News from FlightGlobal – Page 490
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NewsUnited grounds half its total capacity in response to coronavirus
United Airlines will reduce capacity by half in April and May and has cut executive officers’ salaries 50% in response to a pandemic United’s executives say makes operating an airline “nearly impossible”.
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NewsPAL urges US DOT to expedite Manila-Seattle launch
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has urged the US Department of Transport (DOT) to expedite its application to launch a Manila-Seattle service. This comes after United Airlines appealed to the same department to delay PAL’s request, until the US carrier gains commercially viable slots at Manila Ninoy Aquino International airport (NAIA). PAL ...
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NewsAmerican slashes 75% of its international capacity
American Airlines has slashed 75% of its international capacity in response to the drop-off in demand as the global coronavirus crisis continues.
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NewsSAS halts most services over 'non-existent' air market
Scandinavian operator SAS is to suspend most of its operations, after declaring the demand for international air travel to be “essentially non-existent”. It will temporarily reduce its workforce by 90% – some 10,000 personnel – while the crisis situation persists. SAS says the traffic will be restored when “there are ...
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NewsUnited scales back London and Dublin flights as US travel ban widens
United Airlines has nixed some flights to London and Dublin following the US government’s expansion of its travel ban to include passengers arriving from the UK and Ireland. From 20 March until at least the end of April, Chicago-based United intends to operate just three daily flights to London and ...
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NewsAir Baltic to suspend flights until 14 April as Latvia tightens restrictions
Air Baltic is to temporarily suspend flights from 17 March until 14 April following the Latvian government’s decision to suspend international air traffic as part of measures to counter the coronavirus crisis.
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NewsMilan airport operator to focus traffic on Malpensa as it closes Linate
Milan airports operator SEA is to temporarily close its city centre airport Linate from 16 March and shut one terminal at the city’s larger Malpensa airport.
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NewsNorway to temporarily shut its airports
Norway is to temporarily close its airports from 16 March as part of wide-ranging restrictions aimed tackling the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
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NewsAlitalia orders passengers to wear masks on busy flights
Alitalia is to enforce the wearing of protective masks on board flights if load factors mean passengers cannot be adequately spaced. The Italian flag-carrier has imposed the measure with immediate effect, part of the effort to combat the coronavirus outbreak which has affected Italy particularly badly. Alitalia is having to ...
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NewsUS government extends travel restrictions to UK and Ireland
US travel restrictions will be expanded to individuals coming from the UK and Ireland as the coronavirus continues to disrupt the industry in ways that seemed unimaginable just days ago. President Donald Trump advised on 14 March that ”it’s going to happen“ and the measure was subsequently confirmed by vice-president ...
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NewsJet2 suspends services to Spanish market
UK leisure carrier Jet2 has cancelled all services to mainland Spain, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands with immediate effect. Multiple Jet2 aircraft en route to Spanish resorts on 14 March have abandoned their original flightplans and instead turned around to head back to the UK. Spain is an ...
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NewsLOT and Wizz hit hard as Poland shuts air routes to foreigners
Polish flag-carrier LOT is suspending all international flights from both Poland and Hungary after the Polish government imposed border restrictions on foreign travellers. Central European budget carrier Wizz Air is also being hit hard by the measure, suspending Polish services accounting for some 20% of its capacity. The government says ...
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NewsANZ reviews schedules as government clamps down on travel
Air New Zealand is reviewing the impact of new measures from the country’s government intended to combat the spread of coronavirus. Under the directive every person entering New Zealand, excluding Pacific territories, will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days, a restriction which will be reviewed in 16 days’ time. ...
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NewsDelta to ground 300 aircraft and cut all flights to mainland Europe
Delta Air Lines has told employees that it is grounding 300 aircraft, representing 30% of its total aircraft fleet, and cutting all flights to mainland Europe as the coronavirus cripples travel and grips the world.
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NewsEASA to recommend spacing passengers to cut contagion risk
European regulators are preparing to advise airlines to space passengers throughout the cabin on flights which are not full, having formally directed carriers to ensure aircraft are fully disinfected after each flight from high-risk coronavirus areas. Operators should also equip aircraft with at least one universal precaution kit – used ...
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NewsPremium operator La Compagnie forced to halt all flights for weeks
Premium long-haul operator La Compagnie is suspending all its scheduled flights for nearly a month, following the transatlantic travel ban imposed by the US government. La Compagnie says it will halt all services from 18 March and maintain the suspension until 12 April. The airline operates twice-daily between Paris Orly ...
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NewsNorwegian seeks urgent government support
Norwegian is asking the government in Oslo for an immediate bailout as it struggles to cope with the coronavirus outbreak that is decimating travel demand.
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NewsMEPs pledge to treat slot rules suspension with ‘highest priority’
The European Parliament’s transport committee has pledged to treat with the “highest priority” moves to suspend slots rule to ensure airlines do not need to fly aircraft empty during the coronavirus crisis just to retain landing rights.
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NewsCoronavirus prompts American to retire 767s and 757s early
American Airlines has accelerated the retirement of its 767s and 757s. It now plans to ground 767s in May and 757s by the second half of 2021.
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NewsFrankfurt Main passenger numbers down 30%: operator
Frankfurt Main airport’s operator, Fraport, says passenger numbers in the first week of March dropped by 30% in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak. The figure for the German hub had declined by 4% during February, although there was an accelerating negative trend towards the end of the month with ...