The Week In Travel

Petitions have been made in both the US and Europe for governments to ease restrictions for international travellers. On the 1st of February the European Council adopted a revised recommendation on measures affecting free movement, which will now be based on the individual situation of persons and no longer on their region of origin. Airports Council International (ACI Europe) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged European governments to lift all travel restrictions for those who hold a valid Covid 19 vaccine certificate.

Similarly, Airlines for America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, IATA, and other groups called for an end to mandatory pre-departure testing for international arrivals to the US. In a letter to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients, these groups cited surveys indicating that pre-departure testing is a leading factor in the decision not to travel internationally for many air-passengers. They also pointed to the new European Council recommendation to show that foreign governments were already taking action on the issue.

In other news, the UK government has revealed plans to tighten-up passenger compensation rules for domestic airlines. These will create an alternative compensation model, more in line with the rail and ferry industries, whereby passengers would be able to claim compensation based on the length of the flight delay and linked to cost of travel, rather than having to meet a certain threshold of a three-hour delay.

Amsterdam Schiphol is to receive a €200 bn investment for a fully-automated cargo centre. Cargo City Amsterdam, funded by global service provider dnata, will be capable of processing 850,000 tonnes of cargo annually, and will be equipped with two separate automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), for import and export with twelve stacker cranes.

And finally, a woman unexpectedly went into labour mid-flight while flying from Accra to Washington. The United Airlines flight was roughly six hours into its eleven-hour journey when the woman started having contractions. Luckily for her, a physician and two nurses were on board the flight and, with their assistance, the baby was safely delivered within two hours – enough time for her to get back in her seat and enjoy some more of the in-flight entertainment.