29 December
OMAN. In a potentially significant boost to passenger traffic and airport commercial revenues, the Sultanate of Oman has lifted its ban on international travel through the country’s airports, led by Muscat International.
From today (29 December), entry and exit travel is permitted for international passengers that have a certified negative result from a PCR test conducted at least 72 hours before travel.
Muscat International opened on 1 October but traffic levels have remained low until now due to restrictions on travellers.
15 December
SINGAPORE. Short-term business travellers from all countries arriving in Singapore will no longer need to be quarantined, under new segregated travel lane arrangements due to come into effect from the second half of January 2021.
The arrangement is expected to increase traffic at Changi Airport, where about 15% of travellers pre-COVID-19 entered Singapore for business purposes, The Straits Times said.
Travel conditions will be tightly controlled, however. Citing the Ministry of Trade and Industry, The Straits Times reported that arriving business visitors will be transported from Changi Airport to dedicated facilities to stay and work.
They can conduct meetings through floor-to-ceiling air-tight glass panels with local business people, as well as with other foreign executives with safe distancing measures in place, the report said.
Regular testing will be conducted throughout their stays, in addition to tests before departure and upon arrival in Singapore.
14 December
SINGAPORE. In encouraging news for intra-regional travel in Asia, Singapore will lift border restrictions for visitors from Taiwan from 18 December.
Visitors travelling from Taiwan can apply for an Air Travel Pass (ATP) if they have spent the previous 14 consecutive days there before entry into Singapore. They will undergo a COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test upon arrival at the airport. If the result is negative, they will be allowed to go about their activities in Singapore, without a need to serve a Stay-Home Notice.
The Singaporean government has also updated its travel advisory to permit travel to Taiwan.
This latest initiative follows the earlier lifting of border restrictions for visitors to Singapore from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Mainland China, New Zealand and Vietnam. As of 10 December, the government had approved 9,284 applications for visitors from these places, and received 4,050 visitors. As of that date, all had tested negative for COVID-19.
10 December
AUSTRALIA. Brisbane Airport will welcome more than 30,000 daily passengers this week for the first time since 16 March, calling it a “clear sign that domestic travel is recovering”.
On 11 December the Domestic Terminal will see more than 16,000 arrivals and 14,000 departing passengers from a total of 309 flights.
The increase comes as inter-state borders reopen within Australia. Passenger volumes jumped from 118,000 in the week commencing 23 November to 155,875 during the week commencing 30 November. Even so, average daily domestic passenger numbers are still down -55% compared to the same time last year.
Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said: “After what has been an incredibly slow and challenging year for Brisbane Airport and the wider aviation industry, it is a most welcome sight to see the Domestic Terminal spring back to life.
“We still have some way to go before we reach complete recovery of our domestic network, but the last few weeks have shown Australians are ready and willing to explore our beautiful state and country once more.”
Since the border re-opening to Greater Sydney and Victoria, Sydney and Melbourne flights have jumped in popularity at Brisbane Airport. Sydney flights have increased five-fold from an average of five to 26 per day while Melbourne has gone from two to 20 flights per day.
8 December
AUSTRALIA. SSP Australia has opened a new Liv-eat restaurant at Hobart Airport airside, offering a wide array of “amazing fresh produce and tasty dishes” according to SSP Managing Director – South East Asia, Shane Beyer.
4 December
LATIN AMERICA. Santiago Airport has begun to welcome overseas visitors to Chile in recent days as part of a phased border reopening, which comes as a boost to the country’s aviation, tourism and travel sectors. From this month, flights to key international destinations will resume.
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera visited Santiago Airport, part of the Vinci Airports network, last week to announce the reopening of the border to non-resident foreigners with appropriate health certification. Ports and land border crossings with Argentina, Peru and Bolivia remain closed in the initial phase.
The Chilean tourism body said it expects to serve around 30% of usual demand in January.
2 December
ASIA PACIFIC. Preliminary October 2020 traffic figures released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) underscore the devastating impact of prolonged border closures and travel restrictions on international passenger demand.
Crippled by the lack of progress in the reopening of borders in the region, Asia Pacific airlines carried only 1.5 million international passengers in October, just 4.9% of the 31.3 million that travelled in the same month last year. Offered seat capacity was comparatively higher but still represented just 12.7% of October 2019 volumes. The international passenger load factor averaged only 30% for the month, significantly below the levels required for airlines to achieve positive cash flow, AAPA said.
AAPA Director General Subhas Menon said, “Prolonged border restrictions have led to precipitous declines in air traffic and global connectivity, with Asia Pacific alone suffering a 76% plunge. The dismal numbers underscore the severity of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the airline industry. Whilst government financial support lent critical lifelines to some airlines, already a number of carriers are being restructured, whilst others may not survive this protracted crisis.
“The desire to travel remains strong, evidenced by the marked recovery in domestic travel markets where movement restrictions have been relaxed. Air transport is an enabler of economic activity, and an indispensable conduit for global transport, trade and tourism.”
Menon concluded, “AAPA calls on governments to redouble their efforts to work cooperatively with other governments and industry stakeholders to safely restart international air travel. Governments must heed calls to adopt and implement mutually agreed protocols. New ICAO guidance materials developed in conjunction with WHO, CDC and ECDC, recommend incorporating harmonised testing as part of a multi-layered and risk-managed approach to facilitate international air transport.
“As 2021 beckons, Asia Pacific aviation is ready and willing to play its part in a successful restart and recovery. Airlines will also play a critical role in ensuring that the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is accomplished in a timely and efficient manner once the necessary regulatory approvals have been confirmed and production can be scaled up accordingly.”
1 December
AUSTRALIA. Queensland today reopened its borders after eight months of a hard lockout with Greater Sydney, while also welcoming visitors back from Victoria.
The occasion was particularly auspicious for Brisbane Airport, which not only welcomed the first flights from Sydney in eight months but also opened a new Lego shop in the domestic terminal.
26 November
SINGAPORE. Scoot, the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines, is to launch a new inflight portal, known as Scoothub. It will include services from an extended partnership with Asian food solutions and gateway services provider, SATS.
Scoothub will be introduced in phases beginning from December to reflect changed passenger expectations in the COVID-19 world and beyond.
Using their own mobile devices, passengers will be able to order food and beverages from the Scoot Café, browse and purchase duty free items from KrisShop, play games and browse travel content. Users can log on to Scoothub without an internet connection when onboard.
Local media title The Business Times reported that the transition from physical to digital inflight menus, duty free catalogues and magazines will reduce surface contact, giving flyers greater peace of mind.
Scoot Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said: “In the long term, ScootHub will enable us to create a more satisfying, value-added inflight experience for our customers and potentially present a new revenue stream for us, positioning Scoot well to emerge stronger post-COVID.”
SATS Consumer Services CEO Spencer Low said: “SATS is proud to expand our support for Scoot from buy-onboard food and drinks to now include logistics for the digital inflight portal.”
He added: “In partnership with AirFi, SATS is able to switch from printed to digital menus, enabling SATS to better predict customer demand and work with Scoot to refresh the offerings more often to feature the latest F&B trends.”
25 November
JAPAN. In a step that could pave the way for the restart of cruising in Japan next year, MSC Cruises has become the first international line to receive a health and safety certification from Japan’s maritime classification society ClassNK. MSC Cruises’ operational restart in the country is scheduled for April.
The certification of MSC Cruises’ industry-leading health and safety protocol means that it can open sales in December to local residents for cruises homeporting in Japan and start to work with ports in the country to prepare for the season.
MSC Bellissima will be deployed to Japan, homeport in Yokohama to sail six to nine-night cruises in April, May and June 2021. She is also scheduled to operate in the country during October and November 2021.
As reported, MSC Cruises in mid-August became the first major cruise line to resume sailing following the global shutdown of the industry in March caused by the pandemic.
The MSC Cruises health protocol is based on nine key elements, many of which have been adopted by other cruise companies, the Cruise Lines Industry Association and international airlines and airports.
- Testing of all guests at least twice per voyage
- Testing of all crew at least three times before embarkation and weekly on board
- Only protected shore excursions, as organised ‘social bubbles’
- Ventilation with HVAC fresh air
- Contingency response that does not burden local health infrastructures
- Isolation space on board and tracking and tracing including close contacts
- Masks
- Physical distancing – aided by reduced capacity of the ship
- And COVID-19 prevalence monitoring.
24 November
AUSTRALIA. Alan Joyce, Chief Executive Officer of Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas, says the airline will introduce a new rule making coronavirus vaccinations compulsory for passengers boarding international flights once vaccines become available.
“For international travellers, we will ask people to have a vaccination before they get on the aircraft,” Joyce said, speaking on the Australian news magazine programme, A Current Affair. “Certainly, for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country, we think that’s a necessity.”
The controversial change to the airline’s terms and conditions – effectively a form of health passport – could be in force by relatively early in 2021.
INTERNATIONAL. Willie Walsh, former CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG), is set to become Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) form next April. Current Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac will step down from the role on 31 March. He joined IATA in September 2016 from Air France-KLM where he was Chairman and CEO.
De Juniac said: “Over the last years IATA has strategically increased its relevance as the voice of the global airline industry. This has been evident in the COVID-19 crisis. IATA has set the course to restore air connectivity amid the pandemic with systematic pre-departure testing. We are well into preparations to fulfil critical vaccine distribution needs. In parallel, we have restructured IATA to survive the crisis and be ready to support the industry recovery with an organisation dimensioned to serve a smaller industry.”
23 November
SCOTLAND. Aberdeen International Airport – together with F&B concessionaire The Restaurant Group – is looking for a new home for high-end café equipment to help a new business, charity or community group in the north-east of Scotland.
The free-of-charge equipment has become available after airport café Joe’s was permanently closed due to the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Included in the professional equipment are two large fridge displays, a professional barista coffee machine, two commercial filter coffee machines, a commercial-sized panini grill, a commercially-sized dishwasher, a commercial ice maker and many more items.
INTERNATIONAL. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is in the final development phase of the IATA Travel Pass, a digital health pass that it says will support the safe reopening of borders.
As governments introduce testing to limit the risk of COVID-19 spreading as they reopen for travel. IATA said its digital pass would “manage and verify the secure flow of necessary testing or vaccine information among governments, airlines, laboratories and travellers”.
IATA and British Airways owner International Airlines Group will undertake a trial to demonstrate that this platform combined with COVID-19 testing can reopen international travel and replace quarantine. The first cross-border IATA Travel Pass pilot is scheduled for this year and the launch for quarter one of 2021.
Full story here.
UK. Airport group MAG – which operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports in the UK – has launched a prize for the first airline to operate a zero-emission commercial flight from one of its airports.
The industry-first contest will see the successful carrier win five years’ free landing fees, worth up to £1.3 million (US$1.7 million) at today’s prices.
The company stated in its newly-published annual CSR Report that it is committed to becoming a net zero carbon business by 2038. If achieved, this would be 12 years ahead of the UK’s aviation industry target to become net zero carbon by 2050.
AUSTRALIA. New South Wales (NSW) reopened its borders to Victoria at midnight after no locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were recorded in NSW for the past 15 days. In neighbouring Victoria, no local transmissions have been registered for 23 days.
The welcome news is a huge boost to the domestic aviation, travel and tourism sectors.
JAPAN/US. Zipair will launch a new passenger service from Narita to Honolulu on 19 December. Zipair currently operates the Narita-Seoul and Narita-Bangkok routes, with the Narita-Honolulu route being the airline’s third route.
