Air France-KLM has signed a firm order for 100 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft, with an option to purchase 60 additional aircraft. The order for A320neo and Airbus A321neo aircraft are intended for KLM's and Transavia's fleets. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2023. "These aircraft will operate medium-haul routes in Europe, notably from Amsterdam Schiphol, KLM's global hub and Transavia Netherlands' main base, and from Paris Orly, Transavia France's main base," Air France-KLM states. The European government group also signed a letter of intent to purchase four Airbus A350F Full Freighter aircraft, aimed to increase Air France's cargo capacity. The deal includes full substitution rights for Airbus A350 passenger aircraft. Air France has 12 A350-900’s in service and 26 on order.

British Airways and Qatar Airways are expanding their joint business, providing enhanced access to popular destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australasia. The news follows BA’s resumption of its daily service to Doha from London Gatwick earlier in December, operated with a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. The two airlines will jointly operate up to six daily flights between London and Doha this winter - five from London Heathrow and one from London Gatwick, BA’s chief executive Sean Doyle says. “The proposed expansion of the joint business will be great news for customers, offering them access to more destinations across the world with seamless connections. We know customers are always looking for more options to connect onto popular holiday hotspots such as the Maldives and Seychelles, and this expansion will allow them to do just that,” Doyle adds. The airlines expect to receive regulatory approvals of their expanded joint business proposition in the first half of 2022.

France will introduce new travel restrictions on visitors from the UK this weekend in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19's Omicron variant. The French government has announced that from 00:00 local time on 18 December, travellers between France and the UK must have a "compelling reason" to make their journey and this does not include tourism or non-essential business trips. French citizens and their immediate families will be permitted to enter France but will face new testing and quarantine requirements. Travellers from the UK, regardless of vaccination status, must show a negative Covid-19 test result – either PCR or antigen – taken less than 24h prior to departure. They must register with authorities an address in France, where they will be required to self-isolate on arrival. Self-isolation measures will be lifted after 48h on presentation of a new negative Covid-19 test result. France has also advised travellers to postpone trips to the country from the UK. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has described the move as a "hammer blow to the winter travel industry". France is a popular skiing destination for UK tourists. "The winter sports and school travel markets are particularly exposed, and the government must now bring forward a support package if we are not to see company failures and job losses," states ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer, adding that the travel and tourism sector "has had little chance to generate income since early 2020 and is now faced with another wave of cancellations". The UK on 15 December reported 78,610 daily cases of Covid-19 – its highest level since the pandemic began. On the same day, the country removed all 11 countries from its travel red list after determining that the variant was now spreading rapidly within the UK. It had added a number of countries in southern Africa to the red list on 26 November after the Omicron variant was detected in South Africa. Italy and Greece have tightened travel restrictions in recent days due to Omicron, and reports in the Irish press suggest that new measures could also be recommended in Ireland imminently.