New Italian flag carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) has agreed to lease four Airbus A350s from Kuwaiti lessor ALAFCO. The aircraft will be leased for a period of 12 years and delivery is scheduled for later this year, says ALAFCO. "ITA represents a fantastic addition to our growing customer base, further strengthening our aircraft portfolio," states ALAFCO chief executive Adel Albanwan. "This deal underlines our continued efforts to place aircraft from our orderbook despite the challenges of the Covid-19 outbreak, and marks the start of a new partnership that we will look to develop into a long-term success." ITA in September agreed to lease 31 new aircraft from Air Lease Corporation, as part of its plan to operate an all-Airbus fleet. The aircraft, which will be delivered from the second half of 2022 through to early 2025, include 15 A220s, two A320neos, nine A321neos and five A330-900neos. The carrier has also placed tentative orders with Airbus for 10 A330neos, seven A220s and 11 A320neos. ITA has said that it plans to work with six lessors to increase its fleet from an initial 52 aircraft to 105 in 2025. ITA launched services on 15 October, the day after predecessor Alitalia operated its last flight.

The UK government is set to take a further step towards the normalisation of travel rules, as prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that double-vaccinated travellers will soon no longer have to complete a Covid-19 test on the second day after arrival in England. Although the government has not announced a timetable for the changes, there is speculation that it will be enacted in time for the half-term school holidays in mid-February. A further announcement on the plans is expected imminently. Johnson says the easing of restrictions will ensure that the UK is open to travellers and business. The BBC quotes him as saying: "What we're doing on travel, to show that this country is open for business, open for travellers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double-vaccinated." Although Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own rules, they have previously followed England's position on testing. The airline industry has warmly welcomed the move. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren states: "We now look ahead to what we believe will be a strong summer," when the low-cost carrier foresees returning to "near 2019 levels of flying". He adds: "We believe testing for travel should now firmly become a thing of the past. It is clear travel restrictions did not materially slow the spread of Omicron in the UK and so it is important that there are no more knee-jerk reactions to future variants." On 21 January, lobby group Airlines UK and Manchester Airports Group published a study that recommended the removal of testing requirements to enter the UK. The research, undertaken by consultants Oxera and Edge Health, suggested that governments are unable to implement travel restrictions quickly enough for them to be effective in limiting the spread of new variants. "As a result, imposing travel restrictions in response to the discovery of a new variant will not help control the spread of a new variant or protect public health," says Airlines UK. It presented the findings to the government ahead of the latest decision to remove testing requirements. The government has already announced that it is switching its 'use it or lose it' slot threshold rules to 70:30, encouraging airlines to add capacity back into the market.

Airbus has terminated Qatar Airways' order for 50 A321neos amid the two parties' dispute over premature surface degradation on some A350s and the airline's decision to halt further deliveries of the long-haul jet. The European airframer confirms that it terminated the narrowbody order "in accordance with our rights", but declines to provide detail on that decision. A skeleton argument presented by Airbus during a 20 January hearing at the UK High Court's technology and construction division in London shows that the airframer notified Qatar Airways about the A321neo order cancellation in the context of the A350 dispute, and that Airbus expects the termination to "give rise to a further issue between the parties". The Gulf carrier launched legal action against Airbus in December 2021 following months of bitter dispute about the A350 surface issue. The case centres on Qatar Airways' claim for compensation from the airframer for grounded aircraft as a result of the issue. Earlier in 2021, the Middle Eastern carrier said it had been ordered by Qatar's regulator to ground aircraft because of the surface degradation. Data lists 21 of Qatar Airways' 53 A350s as being in storage. A further 23 A350s are on order by the airline. According to Airbus's skeleton argument, Qatar Airways' total compensation claim amounts to more than $700 million and, in the airline's view, increases by $4 million every day. A second allegation by the Doha-based carrier is that Airbus failed to provide a "full root cause analysis" of the surface degradation issue in the airline's view. Airbus argues it has "fully complied with its obligation to provide a full root cause analysis of the condition". In its skeleton argument, the airframer says that Qatar Airways has not identified "any instances in which the root causes analyses produced by Airbus were wrong or failed draw the correct conclusions". Qatar Airways has refused to take delivery of further A350s until the dispute about the surface issue is resolved. Airbus argues the airline has since been in breach of contractual obligations to take delivery of two A350s. The 50 narrowbodies – 40 A321neos and 10 A321LRs, all to be powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines – represent Qatar Airways' only order with Airbus in addition the 23 on-order A350’s. Qatar Airways says its A321neo order is "an entirely separate" matter to the dispute about A350 surface degradation. Noting that it is "adhering to all of our obligations under all applicable contracts", the airline states: "It is therefore a matter of considerable regret and frustration that Airbus has taken the apparent decision to expand and escalate this dispute. We continue to urge Airbus to undertake a satisfactory root cause analysis into the cause of the defects." The carrier adds it "remains prepared to help with the root cause analysis however it can".