France will ease its heightened travel restrictions on UK arrivals from 14 January. Since 18 December, the French government has required that all entrants from the UK have a "compelling reason" to travel and that they isolate for 10 days, in order to stem the spread of Omicron. Under the new rules, travellers will just be required to present a negative Covid-19 test taken within 24h of leaving the UK, though for non-vaccinated travellers the heightened restrictions will remain in place. Jet2 has reported a "sharp and immediate" surge in bookings to France following the announcement, with the UK leisure airline acting to restore its services to Lyon, Chambery and Grenoble from 22 January, as well as Paris from 11 February. "This is yet more great news for the travel industry and further reinforces our already strong belief that 2022 is a year to look forward to with real confidence," states chief executive Steve Heapy. EasyJet says the development is welcome news for UK travellers. "We've continued to operate to our destinations across France including Lyon and Grenoble that also serve France's most popular ski resorts, with frequencies already scheduled to increase in the coming weeks. We also continue to keep our schedule under review, with the view to align our flying programme with the demand we see," adds the Luton-based low-cost carrier. Data shows that the number of passenger flights operating from the UK to France slumped after the extra requirements were imposed, with a seven-day average of just 31 services departing on 12 January, the lowest level since 21 July.

Jetstar is restarting flights to Thailand with flights from Sydney to Phuket to take off today and from Melbourne on 13 January. The flights from Sydney will operate three times a week and from Melbourne at twice-weekly frequency using Boeing 787-8 aircraft, the low-cost carrier says in a 12 January statement. These flights mark the first time Jetstar has flown to Thailand flight since 26 March 2020, it says. Jetstar chief executive Gareth Evans states: “Thailand has always been one of the most popular destinations in Jetstar’s international network, and restarting flights was an important milestone in the recovery of low-cost international leisure travel.” Jetstar says it will also resume international flights to Bali, Japan and Vietnam in the first part of 2022 “as quarantine requirements in these destinations ease.”

American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air will take delivery of three new Embraer 175 aircraft later this year. Deliveries will begin during the fourth quarter and will bring its E175 fleet to 101 aircraft by end of the year, the airline says. Envoy’s senior vice-president, air operations, Dee Temples states: “Last year we celebrated the introduction of the E175 to Miami, expanding our service to international markets and solidifying the service we provide to American’s network.”