The main trade group for major U.S. Airlines praised the proposal earlier this year, too, with Nicholas Calio, the president of Airlines for America, saying, “The proposed rule will go a long.

Could preflight COVID-19 testing allow the struggling airline industry to take off again before a vaccine becomes widely available?Some airlines are attempting to find out.On Monday, United Airlines launched its free rapid-testing pilot program for trans-Atlantic flights, with all passengers over the age of two plus every crew member receiving rapid tests for the coronavirus at Newark Liberty International Airport for the flight to London Heathrow. A day later, American Airlines and British Airways announced a coronavirus testing trial on select flights from the US and Heathrow. Customers will take three tests – before the flight, upon landing and again three days later at their destination.The airlines say that the purpose of these trials is to demonstrate that testing can open the skies and eliminate the need for quarantining passengers upon arrival.“The airlines are doing everything they can to get their customers back,” Prof. Genevieve Giuliano, a transportation expert at the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy, told The Media Line. “By doing preflight testing, they are trying to assure passengers that they will be safe, even with middle seats filled.” Last month, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates and the second largest airline in the UAE after Dubai-based Emirates, launched its own COVID-19 testing regime for all passengers.From October 1 until December 31, Etihad is offering a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test with the price of an outgoing ticket from Abu Dhabi International Airport except for China-bound flights. Passengers can get the test done between 48 and 96 hours before departure at collection facilities in the country. The UK on November 12 reopened its air corridor to the UAE with the option of taking a PCR test 96 hours before boarding or upon arrival in the Gulf state. Passengers do not need to self-isolate for two weeks under the new rules.Bahrain and Qatar were the other Middle Eastern countries added to the UK government’s travel corridor after they met the criteria for infection rates.“These are all steps in the right direction, but while the world waits for the game-changing vaccine, we need to abandon barriers to travel, such as ineffective and costly quarantines, and replace them with rapid, cost-effective testing on departure at airports around the world,” Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, told The Media Line.“The longer we wait,” she stated, “the more the struggling travel and tourism sector faces collapse.” According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), weak passenger demand continued in September, with total year-on-year demand down 72.8% compared to September 2019. International passenger demand plunged by 88.8%, and domestic demand was down 43.3% compared to September 2019.The Middle East, with 9.1% of world share in air travel, was the hardest hit market in September, according to the IATA report, plummeting 88.9% in total demand compared to a year ago. The region’s airlines posted a 90.2% international traffic decline for September.Experts caution that turbulence from the global pandemic will continue despite the gradual implementation of testing schemes before boarding.“Tests at airports are beginning to become available. But they are costly, and the results are often not made available until 24 to 48 hours after the test,” Allen Michel, a professor of finance at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, told The Media Line.“Until passengers are confident that other passengers on a flight are COVID-free, they’ll be reluctant to fly,” he said.“Cleaning the planes is not enough,” Michel continued. “The passengers must have confidence that other passengers are COVID-free. We’re a long way from that standard.” James G. Hodge, Jr., director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Arizona State University, told The Media Line that unless rapid testing is done at the airport with the results made available just before boarding, preflight testing is a flawed approach. Even with rapid testing it is problematic.“Even if conducted in real-time, COVID-19 tests are not entirely accurate, rendering unsure results, and even if the passengers aboard the plane are verified COVID-free upon boarding, it does not assure they leave the plane uninfected,” Hodge noted.“Contaminants on the plane itself, if improperly cleaned, or workers servicing the plane prior to take-off who are ill and failing to observe precautions, may infect persons in flight,” he continued. “Risks can be minimized for sure, but not negated completely.”Still, Hodge says that preflight testing can provide reassurance to passengers and help limit regional and global transmission, although testing should be used in addition to other measures that can be more effective in preventing inflight infections, including the extensive use of masks by passengers, the sanitizing of planes, the assurance of functioning air filtration systems and strict adherence to employee safety measures.For more articles go to TheMediaLine.org

The Best Online Casinos To Play On The Flight

We each a unique set of must-haves when travelling. Whether it’s a neck pillow and an eye mask to help you sleep through the entire flight, or a novel to keep you entertained, chances are that whatever you bring is meant to improve your travelling experience.

Even if you aren’t the biggest tech guru, there is a good chance you have at least one device on you while travelling. Whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or computer, just one is enough to guarantee you hours of entertainment.

Loading your phone with apps to keep you occupied is one way to make avoid boredom during a flight. But instead of using all the storage on your device for numerous applications, why not stick to just one source for entertainment: online casinos.

We’ve gathered an extensive list of great online casinos to make it easier for you to find the best, most entertaining casino games to keep you busy all flight long. Below, we discuss the best online casinos and all the fun they have to offer. With entertainment like this, you will start to look forward to those long flights!

Casumo Online Casino

The gurus behind Casumo are understandably proud of the style of their online casino. Instead of the traditional format that many online casinos utilize, every game you play on the site is part of a casino adventure. As they explain on their website, as soon as you register, “your own little casumo is born.”

Once you make your first deposit and begin playing games, you’ll earn winnings and gain experience. The more you play, the more you win and the more experience you get. As you level up within the adventure, you earn a chance to receive bonuses. Essentially, it’s double the fun!

Casumo is home to over 650 casino games and, according to their website, they offer the following:

• 100% secure payments
• Hassle-free, fast withdrawals
• Fast multilingual support
• New promotions every week
• Ample opportunities to level up and collect rewards

Casumo is modern and mobile-friendly, and just for signing up, you will receive a hefty bonus and 200 free spins to get you started. Don’t wait another minute, get the fun started now!

Sloty

Online Casino 1 Hour Free Play United Airlines 777

The first thing you will likely notice when checking out Sloty for the first time is the other-worldly vibe it emanates. It won’t take long for their exciting welcome package to catch your attention.

When you sign up with Sloty, you dive head-first into mesmerizing graphics and games that will keep you entertained for hours. To make the experience even better, Sloty will give you $1500 and 300 free spins as long as you are signing up for the first time.

They also offer several bonuses, including an initial bonus that awards you with a 100% match and 300 free spins.

However, take note that while 30 free spins will instantly be credited to your account as soon as you make a qualifying deposit, you will receive the rest of your free spins at the rate of 30 per day for 9 days on games that have been pre-selected.

Vegas Hero

You don’t have to go to the city of Las Vegas to take part in the fun casinos offer! Right from their home page, you will see that Vegas Hero offers $1000 and 50 free spins when you register to play in their online casino. Their online casino is huge, to say the least, given that they have over 1300 games and are regularly adding more. Among those 1300+ games, just under 600 of them are slots.

Vegas Hero is one of the newest online casinos and its already making waves among frequent online casino visitors. Vegas Hero offers at least 17 live game options, so if you’re searching for the thrill of a live event, Vegas Hero may be your go-to online casino!

Online Casino 1 Hour Free Play United Airlines Mastercard

LeoVegas

If you’re exploring online casinos for the very first time, a site that is extremely user-friendly and easy to use, LeoVegas may be just the one for you. Extra attention has been paid to ensuring LeoVegas is mobile-friendly, so if you are playing on your smartphone, you won’t have any issues.

Online Casino 1 Hour Free Play United Airlines Mileageplus

With hundreds of different games to choose from, you’ll be entertained for hours, with the potential to walk away a big winner. Give it a try today and you may become LeoVegas’ next loyal user.

Spin Fiesta

Spin Fiesta will remind you of exactly what its name insinuates: a party. With vibrant colors, fun graphics and hundreds of games to choose from, it’s nearly impossible to not find a game you will enjoy.

Spin Fiesta has over 300 slot games, including movie-themed games that will give you an instant adrenaline rush. Take advantage of their 100% welcome bonus and get started on this online casino now!

Videoslots

Online Casino 1 Hour Free Play United Airlines Tickets

If you are planning travelling first class because you stand by the fact that luxury is essential, Video Slots online casino is one to consider. Videoslots is one of the largest and most exclusive casinos online, and they offer countless opportunities to play high-class games.

With both desktop and mobile versions, you can enjoy this fancy online casino on your device of choice.

Casino-X

Casino-X is a very famous online casino in Japan. The design of the online casino is very cartoonish. They provide hundreds of the most popular casino games and video slots from all the big game providers. Apart from just a normal casino they also offer Live Casino and Sports betting. More information about Casino-X can be found at https://www.japan-101.com/casino-x/

Pass The Time With Online Casinos

Online Casino 1 Hour Free Play United Airlines Reservations

With so many online casinos to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one to give your time. You really can’t go wrong with any of the online casinos we mentioned above, but if you’re looking to see what else is out there, we suggest taking a closer look at the following popular, entertaining online casinos:

Online Casino 1 Hour Free Play United Airlines Boarding Pass

• Rizk
• Wixstars
• William Hill
• Fika
• Touch Lucky
• Slots Million
• Mr Green
• Casino Room
• Come On