Austrian Airlines has begun trialling voluntary, free-of-charge Covid-19 tests at Vienna airport, which provide passengers with results in 15 minutes. However, the rapid tests do not replace the standard PCR tests required by health authorities in various countries. The aim of the trial, says Austrian, is to demonstrate how rapid testing could be integrated into the air travel process. Passengers on Austrian flight OS 229 to Berlin will be able to volunteer to take the test during the period between 23 October and 8 November. Vienna airport has set up a testing centre in Terminal 3 and results will be provided to passengers "within 10-15 minutes". Boarding cards will only be activated if the test comes back negative, meaning those who test positive will not be allowed to proceed through security. Passengers who test positive for coronavirus will be cared for by the airport's medical service, and will be able to reschedule or cancel their flight at no charge, says Austrian. The airline's parent company, Lufthansa Group, has been working with Fraport and Centogene to test passengers for Covid-19 in Germany. Austrian says the findings from its Vienna trial "will be integrated into the overall project" being implemented by Lufthansa. "For the future, our objective is to achieve corresponding loosening of travel restrictions," says Austrian's chief commercial officer, Jens Ritter. "However, first we aim to show how a targeted testing programme can work." If the Vienna trial proves successful, "the tests could be offered on a larger scale", says Austrian. Rapid antigen tests "can be well integrated into the operational process of air travel", states Julian Jager, a board member at Vienna airport's operator. "Nationwide use at airports and by airlines within the framework of a Europe-wide uniform testing regime could enable the freedom of travel for passengers, which is important for [the] economy and tourism," he adds.

Source: Cirium

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has referenced further airspace efficiencies as a benefit of the new agreement to normalise relations with Sudan. Netanyahu had previously indicated that the Israeli government had made political contact with Sudanese counterparts in the past couple of years. “The skies of Sudan are open to Israel today,” he says. “This allows for direct and shorter flights between Israel, Africa and South America.” Israeli and Sudanese officials are set to negotiate co-operation in aviation, trade, economy and other aspects over the coming weeks following the agreement to normalise relations. Sudan becomes the third Arab state – after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – to reach such an agreement in the past few weeks, joining a group which also includes Jordan and Egypt. The Sudanese state is undergoing a transition to democracy through a process which commenced in mid-2019. “After decades of living under a brutal dictatorship, the people of Sudan are finally taking charge,” says the US government which brokered the agreement, and removed Sudan from a US list of state sponsors of terrorism. “The Sudanese transitional government has demonstrated its courage and commitment to combating terrorism, building its democratic institutions, and improving its relations with its neighbours.” Israel’s agreement with Sudan is particularly symbolic because the Arab League declared from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, after an August 1967 summit, that Arab governments would work to ensure Israel’s withdrawal from Arab territory following the Six-Day War. This declaration added that there would be no recognition of Israel, no negotiations, and no peace with it, while affirming support for Palestinians. “Today Khartoum says ‘yes’ to peace with Israel, ‘yes’ to recognition of Israel, and to normalisation with Israel,” says Netanyahu. “This is a new era. An era of true peace. A peace that is expanding with other Arab countries.” Sudan’s main airline, Sudan Airways, has been affected for years by the pressure from US government sanctions. The carrier is also blacklisted by the European Union as part of a blanket ban on the country. Sudan Airways operates only a limited fleet. It has a pair of Airbus A300-600Rs in storage while an Airbus A320 serves regional routes including Cairo.

Source: Cirium

American Airlines has retired its 15 Airbus A330-200 aircraft as part of its ongoing fleet simplification programme amid the coronavirus pandemic. The airline had retired four of its aircraft types earlier this year: its Boeing 757s (34 aircraft), Boeing 767s (17 aircraft), Airbus A330-300s (nine aircraft), Embraer 190s (20 aircraft) and Bombardier CRJ-200 (19 aircraft). “With the permanent retirement of our A330-200 fleet announced this morning we now have only four aircraft types in our mainline fleet: 737, A320 family, 787 and 777,” American’s finance chief Derek Kerr said during the carrier’s22 July third-quarter earnings call. “Fleet reductions is [an] area where we will see significant savings.” American’s A330-200s have an average age of 8.9 years, Cirium fleets data shows. The Fort Worth-based carrier has also secured from Boeing the rights to defer deliveries on eight of its 737 Max deliveries in 2021 and all 10 of its 737 Max deliveries in 2022. “If the deferral rights are ultimately exercised, these aircraft can be deferred to the second half of 2023 through the first quarter of 2024,” Kerr says. “To avoid exercising these deferral rights we would need to see substantial improvement in the demand environment.” American has 217 aircraft on order: 97 Airbus A321neos, 76 737 Max 8 jets and 44 787-8/9s.

Source: Cirium