volume 50-2020

GENEVA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) renewed its call on governments to ensure that employees in the aviation sector are considered as essential workers during the impending Covid-19 vaccine campaign, once health care workers and vulnerable groups have been protected.

 IATA’s 76th Annual General Meeting (AGM) had unanimously adopted a resolution to this effect.

 “We are not asking for aviation workers to be on top of the list, but we need governments to ensure that transportation workers are considered as essential when vaccine roll-out plans are developed. The transportation of the Covid-19 vaccines has already begun, and as calculations show, it will require the equivalent of 8,000 Boeing 747 freighter aircraft for global distribution. It is therefore essential that we have the qualified workforce in place to ensure a functioning logistics chain,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

 IATA’s call is aligned with the proposed Roadmap for Prioritizing Uses of Covid-19 Vaccines by the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE). This recommends priority populations for vaccination based on the respective epidemiologic situation and vaccine supply scenarios. Within this framework, SAGE has included transportation workers alongside other essential sectors outside health and education sectors including police, for example.

 The AGM also reiterated the vital role of air transport in facilitating the global response to the pandemic, including the timely distribution of medicines, testing kits, protective equipment and eventually vaccines around the world.

LONDON: Britain’s top court gave the go-ahead to the expansion of Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, allowing the 14 billion-pound ($19 billion) plan to proceed after decades of legal battles and political wrangling.

The Supreme Court ruling overturned a previous court decision that had blocked the plan on environmental grounds.

Heathrow, Britain’s biggest airport, currently has only two runways and is keen to proceed despite the plunge in air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic that has seen it lose its crown as the busiest hub in Europe.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been a vociferous opponent of the expansion, which was approved under the previous government. As mayor of London, he said in 2015 he would lie down in front of bulldozers if necessary to stop construction of the third runway.

His spokesman said on Wednesday the government had noted the court’s judgment and would respond in due course.

In February, a court had declared the expansion unlawful, ruling in favour of climate change campaigners. The judge had said that a failure to take into account the British government’s commitments on climate change was “legally fatal” to the plans.

But a Supreme Court judge told a virtual session on Wednesday that the government had taken climate change commitments into account when designing its airport policy.

“For these reasons, the Court unanimously concludes that the appeal should be allowed. The airports national policy statement is lawful,” Judge Philip Sales said.

Since February, the aviation sector has been hit by its worst ever downturn, meaning Heathrow now has plenty of spare capacity, but the airport said another runway was still vital for the future.

 “Demand for aviation will recover from COVID-19, and the additional capacity at an expanded Heathrow will allow Britain as a sovereign nation to compete for trade and win against our rivals in France and Germany,” a Heathrow spokesman said in a statement.

The airport is owned by Spain’s Ferrovial, the Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corp, among others.

Though it is Britain’s biggest airport by value, its two runways compare with Paris’s and Frankfurt’s four and Amsterdam’s six. Before the pandemic, it had no space to add new flights.

The project has been hotly debated in Britain for almost half a century. The new runway was previously approved in 2009 before being scrapped the following year, and then approved again in 2018.

Wednesday’s ruling represents a setback to wider hopes among climate campaigners of using Heathrow as a test case to develop similar legal challenges to heavily polluting transport, energy or other projects in other countries.

Heathrow said that its expansion plan must now go through a planning process that will require it to prove expansion is compliant with Britain’s climate change obligations before construction can begin.

DOHA: Qatar Airways has announced the resumption of three weekly flights from London Gatwick.

The flights will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, offering 22 seats in business class and 232 seats in economy.

The airline has also scheduled four daily flights from London Heathrow, three daily flights from Manchester and three weekly flights from Edinburgh throughout December.

Qatar Airways UK & Ireland country manager, Gary Kershaw, said: “We are delighted to resume our flights to London Gatwick, further cementing our position as the leading international carrier providing connectivity to the UK.

“The resumption of London Gatwick services is a significant indicator of the resilience of the UK travel market, and we look forward to resuming more of our UK destinations to support the recovery of tourism and trade in the region.”

Qatar Airways resumption of London Gatwick flights will also enable British Airways passengers to book travel again from London Gatwick to destinations across Qatar Airways’ network in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

As oneworld alliance partners, frequent fliers are ensured recognition of their frequent-flyer status with benefits including access to lounges worldwide, through check-in, extra baggage allowance, plus accrual and redemption of miles, priority check-in and boarding across the partner carriers’ networks.

Stephen King, head of airline relations at Gatwick Airport, said: “We are delighted to welcome Qatar Airways back to Gatwick after the second national lockdown.

“It is great for passengers that Gatwick and Qatar Airways can offer the opportunity to fly to Doha.

“Alongside our airlines, Gatwick has implemented a number of extra measures to keep both passengers and staff as safe as possible travelling through Gatwick, helping to rebuild public confidence in air travel.”

MUSCAT: Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, continues its efforts to improve efficiency and service to guests with the introduction of its new in-flight entertainment training system.

The kiosk-based system displays ARIA, the airline’s in-flight entertainment system, along with First, Business and Economy Class screens and the cabin crew control panel.

 The training kiosk, which recently arrived in Muscat, makes training processes more efficient and cost-effective because it eliminates the need to use aircraft for training cabin crew in the use of ARIA, which is mandatory for cabin directors.

 Oman Air’s system also facilitates quality control reviews of all content before it is installed into the system for guests to view.

ARIA, the airline’s state-of-the-art entertainment system, presents all the latest blockbuster titles, an extensive library of TV box-sets, audio spanning all types of music and games for children and adults. Guests intuitively control their preferences and create playlists from Hollywood to world movies, classical to modern tunes to enjoy throughout their flight whenever they choose, using the system’s Touch Personal Media Unit.

HONG LONG:  International carriers and travellers flying into Hong Kong are facing greater hurdles, with the city’s government cracking down on imported Covid-19 cases, according to the South China Morning Post.

British Airways and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are among the first carriers to breach the revised regulations and will suspend passenger services to Hong Kong for two weeks.

New rules by the Hong Kong government require airlines to ensure those travelling to the city provide comprehensive health and travel history, as well as proof of booking at a quarantine hotel. Additionally, passengers from high-risk locations must present a negative test result prior to departure.

Failure to comply can lead to a two-week flight suspension for the transporting airline if at least one positive case is detected upon arrival, as in the case of British Airways and KLM. Previously, the ban only applied to carriers with five or more positive cases detected upon arrival, or three positive cases recorded across two consecutive flights.

“Due to stricter new Covid-19 measures, KLM is temporarily not allowed to take passengers to Hong Kong. KLM flies with cargo from Amsterdam to Hong Kong and with passengers and cargo back to Amsterdam. KLM is still discussing the length of the period to which this measure applies.”

British Airways has also offered affected passengers the option of flying from London with another airline, changing the departure date, or requesting a refund, reported South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association is developing a digital health pass to store travellers’ health data. It will help airlines quickly and accurately verify eligibility to enter a foreign country. A release date for the IATA Travel Pass has yet to be announced.

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has notified new standard operating procedures (SOPs) for international passengers, chartered and private aircraft flights to Pakistan.

The new SOPs have been divided in three categories; A, B and C, by the aviation authority, according to a notification issued by the CAA. Japan, Finland, Namibia and Malawi are among the countries removed from the category A, whereas the number of countries included the category has been increased to 24 from 22.

The category A includes Australia, China, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Fiji, Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Laos, Maldives, New Zealand and Nigeria; whereas category B comprises Norway, Rwanda, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Togo, Uruguay, Vietnam, Zambia.

The passengers of the countries listed in category A will not be required to undergo Covid-19 tests. However, for those belonging to category B, Covid test is mandatory 96 hours before the commencement of travel to Pakistan.

According to the new SOPs which will remain effective from December 16 to 31, the passengers from countries listed in the category C will undergo mandatory novel coronavirus tests at the airport. No country has been placed in the category C so far.

It has been made mandatory for all international passengers to fill a health declaration form before travelling to Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: Virgin Atlantic’s first flight to Pakistan landed at the New Islamabad International Airport on Friday, December 11.

“Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight lands in Islamabad,” twitted Advisor to PM on Overseas Pakistani Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, “Great new step for our United Kingdom and European Union-based diaspora. Pakistan is more connected and open for travel and tourism today than it has been in decades.”

With him was British High Commission to Pakistan Christian Turner, who wrote “Bauhut Mubarak!” Twitter.

The inaugural flight took off from Manchester Airport on Thursday.

“Pakistan-UK dosti zindabad!”

According to a press release by the British High Commission in Pakistan, another flight from the federal capital will take off for London’s Heathrow airport on December 13 and a third will head from Lahore to London on December 14.

The airline will operate three routes from Pakistan to the United Kingdom: two from Islamabad to London and Manchester and one from Lahore to London.

Additionally, connecting flights to destinations in North America, including New York, Boston and Los Angeles will also be available. The airline is also offering “onward connectivity alongside its transatlantic joint venture partner Delta Airlines” to more than 200 destinations in North America.

In a video message Turner said there was no British carrier flying to Pakistan 18 months ago and “now we have over 20 direct flights a week”.

“This is a sign of real confidence in Pakistan,” he continued. “Our 1.6 million British-Pakistanis are the heart of our dosti. They will now have more options to visit loved ones, build ties and boost trade. This will be good for tourism and business.”

“When I arrived in Pakistan, you asked me to help change perceptions. A year on, despite the difficulties of COVID-19, we have changed travel advice, seen the return of England cricket to Pakistan, and now British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are flying direct.”

“Kyun ke mushkil waqt mein dost hi dost ko agay le kar jata hai [Because friends uplift each other in difficult times],” said the British official. “Pakistan-UK dosti zindabad!”

Founder Virgin Group Richard Branson said he was thrilled that Pakistan is one of the first few countries where the Virgin Atlantic had launched flights following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Branson regretted not being on the first flight. “This is the first inaugural flight that I have missed,” he said, thanking Pakistani authorities, British High Commission, and Virgin’s teams to help set up “in record time”.

“I have to see you very soon!” he added.

The airline had announced its plans to commence operations to and from Pakistan in August. The airline’s request to commence operations was approved by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority last week.