News and notes from around the interweb:
- Flying Blue Promo Awards are bookable in November for travel through April 2021, but no flights between the U.S. or Canada and Europe are included in the offering.
- United Airlines will resume buy on board sales, using contactless payments
- ‘New Fyre Festival’ travel startup UpgradePack has folded amidst controversy.
- China’s new testing regime for U.S. air arrivals
Travelers flying from the U.S. to China will be required to take a nucleic acid and IgM anti-body tests beginning this Friday. The Chinese Embassy made the announcement over the weekend . Those with direct flights will need rapid testing within 48 hours of boarding, the embassy said. People with connections will be required to take both tests a second time in their last-country-of-departure within 48 hours of boarding their final flight to China.
Submission details: Chinese residents must upload pictures of their results to the WeChat Health Code app, while foreigners will have to email the information to the Chinese embassy or a consulate along with copies of their passport information page and a signed health declaration form. “For passengers transiting in the U.S. before flying to China, please note that currently tests are not available in most American airports,” the notice said. “Passengers are recommended to use caution when choosing to transit in the U.S.”
- A China Southern flight attendant is suing over a 6 month suspension at 10% pay he received after his sexual orientation was outed on social media. There’s no anti-LGBTQ discrimination law in China to support the suit, however, so the legal question is simply whether labor rules were broken when the majority state-owned carrier suspended him. China Southern is also part-owned by American Airlines and Qatar Airways. (HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)
- Mexico’s Interjet appears to cancel flights because it can’t pay for fuel
