Aviation

Bloomberg Nigeria extended the closing of the West African nation’s airports for two weeks as it continues a lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The decision is subject to review when appropriate, Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said in an emailed statement. Nigeria closed its international airports for one month on March 23, a week before President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a ...

Bloomberg A US travel industry group estimates that lost revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic could approach $520 billion by the end of the year, with much of the tourism industry still depressed in December. The US Travel Association — which represents airlines and other transportation companies, local attractions, tourism bureaus and other parts of the industry — ...

Bloomberg US airlines face a bleak future of depressed traffic and volatile revenue well into 2021, as the global economy transitions from the acute damage of a public health catastrophe into a potentially long recession. Already a bumpy ride for the “Big Three” carriers, the journey promises to get worse this fall when billions of dollars in government assistance comes ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE will furlough around 3,000 staff across three French sites just as employees at its UK wing plants prepare to return to work following extended Easter shutdowns tied to the coronavirus outbreak. The staff at commercial aircraft sites in Toulouse, Nantes and Saint-Nazaire were expected to be on leave from Monday until mid-May following an accord with unions, ...

Bloomberg British billionaire Richard Branson said his airlines in the UK and Australia won’t survive the coronavirus crisis without state support, and that his Virgin Group lacks the resources to see them through the pandemic. Branson said on Monday he’s doing everything possible to keep Crawley, England-based Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd going, but that it needs a UK-backed loan to ...

Bloomberg China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co cancelled an order for 29 Boeing Co 737 Max planes, worth at least $2.9 billion based on list prices, joining a growing list of customers scaling back plans for buying the grounded jet. The move cuts the company’s outstanding Max order to 70, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co faces a quandary as it reopens its Seattle-area factories: how to keep its employees safe while minimising the use of protective gear that’s desperately needed for medical workers. The planemaker plans to limit scarce N95 masks for plant workers, relying mainly on cloth face coverings. In an April 9 letter to Washington state officials, Boeing cited new ...

Bloomberg India’s Aviation Ministry has asked airlines to take travel bookings only after a final decision on lifting or easing restrictions on domestic and international flights is announced. “The Ministry of Civil Aviation clarifies that so far no decision has been taken to open domestic or international operations,” Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a tweet. It wasn’t immediately clear ...

Bloomberg With Covid-19 grounding flights, emptying hotel rooms, and turning popular destinations into ghost towns, this might seem the most futile time to think about frequent flyer miles and loyalty points. In mid-March, the US State Department issued a “do not travel” alert for the entire world. Travel is the last thing on most people’s minds, according to a survey ...

Bloomberg Struggling passenger airlines can turn planes into cargo-only aircraft provided they take steps to prevent fires and keep weight balanced, US aviation regulators said in new guidance. With passenger demand plunging to nearly zero, some airlines have begun carrying more cargo to provide revenue. The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) guidance will allow them to carry it in what had ...