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U.K.’s New Quarantine Restrictions Delay Return of Virgin Atlantic’s Passenger Flights
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 into place four months after […]
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easyJet Announce Mid-June Return to European Skies
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 to the grounding of its […]
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European Commission Sets Out Proposals to Open Borders to Tourism
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 as ‘all EU Member States […]
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IAG Signal ‘Meaningful Return’ to Service in July; Post Q1 Loss of $146 million
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 the period resulting in a […]
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British Airways May Cease Gatwick Operations Permanently
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 there is no certainty as […]
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IATA Predicts European Airline Revenue Losses of $89 Billion
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted that European airlines will see demand drop by 55 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 and potential revenue losses will total $89 billion. The association revised its loss prediction of $76 billion made last month as the impact of the novel coronavirus global pandemic on the airline […]
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Eurocontrol Highlights Extent of European Capacity Cuts
European air traffic management (ATM) organization Eurocontrol is reporting a weekly average decline in year-on-year movements close to 90 percent in the region. The body which acts as a support for both civil and military use of European airspace has 41 member states and 2 comprehensive agreement states (Israel and Morocco). The focus of the […]
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U.K. and European Governments Defer ATC Charges for Airlines
The U.K. government has supported action by European authorities to allow airlines to defer the payment of charges for air navigation services. This will include charges for both the U.K. and European airspace being deferred for up to 14 months for the period between February to May 2020. According to the U.K. government’s official website, […]
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Gatwick and Heathrow Limit Operations Due to Reduced Demand
Traffic movements at London’s main airports have significantly reduced as a result of the worldwide downturn in air passenger traffic. Last week London City airport located near the financial center of London catering predominantly to premium traffic is temporarily closed to all flights. Earlier this week Gatwick Airport announced its single runway would be in […]
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U.K. Airlines Await Decision on Possible Government Bailout Packages
The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) has discounted reports made earlier this week that the U.K. Chancellor (the U.K. Government’s chief financial minister) would only include airlines in any industry bailouts under consideration “as a last resort.” BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said: “It is unhelpful that correspondence is leaked out of the context of […]