A top US pilot union wants to ensure pilots can get jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine – and not lose their medical certificates. The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the vaccine for use by flight crews, and to ensure pilots get priority vaccine access. “Airline pilots are required to maintain medical certification from the FAA, but approval for use of the vaccine is required by the agency before it can be administered to flight crews,” ALPA says in a 9 December letter to US senators. “It is essential that the FAA approve this vaccine for use by airline pilots as soon as possible following” the vaccine’s approval by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). An FDA decision on whether to approve Pfizer’s vaccine is viewed as imminent. The UK government has already approved the vaccine. ALPA sent the letter to members of the Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, which held a 10 December hearing about distributing the Covid vaccine. The union says pilots of cargo aircraft “have experienced an alarming increase in Covid-19 exposure and infections”. “It is critical that, following the initial distribution, airline pilots are provided priority access to the vaccine,” ALPA says. “Ensuring this prioritisation will allow the logistical component of transporting the vaccine to continue unencumbered.” ALPA has for weeks been working “to expedite the FAA’s approval of upcoming vaccines for flight crews”, it adds. The FAA says it “is closely monitoring the active vaccine trials and awaiting the outcome” of vaccine-related hearings currently underway by an FDA advisory panel. “While the agency has made no final decisions, we are prepared to evaluate the use of each vaccine by medical certificate holders as soon as an emergency-use authorisation is issued,” the FAA says. The agency “historically” does not approve vaccines or medications for pilots for at least one year after approval by the FDA. “However, given the nature of the current public health emergency, the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine will expedite its review of the emergency-use authorisations for the vaccines,” the FAA says.

Electric aircraft company Ampaire has flown its hybrid-electric powered Cessna 337 Skymaster on what it calls an “actual airline route”, between two of Hawaii’s islands. On 22 November, the company flew the modified aircraft, which it calls the Electric EEL, round trip from Kahului to Hana, both on Maui. Kahului and Hana are about 24nm (45km) apart, making for one-way flights lasting about 20min, the company says. The Electric EEL completed the round trip on a single charge of the aircraft’s batteries, it says. Los Angeles-based Ampaire is among several companies working to equip existing small aircraft with electric-propulsion systems. Other projects have outfitted a Grand Caravan and de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver with electric propulsion. Ampaire says the Kahului-Hana flight makes it the first company “to complete a demonstration flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft along an actual airline route”. Ampaire is performing demonstration flights in Hawaii via a partnership with local intra-island carrier Mokulele Airlines. It expects to fly the EEL on the Kahului-Hana route “regularly” as part of a “one-month demonstration programme” with Mokulele. Ampaire has authority to fly the EEL with “crew and essential personnel” under an FAA experimental certification, it adds. Kevin Noertker, Ampaire chief executive, says the flights will demonstrate the “robustness of Ampaire’s technology” and aid development of future related projects involving larger aircraft. Cessna 337s typically have two piston engines – one driving a forward-facing prop, the other driving a pusher prop. For the EEL, Ampaire replaced the six-seat aircraft’s forward engine with an electric system “capable” of producing 119hp (160kW), it says. The aircraft carries a battery pack in an “under-fuselage aero-optimised shell”, and the forward piston engine produces 300hp. That configuration provides a 40-50% reduction in fuel consumption, says Ampaire. Mokulele has signed a “letter of interest” to acquire aircraft from Ampaire, and the EEL project has support from Mokulele parent Southern Airways. “We expect to put hybrid and all-electric designs into service as soon as possible”, says Southern chief executive Stan Little.

Cebu Pacific Air has highlighted the bewildering array of coronavirus-related protocols as it works get passengers flying again. In a virtual media roundtable, Cebu Pacific head of commercial Alex Reyes says travellers confront “a very complex situation” when making a decision about flying. As with many airlines, Cebu Pacific has a page listing testing and other requirements for various destinations, but it is extremely difficult to keep it fully updated. “We try to capture all of the current regulations in place now,” he says. “It’s not perfect because the regulations are constantly changing…whether at the country level or even at the city level. They are constantly evolving and changing, as they react to the unique circumstances of their own locality.” More often than not, he says, people still opt to buy a ticket, but there are travellers that are put off by the complexity involved in booking a flight and dealing with the correct testing protocols. “I think the traveling public understands is that it is massively complex right now. Everyone is doing their part to try and make sure that yes, you can fly or no, you cannot fly. Or you get to fly as long as you do X, Y and Z.” The key is making the process “clear and transparent” to travellers. Covid-19 has hit the Philippines hard, including strict lockdowns earlier in the year that all but completely shut down air travel from mid-March to early June. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the country has 444,164 infections, second only to Indonesia in Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, Cebu Pacific has been working to restore flights after operating less than 10% of its domestic network from June to November. It is now operating 400-450 flights weekly to 28 domestic and eight international destinations. It has also relaunched services to leisure locations such as Bohol, Coron, Siargao, and Boracay. On international routes, the only service operating at normal, pre-Covid-19 capacity is Manila-Dubai, operated daily with an Airbus A330. The carrier recently increased frequencies to Nagoya and Seoul Incheon, and will restart flights to Taiwan on 18 December. Still, the low-cost carrier derived 66% of its third quarter revenue from cargo. It has converted an A330 for cargo work, and is carrying cargo on the seats of passenger aircraft. In addition, the airline is conducting a trial where passengers are tested at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport before flights to the southern city of General Santos. From 3 to 14 December, passengers will undergo a free antigen test prior to boarding their flight. Only passengers who test negative will be allowed to board. “It’s an approach we’re taking to assure the traveling public and local governments that we are not transporting any asymptomatic Covid-19 patients into their city or locality,” says Reyes. “It is another layer of protection to respond to the pandemic.” After analysing the results of the trial, the airline will consider rolling out the testing initiative on other flights.