Virgin Australia is making major cuts to its domestic capacity as the latest COVID-19 wave causes operational disruption and weakens passenger traffic.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said with the omicron variant now so widely established, it made no sense to continue to enforce the stricter—and much more expensive—PCR tests to detect it.
Cathay Pacific has dramatically cut back its planned capacity in response to the latest crew quarantine requirements and flight restrictions imposed by the Hong Kong government.
Hong Kong continues to take stiff measures to control the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, temporarily banning passenger flights from eight countries.
New travel restrictions introduced by the Indian state of West Bengal will dramatically cut airline capacity on one of the busiest domestic routes in the country.
By Ben Goldstein, Helen Massy-Beresford, Adrian Schofield
The global airline industry’s long drawn-out recovery from the COVID-19 crisis is now being hindered by the omicron coronavirus variant but how much of an impact it will have during the first quarter remains unclear.
Cathay Pacific said it will fly a “skeleton passenger flight schedule” in January and has cancelled all cargo flights through at least Jan. 6 due to new regulations in Hong Kong.
Chinese authorities' efforts to maintain the country's zero-COVID policy during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has been complicated after omicron cases were detected in two cities on Dec. 14.
Air France-KLM Group has paid back €500 million ($566 million) of the €4 billion loan guarantees provided by the French government during the COVID-19 crisis and said discussions on further capital strengthening measures are taking place at the group level.
The air cargo industry is justifiably proud of what it has achieved since those first COVID-19 vaccines took to the skies last December, but operators know the challenge is far from over and the vaccine effort will continue in 2022 against the backdrop of many broader challenges for the industry.
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has announced that the suspension of most flights will be extended until midnight on Jan. 31, 2022.
Airline executives attending the World Aviation Festival in London say officials of smaller companies are returning to the air quicker than those of larger corporations, which remain bound by travel restrictions.
Short-term blanket travel bans imposed on certain countries are not good news for an aviation industry that is still in recovery mode and had dared to hope that governments would adopt a more data-driven approach in response to emerging variants.
Despite the uncertainties caused by the emergence of omicron, easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said there remains a unique opportunity for easyJet to win customers and take market share from rivals over the winter.
Passenger numbers in the U.S. reached their highest levels since Spring 2020, but new concerns about the omicron coronavirus variant could threaten momentum during the winter travel season.
By Adrian Schofield, Chen Chuanren, Helen Massy-Beresford
The recovery of air travel is under threat as countries look to insulate themselves from the new omicron coronavirus strain by re-imposing travel restrictions.
Despite near-term challenges such as the emerging Omicron coronavirus variant, the fundamentals for LCC success in the Asia-Pacific region remain strong.
The LCC is expecting to become an all-neo operator by 2027 once more new-generation aircraft are delivered by Airbus and its older A330s and A320ceos can be retired.
Aegean said the easing of travel restrictions and introduction of the EU Digital COVID Certificate meant the three-month period ending Sept. 30 was better for the airline.