LONDON - Britain's government will give financial aid to airports before the end of March, after the industry called for urgent support as tighter COVID-19 rules for international travellers start on Monday. Aviation minister Robert Courts said the government would launch a new support program this month.

LONDON - Once among the most vibrant airports in the world, London Heathrow will not make it into the top 10 of global aviation hubs in 2020. Corona fallouts on traffic keep denting recovery expectations. Heathrow Airport already curbed its 2021 passenger forecast by more than 40 percent to just over 37m travellers.

LONDON - London Stansted Airport has launched a new Covid-19 testing facility, as part of a move by its parent company, Manchester Airports Group (MAG). The announcement means the full range of tests – RT-PCR, RT-LAMP, Rapid Antigen and Antibody - will be available to all passengers inside the main terminal building.

MADRID - Spain and Britain reached a preliminary agreement to keep the Gibraltar border open, just hours before full Brexit. As part of the agreement, Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory located on Spain's southern tip, will remain part of European Union agreements such as the Schengen Area.

PARIS - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday new rules on airport slots for summer 2021, allowing airlines to keep those slots if they use 40% of them instead of the normal 80% as the travel industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

LONDON - Next-generation, zero-emission planes could be operating out of London Stansted "within the next 10 tp 15 years", according to management. The airport started a competition for the first airline to operate a zero-emission flight awarding five years free landing fees worth 1.3 million pounds.

PARIS - Low-cost carrier Wizz Air is seeking a bigger foothold at London Gatwick, but its ambitions may be hampered if regulators extend a freeze on airport slots in response to the coronavirus crisis, Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi said. Industry body IATA warned of airline networks to "crumble", if current exemptions expire.

LONDON - The boss of Britain's Gatwick Airport said the introduction of shorter quarantine times from mid-December was boosting travel, and that the combination of testing and a COVID-19 vaccine means he is optimistic holidays can restart next year with a "strong performance" of airline demand.

PARIS - Global aviation heavyweights led by airline body IATA are pushing to suspend airport slot access rules until October 2021, they said on Thursday, but will give some ground to budget carriers angered by measures they deem anti-competitive - Ryanair and Wizz Air rejected the proposal right away.

MANCHESTER - IAG is moving Aer Lingus transatlantic flights from Shannon to Manchester amid Irish Covid-19 non-essential travel restrictions. The airline secured 1,500 slots at Manchester airport for the summer 2021 season and is expected to base three Airbus A321LR and one A330 for flights to the United States there.

LONDON - Workers at Heathrow Airport are set to take strike action in a dispute over "plans to fire and rehire 4,000 workers on vastly reduced pay". The action by members of Unite will involve firefighters, engineers, campus security, baggage operations, operational and airside workers and will "effectively close the airport".

BERLIN - Berlin's venerable Tegel airport hosted its final flight on Sunday, a Paris-bound Air France plane that left to cheers and a fountain salute from the terminal's fire engines.

LONDON - Britain's airports and airlines need urgent support to survive the "very bleak future" posed by a new lockdown in England, warned the boss of one of the country's biggest airport groups. According to Charlie Cornish, the UK government "neglected UK aviation" and its employees so far.

LONDON - United Airlines said on Thursday it will offer free rapid Covid-19 tests to customers on select transatlantic flights, as part of a four-week pilot program aimed at eventually relaxing quarantines that have crippled air travel. The scheme will start Nov. 16 and continue through December.

BRUSSELS - Nearly 200 airports in Europe will face insolvency in the coming months if passenger traffic does not start recovering by the end of the year, airports body ACI Europe said. An estimated 193 European hubs are considered "at-risk airports", ACI said. Larger airports also burn through cash reserves and credits.

LONDON - Wizz Air is looking to take over idle slots at London Gatwick airport from competitors. The UK branch of the Hungarian airline asks the government to reconsider a suspension of the "use it or lose it" principle - and allow growth. The move could see Wizz Air UK operate one in five Gatwick slots.

DUBAI - Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international travel before the coronavirus crisis, could see passenger traffic fall by as much 70% this year. A wave of new infections ahead of the typically busy Christmas and year-end travel season has brought further uncertainty to an industry already decimated by the pandemic.

PARIS  - Aeroports de Paris, operator of the French capital's main airports, cut its full-year passenger traffic outlook on Friday as a second wave of Covid-19 infections gathers pace. The airport group will be increasing testing capacities at its airports but will not provide any guidance on future passenger target.

LISBON - British airline Easyjet confirmend plans to open a new base in Faro, the main city in Portugal's popular Algarve tourist region, which has been hammered by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline hopes 2021 will be its "first year of recovery" from a steep 2020 loss.

LONDON - Rapid outbound Covid-19 testing for passengers has been launched at London's Heathrow Airport, designed to return results in an hour, in an effort to re-open restricted routes and boost traffic for beleaguered airlines. Inbound testing is pending government approval.