Aviation

Bloomberg Air France-KLM’s Dutch unit will keep operating long-haul flights as it reached a deal to have staff undergo a rapid Covid-19 test upon return to the Netherlands, eliminating the risk of leaving crews behind. KLM urged the Dutch government to exempt its staff from a new requirement for mandatory pre-departure virus testing. It said it would otherwise halt all ...

Bloomberg India’s domestic civil aviation operations continue steadily and the sector is nearing pre-pandemic levels, according to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. As many as 257,613 passengers flew locally as on January 22, compared with 30,000 passengers that traveled by air when such flights were restarted on May 25, Puri said in a Twitter post. “We are now within ...

Bloomberg Foreign tourist arrivals into Thailand plunged to the lowest level in at least 12 years after the country closed its borders to contain the coronavirus outbreak, with a resurgence in infections now undermining efforts to reopen the industry. Tourist arrivals slumped to 6.7 million in 2020 from 39.9 million a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Tourism and ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE slowed the pace of a planned ramp-up in jetliner production, after a global surge in coronavirus cases dealt a fresh blow to demand. Output of the A320-series narrow-body, Airbus’s best-selling model, will now rise gradually to 45 per month through the fourth quarter, the European planemaker said in a statement. It had previously targeted a faster jump, ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM’s Dutch arm is cutting as many as 1,000 jobs on top of 5,000 shed last year in a sign the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Europe is pushing airlines to take more drastic measures to survive the pandemic. The workforce needs to be reduced because a recovery in air travel is taking longer than initially expected, KLM ...

Bloomberg Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA won state backing for its slimmed-down restructuring plan, boosting the bankrupt carrier’s bid to attract new investors and exit insolvency proceedings. The Norwegian government said that it will participate in a hybrid loan for the airline, provided enough outside capital is raised and the restructuring plan receives court approval. The expression of support comes a ...

Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc sank after failing to forecast when a demand rebound would improve results, about a week after Delta Air Lines Inc. said a profit was in reach by the third quarter. This year will serve as a “transition” after the collapse in travel demand because of the coronavirus pandemic, United said as it reported fourth-quarter earnings. ...

Bloomberg Britain’s aviation regulator, granted new powers in the Brexit split, faces an early test of how it uses them with the looming return of Boeing Co’s 737 Max jetliner. Approval of the Max to fly again after two fatal crashes provides a chance for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to demonstrate its independence. At the same time it highlights ...

Bloomberg Singapore Airlines Ltd has set up pre-departure coronavirus tests for passengers through its booking platforms as part of efforts to revive travel demand destroyed by the pandemic. People flying from Singapore as well as those traveling to the city-state from Jakarta and Medan in Indonesia can take tests at clinics and get results within 36 hours. If negative, they ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong no longer has the busiest airport for international traffic in Asia after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out travel, leaving South Korea’s Incheon International Airport in top spot, albeit with drastically fewer numbers than previous years. Hong Kong International Airport handled 8.84 million passengers in 2020, an 88% plunge from the previous year. That sent it down two ...