Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways are joining British Airways in implementing pre-departure Covid-19 testing for passengers booked on flights from the United Kingdom to the USA. The testing is in response to a new, even more highly contagious variant of the coronavirus, currently tearing across southern England. Following an appeal by New York state governor Andrew Cuomo earlier in the day, on 21 December all three carriers confirmed that they will be introducing the testing programmes this week for their customers arriving at New York’s John F Kennedy International airport, but also to other US destinations as well. “Virgin Atlantic will be implementing new pre-departure Covid-19 testing for all customers travelling from London to the United States from Thursday 24 December,” the airline says. “With the health and safety of our customers and people always our number one priority, we will require all travellers to present evidence of a negative LAMP or PCR Covid-19 test, taken up to 72 hours prior to departure, including on-site at the airport.” In addition to John F Kennedy, Virgin also operates flights from London to Atlanta, Boston, Washington’s Dulles International, Las Vegas, Miami and San Francisco, according to Cirium data. In addition, Virgin flies from Manchester to Orlando, John F Kennedy and Atlanta, and it was unclear whether passengers on those flights would be tested as well. Atlanta-based Delta says it will also begin testing for US-bound passengers from the UK on 24 December. “We will be contacting customers due to travel on our London Heathrow to Atlanta and New York-JFK services in the coming days to provide further information regarding recommended suppliers and testing requirements,” the airline says. British Airways said earlier in the day that it will begin a testing programme for passengers travelling between the UK and New York from 22 December. United Airlines, which operates flights to London from Newark’s Liberty International airport as well as Chicago O’Hare International airport, Washington DC’s Dulles International and San Francisco International airport, has not said if it will offer testing for passengers, similar to what the other carriers are doing. Newark, though in relatively close proximity to the New York City metropolitan area, is in the US state of New Jersey, and beyond the jurisdiction of New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Meantime, the Federal Aviation Administration will not say if it is considering implementing a blanket ban on inbound flights from the United Kingdom as numerous other countries including Canada, most of Europe and some Latin American nations have already done to stop the spread of the new coronavirus mutation. “This is a developing situation that we are monitoring closely. We will continue to work with our government partners as the situation evolves,” the US regulatory body says on 21 December. Indications show that the new strain of the coronavirus can spread up to 70% more quickly. Medical experts say, however, that it is not more lethal than the known variant, and that the vaccines, currently being rolled out globally, are likely to be equally effective against the new mutation. Late in the day media reports emerged that the US government is considering requring every passenger arriving from the UK to present proof of a negative coronavirus test that is no older than 48 or 72h. Some jurisdictions in the US, like Hawaii, already require this for all inbound travellers in order to avoid the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine order.

United Airlines plans to bring the Boeing 737 Max back into its schedule from 11 February, with departures out of its Denver and Houston hubs. The Chicago-based carrier says on 18 December that due to ongoing public scepticism about the safety of the aircraft, it will deploy other aircraft types on the same routes as its Max, in case customers have qualms about travelling on the recently recertificated jet. The aircraft had been grounded for 20 months following two fatal accidents and was only recently approved to return to revenue service. “Nothing is more important to United than the safety of our customers and employees, so United’s Max fleet won’t return to service until we have completed more than 1,000 hours of work on every aircraft, including FAA-mandated changes to the flight software, additional pilot training, multiple test flights and meticulous technical analysis to ensure the planes are ready to fly,” the airline says. “We will be fully transparent with our customers and will communicate in advance when they are booked to fly on a Max aircraft.” The airline adds that it will publish the schedule of Max flights and routes in early January. Any customer who feels uncomfortable travelling in the aircraft can rebook at no charge or receive a refund, the airline adds. According to Cirium fleets data, United had operated 18 of the type prior to its grounding and has a further 166 aircraft on order with Boeing. The Federal Aviation Administration on 18 November rescinded its 13 March 2019 “Emergency Order of Prohibition” – the document barring US airlines from operating Boeing’s latest 737 iteration – after the US airframer made design modifications. Earlier this week, Canada’s civil aviation regulator “validated” Boeing’s Max updates, indicating it will lift the jet’s grounding in January. On 9 December, Brazilian low-cost airline Gol operated the first revenue flight following the aircraft’s recertification in that country. The first US carrier that will re-introduce the type into its regular schedule is American Airlines. The Fort Worth-based carrier will operate the aircraft on a round-trip flight between Miami and New York’s LaGuardia airport on 29 December. Southwest Airlines, the world’s top 737 operator, said earlier this week that it will return the type to its schedule from March.

Canadian regulators have prohibited the operation of commercial passenger flights from the UK to Canada – a move coming after the UK announced it identified a new, faster-spreading strain of the Covid-19 virus. Several other countries, including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands, have also banned flights from the UK following news of the new strain, according to reports. “Given the high number of cases of a variant Covid-19 virus observed in some areas in the United Kingdom, the decision has been made to suspend entry into Canada of all commercial and private passenger flights from the United Kingdom for 72h, effective midnight tonight,” says the Public Health Agency of Canada. Air service provider Nav Canada made public the prohibition in a 20 December notice to airmen (NOTAM). The prohibition does not apply to cargo flights. Air Canada, British Airways and WestJet fly between Canada and the UK.