Much of the technology needed to make airports safe environments in the post-COVID-19 era already exists; the challenge will be to introduce it in weeks or months, rather than the more normal timespan of years, SITA VP for airline and airport, Sébastien Fabre said June 10.
With COVID-19 travel restrictions easing in parts of the world, airlines are gradually rebuilding their networks. Routes analyzes some of the services returning as well as new routes being launched. This week: airBaltic’s new route to Dublin; Air New Zealand resuming flights to Tokyo; and Luxair re-entering a market it last served in 2007.
Thirteen more routes have been added to Wizz Air’s summer schedule, taking the total number of new services being launched by the Central and Eastern Europe ULCC close to the 150 mark.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will allow carriers up to seven weekly passenger and cargo flights under the new seventh freedom of the air trial on Hainan Island, a move to spur the growth of air travel and air cargo under the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) initiative.
Ryanair subsidiary Laudamotion will reopen its Vienna operations July 1 after over 90% of its pilots and some 66% of its cabin crew working out of the base voted to accept its new collective labor agreement (CLA).
Russia’s S7 Airlines has unveiled bullish plans to resume fights across its entire domestic network in June, as well as launching five new routes in the coming weeks.
Austrian Airlines has reached a deal with the Austrian Government and parent Lufthansa for a €600 million ($677 million) coronavirus rescue package that comes with strict ecological requirements attached.
As Rwanda’s borders remain closed to passenger flights in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, RwandAir has announced it will extend the temporary suspension of passenger flights until the restrictions are lifted.
The United Nations’ World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have chosen Accra Airport in Ghana, as well as Liège Airport in Belgium, as a logistics hub for moving medical supplies across the world in the fight against COVID-19.
COVID-19 has thrown aviation into survival mode overnight but the industry should use this crisis to learn from the past and find ways to improve in the future, according to IATA regional vice president for the Americas Peter Cerdá.
London City Airport will reopen for passenger services toward the end of June. Like most airports, it will initially face a reduced level of service, but this will be compounded without the presence of two airlines that played a significant role prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
After more than two months without a commercial flight, Lyon Saint Exupery airport has reopened to passenger traffic, accompanying the gradual resumption of air travel activity in France.
Ground handler Swissport Belgium is filing for bankruptcy after parent Swissport International refused to inject further funds into the struggling unit.
The number of daily flights in Europe rose above 6,000 on June 2 and stayed at that level for four days, showing a post-lockdown recovery in air traffic getting underway, Eurocontrol said.
Delta Air Lines will suspend flights to 11 US markets from next month as it shrinks its route network to match demand. Separately, the carrier has also formally applied for the US Transportation Department to authorize its codeshare deal with LATAM Airlines Group.
Chinese carriers have transported more than 1 million passengers in a day for the first time since late January as the country’s market continues to recover from the coronavirus crisis.
Ryanair, British Airways and easyJet have written to the UK government to condemn its decision to introduce a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals to the UK as part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis.
