The US air transport and travel industries are pushing back on a potential quarantine requirement for international travellers arriving in the USA, currently being weighed by the administration of President Joe Biden, in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Trade groups on 22 January say a mandatory self-isolation rule would be an additional setback to an industry trying to regain its footing following an almost-year-long decline, and it is also likely unenforceable. The idea was floated by President Biden himself in a televised statement on 21 January when he said, “In addition to wearing masks, everyone flying to the United States from other countries will need to test before they get on that plane, before they depart, and quarantine when they arrive in America.” “We believe a mandatory quarantine requirement for international travellers could be extremely difficult to enforce – and unnecessary in light of required testing and the many other protections now in place,” trade group US Travel Association says. Earlier this week, Biden signed an executive order that mandates face coverings on all interstate travel in public transportation by air, sea and land, which includes all flights within and to the USA. The rule supports airlines’ own rules, which they had imposed early in the pandemic to add a layer of protection for crews and passengers. In addition, the US government plans to require a negative coronavirus test result that is less than 72h old as a prerequisite for boarding US-bound aircraft beginning on 26 January. Airlines will be responsible for ensuring customers have the correct documentation in either paper or electronic form. Airline trade group Airlines for America (A4A) views the testing requirement as far more effective than quarantines, and earlier this week asked the Department of Transportation to lead the creation of global testing standards for international travellers. “US airlines have been strong advocates for a national testing standard set by the federal government and appreciate that the executive order moves our country forward on a framework for testing,” A4A says on 22 January. “We remain hopeful that this announcement will be followed by a recognition that testing can be used to safely resume travel without quarantines, which are difficult to enforce and often prove ineffective,” the organisation adds. The US government has said the testing rule will be for international flights only. Airlines and other industry professionals say they do not anticipate the same requirement will be imposed on domestic travellers. “In the domestic environment, where there aren’t defined ports of entry for travellers, mandatory testing and other requirements are also impractical and could divert scarce public health resources away from other priorities,” the US Travel Association adds. United Airlines, which reported fourth-quarter results on 20 January, said that since the announcement of the new testing requirement last week, it had seen a “noticeable” decline in bookings to and from beach destinations in Mexico. Previously, there had been few restrictions on travel to and from the Latin American country. US neighbour Canada has had a national quarantine mandate since March 2020, and added a testing requirement for inbound passengers two weeks ago.

JetBlue Airways has complained to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) that it is being locked out of securing slots in London for its planned transatlantic expansion. In a filing with the DOT on 19 January, the New-York-based low-cost carrier accuses the UK government of protecting airlines which currently have slots at the two major international airports in London but are not using them, thus creating a barrier to new market entrants. “JetBlue continues to face slot uncertainty as a result of the United Kingdom’s decision to delay addressing crucial matters affecting slots at London-area airports including both London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport,” the US carrier writes. ”At [Heathrow], existing slot holders have reduced services at a scale previously unimaginable while new entrants like JetBlue remain locked out.” The airline specifically mentions Virgin Atlantic, which is no longer operating from Gatwick, and Norwegian Air, which last week announced that it was ceasing long-haul transatlantic operations. Both airlines have, however, been permitted to keep their slots at the two London airfields. “At the same time, carriers like JetBlue, poised to enter the transatlantic market and disrupt the status quo and fulfil a crucial need for low-cost carrier transatlantic service, are unable to sufficiently secure [Heathrow] slots or consistently timed [Gatwick] slots because of the fiction that carriers are going to return to the pre-Covid-19 status quo,” the airline says. “They are not, and the UK government needs to address this reality immediately,” JetBlue writes. JetBlue has repeatedly said it aims to begin transatlantic service, reiterating as recently as December that it still planned to launch flights between New York and London in the second half of 2021. Last week the FAA granted slot-waiver relief to UK carriers for the summer 2021 travel season at numerous slot-restricted airports in the US. That means that airlines may keep their allocated slots at capacity-constrained destinations like New York’s John F Kennedy International airport, even if they do not fulfil rules that normally require them to use 80% of the slots to avoid losing them. That requirement was suspended during summer 2020, and in the current winter travel season, due to reduced capacity as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which continues to disrupt travel worldwide. While the relief gives existing carriers freedom to reduce schedules without worry that they may not be able to ramp up service again once customers return, it frustrates those like JetBlue who are looking to enter a particular market for the first time. The carrier also says on 22 January that it is taking additional payroll support from the US government. The airline says in a regulatory filing that it will take $252 million in grants and loans, in addition to the $936 million it took last year under the CARES Act payroll support programme. In December, the US government set aside an additional $15 billion for airlines to help them manage through the depressed demand resulting from the global health crisis. That is in addition to the $58 billion in federal aid the airlines received in March 2020.

Canada’s WestJet returned the Boeing 737 Max to revenue service on 21 January with a flight from Calgary to Vancouver, becoming Canada’s first airline to fly the aircraft commercially following an almost two-year pause. The Calgary-headquartered carrier says flight WS115 carried 71 passengers and arrived in Vancouver ahead of schedule due to a strong tailwind. The aircraft will return to Calgary later the same day. “The return of WestJet’s Max aircraft marks an operational milestone after 22 months of intense review and considerable learning,” says airline chief executive Ed Sims. “WestJet’s preparation, our processes, due diligence and philosophy of safety above all other considerations have brought us to this point today where we can welcome guests aboard Max aircraft with 100% confidence in their safety.” The flight comes just days after the Canadian regulator, Transport Canada, approved changes to Boeing’s design and software, allowing the Max to return to airlines’ active fleets. That follows an almost-two-year global grounding following two fatal accidents which killed 346 people. According to Cirium fleets data, the airframe, with the tail number C-FHCM, went into service on 27 February 2019, about two weeks before the type was grounded. It is the youngest of the airline’s 13 Max jets acquired prior to re-certification. The airline had been operating the type in its fleet since September 2017. WestJet plans to initially use the 737 Max on flights between Calgary and Vancouver, and on the popular Calgary-to-Toronto route. Prior to the grounding, it was also flying the aircraft to Hawaii and Halifax, in eastern Canada, airline officials say. Scott Wilson, the carrier’s vice-president of operations and a Max pilot himself, was part of the crew that flew the aircraft from Calgary to Vancouver on 21 January. He says the trip was “smooth, on-time and unremarkable”. Wilson says changes made to the type’s software and design give pilots “absolute control of the aircraft at all times”. Also, redundancy and additional pilot training, in full-motion simulators, make the Max “the safest aircraft in the skies today”.
“Knowing and having been involved with the regulator, flight crew approaching this aircraft have no concerns with the flight control system,” he adds. That said, WestJet, like other airlines operating the aircraft, will let potential passengers rebook flights if they are uncomfortable travelling on the type. WestJet’s Montreal-based competitor Air Canada has said it plans to return the beleaguered aircraft to revenue service on 1 February. Canadian vacation specialist Sunwing Airlines also operates the 737 Max but it is unclear when it will bring the type back into its schedule. On 18 November, the Federal Aviation Administration re-certificated the type, paving the way for it to return to service in the USA. Several other regulators quickly followed, and the first flight after the global grounding was conducted by Brazil’s Gol on 9 December. In the USA, American Airlines first flew the type on 29 December. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expected to issue an airworthiness directive allowing the type to resume service in that jurisdiction next week.