The US State Department has lifted its blanket global travel advisory warning citizens not to travel overseas after determining that the situation around the spread of the coronavirus has improved enough globally to be able to differentiate between potential travel destinations. But the advisories do not change the fact that US citizens remain unwelcome guests in other parts of the world. The USA is currently classified as a “high-risk” country in the eyes of other nations due to widespread coronavirus infections. “With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice,” it says on 6 August. “We continue to recommend US citizens exercise caution when travelling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.” The State Department has a system of designating a danger level between one (“exercise normal precautions”) and four (“do not travel”) for overseas travel. Each country is given a rating according to several risk factors including health, terrorist, crime, national disaster and others. The blanket “do not travel” advisory had been in effect since 19 March. The agency says that it continues to closely monitor health and safety conditions around the world, working in partnership with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and will continue to advise citizens of any changes in status.
“We, in concert with CDC, identified over time that the global [level] four was no longer accurate,” says US deputy assistant secretary for overseas citizen services Karen King. “It was very clear that a number of countries were coming down in terms of the risk posed. CDC led and we followed in making this adjustment so we can be more accurate.” But the State Department’s advisories are merely suggestions for US citizens, who, throughout the global pandemic, were never forbidden by US law or regulations from travelling overseas. Nonetheless, the USA was and remains “high risk” in the eyes of other countries due to the rising number of cases and the decentralised response to the pandemic.
Therefore, numerous other nations continue to limit US citizens’ ability to travel even if they wanted to
This easing of the advisory levels is just a first step to get international air travel back and running again. Airlines for America, a trade group representing many major US carriers, says on 6 August that it “appreciates” the announcement, and remains “committed to restoring international service in a manner that prioritizes the well-being of our passengers and employees”.

Source: Cirium

United Airlines has begun removing seats from Embraer 175 regional aircraft, a strong indication that broad pilot furloughs are imminent. On 6 August, Chicago-based United began showing three different seat maps of the E175 on its website. The first seat map is the aircraft’s normal 76-seat, three-class configuration. Two other diagrams show a maximum of 70 seats, in two different three-class configurations. The changes come several weeks after United’s chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said that the airline was drawing up plans to remove seats from its jets, a requirement under the carrier’s contract with its pilot union Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). That contract requires United to “convert” 76-seat aircraft to 70-seat aircraft if it is forced to furlough pilots hired prior to when the contract was signed, a move that could diminish the economics of the jets. Regional carriers Mesa Airlines, Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines operate a combined 172 of the type for United, according to Cirium fleets data. “We have the engineering being worked on right now, and we will have them removed by October 1,” Nocella had said on 20 May when asked if United might take this step. United did not comment on the changes. Last week the carrier told its pilots it plans to furlough at least 3,900 pilots or one third of its total pilot population as it prepares to deal with the pandemic’s long-term effects on the industry. Passenger demand fell to record lows during the second quarter as shelter-in-place orders and lockdowns around the country and across the globe depressed demand for passenger air transport. Even though there has been a small rebound recently, most industry players expect the recovery to take up to three years. The airline, which has received federal government financal aid under the CARES Act, was prevented from laying off or furloughing personnel before 1 October. That deadline is fast approaching, and the commercial aviation industry is preparing for up to 75,000 layoffs across the country if the relief is not extended. Pilot union representatives could not immediately be reached for comment on the changes and what they might mean for the airline and its pilots. In June, the union agreed to voluntary furlough and company leave of absence programmes, as well as a voluntary separation leave initiative in order to help reduce the number of pilots who might be laid off in the coming months.

Source: Cirium

Italy's National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) today says it may suspend Ryanair from flying to the country if the ultra-low-cost carrier does not meet its health safety standards intended to minimize the spread of coronavirus. These "repeated violations" noted by ENAC include failure to distance passengers on aircraft. Italy has implemented strict health safety measures, having been a major epicenter for coronavirus infections in Europe. "Ryanair systematically does not comply with the provisions envisaged in Italy to limit the risk health from coronavirus on board aircraft departing and arriving in domestic airports," ENAC says in a statement. The Irish ultra-low-cost carrier says in a statement that its health safety rules "are in line with the safety recommendations & measures set out by the Italian Government and also the European Safety Agency". These measures include social distancing before and after boarding, requirements to wear masks and disinfecting of aircraft, according to Ryanair's website. The airline's safety measures do not mention distancing of passengers during flights. "Ryanair complies fully with the measures set out by the Italian government and our customers can rest assured that we are doing everything to reduce interaction on both our aircraft and at airports," the airline states. Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost operator, carried 4.4 million passengers in July. The carrier flew 40% of its planned July schedule with a load factor of 72%, restoring part of its network as European nations begin to loosen travel restrictions. Still, traffic was down 70% year-over-year. The European Union aims to resume business and tourism while avoiding the rise of coronavirus infections that have increased in the USA following the reopening of businesses and beaches in numerous US states. The USA is not on the list of nations permitted to fly to European Union destinations.

Source: Cirium