Virgin Atlantic has introduced a pre-flight Covid-19 testing program for some of its London Heathrow-based crew, with the aim of eventually carrying out monthly tests on all pilots and cabin attendants. The UK carrier says it launched the trial by testing crew ahead of flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai on 30 September, and will roll out the program to cover Barbados and other "select services" later this month. Virgin Atlantic has partnered with biotech firm GeneMe UK, distributor of the FRANKD Covid-19 test. Swabs are taken on site and results are processed and delivered within 30min via an app, negating the need for a laboratory, says the carrier.
"While the Covid-19 testing landscape evolves, we continue to be in discussions with multiple providers offering different technologies to guarantee the best solution possible, while absolutely ensuring that we do not compete with the UK National Health Service for vital resources," states Virgin Atlantic chief customer and operating officer Corneel Koster.
The trial is "a first step in our phased plan to introduce regular testing for all of our teams in the air and on the ground, in order to instill confidence in flying", adds Koster. Virgin Atlantic has reiterated its call for the "swift introduction" by the UK government of a wider passenger testing system that removes the need for arrivals from high-risk countries to quarantine. Koster says that without it, "demand for travel will not return". The UK government is reported to be on the verge of making an announcement on airport testing, amid strong pressure from the aviation industry. The list of countries that people can travel to without having to self-isolate for 14 days when they return is shrinking. Turkey and Poland are the latest nations to be removed from the UK's travel-corridor list.

Source: Cirium

US carriers adjusted their total capacity for October downward during the past two and a half weeks. As of 17 September, total capacity in available seat miles for US airlines in October was down 52%, compared with October 2019. Domestic capacity was down 44%, while international was down 60%. As of 5 October, US airlines' total capacity in October is down 60% year-on-year. Domestic capacity is down 46%, and international is down 73%. The number of daily travellers clearing US Transportation Security Administration checkpoints in the early days of October has increased slightly on a year-on-year basis. From 1 to 4 October, the number of travellers clearing TSA checkpoints between has been down 65% versus the same weekdays a year ago. Through much of September, the number of travellers clearing TSA checkpoints was down around 70-75%. It remains to be seen if continued improvement in US traveller throughput and a rise in late bookings give US carriers the confidence to do more than merely shift existing capacity toward leisure destinations. International travel restrictions remain in place, impeding any hopes for real growth in that sector. "Significant improvements [in international travel] are unlikely before summer 2021, in our view, as global travel restrictions remain in place," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson writes in a 30 September research note. Total capacity in November will be down 45%, compared with November 2019, as of 5 October. Airlines are likely to reduce existing capacity as the month draws near. In addition, US carriers could potentially make significant cuts to their networks in November if the federal government cannot come to terms on an extension of the US CARES Act payroll support program. Restrictions for airlines receiving CARES Act funds expired at the end of September, making it possible for these airlines to eliminate US destinations from their networks, or to lay off and cut the pay of their workers.

Source: Cirium

European Commission regulators are proposing extending by a further six months and widening the scope of the temporary relaxations around state aid rules under which a string of airlines have been supported through the global pandemic. As the coronavirus crisis hit the Commission introduced, through three separate amendments, temporary measures easing state aid rules around areas such as recapitalisation, sub-ordinated and the protection of jobs. These relaxations were due to expire at the end of the year, aside for recapitalisation measures that could already be granted until 30 June 2021. Countries across Europe have provided support for struggling airlines, among the hardest hit sectors from the pandemic, under the temporarily relaxed state aid rules. Amid the rise in virus cases across Europe, now competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is proposing extending these measures until next summer - and expanding their scope. The Commission says the objective of extending existing provisions is to enable member states to support businesses during the coronavirus crisis, especially where the need or ability to use the temporary framework has not fully materialised so far. But citing “the continued economic uncertainty and the needs of businesses with significant turnover losses”, it is also proposing extending the scope of temporary framework to enable member states to contribute to the fixed costs of companies that are not covered by their revenues. ”Supporting these companies by contributing to part of their costs on a temporary basis aims at preventing the deterioration of their capital, maintaining their business activity and providing them with a strong platform to recover,” it says. The Commission is also adapting the conditions for recapitalisation measures under the temporary framework, in particular for the state’s exit from company’s where it was already a shareholder prior to the recapitalisation. ”The proposed changes would allow the state to exit from the equity of such enterprises through an independent valuation, whilst maintaining the safeguards to preserve effective competition in the single market. ”Over the past seven months, our State Aid Temporary Framework has paved the way for almost €3 trillion ($3.5 trillion) of member state potential support to businesses hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis,” says Vestager. ”The effects of the crisis will stay with us for a while. That’s why we are proposing to prolong the Temporary Framework until mid-next year and adjust it to continued needs of businesses, while protecting the EU’s Single Market. We will decide on the way forward taking into account the views of all member states.

Source: Cirium