The US bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York has approved LATAM Airlines Group's latest request for an extension of time to submit its reorganisation plan. In late July the court had granted LATAM a similar extension to file its Chapter 11 restructuring plan. At the time, the Chile-based airline group was asked by the court to file its Chapter 11 plan by 15 September and seek acceptances of its plan by 8 November. The group had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA on 26 May 2020. LATAM on 9 September submitted to the US bankruptcy court a request for another extension of the exclusivity period to present its plan, which the court granted on 23 September. The group must now submit its reorganisation plan on 15 October. Earlier in September, LATAM had estimated that external creditor claims could peak at almost $10 billion amid its efforts secure financing to exit Chapter 11 restructuring and its negotiations with various stakeholders to formulate a reorganisation plan. Separately, the US bankruptcy court on 14 September approved Colombia flag carrier Avianca's disclosure statement describing the terms of its reorganisation plan. Avianca may now submit the plan to creditors for their approval. Avianca's next step on the road to emergence from Chapter 11 is to solicit votes on the reorganisation plan "from certain classes of creditors". Creditors' votes in support of the plan must be submitted to Avianca by 14 October. The US bankruptcy court will consider approval of Avianca's plan on 26 October.

Airbus plans to deliver all aircraft from its Mobile, Alabama manufacturing facility with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on board. "No later than November 2021, all aircraft delivered to customers will be powered by a blend of SAF and conventional jet fuel," the airframer says in a 22 September release. World Energy will provide the USA-sourced SAF to Airbus at the Mobile facility, via global aviation support services provider Signature Flight Support. Airbus delivers A220 and A320 family aircraft to USA-based customers from Mobile. It says the facility has delivered more than 260 aircraft since 2016; 54 in 2021 alone. Airbus Americas’ chairman and chief executive Jeff Knittel states: "SAF is a positive contributor to enhanced sustainability in aviation since it enables up to an 80% reduction of CO2 across the fuel lifecycle. "We are committed to making sustainable fuels an everyday reality with use on an increasingly larger scale, and this announcement is further evidence of that."

More than 97% of United Airlines' US-based workforce has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, excluding a "small number" of employees who have requested exemption from the carrier's requirement to be fully vaccinated by 31 October. United is also requiring its US-based employees to upload to a company intranet by 27 September proof that they have received at least one vaccine dose. The Chicago-based carrier told employees in a 22 September company memo that it will commence as soon as 28 September a "separation process" for any employee who fails to upload a vaccine record. United had disclosed to its US employees on 6 August that they would be required to receive a Covid-19 vaccine and upload their vaccination records to a company site. "There are now more Covid-related deaths in the US than there were during the 1918 flu pandemic, the deadliest pandemic of the 20th century," United says in the 22 September memo. "While we continue to be encouraged by the outpouring of support and appreciation that we’ve received from employees for the vaccine requirement, we know the decision to get vaccinated was a difficult one for some. But we also know that everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated. And vaccine requirements work." Frontier Airlines on 6 August announced that employees of the US-based ultra-low-cost-carrier must get vaccinated by 1 October. Frontier employees who will not or cannot get vaccinated will be asked to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test on a regular basis. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines on 25 August told its employees that it is adding a $200 surcharge to unvaccinated employees' monthly fees for enrolment in the company healthcare plan, the centre piece of a campaign to persuade its entire workforce to sign up for Covid-19 vaccines. At the time, one-quarter of the airline's employees remained unvaccinated. Nevertheless, Delta, along with US majors American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, has not mandated vaccination for US-based employees.