According to ICRA estimates, considering the operating expenses of the Indian aviation industry in FY2019 and that 35-42 per cent of their expenses are fixed in nature, it is estimated that the industry will report a net loss of Rs 75-90 crore per day of shutdown of operations. While some airlines have sufficient liquidity and/or financial support from a strong parentage, which will help them tide over this disruption, some airlines, who are already in financial stress, will face serious troubles.

According to the latest data provided by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Feb 2020 were 251.50 lakh as against 238.56 lakh during the corresponding period of previous year, thereby registering annual growth of 5.42 per cent and monthly growth of 8.98 per cent. The passenger load factor in the month of February 2020 also saw an increasing trend primarily due to airlines offering promotional fares resulting in increased demand.

According to a recent survey conducted by Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) among its members worldwide, including corporate travel managers and travel suppliers, 75 per cent of the respondents said that their companies were frequently hosting virtual meetings as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. With advances in technology, online meetings have now become the alternative to face-to-face meetings, most of which now stand either cancelled or suspended. This may well be a trend in the near future.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that banks are permitted to allow a three-month moratorium on payment of instalments of all term loans outstanding on March 1, 2020. This decision applies to all regional, rural and co-operative banks as well as NBFCs, including housing finance companies. The moratorium will not result in asset classification downgrade and will have no adverse impact on credit history of beneficiaries. Travel trade bodies and associations have been demanding a moratorium on EMIs and bank payments for a period of one year along with a complete tax holiday.

The branded segment is expected to witness a revenue loss of US$ 3.55 billion to US$ 4.1 billion in 2020 and the second quarter of the year will be the worst hit, says Mandeep S Lamba, President – South Asia, HVS ANAROCK. “The overall revenue of the Indian hotel sector, including both organised and unorganised segments, is set to decline by anywhere between US$ 8.85 billion to US$ 10 billion, reflecting an erosion of 39-45 per cent compared to the previous year. Hotels will be unable to drive rates and may even seek to attract business at deep discounts,” he adds. With new confirmed cases being reported daily, the penetration of the COVID-19 virus in India has caused mass hysteria, the reverberations of which are expected to continue well into the second quarter of the calendar year 2020.

As flight bans multiply around the world, Qatar Airways has pledged to ‘clear the backlog’ of people wanting to get home from Asia, Africa and Australasia. Many countries have imposed flight bans that are closing down options almost by the hour. But Qatar has yet to close its airport, Doha, to flights. Having downsized operation a bit about a week ago, it is now upscaling by adding additional flights to some destinations and putting on bigger aircraft – for example its A380s are back in the sky now.

For those who miss travelling and want to get their dose of art and culture can rejoice. They can sign up for 22 amazing online tours and webcams for royal residences, museums and galleries, national parks and more in the UK. The highlight is The National Gallery, in collaboration with Google Street View, which has an online tour of its fascinating paintings across seven of its rooms and its central hall. Others are The Beatles Abbey Road 360, Victoria & Albert Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts’ online drawing class.

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered another mass bleaching event – the third in just five years. Warmer sea temperatures – particularly in February – are feared to have caused huge coral loss across the world’s largest reef system. Scientists say they have detected widespread bleaching, including extensive patches of severe damage. But they have also found healthy pockets. Two-thirds of the reef was damaged by similar events in 2016 and 2017.

The Delhi government has announced a Rs100-crore scheme to introduce the national capital as a tourism brand to domestic and foreign tourists and create news jobs in the sector. Presenting the Budget in the Delhi Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Delhi has the resources to become the country’s tourism capital. “But due to lack of branding and information, most tourists take Delhi as a transit point, because of which tourists coming to Delhi spend (only) a day on an average here. Whereas, in cities like London, Singapore and Tokyo, a tourist spends three days on an average,” he said. A tourist visiting Delhi should spend at least two days on an average. Only a difference of a day will create millions of new jobs and opportunities for economic growth, Sisodia said. Under the new scheme “Branding Delhi”, Delhi tourism will be re-branded and the city will be introduced as a tourism brand in the country and abroad to domestic and foreign tourists, he said. The AAP government also proposed “Campaign for Communal Harmony” in the wake of the recent violence in northeast Delhi that left 53 dead and over 200 injured. “The government is working towards making the national capital”s dynamic structure an important part of Delhi”s tourism. Last year, we celebrated Diwali in an environment-friendly manner without bursting firecrackers and organised a laser show with cultural activities. It was widely appreciated,” he said. ‘Delhi Ki Diwali’ will be celebrated this year too. Also, a new festival called “Purvanchal Utsav” is proposed to be celebrated, the deputy chief minister said. Source: PTI

On 25th March 2020, a Lufthansa A380 aircraft departed at 12:45 pm CET as repatriation flight LH9912 from Frankfurt to Delhi. It arrived at around midnight at Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi. The return flight, LH343 to Frankfurt, departed from Delhi at 1:30 am local time. It brought German citizens back home at a time when no international flights were operating to and from India and most air traffic worldwide had come to a halt. “Carrying out repatriation flights and bringing people back home is the responsibility that Lufthansa Group airlines bear being part of the critical infrastructure in the home countries of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium said George Ettiyil.” For us being able to operate the repatriation flight with the A380, it was very helpful that Indian authorities decided to extend visas of foreigners in India last week.” Since 14 March, Lufthansa Group airlines, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Eurowings have flown about 220 special flights back to the home countries of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, involving more than 40,000 holidaymakers. Over 70 further flights are already in preparation. Clients are and have been tour operators, cruise operators (mainly return flights from the Caribbean, Canary Islands, Balearic Islands and North Africa) and the German Federal Government (Federal Foreign Office). Wide-body aircraft, namely the Boeing 747, A380 and Airbus A350 are being used to provide as much capacity as possible on these return flights. “These are challenging times for everyone – we are in this together with the Indian people,” said Ettiyil. “Together with them, we are looking forward to the day when regular travel will return to their country.”