Aviation Daily Roundup: March 6

Lufthansa Group decided Mar. 6 to cut capacity by up to 50% and is considering grounding its fleet of 14 Airbus A380s.

The UK will withdraw as a member state of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency after a transition period and shift responsibility for aircraft certification and safety regulation to its own Civil Aviation Authority, British Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said.

Italian authorities have given a new deadline for interested parties to submit bids for Alitalia, in the latest attempt to map out a future for the airline, almost three years after it filed for bankruptcy.

The Shetland Islands airfield of Scatsta is to close following the renewal of a major North Sea offshore oil and gas support contract.

JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes touted the company’s recent signing of a credit facility priced according to environmental targets, calling it “the first of its type in our industry.”

Although LATAM Airlines Group has yet to see demand dwindle in its South American domestic markets from the COVID-19 crisis, the company has cut service from its hub at Sao Paulo Guarulhos International airport to Milan through Apr. 16.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications has put aside NT$4.2 billion ($140 million) to help its aviation industry should the COVID-19 outbreak gets worse, according to the Taipei Times.