The UK government is axing the additional testing requirements put in place in November 2021 to slow the spread of Omicron to the country. "We're removing the temporary extra testing measures we introduced last year at the border to slow cases of Omicron coming to the UK," transport secretary Grant Shapps has posted on Twitter. "Now Omicron is the dominant variant and is widespread in the UK, these measures are no longer proportionate." Fully vaccinated passengers arriving in the country will, from 04:00 on 7 January, no longer be required to take a pre-departure test, and will not have to self-isolate whilst awaiting post-arrival testing results. In addition, fully vaccinated people who arrive after 04:00 on 9 January will be required only to take a lateral-flow test, rather than a PCR one. "By reducing testing requirements for fully vaxxed passengers to just a lateral flow post-arrival, we're supporting the safe reopening of international travel," says Shapps. The government's move follows calls earlier in the day from the UK airline industry and Manchester Airports Group to roll back testing requirements for arriving passengers. In a joint statement, MAG chief executive Charlie Cornish and his counterpart at lobby group Airlines UK highlighted that as far back as 8 December health secretary Sajid Javid had acknowledged that the weakening in restrictions' value once Omicron became dominant in the country. They said research conducted for them by Oxera and Edge Heath "clearly supports the position that travel testing requirements can be removed in full without impacting overall case rates and hospitalisations in the UK". MAG said in December that it had seen an immediate hit to traffic because of Omicron and the late-November tightening of travel restrictions in response to the spread of the variant.

Philippine Airlines has emerged from its voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings after completing its financial restructuring within four months. PAL says it "has streamlined operations with a reorganised fleet" and is "better capitalised for future growth", in a 3 January filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange. Under the newly effective recovery plan, PAL says it has the option to obtain up to $150 million in additional financing from new investors. PAL's reorganisation plan, approved by the US bankruptcy court on 17 December, provides for over $2 billion in permanent balance sheet reductions from existing creditors, improvements in its critical operational agreements and additional liquidity including a $505 million investment in long-term equity and debt financing from its majority shareholder. PAL was the only party included in the Chapter 11 filing in September, while parent PAL Holdings and subsidiary PAL Express were not included in the filing. Debevoise & Plimpton, Norton Rose Fulbright US and Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz were PAL's legal advisors. Seabury Securities was the financial advisor and investment banker. Director Lucio Tan III states: "Philippine Airlines stands ready to help grow back the Philippines’ local and international air travel markets in ways that renew the tourism industry, serve the needs of global citizens including overseas Filipinos and contribute actively to the recovery of the Philippine economy." PAL says it intends to reinvest in its operations to better serve customers. This includes its nonstop flights to the USA, Canadian East and West coasts, Hawaii, Brisbane, and Melbourne. PAL also operates to multiple cities in Japan, Australia and the Middle East, along with schedules to Hong Kong, Korea, Taipei, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. The carrier says its domestic network encompasses trunk routes to the major cities of Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon, while its inter-island services will provide access to the Philippines' tourist destinations and paradise islands. Additionally, the carrier plans to restore more routes and increase flight frequencies as travel restrictions ease and borders reopen; build on codesharing and interline partnerships; and expand its newly-established cargo business, among other things. In a separate statement, Singapore-based lessor Avation says that PAL has retained a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on lease in accordance with its restructuring plan. The airline has exited bankruptcy and received court approval for its restructuring plan, which was effective 31 December 2021, the lessor notes. Avation says that under the terms of restructuring, it has been collecting monthly rent on the aircraft based on hourly rates of utilisation in the period from September 2021. The lessor is also entitled to receive a cash payment, in or around January 2022, relating to utilisation from 1 September 2020 to 3 September 2021, it says. It will also get a promissory note for 25% of the aggregate rent outstanding for the period prior to 1 September 2020. Astates: "The lease will continue until the original scheduled termination date, from 1 March 2022 the lease payments will revert to a fixed market rate rent along with cash maintenance reserves."

Denmark has become the second Scandinavian country to set a target for all domestic flights to be fossil fuel-free by 2030. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in her New Year's address to the nation that by 2025, "Danes must be able to fly green on a domestic route", and by 2030, "we must be able to fly completely green when we fly domestically in Denmark". In her speech, Frederiksen acknowledged that the target would be difficult to achieve and did not detail any specific plans for how the goal would be met, but said that "we're already on our way" and "skilled researchers and companies are working on the solutions". Denmark's pledge follows a similar goal set by the Swedish government in 2019. Sweden is aiming for all domestic flights to be fossil fuel-free by 2030, and for all flights departing from Sweden to be fossil-free by 2045. Norway has set a target for all short-haul flights to be 100% electric by 2040.