News from FlightGlobal – Page 491
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NewsSlovakian international airports shut down to counter outbreak
Bratislava and two other Slovakian international airports – Kosice and Poprad – have closed to all operations at least for two weeks, in response to the coronavirus situation. The capital airport is served by several carriers including Ryanair, Wizz Air, Pobeda, and Flydubai. Bratislava’s operating company says the closure took ...
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NewsAir France-KLM draws down €1.1bn credit facility
Air France-KLM has withdrawn the full €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) available from its revolving credit facility as it looks to shore up cash reserves in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. The funds are renewable at the group’s request for one-, three- or six-month periods until 6 November 2022, giving ...
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NewsNorwegian seeks to funnel US passengers through London
Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian is attempting to adapt to the transatlantic travel ban by routing customers through its UK base at London Gatwick. But it is unclear how effective this strategy will be given the extent of the US government’s restrictions. Norwegian says its aim is to re-route “as many ...
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NewsIndustrial dispute notice heaps pressure on El Al
Israeli flag-carrier El Al is facing industrial action from its personnel towards the end of this month, heaping pressure on the airline as it battles to deal with the coronavirus impact. The airline says it received, on 12 March, formal notification of a labour dispute and possible strike from 27 ...
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NewsFragile Fastjet aims for Zimbabwe carrier sale in April
African operator Fastjet Group expects to meet all preconditions, by the end of March, for divesting its Zimbabwean division and complete the transaction in April. It says participants of an investor consortium led by Solenta Aviation Holdings remain “committed” to the acquisition of Fastjet Zimbabwe under previously-agreed terms. Fastjet Group ...
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NewsAmerican cuts international capacity by 34%
American Airlines has further slashed international capacity following increased US travel restrictions for foreign nationals, as the US government attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus within the country.
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NewsVirgin Australia cuts flights and suspends earnings guidance
Virgin Australia, which describes itself as a “[predominantly] domestic airline”, has made further cuts to its international network. It now expects to reduce international capacity by 8% instead of 4.8% in the second half of 2020, and 10.3% in the first half of 2021. Over the same period, group capacity ...
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NewsOperators ground A380s in wake of coronavirus traffic slump
Several airlines remove all or part of fleet as part of capacity cuts
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NewsLATAM slashes international flights by 30%
LATAM Airlines Group is cutting its international flights by 30% for the months of April and May, as countries close borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. As a result of lower demand and government restrictions resulting from the pandemic, the airline group is reducing flights from South ...
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NewsUS airlines cap fares from Europe
As the coronavirus crisis rapidly disrupts airline operations worldwide, major US carriers are taking measures to prevent price gouging for passengers desperate to return to the United States before travel restrictions between Europe and the US take effect on Friday.
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NewsCanada’s Transat evaluates its options as it weathers coronavirus
Canada’s Transat AT, the parent company of leisure carrier Air Transat says it is evaluating all options as it grapples with the effects of the coronavirus on its business.
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NewsIATA spells out financial danger for airline industry of travel bans
IATA has warned governments must be ready to provide support to counter the impact of travel bans implemented to counter the coronavirus outbreak, warning measures such as the ban imposed by the USA were not included in its recent worse-case scenario for the financial hit to the industry.
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NewsEl Al bracing for heavy impact from Israeli coronavirus policies
Israeli flag-carrier El Al is unable to estimate the impact of new government requirements that people returning to Israel from anywhere in the world must enter 14-day quarantine. The requirement will have a “material adverse effect” on El Al’s operations, the airline says. “But at this stage [we are] unable ...
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NewsNorwegian to cut 4,000 flights and 50% of staff
Norwegian is grounding 40% of its long-haul fleet and cancelling some 25% of its short-haul services in response to the coronavirus outbreak and the US ban on European travellers.
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NewsAzul sees drop in international demand, but domestic flights less impacted
Brazilian carrier Azul has cut its international flight network as a result of lower demand due to the global coronavirus crisis, and is closely monitoring its liquidity and expenditures as the crisis drags on.
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NewsCoronavirus brings Virgin Atlantic A340 era to sudden halt
Airline grounds final three aircraft suddenly amid traffic slump
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NewsRome airports operator to close Ciampino to scheduled flights during crisis
Italian airports operator Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) is to temporarily close the scheduled passenger terminal at Rome Ciampino airport from midnight on 13 March and one of the terminals at the city’s primary Fiumicino gateway.
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NewsEU leaders condemn Trump’s transatlantic travel ban
European Union leaders have condemned the US government’s sudden 30-day transatlantic travel ban, set to be introduced on 13 March. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says the coronavirus crisis is “not limited to any continent” and combating the threat “requires co-operation” rather than one-sided action. “The ...
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NewsRushed taxi led BA A319 to depart with wrong take-off data
Pilots of a British Airways Airbus A319 believe a rushed departure from an unintended London Heathrow intersection contributed to a failure to update take-off calculations. The aircraft (G-EUOG) took off from runway 27L’s intersection N4E on 2 October last year, despite the pilots’ having calculated performance for an N2W intersection ...
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NewsA220 crew missed low-thrust indications during laboured take-off
Investigators probing a Swiss Airbus A220 low-thrust incident during departure at Porto found that the pilots only belatedly realised that the autothrottle had not engaged before the take-off roll. Swiss investigation authority SUST found the A220-300, bound for Geneva, had conducted a de-rated rolling take-off from intersection C of runway ...