Coronavirus

Hit by anti-government protests in June 2019 and COVID-19 disruptions, the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA) saw net profits for Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) fall to HK$5.8 billion ($756 million), a 30% year-on-year decline for fiscal 2019, which ended March 31.

Six unions representing a large cross-section of the U.S. airline industry have urged federal lawmakers to extend CARES Act payroll support until March 31, 2021, warning mass layoffs will be “inevitable” unless additional funds are forthcoming.

SALZBURG, Austria­—Ryanair Group subsidiary Laudamotion has lost €300 million ($339 million) in the two years since its March 2018 launch, the group’s CEO Michael O’Leary said.

Aviation has been in emergency mode ever since the novel coronavirus began spreading globally in late 2019. All attention has been on rescuing

Ask the Editors: Boeing’s narrowbody share has dipped due to the MAX grounding; some advanced technologies could help it move the needle.

Mexico’s government has not yet heeded calls from the country’s airlines that they need financial support to weather the COVID-19 crisis, and its only full-service carrier Aeromexico has had to formally state it will not seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

EMIRATES has removed economy class seats on 10 777-300ERs to carry up to 17 tonnes or 132 cu meters of additional cargo per flight on top of the 40-50

EASYJET completed sale/leaseback of six A320neos with SMBC Aviation Capital.

KLM secured €3.4b financing package from Dutch state/banks to weather COVID-19 crisis.

The selection of Bain Capital as the successful bidder for Virgin Australia means the airline will survive in a smaller form and will broadly follow the strategic blueprint developed by the current management team.

Dutch carrier KLM has secured a total of €3.4 billion ($3.8 billion) in government support through a state-guaranteed loan and a direct loan to help it withstand the COVID-19 crisis, adding to the €7 billion France has granted to sister airline Air France.

A new item has been added to the already lengthy list of challenges facing the UK’s business aviation sector as it struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic: effective communication with government.

AIR FRANCE plans June 26 to make final flight of its A380 fleet, undergoing early retirement due to COVID-19 crisis.

AZUL reached collective labor agreements with its pilot and flight attendant unions to support post COVID-19 cost structure.

LUFTHANSA received shareholder approval for EU-approved €9b stabilization package whereby WSF will contribute up to €5.7b for 20% stake in company and

With so much going on within the aviation sector we want to know your views on the key topics and stories.

The European, Japanese and U.S. space agencies have pooled Earth observation data collected from satellites during the global coronavirus pandemic to create an interactive website with analytical tools for scientific, economic and general public use.

Canadian airline WestJet will lay off 3,333 employees permanently across several departments, part of a series of organizational changes intended to streamline operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

AVTECH SWEDEN extended its NowCast Descent service agreement with Southwest through June 2021; pricing model was changed from a fixed price to a per

AAPA estimates year-over-year member airline traffic dropped 97.3% to 3.1b RPKs in May on 92.5% lower capacity; PLF was 28.4%

SWISSPORT INTERNATIONAL plans to cut 4,000 jobs in the UK/Ireland due to depressed demand for air travel from COVID-19; revenues have dropped 75%.

SWISSPORT BELGIUM (Swissport International) filed for bankruptcy alongside Swissport Belgium Cleaning; it provides ground services at Brussels airport

JETSTAR ASIA, Singapore is reducing its workforce by 26% and removing five of its 18 A320s from fleet due to COVID-19.

QANTAS GROUP is cutting workforce by 6,000 employees (20% of total), grounding >100 aircraft for up to 12 months (some longer), retiring its six

Asia-Pacific LCCs face major hurdles as they struggle to survive the network shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 crisis, but their business models also give them some factors in their favor as they plan for recovery.