Source: US DOT   The 24 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 0.7% more full-time equivalents (FTEs) in May 2021 than in April 2021: May’s total number of FTEs (392,984) was up 1,483 from April (391,501) and down 68,613, a 14.9% drop from the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 (461,597). May 2021 was the lowest FTE total for the month of May since 2015 (395,621). The increase from April resulted primarily from Delta Air Lines increase of 2,185 FTEs. Other passenger airlines reported a combined decrease in FTEs from April to May. Regulations require U.S. airlines to report employment numbers for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to take action to address the high cost of COVID-19 tests in many jurisdictions and urged flexibility in permitting the use of cost-effective antigen tests as an alternative to more expensive PCR tests. IATA also recommended governments adopt recent World Health Organization (WHO) guidance to consider exempting vaccinated travelers from testing requirements. According to IATA’s most recent traveler survey, 86% of respondents are willing to get tested. But 70% also believe that the cost of testing is a significant barrier to travel, while 78% believe governments should bear the cost of mandatory testing. “IATA supports COVID-19 testing as a pathway to reopen borders to international travel. But our support [...]

Source: UNWTO The biggest crisis in the history of tourism continues into a second year. Between January and May, international tourist arrivals were 85% below 2019 levels (or a 65% drop on 2020), UNWTO data shows. Despite a small uptick in May, the emergence of COVID-19 variants and the continued imposition of restrictions are weighing on the recovery of international travel. Meanwhile, domestic tourism continues to rebound in many parts of the world. The latest UNWTO data shows that over the first five months of the year, world destinations recorded 147 million fewer international arrivals (overnight visitors) compared to the same period of 2020, or 460 million less than pre-pandemic year of 2019. However, the data does point to a [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomes today’s decision by the government of Canada to further ease border restrictions for fully vaccinated* passengers. Eligible US citizens and permanent US residents arriving from the US will be permitted to enter Canada as of 9 August and foreign nationals arriving from all other countries will be allowed as of 7 September. Fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and residents have been able to enter Canada without the need for hotel quarantine since 5 July 2021. “Today’s decision by the government of Canada to gradually allow fully vaccinated foreigners travelers to enter the country is good news on various fronts. First and foremost, it restores the freedom of travel, which will be especially [...]

Source: Chair of the House Committee on Transportation The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) during today’s hearing titled, “Bridging the Gap: Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the U.S. Aviation Workforce.” Videos of DeFazio and Larsen’s opening statements are here and here. More information on the hearing can be found here. Chair DeFazio: Thank you, Chair Larsen, for calling today’s hearing on the need to improve the diversity of the aviation industry’s workforce. Unfortunately, we’re still a long way from attaining true equality for all in this country. And while the federal government and many [...]

Source: US FAA The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened a safety field office in Houston to increase its oversight of commercial space operations in Texas and New Mexico. From this location, FAA inspectors will be able to more effectively and efficiently monitor the ongoing testing programs and commercial space tourism operations of SpaceX and Blue Origin in Texas and Virgin Galactic in New Mexico, along with others in the region. “Keeping the public safe as the pace of commercial space operations increases requires the FAA to adapt, be agile, and remain vigilant,” said Wayne Monteith, the FAA’s associate administrator of commercial space transportation. “The Houston field office will help us achieve these important goals.” This is [...]