Jetstar Asia is preparing for a possible travel corridor between Singapore and Australia, and plans to resume Singapore-Darwin services as early as mid-December. "With Singapore’s strong vaccination rate and Australia on track to see 80% of the population vaccinated by the end of the year, we’re starting to plan the restart of our international flights between these Covid-safe destinations," chief executive Bara Pasupathi says in a statement today. He adds: "And with the Qantas Group planning to recommence services into Singapore as soon as a travel bubble is formed, we are also looking forward to being able to connect customers to our fantastic Southeast Asian network once again while helping restore Singapore’s position as a leading global air hub." The airline will remain flexible, Pasupathi says, but "based on the pace of the vaccine rollout" wants to make sure it is operationally ready. Subject to regulatory and government approval, the Changi airport-based budget carrier plans to operate thrice-weekly services between Singapore and Darwin, starting 20 December. Jetstar Asia says this is in line with Qantas Group's international restart plan, which sees Australia-based Jetstar Airways resume Melbourne-Singapore services from 19 December, pending government and regulatory approvals. Data shows Jetstar Asia operated up to seven Singapore-Darwin flights per week in 2019, with Airbus A320 aircraft. The sector was also served by Singapore Airlines Group's SilkAir, with Boeing 737-800 or 737 Max 8 jets, also up to seven flights per week. SilkAir is being integrated into mainline carrier SIA and data shows SIA has pencilled in a daily Singapore-Darwin service from January 2022. In March this year, the Singapore and Australian governments confirmed they were discussing a quarantine-free air travel bubble. In a 15 March television interview, Australia's then-deputy prime minister Michael McCormack provided a highly tentative July start date while emphasising that discussions were at an early stage.

Israeli flag carrier El Al is demanding compensation of $100 million from the government, to offset the effect of state decisions on the airline’s operations. “It is no secret that El Al is in the deepest crisis in its history,” the carrier says, in a communication to the finance ministry, adding that it has been forced to take “drastic measures to ensure the company’s survival” – including dismissing nearly 2,000 personnel, about a third of its workforce. El Al states that the crisis is “deepening” as a result of government measures in response to emerging virus variants in June-July. While the carrier insists it is not criticising the measures, it points out that they are nevertheless having a “devastating effect” on the airline, and the recovery in Israel is not reflecting that in European countries. Earlier this month the ministry had offered $50 million to the airline as part of a conditional support package. But El Al says it wants “immediate compensation” of $100 million for “damages” caused by the government’s decisions during the pandemic, and is also insisting on easing of tourism restrictions, warning that it is “on a slippery slope”. El Al says it has recorded negative cash flow of $108 million over the three months from July to September. The company stresses that time “is not working in our favour” and adds that other airlines operating to Israel have received compensation from governments, putting El Al at a “competitive disadvantage”. The ministry’s conditions for support include sale of aircraft as well as a substantial portion of the carrier’s loyalty programme. El Al says the uncertainty in recovery has required scaling back its fleet from 45 aircraft to 29, and it says further “painful” workforce reductions and compensation for employees will need to be addressed. It also points out that the carrier needs to maintain “significant activity” in order to retain the value of its loyalty programme. El Al claims a number of major businesses have expressed interest in it.

Australia's Regional Express is further extending the suspension of its domestic services and reduction of regional services up until 31 October. This is due to the current rate of Covid-19 infection, the announced intentions of the various state governments concerning lockdowns and border closures, and the need for lead time for advanced ticket sales, the operator said today in a disclosure to the Australian Securities Exchange. The stand-down period for staff will be extended up until this time, Rex says. On 1 September, the operator extended the stand-down of about 500 frontline workers while extending temporary schedule reductions until 10 October. The new date for the resumption of most services will coincide with the date when Rex’s customer-facing staff will be fully vaccinated, it says in today's statement. Rex has made it mandatory for its frontline, customer-facing staff to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by 1 November.