All Europe articles – Page 367
-
NewsAirbus sees indications of gradual Chinese traffic recovery
Airbus believes there are initial signs of air transport recovery from the coronavirus outbreak in China, from where the first contagion wave spread. Its Tianjin facility had briefly shut production when the outbreak emerged, but has since resumed manufacturing, although Chinese airline operations remain significantly affected. Speaking during a briefing ...
-
NewsAirbus assessing production impact as outbreak pressure intensifies
Airbus is evaluating potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak on production, particularly for twin-aisle aircraft, and acknowledges that it might have to store aircraft as tightening restrictions obstruct deliveries. But the airframer is emphasising that it retains a strong backlog, especially in the single-aisle sector, which will help to reduce ...
-
NewsIcelandair Group shifts nearly all staff to temporary working
Icelandair Group has disclosed that it is operating only 14% of its flight schedule and expects this to reduce further, and that it is taking steps to move 92% of employees to temporary part-time working. But it is also cutting 240 personnel across its divisions. The group employs just over ...
-
NewsAirbus beefs up finances to weather coronavirus
Airbus has announced measures to support its financial position in light of the economic challenges presented by coronavirus. The measures comprise a new €15 billion ($16.1 billion) credit facility, withdrawal of its 2019 dividend proposal, and suspension of top-up pension funding, says Airbus in a 23 March statement. The withdrawal ...
-
NewsEasyJet cancels 90% of flights from 24 March
EasyJet will ground the majority of its aircraft from 24 March because of the coronavirus-related travel restrictions in force across its network. The carrier will continue to operate rescue flights to repatriate customers, but anticipates this will mostly be complete by 23 March. “These are unprecedented times for the airline ...
-
NewsS&P cuts European airlines’ credit ratings
S&P Global has lowered its ratings for EasyJet, Ryanair, Lufthansa, IAG, British Airways, Air Baltic, Turkish Airlines and SAS, and placed them on alert for further downgrades as the coronavirus hurts their liquidity positions. “The pandemic materially threatens the credit quality of European airlines and poses serious challenges for the ...
-
NewsA330-800 test aircraft deployed to transport coronavirus supplies
Airbus has been deploying an A330-800 test aircraft to assist with coronavirus protection measures, using it to transport some 2 million masks from Tianjin in China to Europe, where they will be distributed to French and Spanish authorities. The airframer disclosed the measure as it prepares to restart – at ...
-
NewsA321 uncontained failure spurs urgent V2500 disk measures
Operators of Airbus A320-family jets are being ordered to remove disks from certain International Aero Engines V2500 powerplants after an uncontained failure resulted in an aborted A321 take-off. The incident occurred on 18 March, says the US FAA, and involved a high-pressure turbine first-stage disk failure. While the regulator has ...
-
NewsAn-124 disk inspection ordered after uncontained failure
Ukrainian authorities have ordered Antonov An-124 operators to inspect engines on the type after an uncontained powerplant failure. An-124s are fitted with Ivchenko-Progress D-18T engines, as is the sole example of the An-225. The Ukrainian state aviation administration says an investigation into the “serious incident”, which occurred to an An-124, ...
-
NewsBrandenburg operator discusses financial aid but opening stays firm
Berlin airports operator FBB is insisting that the new Brandenburg hub will open on time, even if the coronavirus crisis disrupts trial runs prior to the inauguration. The operator says the 31 October opening date will be “strictly adhered to”, but it acknowledges that there are aspects of the testing ...
-
NewsEuropean flight activity halves under coronavirus onslaught
Flight activity in European airspace has deteriorated by more than 50% compared with the same point last year, the latest data from air navigation organisation Eurocontrol reveals. The average daily number of flights for March 2019 reached 27,362. But the daily figure sank below the halfway point on 18 March ...
-
NewsEuropean Council approves plan to waive slot rule until October
The European Council has approved a plan to suspend rules that force airlines to continue operating 80% of flights at certain EU airports in order to maintain slots.
-
NewsSpain’s Volotea grounds fleet until 8 April
Volotea has announced the temporary grounding of its entire fleet until at least 8 April, sending home 1,100 of its employees in Spain, France and Italy over this period.
-
Airline BusinessWhich European carriers are suspending all flights because of coronavirus
European carriers have over the past week been announcing increasingly large cuts to their services, as country’s tighten their border controls. A number have called a halt to flights altogether for the coming weeks - or will just operate a few flights to accomodate returning nationals
-
NewsGovernments could offer certainty by taking Airbus deliveries: research note
Governments should buy up to 600 aircraft from Airbus over the next three years, as a measure to sustain the airline and aerospace industries, according to a research note from US financial services firm Jefferies Group. Airbus deliveries might fall to some 600 aircraft per year – compared with 863 ...
-
NewsLondon Heathrow operations to ‘shrink’ during outbreak
London Heathrow is to restructure and “shrink” the hub’s operations while the coronavirus situation persists, the airport’s operator has advised. The airport will remain open, enabling vital freight services – as well as a limited number of passenger services – to continue. But the operator warns that its financial performance ...
-
NewsLuxair to suspend flights from 23 March
Luxair has become the latest European carrier to announce it will temporarily suspend flights, calling a halt to its operations from 23 March.
-
NewsSAS in line to benefit as Sweden approves credit guarantees
Sweden’s national legislature has rapidly approved a proposal to issue credit guarantees of up to SKr5 billion ($488 million) to airlines, of which SKr1.5 billion will be allocated to SAS. Under the agreement the state will guarantee commercial loans to airlines affected by the coronavirus crisis. “The matter was decided ...
-
NewsFinnish government agrees to guarantee €600m loan to Finnair
Finland’s government has provisionally agreed to provide a state guarantee of up to €600 million to assist flag-carrier Finnair, although the measure still needs parliamentary consent. Its economic policy committee met to consider the guarantee on 19 March. Finnair is state-controlled, with nearly 56% of the carrier owned by the ...
-
NewsAir Baltic joins calls for sector-wide support
Air Baltic is urging government assistance for the airline industry amid the coronavirus crisis. As the Latvian carrier reported a net loss of €7.7 million ($8.2 million) for 2019, chief executive Martin Gauss noted that, given the sector’s vulnerability to the outbreak, “state support for airlines in general might be ...