Europe is set to waive its flight ban on the Boeing 737 MAX passenger jetliner in January 2021 after US regulators suspended a 20-month grounding triggered by two fatal aircraft crashes.

Global aviation body IATA is developing a set of mobile apps to help passengers to navigate COVID-19 travel restrictions and securely share test and vaccine certificates with airlines and governments, it said on Monday.

Siemens Mobility and Deutsche Bahn have started developing hydrogen-powered fuel cell trains and a filling station which will be trialled in 2024 with view to replace diesel engines on German local rail networks, Reuters reported.

Spain’s government announced on Tuesday evening that it had agreed on a 475-million-euro aid package for the struggling airline Air Europa, dpa reported. Some €240m would be made available as a participating loan and the rest as a regular loan with a six-year term, finance minister Maria Jesus Montero said.

Nearly 200 airports across Europe are on the brink of an insolvency abyss following the slump in air travel, the airports' trade body has warned. A report by Airports Council International (ACI) Europe has estimated that no less than 193 airports on the continent “face insolvency in the coming months if passenger traffic does not start to recover by the year-end”.

Airbus announced plans for the world's first zero-emission commercial aircraft models that run on hydrogen and could take to the skies by 2035, news wires reported. The European aersospace company revealed three different aircraft concepts that would be put through their paces to find the most efficient way to travel long distances by plane without producing the greenhouse gas emissions.

A German court is to hear arguments from both sides on Tuesday regarding a planned road and rail tunnel to be built between Germany and Denmark under the Baltic Sea, dpa reported.

Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss the future of Germany's key automotive sector with industry representatives on Tuesday, at a time of crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The video conference is scheduled to take place from 7-9 pm (1700-1900 GMT), dpa reported.

Ryanair has raised €400 million in a share sale announced after stock markets closed on Thursday. The company said the same was designed to strengthen its balance sheet amid the Covid-19 crisis, and take advantage of “significant growth opportunities” as rivals run into trouble.

United Airlines on Wednesday said it is planning to cut more than 16,000 jobs as early as next month, after federal coronavirus aid that protects aviation jobs runs out.