Hong Kong International airport’s third runway is ready to begin operations. “In accordance with the requirements of International Civil Aviation Organisation, the third runway at Hong Kong International airport is ready to commence operations, marking a milestone of readiness preparation,” Airport Authority Hong Kong says in a press release today. Flight checks of the runway were satisfactorily completed earlier in April. The authority and the civil aviation department are working closely together on other preparation work, including statutory procedures, drills and exercises for the commissioning of the third runway, it adds.

The US Justice department will support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by appealing to uphold a federal mask mandate for airlines and airports, challenging a federal court decision and setting up a showdown on an increasingly partisan issue. The CDC asked the Justice department to appeal the decision published on 18 April by US District Court for the Middle District of Florida Judge Kathryn Mizelle, who found it "unlawful" for the CDC to extend its federal mask mandate into May. The judge in her decision stated that the agency "failed to adequately explain its decisions" regarding the extension of its mandate intended to prevent the spread of Covid-19 on public transportation. The Justice department tells Cirium that it "continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given the CDC to protect the public health". Following the district court's ruling, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on 18 April stated that it would no longer enforce the CDC's requiring of mask use on public transportation and in transportation hubs. Numerous US carriers in response also stated that masks would be optional on their flights, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. These carriers were among the seven US airlines that in March sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to end travel restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of Covid-19, including the mask mandate. Republicans on US House and Senate transportation committees had also spent months criticising the mask mandate as unnecessary. The pandemic is ongoing yet the federal appeal comes amid a movement by numerous governments, pressured by the private sector and frustrated citizens, to loosen restrictions intended to halt the spread of Covid-19. Around 66% of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the CDC, which recommends wearing masks to reduce the risk of infecting the unvaccinated. The mask mandate dispute comes as US airlines forecast a boom of travel during mid-2022. Periods of increased infections during the pandemic have generally followed peak summer and winter travel periods.

UK regional airline Flybe, which has relaunched services after collapsing just prior to the pandemic in 2020, plans to operate up to 32 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops as it begins to re-establish itself in the market. The carrier is hiring up to 600 new staff and plans 530 flights per week, according to a statement from law firm DLA Piper, which is advising the company on aircraft leasing. Flybe's new business model is based around a main base in Belfast and a strong presence in Birmingham, whereas previously it was centred on Exeter. It will also serve East Midlands, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness, London-Heathrow and Leeds Bradford, and a handful of destinations across Europe. In total, it plans to operate 23 new routes by late-summer, 15 domestic and eight international. The new Flybe is owned by US-based Cyrus Capital Partners, who purchased the airline's brand following its collapse in 2020. Data shows that currently it operates just two Dash 8-400 aircraft with an average age of 15 years, with a further aircraft in storage. Last year it agreed a deal with lessor Nordic Aviation Capital to take 12 of the type, and said it was in discussions with Aergo about leasing some of the Dash 8-400 that the company operated until its bankruptcy.