American Airlines will introduce pre-departure testing for passengers travelling between its Miami International airport hub and Santiago, Chile next week. In addition, the Fort-Worth-based airline will trial the VeriFLY health pass mobile app, which it says on 30 November is “designed to help travelers understand coronavirus documentation requirements and enable them to securely store and display their test results digitally”. The app and at-home pre-departure testing opportunity will be available for customers to and from the Latin American country from 7 December, the carrier says. “As we continue to reopen travel throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, we have been looking for ways to simplify our customers’ travel experience,” says Carlos Liscano, the airline’s vice-president of operations in Miami. In October, the carrier started offering testing for numerous leisure destinations including Belize, Grenada, St. Lucia and the Hawaiian Islands. After expanding the programme to Latin America, it will also introduce it for passengers to the US Virgin Islands on 9 November. American operates one daily flight between Miami and Santiago, operated on a Boeing 777-200ER.Earlier this month, American and British Airways also joined up to offer free pre-departure coronavirus tests on some flights between the USA and UK.

Comac has received the type inspection authorization for its C919 narrowbody programme, paving the way for final flight testing and certification. The authorisation – issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on 27 November – means that the aircraft design has been finalised and verified, and that no major changes can be made to its structure. The Chinese airframer also hopes to receive the C919’s airworthiness certificate from the CAAC by next year, allowing it to commence deliveries to Chinese carriers. The launch customer for the type will be Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines. Comac states that its fleet of six C919 prototypes are currently in various parts of China – including in Nanchang in Jiangxi province, Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia, as well as in Yanliang in Shaanxi province – conducting certification test flights. Moving forward, it notes that the test fleet will carry out “more intensive flight test missions” on its path towards certification. The authorisation marks a new chapter for the narrowbody programme, which Comac hopes will compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family.

Cebu Pacific Air will conduct a trial where passengers are tested at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport before flights to the southern city of General Santos. From 3 to 14 December, passengers will undergo a free antigen test prior to boarding their flight, says the carrier. Only passengers who test negative will be allowed to board. Test Before Boarding (TBB) will be the only test that passengers need to take before travelling to General Santos, which is at the southernmost tip of the Philippines on the island of Mindanao. TBB, however, will require passengers to travel to the airport five hours before boarding. “Safety has always been our topmost priority and in this current environment, health is part of safety,” says Candice Iyog, the airline’s vice president for marketing and customer experience. “We look forward to the results of this pilot so we can pave way for a more confident restart of non-essential travel and a standardisation of requirements across all Philippine destinations. We would also like to laud General Santos City for piloting TBB with us.” The airline adds that it employs a number of other measures, such as daily disinfection of aircraft. As with other carriers in the Asia-Pacific, Covid-19 has made 2020 an extremely difficult year for Cebu Pacific. For its third quarter to 30 September, it swung to an operating loss of Ps6.7 billion ($139 million), compared with an operating profit of Ps873 million a year earlier. Revenue for the period plummeted 89% to Ps2 billion, outpacing a 52% year-on-year decline in expenses. The revenue decline was led by a dramatic 97% drop in passenger revenue year on year.