircraft capable of running on zero-emissions hydrogen-electric power.
The group of investors includes Horizons Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, Shell Ventures and Systemiq. ZeroAvia says it could achieve commercialisation for its hydrogen-electric power as early as 2024, with flights of up to 500 miles (434nm) in up to 20-seater aircraft. With this new investment, ZeroAvia expects to have 50-plus seat commercial aircraft in operation in five years' time. The company has ambitions to power a 100-seat single-aisle aircraft by 2030. BA chief executive Sean Doyle states: "Innovative zero-emissions technology is advancing fast and we support the development of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source because we believe it has the potential to enable us to reach true zero emissions on short-haul routes by 2050." The new development comes just weeks after BA announced a partnership with ZeroAvia through parent company IAG's Hangar 51 accelerator programme to explore how hydrogen-powered aircraft can play a leading role in the future of sustainable flying. In September 2020, ZeroAvia achieved the world's first hydrogen-electric flight of a commercial-grade aircraft.