Category Archives: Aviation

CAPA India’s preliminary estimates for the near-term impact on the Indian industry states that as a result of the significant reduction in flying, Indian carriers may initially ground around 150 aircraft (including almost all of the international fleet), with this number expected to increase as more domestic operations are curtailed over the coming weeks. Based on the latest cancellations, international capacity is currently estimated to be down by 60-70 per cent year-on-year, although the situation is evolving on a daily basis. India has banned entry by all foreign nationals (with some very limited exceptions) until at least April 15, 2020. Foreigners account for around 25 per cent of international air travellers to/from India. However, India has also blocked the entry of its own nationals from the European Union and several other countries, and has advised its citizens not to travel overseas. If the decline in traffic continues to be severe, the majority of the fleet could be grounded by April.

Major world airlines axed almost all flights on a temporary basis as the worsening coronavirus crisis sparks travel bans, ravages demand and sends shares into freefall, triggering pleas to help carriers survive. IAG, owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, announced it would slash flight capacity by 75 per cent during April and May owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. Britain’s Virgin Atlantic added that it has decided to park 75 per cent of its total fleet — and in April this will rise as high as 85 per cent. Virgin has reportedly called upon the UK government to inject emergency support totalling 7.5 billion pounds (USD 9.2 billion) to help keep Britain’s aviation industry flying. In Germany, Lufthansa has been forced to scrap around two thirds of its flights in coming weeks as several countries including the United States ban travellers from Europe. “Last week saw a rapid acceleration of the impact of COVID-19 on global aviation and tourism,” Virgin Atlantic warned in a statement. “The situation is deteriorating at pace and the airline has seen several days of negative bookings, driven by a huge volume of cancellations as customers choose to stay at home.” British no-frills carrier EasyJet warned it may have to ground “the majority” of its fleet, urging governments across Europe to help their airlines maintain access to liquidity.

Under the UDAN scheme of Government of India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) flagged off the first-ever thrice-weekly flight from Indore (Madhya Pradesh) to Kishangarh (Ajmer, Rajasthan). In its constant endeavor to connect the unconnected regions, Ministry of Civil Aviation awarded the Indore-Kishangarh route during the UDAN 3 bidding process to Star Air. With the commencement of this route, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has operationalised 268 routes under the UDAN scheme. Under RCS-UDAN, Star Air is already operating direct flights from Belagavi to Indore and will now extend the same route till Rajasthan, “The land of Colours”. The approximate distance between Indore and Kishangarh is around 550 kilometers and people had to spend more than 10 hours to reach Kishangarh from Indore by road. However, with the commencement of flight operations on this route, people can take one-hour flight and travel at ease and visit the famous Nine Planets temple, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Pushkar Lake, Phool Mahal Palace, Roopangarh Fort, etc. Furthermore, Kishangarh is also known as the Marble City of India and is a big market of red chilies.

Airports Council International (ACI) World has emphasised that the COVID-19 outbreak is a systemic crisis affecting the entire global aviation sector impacting particularly heavily on airports and airlines. The sector is in dire need of support to avoid collapse. ACI World Director General Angela Gittens– responding to a letter from SkyTeam CEO and Managing Director Kristin Colville – reassured her that ACI shares the concern about the unprecedented impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on the entire aviation eco-system. As regards alleviation measures for the industry, ACI World believes a global suspension of the 80/20 rule for a limited period would be appropriate to protect connecting traffic at hub airports and help safeguard connectivity worldwide. It is a fast-moving situation so ACI supports temporary global suspension of the 80/20 rule until 30 June 2020. Flexible assessment on the need to further extend the waiver will be based on data-driven evidence. Airport operators are currently experiencing unprecedented declines in aircraft movements and passenger traffic which significantly hinders their ability to meet their operating costs and their fixed capital expense costs. The financial sustainability of the airport industry is under threat. As such, suspending the collection of charges or granting blanket discounts would make this situation for airport operators even worse. “As an industry, we must come together to meet this unprecedented challenge,” ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said. “Many airports around the World, in particular in Asia and now Europe, face problems of liquidity which raises issues of operational & business continuity. “The situation is set to worsen in the coming weeks and, while we support relief measures, these must be considered on a non discriminatory basis for all affected …

The Lufthansa Group carrier Austrian Airlines will temporarily suspend scheduled flight operations as of Thursday, 19 March 2020. Austrian Airlines is thus reacting to the entry restrictions imposed by many countries in response to the massive spread of the coronavirus. For the time being, the last flight with flight number OS 066 will land in Vienna from Chicago at 8:20 a.m. on 19 March. Until then, flight operations are to be reduced in a controlled and structured manner in order to bring all passengers and crews home if possible. Initially Austrian Airlines will cancel all flights until March 28th 2020, and passengers who have booked a flight with Austrian Airlines during this period will be rebooked on other airlines if possible. In addition, Lufthansa Group airlines will further reduce their short- and long-haul schedule. The cancellations, which will be published as early as tomorrow, March 17th, will lead to a sharp decline in long-haul service especially in the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. Overall, the Lufthansa Group’s seating capacity on long-haul routes will be reduced by up to 90 per cent. A total of 1,300 weekly connections were originally planned for summer 2020. Within Europe the flight schedule will also be further reduced. Starting tomorrow, around 20 percent of the originally planned seating capacity will still be offered. Originally, some 11,700 weekly short-haul flights were planned for summer 2020 with Lufthansa Group airlines. The additional cancellations will be published over the next few days and passengers will be informed accordingly. Despite the large-scale cancellations, Lufthansa, Eurowings and Austrian Airlines have scheduled more than 20 special flights with over 6,000 guests on short notice to fly cruise passengers …

Given the extraordinary circumstances caused by the worldwide Coronavirus crisis, Brussels Airlines has decided to temporarily suspend its flight operations from 21 March 2020. Between now and then, Brussels Airlines’ flight operations will be reduced gradually in a controlled and structured manner in order to bring passengers and crews home. The decision of Brussels Airlines to temporarily suspend all its flights between 21 March and 20 April has also been taken following the measures imposed by different authorities, such as the negative travel advice of the Belgian authorities, which Brussels Airlines fully understands, and the increasing number of national authorities in Europe and beyond who no longer allow flights to their territory. As of today, 17 March, the airline will gradually reduce its flight schedule until 20 March. From 21 March until 19 April included, all flights will be suspended. A continued and extended goodwill policy for customers is in place, offering them the opportunity to reschedule their flights to a later date. All intercontinental departures to Africa, will as of tomorrow 17 March be postponed to the afternoon, for connectivity reasons with the short haul network. The Belgian carrier will continue to keep a minimal capacity on standby base for repatriation flights should this be required. Brussels Airlines CEO Dieter Vranckx: “We will continuously monitor the situation and communicate accordingly, planning a restart of our operations on 20 April to welcome our guests on board again. As a responsible company, we need to take the decision to temporarily cease our operations. It will allow us to reduce the negative financial impact on our company. “ The spread of the coronavirus and associated flight bans and other measures restricting air …

As per the DGCA advisory to restrict international traffic from Turkey and Malaysia, IndiGo will be cancelling its flights between Delhi-Istanbul and Chennai-Kuala Lumpur from March 18, 2020 until March 31, 2020. The airline has already cancelled flights between Bangalore-Kuala Lumpur until March 31, 2020 and Delhi-Kuala Lumpur until April 30, 2020. These are purely temporary and precautionary measures. We understand that these measures will cause inconvenience to our customers and we will be refunding the full amount to the impacted passengers.

Aviation regulator DGCA has directed all domestic and international carriers to “scrupulously” follow the fresh travel restrictions announced by the government on Monday, which cover countries from the European Union and the UK, and Turkey. With cases of coronavirus swelling in the country, the government on Monday prohibited entry of passengers from EU countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18 till March 31. “Travel of passengers from member countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and the UK to India is prohibited with effect from March 18. No airline shall board a passenger from these nations with effect from 1200 GMT on March 18. The airline shall enforce it at the initial port of departure,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a circular. It also said the government has expanded compulsory quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days for passengers coming or transiting through Qatar, UAE, Oman and Kuwait and this will also come into effect from 1200 GMT of March 18 at the port of first departure. “Both these restrictions are temporary measures and shall be in force till March 31 and will be reviewed subsequently. “All scheduled Indian and foreign airlines engaged in international transportation to and from India, therefore, are directed to scrupulously follow above advisory and not to carry any passenger in violation thereof,” the DGCA said in the circular.

As a result of the coronavirus and the measures implemented by national authorities, the demand for air travel is virtually non-existent. SAS has therefore decided to put most of its operations on hold, starting on Monday 16 March and until the necessary conditions for commercial aviation return. To help our customers, SAS will, as far as possible, maintain a certain level of operation over the next few days to enable travelers to return from different destinations . We will be at the disposal of the authorities, at their request, to bring stranded citizens home or maintain community-critical infrastructure for as long as possible. This also means that SAS is unfortunately forced to temporarily reduce its workforce by up to 10,000 employees, corresponding to 90% of the workforce . The temporary reductions will affect all parts of SAS and will be implemented in accordance with national legislation in each country . SAS implements these measures in order to return to normal operation as soon as the situation permits.

Lufthansa Group Airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti are expanding their existing, comprehensive rebooking options in the interests of their customers due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the spread of the coronavirus. Customers who have tickets for cancelled and also existing Lufthansa Group Airline flights can keep this ticket without having to commit to a new flight date directly. Existing bookings will be cancelled for the time being, but the ticket and ticket value will remain unchanged and can be rebooked to a new departure date up to and including 31 December 2020. This rule applies to tickets booked up to and including 12 March 2020 and having a confirmed travel date up to and including 30 April 2020. Customers are requested to inform us of their desired rebooking by 1 June 2020. No rebooking fees will be charged. If the original fare is no longer available, the corresponding difference must be paid when the rebooking is made. In addition, customers can also rebook to another destination. With this extended goodwill arrangement, Lufthansa Group Airlines are responding to the wish of many customers to be able to have more flexibility regarding their travel plans given the current exceptional circumstances. Last week, the Lufthansa Group already introduced flexible rebooking options for its customers with regard to existing and future bookings. More information is available at lh.com. In addition, customers can contact the service hotline at any time on +49 (0) 69 86 799 799 to change their reservations.