The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam is proposing to lift a ban on Boeing 737 Max aircraft operations to and from the country. Based on the evaluation of other aviation authorities and the "safety index of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft after being licensed to operate again", the CAAV has asked that the transport ministry allow it to "carry out the necessary procedures" to resume operations and to recertify the aircraft type in Vietnam, it says in a statement issued today. The CAAV says it has been working with Boeing on the resumption of Max operations in Vietnam. Data shows that none of the Vietnamese airlines currently operate 737 Max jets, although VietJet has orders for 200. In April, Vietnam's transport ministry certified the Max for airspace transit. Then, the ministry had requested that CAAV monitor Russia, Australia and China's aviation authorities, with the CAAV saying it would propose the lifting of the ban once those countries allowed the Max to operate. Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority lifted its suspension in February. China and Russia have yet to certify the type for operations. In Asia-Pacific, Japan, India, Malaysia and Singapore have allowed Max operations to resume. CAAV says in its statement that according to updated information from Boeing, 178 of 195 aviation authorities around the world have lifted the ban on operations of the type. "The aviation authorities of China and Indonesia are expected to lift the ban [on the 737 Max] this September," the regulator states. The 737 Max was grounded in March 2019, following two fatal crashes within six months. FAA lifted its grounding order in November 2020 while EASA gave its formal approval in January.

In October 2021, the UK government plans to ease travel rules for people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, merging its travel warnings into a single "red list" of nations deemed to present a high risk of infection and terminating its moderate-risk "amber list". As a first step, the UK will on 22 September remove several nations from the red list: Turkey, Pakistan, the Maldives, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya. "As global vaccination efforts continue to accelerate and more people gain protection from this dreadful disease, it is right that our rules and regulations keep pace," states UK transport secretary Grant Shapps. As of 4 October, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to take a Covid-19 test before flying to the UK from a non-red-list nation. From the end of October, such travellers will have the option of taking less expensive lateral flow tests, rather than PCR tests, on day two after arrival.

Australia's Regional Express has made it mandatory for all its frontline, customer-facing staff to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by 1 November. This includes employees working at check-in and all pilots and cabin crew across its regional and domestic networks, the operator says in a statement today. The move follows initial consultations with various unions, workplace health and safety representatives and staff. "These consultations will continue as the new policy is formulated," Rex says. Deputy chairman John Sharp states: "As we provide an essential service operating to regional centres and remote communities throughout Australia, it is incumbent upon us to do whatever we can to help those residents remain safe and healthy." Sharp says Rex will offer the small number of unvaccinated frontline staff non-customer-facing roles wherever available.