Ryanair’s U.K.-based cabin crew have followed the airline’s U.K-based pilots in accepting a deal to secure jobs as the aviation industry copes with the significant decrease in passenger demand because of the COVID-19 crisis. The 4-year agreement negotiated with the UNITE union includes productivity improvements and pay cuts of between 5-10% giving the carrier a ‘framework to flex its operation’ and a ‘pathway to recovery.’ In announcing the deal, Ryanair’s chief executive officer Eddie Wilson said hundreds of cabin crew…
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has commenced a review of airline customer refund processes in light of the COVID-19 crisis. With the unprecedented levels of flight cancellations due to the pandemic, U.K. airlines have been failing to comply with European regulatory deadlines on refunding passengers. The U.K. officially left…
Deutsche Lufthansa AG shareholders have agreed to support a bailout package from the German government which will assist the airline group to survive in a post-COVID environment. At the ‘Extraordinary General Meeting’ held on Thursday, the €9 billion ($10.1 billion) package which gives the government a 20% stake and two…
Austrian registered short-haul airline LEVEL Europe has ceased trading with immediate effect citing the Covid-19 crisis for its application for insolvency. The carrier commenced operation in 2017 as ANISEC Luftfahrt, a subsidiary of Spain’s Vueling, operating six aircraft from the Airbus A320 family. The airline operated from Vienna to destinations…
British Airways has filed plans this week to expand domestic and international flights commercial passenger operations in July. Routesonline reports that the U.K. carrier will recommence services from London Heathrow to eight key domestic markets during the month including Edinburgh (20 weekly), Belfast City (14 weekly) and Manchester (14 weekly).…
On June 8 the government of the United Kingdom will implement a 14-day mandatory self-isolation rule for all travelers arriving into the country. Throughout the crisis, there have been no self-isolation or quarantine measures in place for arrivals into the U.K. by any means of transportation. The new measures come…
easyJet announced on Thursday that the airline will resume services from 21 airports in the U.K., France, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain on 15 June. The news is another positive sign of the tentative steps airlines are making to return to operations after the shutdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior…
The European Commission is offering hope that summer holiday travel between member states will be possible for tourism by inviting countries ‘to engage in a process of re-opening unrestricted cross-border movement within the Union.’ For the purposes of the recommendations, the commission has defined the region covered by the package…
International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, has announced a first-quarter (Q1) loss for 2020 of €535 million ($579 million). This compares with an operating profit of €135 million ($146 million) for the same period last year. Unsurprisingly the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted the consortium’s operations for…
British Airways may permanently withdraw all operations from London's Gatwick Airport as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. BBC News cited a memo to staff from the airline’s head of operations at Gatwick which stated: "As you know, we suspended our Gatwick flying schedule at the start of April and…
