Impact of coronavirus on aviation industry.

[ian16th]

This hasn’t gone down terribly well with some people

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 60415.html

Nothing wrong with this.
Belgium once insisted that I had a smallpox jab before they'd let me in.

[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

This hasn’t gone down terribly well with some people

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 60415.html

Nothing wrong with this.
Belgium once insisted that I had a smallpox jab before they'd let me in.

It's only a couple of years ago that you needed a yellow fever vaccination certificate to enter Zambia and Zimbabwe, And if you wanted to then enter Bots or South Africa from those countries. As Ian said, nothing wrong with it, and not very surprising. The only problem will be for people like us actually being able to get vaccinated.

[Woody]

Can foresee a few problems, such as will staff need it down route and there’s probably a printing press in Nigeria that will sell you a proof of vaccine letter, but the tinfoil hat brigade have really gone into meltdown over this

[barkingmad]

Seems like BA are selling off the “family silver”?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55043907

I suppose there’ll be a few ex-BA crew shelling out for a sentimental souvenir?

But I trust the vendors will have wiped every item down with dilute bleach in case of plague transmission...

[G-CPTN]

Heathrow facing 'catastrophic' decline.

Heathrow Airport announces local economy recovery plan.

[PHXPhlyer]

DOH
Delta cancels more than 500 flights this week amid crew shortages
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/27/business ... index.html

Delta cancels more than 500 flights this week amid crew shortages
By Gregory Wallace and Pete Muntean

Updated 6:13 PM ET, Fri November 27, 2020

(CNN)A surge in Thanksgiving demand is taxing Delta Air Lines' pandemic-era workforce. The carrier was forced to cancel hundreds of flights this week, according to its pilot union and the airline.

Delta (DAL) ultimately canceled nearly one in every five flights it was scheduled to operate on Thanksgiving Day, and has dropped in total more than 500 flights this week, even as air travel has been picking up in the last few weeks. The airline said it expects its system to return to normal over the weekend.
The Air Line Pilots Association, the union that represents Delta pilots, said staffing reductions due to the coronavirus pandemic and the drop-off in travel "have left a smaller pool of pilots qualified and ready to fly in the fleets that are seeing an increased demand over this holiday."
Delta said Wednesday that a "number of factors have pressured our ability to timely staff some of our scheduled holiday flights" but did not specify the issues.
Not enough pilots
After distributing the November employee schedules last month, Delta added flights to its schedule and asked for volunteers to cover those flights, according to a source familiar with the situation. But when there were not enough employees to cover those legs, the airline was forced to cancel some of them.
The airline declined to comment on that explanation. The Delta Master Executive Council at the Air Line Pilots Association said its pilots have stepped up to take on extra flights over the holiday period and receive the incentive of premium pay for picking up extra legs.
But when demand surged this week, the heavy cuts to the aviation system due to the coronavirus began to show.
Airline passenger traffic is currently only about 40% of what it was last year, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration, and US airlines are running 43% fewer flights.
Delta and other US airlines responded to the drop in demand by cutting employee ranks. Work schedules were reduced, 1,800 pilots retired early, and others were placed on inactive status or are in line for training because the model of planes they flew were retired.
More stimulus sought for airlines
Employee unions and executives at the major US airlines have called for a multi-billion extension of a payroll support program that kept their employees on the job through September. Legislation to do that includes other stimulus and has stalled in Washington.
The airlines have seen a relative surge in bookings this week as distanced families reunite for Thanksgiving dinner and college students are booted from university housing. More than one million people have crossed through TSA checkpoints only four times since the spring -- and three of those days were in the last week.
Travelers are also booking closer to their departure dates, airlines have said, giving the companies less visibility when arranging schedules more than a month in advance.
In a statement, the union said the scheduling issue cannot be attributed to crews calling out sick because of the coronavirus.
"While we have recently seen an uptick in COIVD cases with our pilots over the last few weeks concurrent with the nationwide increases, cancellation numbers would not suggest that COVID issues are the cause in this case," Chris Riggins, a Delta first officer and ALPA spokesman, said in the union statement. "It's also important to note that sick calls are down over last year despite being embroiled in a global pandemic."

PP

[Woody]

Not sure if this helps the situation

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55114365

[PHXPhlyer]

Something I hadn't thought about.
Can't recall company limitations on amounts of dry ice carried per hold, but it wasn't a lot. I'm sure it is different for cargo only flights.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/27/health/f ... index.html

FAA supports first 'mass air shipment' of Covid-19 vaccine
By Gregory Wallace and Susannah Cullinane, CNN

Updated 10:38 PM ET, Fri November 27, 2020

(CNN)The Federal Aviation Administration says it has supported "the first mass air shipment" of a Covid-19 vaccine.

"As a result of the historic pace of vaccine development through Operation Warp Speed and careful logistics planning, the FAA today is supporting the first mass air shipment of a vaccine," the agency said in a statement Friday.
Here's a look at how the different coronavirus vaccines work
Here's a look at how the different coronavirus vaccines work
The FAA said it established a Covid-19 air transport team in October "to ensure safe, expeditious, and efficient transportation of vaccines."
It said that several vaccines needed to be transported with dry ice and it was working with manufacturers, air carriers and airports to provide guidance on regulations to safely transport large quantities of the hazardous substance in air cargo.
Pfizer's Covid vaccine, for example, requires large amounts of dry ice to keep it at approximately negative 75 degrees Celsius.

"In addition to mitigating safety risks related to the safe transport of vaccines, the FAA is ensuring around-the-clock air traffic services to keep air cargo moving and prioritizing flights carrying cargo, such as vaccines, and personnel critical to the nation's response to and recovery from Covid-19," Friday's FAA statement reads.
Advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday called an emergency meeting for Tuesday to vote on who they recommend should be the first to get a coronavirus vaccine once one is authorized.
The CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices wants to have advice out to the public ahead of any decision from the US Food and Drug Administration about emergency authorization of a vaccine, ACIP chair Dr. Jose Romero told CNN.
Pfizer has applied to the FDA for EUA for its vaccine and biotech company Moderna is expected to do so soon.

PP

[G-CPTN]

I believe that ultra-low temperatures can make metals extremely brittle.

[Woody]

FAA regulations

Pack Safe
Dry ice
Share
Print
Carbon dioxide, solid, 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) or less, when used to pack perishables
Quantity limit: 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) per package and per passenger.
Airline approval is required.
Packages must NOT be air tight and must allow the release of carbon dioxide gas.
When in checked baggage, the package must be marked "Dry ice" or "Carbon dioxide, solid" and marked with the net quantity of dry ice, or an indication that it is 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) or less.
See the regulation: 49 CFR 175.10(a)(10)
Tip: Additional non-hazardous ice packs (blue ice, gel packs, etc.) can be used to supplement the dry ice. However, for carry-on baggage, if the product contains any liquid or gel in excess of 100 ml (3.4 oz) per container, the TSA security rules require that the product be in the frozen state (i.e., solid) when the passenger goes through security screening.

[G-CPTN]

FAA regulations

However, for carry-on baggage, if the product contains any liquid or gel in excess of 100 ml (3.4 oz) per container, TSA security rules require that the product be in the frozen state (i.e., solid) when the passenger goes through security screening.

Does that apply to other liquids?
ie could you circumvent the 100 ml rule by have the liquids frozen?

[Woody]

Just been sent this link

https://pilotstogether.org/raffle/?fbcl ... X2WNDnsniQ

[barkingmad]

Thanks for that Woody, tickets for Flying Jock Draw just purchased.

Good luck to all awaiting the return of sanity!

Edited to add: SqueezyJet just announced carry-on baggage now restricted to underseat space, anything else gotta be paid for.

Ostensibly introduced to speed up boarding (it won't!) but should be a good money-spinner in these dire times.

'Twill be interesting to see if M O'L follows suit or stays with standard Ryr rules to draw business away from Squeezy?

[Rwy in Sight]

BM, surprising enough instead of making travel easier they put more restrictions and costs.

[PHXPhlyer]

Covidiots

Couple who tested positive for Covid is arrested after boarding flight
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/co ... t-n1249753

Couple who tested positive for Covid is arrested after boarding flight
"They knowingly boarded a flight aware of their positive Covid-19 test results, placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death," a Kaua'i police spokeswoman said.

Dec. 2, 2020, 3:05 PM MST
By Janelle Griffith
A couple in Hawaii is facing reckless endangerment charges after boarding a flight with their 4-year-old despite having tested positive for Covid-19, police said.

The couple, Wesley Moribe and Courtney Peterson, knew they had tested positive when they boarded a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Lihue, Kaua'i police spokeswoman Coco Zickos said Wednesday. They had been instructed by San Francisco International Airport officials to isolate and not travel, Zickos said.

When Moribe and Peterson arrived at Lihue Airport, they were escorted by police to a designated isolation room for further processing and investigation.

Moribe, 41, and Peterson, 46, who are residents of Wailua, were arrested on second-degree reckless endangerment charges. A family member took their child home and Child Protective Services was notified, Zickos said.

"They knowingly boarded a flight aware of their positive Covid-19 test results, placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death," Zickos said.

A spokesman for the Hawaii Covid-19 Joint Information Center said Wednesday that the state's department of health is alerted when someone tests positive and that the couple was aware of their diagnosis before boarding the flight in San Francisco.

"Rather than quarantining and contacting their health provider, they went on the plane," the spokesman said.

There have been 17,968 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Hawaii as of Nov. 29, with 244 deaths, according to state health data.

The couple posted bail, which was set at $1,000. They did not immediately return requests for comment.

Passengers who test positive for coronavirus are not permitted to fly.

"Following CDC guidelines, you will not be able to travel on United for at least 10 days after the date you tested positive and only after you have two successive negative COVID-19 results that were administered at least 24 hours apart," according to the airline's website.

United did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.

PP

[Woody]

https://www.facebook.com/airlinerslive

[Wodrick]

Thanks for that *Woody*

[G-CPTN]

Ruby Tuesday?

I recall a young girl (a talented artist) who had the ambition of becoming a pilot and featured on TOP.
I wonder if there is any connection?

[G-CPTN]

Ryanair orders 75 more 737 Max aircraft.

to add to the 135 already on order.

[PHXPhlyer]

The reference to the aircraft as 737-8200 means it is a 737 Max-8 with 2 added exits aft of wing to allow maximum of 200 pax.
Same airframe, just extra exits to meet evacuation requirements for certification.

PP