Embraer has issued a service bulletin allowing operators of its 50-seat ERJ-145 regional jet to install high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, with the first kits to be delivered by next month. The Brazilian airframer, which took five and a half months to develop the kit, adds that it is completing work for HEPA filter kits for the ERJ-140 and ERJ-135 “very soon”. It adds: “The kits for the first 70 aircraft are already being assembled and should be delivered by mid-December.” “Given the moment we are living, developing a HEPA filter service bulletin for the ERJ-145 is a must-have solution Embraer developed for making cabin conditions even safer for passengers,” says Johann Bordais, president and chief executive, Embraer Services & Support. HEPA filters have been in the spotlight recently amid the global coronavirus pandemic, as airframers and airlines tout their ability to trap most bacteria, viruses and fungi. HEPA filters are already a standard feature on Embraer’s later generation of aircraft, such as the E-jet family, and on Embraer Executive Jets.

IATA is confident network connectivity will not be impacted by the UK’s impending departure from the EU at the end of the year. Talks continue between officials over a possible Brexit deal, which would come into effect after the current transition agreement ends in December. But IATA’s regional vice-president Europe Rafael Schvartzman said during a briefing today that he expects connectivity to be maintained even if a Brexit deal is not reached. ”We see positive trends on an agreement on Brexit,” he says. ”In principle we are not seeing a situation where connectivity will be lost, so at this stage we are looking to maintain connectivity with a Brexit deal. “But if not, even before in the previous scenario, there were some already pre-agreed measures to be taken that will maintain connectivity. So we trust that remains an option.” He notes this contingency would extend the current conditions for a further period. “So that could be the fall-back if there is no agreement,” he says. “The other option if there is not agreement is we go back to the old bilaterals, which would be a very dramatic situation that we are not expecting to see. But that that would be the worst-case scenario.” Schvartzman adds: ”But we do believe today we are… looking forward potentially to an agreement. And if there is no agreement, for these temporary measures to kick to maintain connectivity in Europe.”

Delta Air Lines' pilot union members have ratified an agreement that will enable the carrier to avoid involuntary furloughs of pilots through the end of next year. The Atlanta-based carrier had reached a tentative agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) in late October to delay furloughs until 1 January 2022. Approximately 1,700 pilot furloughs had been looming, Delta tells Cirium. The airline states that the agreement aims to "reduce costs and avoid involuntary furloughs". ALPA represents 13,000 Delta employees. “Delta will be well-positioned to bring all our pilots back into active flying status as customer demand returns,” the airline's chief of operations John Laughter states in a 25 November memo to pilots. Laughter reminds pilots that there are still difficult times ahead. “Our recovery will be uneven, as evident by the recent increase in Covid rates which are affecting our bookings for the holiday season.” US airlines faced the decision of whether to furlough workers after payroll support funds under the CARES Act expired on 1 October. Delta had previously announced that it would not involuntarily furlough flight attendants and ground-based frontline employees, although furloughs had still been a possibility for pilots before this vote. United Airlines and American Airlines have had to furlough approximately 13,000 and 19,000 employees, respectively.