United customers arriving in London today on flight UA14 from Newark Airport were the first to experience the free transatlantic Covid-19 testing pilot programme from the carrier.

The airline hopes to share customer feedback on the pilot programme with governments on both sides of the Atlantic to further demonstrate the effectiveness of testing schemes.

United Airlines has announced plans to expand its global route network with new non-stop service to Africa, India and Hawaii.

United Airlines has begun cleaning pilot flight decks with ‘Ultraviolet C’ lighting technology on most aircraft at its hub airports to guard against Covid-19.

United Airlines has confirmed the last three months have been the most difficult financial quarter in its 94-year history. The carrier reported a net loss of $1.6 billion, and an adjusted net loss of $2.6 billion, for the three months to the end of June.

United Airlines could be forced to furlough as many as 36,000 employees in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier added it expects capacity for this month to be down 75 per cent compared to July last year.