The British government’s new COVID-19 quarantine policy, effective from June 8, has sprung escalating tensions between some of the country's largest airlines and the government itself. British Airlines, specifically, launched legal action in a bid to block the planned 14-day self-isolation plan for arrivals beginning Monday. In addition to a 14-day quarantine upon entry to the country, travelers have to provide their itinerary, contact details and the address where they will self-isolate by completing a public health passenger locator form,…
In a letter issued by its pilot union to all members, British Airways has stated that it will fire all its pilot workforce and offer jobs under new terms and conditions, should no agreement be reached with the union. The letter sent out by the British Airline Pilots' Association, BALPA,…
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).…
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…
British Airways has announced that it might cut up to 12,000 jobs from its 45,000 employee workforce, as the global coronavirus pandemic is having unprecedented consequences for airlines as the skies are emptied out for a prolonged period of time. The airline had previously agreed to furlough 22,000 jobs, taking…
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…
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…
Over the last week, governments across the world have been under increased pressure to repatriate their citizens back home as rising travel restrictions around the CODIV-19 global pandemic have been making travel hard for many citizens needing to find a way home. The South American country of Peru has made…
Following last week’s memo to employees entitled “The Survival of British Airways”, the U.K. carrier continues to implement strategies to deal with the continuously changing environment. BA has announced capacity cuts of 75% for their April and May schedules which will have a significant impact on the resources needed to…
