COVID-19 News Roundup

Tracking the impact of the pandemic on travel

When the pandemic was first declared in March 2020, ATPCO understood the value of keeping track of industry-related news in the quickly changing environment. We tracked aviation news and developments from the start of the pandemic through December 2020. This page is no longer updated but remains a source for looking back on the events our industry weathered during our toughest times. We are now looking forward to recovery and a post-recovery world.

Region Sort descending	Date	Organization	Summary
EMEA	11 May 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa Group to serve 106 destinations in June
EMEA	18 May 2020	Air France	Air France now offering cash refunds for cancelled flights
EMEA	17 May 2020	El Al	El Al reports a net loss of $60 million in 2019
EMEA	26 May 2020	Government	Ryanair Condemns €9 Billion State Aid To Lufthansa
EMEA	29 May 2020	British Airways	British Airways may outsource work of 450 redundant employees
EMEA	03 Jun 2020	KLM	KLM Adds 60% More Flights To Airline’s July Schedule In Monthly Update
EMEA	09 Jun 2020	Emirates	Emirates Lays Off More Pilots, Cabin Crew as Part of Thousands of Job Cuts
EMEA	26 Jun 2020	KLM	KLM to receive €3.4 billion in state-backed financial aid
EMEA	07 Jul 2020	El Al	El Al Rescue Plan Finally Approved
EMEA	27 Jul 2020	Etihad	Etihad And Emirates Passengers Will Need COVID-19 Tests Before They Fly
EMEA	12 Aug 2020	British Airways	British Airways set to be 'UK's first airline to carry out pre-flight Covid-19 tests'
EMEA	11 Aug 2020	Government	European Airlines Ask Canada To Lift Travel Restrictions
EMEA	17 Aug 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa Cabin Crew Union Members Back Cost Cut Deal
EMEA	19 Aug 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa reaches deal with pilots to cut costs
EMEA	18 Aug 2020	Government	Germany gives green light to Swiss airline bailout
EMEA	24 Aug 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa opens walk-in COVID-19 testing facility at HAM
EMEA	07 Sep 2020	Aeroflot	Aeroflot Will Resume Flights On Three International Routes
EMEA	08 Sep 2020	Air Europa	Air Europa Requests €400 Million In State Aid Ahead Of IAG Deal
EMEA	11 Sep 2020	Ethiopian Airlines	Ethiopian’s Operations Are At 40% Of Pre-COVID Levels
EMEA	14 Sep 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa Hikes Its Third-Party Booking Fee Despite the Crisis
EMEA	21 Sep 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa to cut more jobs as it loses 500 million euros a month
EMEA	01 Oct 2020	KLM	Air France KLM : Flight staff of Dutch airline KLM agree on wage cuts, trade union says
EMEA	05 Oct 2020	Virgin Atlantic	Virgin Atlantic starts COVID-19 tests on crews as hopes rise for UK airport testing
EMEA	06 Oct 2020	Lufthansa	No new pilots needed for ‘very long time’: Lufthansa training arm
EMEA	02 Oct 2020	Government	European regulators propose extending temporary state aid exemptions
EMEA	08 Oct 2020	Air Portugal	Portuguese government completes TAP stake increase
EMEA	24 Mar 2020	KLM	KLM summer schedule just 10% of normal
EMEA	03 Apr 2020	Lufthansa	Germany in talks to inject billions into Lufthansa
EMEA	09 Apr 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa Group To Reduce Fleet Size
EMEA	13 Apr 2020	KLM	AF-KLM in Talks for French State Cash Injection
EMEA	20 Mar 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa Group CEO: 'There Will Be No Back To Normal'
EMEA	24 Apr 2020	Air France	French government announces 'historic' €7 billion aid package for Air France-KLM
EMEA	29 Apr 2020	Qatar Airways	Qatar Airways Bucks the Trend and Increases Flights to Australia Despite the Coronavirus Crisis
EMEA	07 May 2020	British Airways	British Airways Owner Reports $1.8 Billion Loss, Hopes To Resume Flights By July
EMEA	19 May 2020	KLM	KLM increases cancellation vouchers by 15 percent
EMEA	28 May 2020	British Airways	British Airways pledges 48 aircraft to raise US$750 million loan
EMEA	03 Jun 2020	British Airways	U.K. Minister Warns British Airways Over Aggressive Job Cuts
EMEA	15 Jun 2020	SAS	SAS Awarded $500 Million In Aid With Environmental Strings Attached
EMEA	26 Jun 2020	British Airways	British Airways cabin crew face 20% pay cut as coronavirus causes airline to slash costs
EMEA	01 Jul 2020	El Al	No El Al Flights Until Further Notice
EMEA	30 Jun 2020	Industry	Why European Travel Tech Startups Need to Keep On Building Through the Fallout
EMEA	16 Jul 2020	South African Airways	SAA To Receive Even More Government Cash To Realise Rescue Plan
EMEA	19 Jul 2020	Air France	Air France Starts To Reinstate Inflight Meal Services
EMEA	27 Jul 2020	Air Portugal	TAP Air Portugal to reach 40% of pre-Covid network in September
EMEA	30 Jul 2020	Aeroflot	Aeroflot revenue falls 85% in Q2, all hopes on domestic flights
EMEA	06 Aug 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa Predicts Slow Recovery as It Reports €1.7B Q2 Loss
EMEA	19 Aug 2020	Lufthansa	Lufthansa subsidiaries to get vital financial injection
EMEA	19 Aug 2020	Government	Finland returns travel restrictions for several countries
EMEA	01 Sep 2020	Finnair	Finnair planning 1,000 redundancies and further temporary layoffs
EMEA	04 Sep 2020	South African Airways	Ethiopian Airlines in rescue talks with South African Airways -CEO