China Eastern is grounding its entire Boeing 737-800 fleet following the flight MU5735 crash on 21 March, state-owned broadcaster China Media Group reports citing information from the airline. Data shows that China Eastern Airlines has 109 in-service 737-800 aircraft across four airport bases, less than seven years old on average. 29 jets are at the group’s main Shanghai Hongqiao International airport base, with another 40 at Yunnan’s Kunming Changshui International airport, 31 at Wuhan Tianhe International airport, and nine at Guangdong’s Guangzhou Baiyun International airport. China Eastern subsidiaries Shanghai Airlines and China United Airlines have, respectively, 70 and 45 737-800 jets, averaging nine and six years old. It is unclear from the reports if these airlines are affected by the grounding. Data shows flight MU5735 was scheduled to fly from Kunming to Guangzhou, departing at 13:10 and arriving 15:05. The flight was operated by an aircraft bearing registration B-1791, MSN 41474. It was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew from Kunming to Guangzhou on board when it crashed at Wuzhou, Guangxi province. Media reports suggest there are no indications of survivors. Data and analysis by real-time route tracker Flightradar24 shows the aircraft departed at 13:16. Operations appeared to be normal until the aircraft began a rapid descent to 7,425 ft AMSL, from 14:20. It briefly climbed to 8,600ft AMSL at 14:22:05 but plunged to 3,225ft AMSL, at 14:22:35, when the last ADS-B message was received. Aircraft registration information filed with the Civil Aviation Administration of China shows that ownership lies with an entity known as Yamasa Sangyo Aircraft CES14 Kumiai. A bank loan with Commerzbank AG, Hong Kong branch has been secured against the aircraft.

Delta Air Lines has signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate with Airbus on the research and development of hydrogen-powered aircraft. Under terms of the agreement, Delta will provide to Airbus its fleet and network expectations, along with "the operational and infrastructure requirements needed to develop commercial aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel", the Atlanta-based carrier states. The partners will focus on challenges such as flight range limits, refuelling time and airport compatibility. “To pull the future of sustainable aviation forward, we need to accelerate the development and commercialisation of potentially disruptive technologies,” Pam Fletcher, Delta’s chief sustainability officer, states. “Hydrogen fuel is an exciting concept that has the potential to redefine the status quo. These tangible steps lay the groundwork for the next generation of aviation.” Julie Kitcher, Airbus’s executive vice-president of communications and corporate affairs, adds: “Through close collaboration with key partners, such as Delta, we will integrate our customers’ expertise and specific needs to ensure our zero-emission aircraft will be a game-changer for sustainable aerospace.”

More than half of the world’s top 50 air travel markets are currently open for quarantine-free travel, according to IATA’s latest analysis, which also notes that Asia-Pacific remains the “outlier” among the world’s regions. The reopening of 38 markets represents about 65% of 2019's international demand, up from mid-February levels when 28 markets were reopened, constituting 50% of 2019's international demand. If the removal of Covid-19 testing were factored into border openings, the number of markets shrinks to just 25 markets, comprising 38% of 2019's international demand. This is up from mid-February levels of 18 markets, constituting 28% of 2019's international demand. IATA’s analysis examines the world’s top 50 air travel markets, which comprise 88% of 2019's international demand. IATA director general Willie Walsh states: “The world is largely open for travel. As population immunity grows, more governments are managing Covid-19 through surveillance, as they do for other endemic viruses.” The easing of measures also reflects “growing consensus that travel restrictions such as border closures and quarantine do little to control the spread of Covid-19”. Walsh notes the progress in border reopening could facilitate “a much-needed economic boost from the upcoming Easter and Northern Summer travel seasons”. However, IATA highlights “stark” differences in terms of the degree of openness among the various regions, noting that “Asia is the outlier”. Walsh states: “Travel in Asia remains heavily compromised by Covid restrictions. While North American and European international traffic rebounded to -42% of their 2019 peaks last year, traffic in Asia-Pacific remained at -88%. “Even in [Asia-Pacific], however, there has been some progress, with India and Malaysia among the countries recently announcing relaxation of restrictions. “Hopefully, recent relaxations including Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the Philippines are paving the way towards restoring the freedom to travel that is more broadly enjoyed in other parts of the world.” In Asia-Pacific, just six of the 16 markets in the top 50 were open for quarantine-free travel, compared to Europe’s 18 out of 20 markets. The rest of the regions – the Americas’ nine markets, the Middle East’s three markets and Africa’s two markets – have fully reopened.