American Airlines and British Airways intend to co-locate operations at New York JFK's terminal 8 starting 1 December. The two carriers had agreed in February 2019 to redevelop, expand and enhance terminal 8. The plans for terminal 8 at JFK came four months after then-governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced a $13 billion plan to consolidate the airport's other five terminals, including terminal 7, into two primary complexes dubbed the north and south terminals. The Oneworld alliance members are investing a total of $400 million in the terminal to ease connectivity while supporting the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s plan to modernise JFK. American in June issued $150 million in revenue bonds in connection with the financing used to build its facilities at JFK. “American is eager to welcome British Airways to their new home at JFK,” American’s chief customer officer Alison Taylor states. “Their move to terminal 8 further deepens our longstanding partnership and makes it easier than ever for customers traveling between New York and London or onward across our global networks.” As part of their redevelopment efforts at JFK, American and BA in January 2020 broke ground on five new widebody gates, four new widebody hardstand parking positions and an approximately 12,077m2 (130,000ft2) of new and renovated terminal space. BA will remain in terminal 7, which it owns and has occupied since 1970, until 1 December, the airline’s director of brand and customer experience Tom Stevens says. “Our move to the redeveloped and expanded terminal 8 will bring a range of benefits for our customers, including a better transfer experience, enabling them to travel to more than 30 destinations across the US, Caribbean and Latin America with American Airlines,” he adds. Atlantic Joint Business partners American and BA plan to offer up to 14 peak daily departures between JFK and London Heathrow in summer 2022.

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.