Low Covid-19 vaccination rates in Africa mean inoculation cannot be a prerequisite for international travel, in the view of RwandAir chief executive Yvonne Makolo. Speaking during a CAPA Live event on 14 July, Makolo said: “In the US and Europe…. we’re hearing a lot of calls to allow only people who are vaccinated [to travel]. This is a concern for us, because if you have almost the entire African continent not vaccinated, how are people going to travel?” She points out that across the African continent, less than 2% of the population has received at least one vaccine dose so far, which is “very worrying… in terms of the full restart of the industry” in the region. “Given the issue of vaccine inequity, a lot of African countries have not been able to get the vaccines they had hoped for, including Rwanda,” Makolo explains. With that in mind, “we really want to see a situation where we allow people to travel as long as they have a negative Covid [test], and the ones who are vaccinated can be allowed to travel freely [as well]”, Makolo says. Having both options is the “only way we can have some certainty” in terms of the industry restart, she suggests. The price of Covid-19 tests needs to be addressed, Makolo adds, while digital health passports are “complex”, but “given the fact we’ll have to live with Covid for a while, I think it’s the only way to go”. Helpfully, given the lack of access to vaccines in the region, Makolo says “a lot of African countries have managed to contain the pandemic pretty well… including Rwanda”, which means RwandAir is currently able to serve most of its pre-pandemic destinations. Speaking during the same event, the secretary general of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Abderahmane Berthe, noted that the World Health Organization had set targets for vaccinations to reach 10% of Africans by September, 40% by December and 70% by mid-2022, as part of a global effort. “Governments need to speed up the rollout of vaccines across the continent,” Berthe says. ”It’s very important that no country is left behind.” Meanwhile, of Qatar Airways’ plan to take a 49% stake in RwandAir, Makolo says the process as been “slowed down a bit because of the pandemic”, but that it remains on track.

American Airlines has pledged to set a science-based target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The US carrier says the move will sharpen its strategy for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, align its path with the global imperative of limiting temperature rise to well below 2°C (36°F) and bring additional accountability to its approach. American notes that it is the first airline in North America to begin the validation process with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a collaborative effort between Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature. As part of this initiative, the carrier has committed to develop a 2035 emissions reduction target that will be reviewed by the SBTi to confirm its consistency with the latest climate science. Once validated by the SBTi, American’s science-based target will add an intermediate goal for 2035 on the airline’s path to 2050. By committing to set a science-based target, the airline has also become a signatory to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign and joins Race To Zero, a global campaign that aims to rally support for a zero-carbon economy from businesses, cities, investors and other non-state actors. American's chief executive Doug Parker states: “We’re committing to set a science-based target for 2035 because the seriousness of the climate challenge demands it. We’ve already laid a strong foundation by prioritizing near-term solutions to reduce our emissions, like renewing our fleet with more fuel-efficient aircraft. Looking forward, we believe we have an obligation to our customers, team members, shareholders and the communities we serve to focus and accelerate our transition to operating a low-carbon airline.”

European Commission proposals aimed at reducing airlines' carbon emissions may harm competition in the bloc while doing little for the environment, Austrian Airlines has warned. Responding to the "Fit for 55" proposals published by the European Commission on 14 July – designed to enable the sector to contribute a broader goal of a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 – the Vienna-based carrier's chief executive Alexis von Hoensbroech states that "the measures must not distort competition, otherwise the climate will not be helped but the domestic economy will be damaged to the greatest possible extent". "The European institutions should not put any additional hurdles in the way of domestic aviation, but rather build the launch pad for the use of climate-friendly sustainable fuels," he adds. "For the planned quota of sustainable fuels, however, a financing mechanism must be found that includes all providers equally and does not leave the burden on European wings alone." The Fit for 55 proposals seeks to tighten airlines' emissions trading, introduce a kerosene tax for flights within Europe, and enact a rapidly increasing mandatory blending quota for sustainable aviation fuels. Austrian Airlines, together with its parent Lufthansa Group, has set itself a goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.