Air Madagascar has been placed under a court-appointed restructuring process, the Indian Ocean island nation's government has disclosed. The flag carrier is now under a collective liabilities settlement procedure, or procedure collective d'apurement des passifs after incurring an "operating deficit/cumulative loss" of around $80 million, says the transport ministry. A statement from the Malagasy presidential office highlights ATR leasing costs at "double" the normal price and "uncontrolled" management costs, which it links to Air Madagascar's partnership with Air Austral. It adds that Air Madagascar's fixed charges have also continued to rise and that employee numbers "far exceed what the company really needs". An in-depth audit of all the debts incurred by the airline will now be undertaken by the accounts commissioner. In addition, all agreements or contracts entered into by Air Madagascar must be terminated. The stated objective of the restructuring process, the ministry says, is to ensure "reliability, regularity and punctuality", while also implementing a digitisation of management procedures and ticketing operations. The airline says that because legal proceedings are still ongoing, it is not possible to give any information about the restructuring process and its modalities at this point. An official and detailed communication will be made as soon as possible, it adds. In October 2017 Air Austral signed a strategic partnership to acquire a 49% stake in Air Madagascar. In 2020 the partnership came to an end when Air Austral exited its shareholding, leaving the Malagasy government with a direct 51% stake in the airline and government agency Caisse Nationale de Prevoyance Sociale controlling the remaining 49%. Malagasy media outlet 2424.mg reports that Air Madagascar is to be merged with its domestic subsidiary Tsaradia and renamed Madagascar Airlines. The joint company intends to lease a Boeing 787 to serve the Antananarivo-Paris route, lease an Embraer 190 on an ACMI basis for regional flights, and reinvigorate its MRO division. Air Madagascar declined to comment on the reports, citing the ongoing legal process. The process takes places as Madagascar prepares to reopen its borders to international traffic following the imposition of Covid-19-related restrictions. The country's civil aviation authority stated on 14 October that commercial flights operated by Air Austral and Air Mauritius on inter-island routes from Mauritius and La Reunion to Madagascar would resume from 23 October. Commercial flights operated by Air Madagascar and Air France from the African state to Europe are authorised to resume from 6 November.

Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) secured the rights to the Alitalia brand and website domain for €90 million ($104 million) on the eve of its first day of operations. A statement from Alitalia administrators dated 14 October confirms ITA was able to purchase the brand for a sum that is €200 million less than the €290 million it had initially set as the base price to participate in the tender. ITA launched services on 15 October, following Alitalia’s last flight on the previous day. Italian media reports suggest, however, that the successor operation will fly under the name ITA Airways, with the Alitalia brand having been acquired to avoid it falling into a competitors’ hands – and for potential future use. Those reports cite a press conference today, where ITA Airways was launched with an all-new blue livery, featuring the colours of the Italian flag on the tail. While that colour scheme is rolled out, the brand purchase also avoids complications around the new operation’s use of ex-Alitalia jets that retain the latter’s livery. ITA is utilising various assets acquired from Alitalia, including 52 aircraft, slots and contracts, but also recently outlined plans to take new aircraft.

The US government has finally disclosed the specific date in November when it will lift quarantine restrictions for non-essential travellers arriving in the nation who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Beginning on 8 November, foreign national travellers to the USA who provide proof of vaccination and recent negative Covid-19 test results before boarding a flight to that country will bypass quarantine requirements. To do so, international arrivals must be fully vaccinated with a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization. The soon-to-be diminished travel restrictions date back to the earliest weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic. The US government beginning in late January 2020 and continuing through the subsequent four months established a series of "212(f)" pandemic-related restrictions on inbound international travellers. White House spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a tweet on 15 October that the vaccination requirement and the 8 November commencement date of the new rule "applies to both international air travel and land travel". The US government on 20 September disclosed that at some point in November it would ease restrictions on inbound international travellers. US network carriers since then have been adding international flights and destinations to their schedules through the end of the year and into spring 2022. JetBlue Airways' chief executive Robin Hayes said on 5 October at IATA's annual general meeting in Boston that "a significant number" of the New York-based carrier's customers had made international bookings "already" because of the news. Delta Air Lines' president Glen Hauenstein noted during the carrier's earnings call on 13 October that bookings for European flights in November and December had increased sixfold following the Biden administration's announcement.
Additionally, United Airlines on 14 October disclosed that it had added five new transatlantic destinations set to launch in spring 2022 as part of an overall expansion of its international network. Capacity on international flights to the USA in October is down 49%, compared with the same month in pre-pandemic October 2019, data shows. Nicholas Calio, chief executive for US airlines' trade group Airlines for America, stated on 15 October: "We are pleased that the administration’s new global vaccine and testing framework for international travel will be effective November 8… We have seen an increase in ticket sales for international travel over the past weeks and are eager to begin safely reuniting the countless families, friends and colleagues who have not seen each other in nearly two years, if not longer."