COVID-19 News Roundup

Tracking the impact of the pandemic on travel

COVID-19 News Roundup

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 This page is no longer updated but remains a source for looking back on the events our industry weathered during our toughest times.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 Date Organization Summary
EMEA 17 Sep 2020 South African Airways SAA creditors to meet as critical rescue funds fail to materialise
EMEA 18 Sep 2020 British Airways British Airways Launches New First Class Suite With Door
EMEA 22 Sep 2020 TUI fly TUI brings down winter capacity as short-term booking trend persists
EMEA 29 Sep 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa hopes to reopen transatlantic routes with vigorous testing
EMEA 12 Oct 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa has issued €3.2 billion in refunds in 2020
EMEA 19 Oct 2020 KLM KLM’s CEO Believes Hub And Spoke Airlines Will Be Critical To Recovery
EMEA 21 Oct 2020 British Airways British Airways CEO: Airline Industry May Never Recover From COVID-19
EMEA 16 Mar 2020 British Airways Cutting 75% of flights in April, May
EMEA 20 Mar 2020 KLM AF-KLM reveals "very significant" cutbacks
EMEA 30 Mar 2020 Lufthansa A Billionaire Is The Lufthansa Group’s New Largest Shareholder
EMEA 31 Mar 2020 Lufthansa Air France, Lufthansa And Emirates Hit Hardest By March EU Flight Restrictions
EMEA 07 Apr 2020 Emirates Emirates to Resume Limited Passenger Service April 6
EMEA 09 Apr 2020 Virgin Australia Virgin Atlantic Will Suspend All Passenger Flights For A Week
EMEA 23 Mar 2020 Government UK Government Tells Tourists To Stay Away
EMEA 26 Apr 2020 Government German government divided over form of Lufthansa rescue deal
EMEA 29 Apr 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa “will not abandon Brussels Airlines”
EMEA 29 Apr 2020 Finnair Finnair Is Losing Approximately €2 Million Per Day
EMEA 04 May 2020 KLM Air France-KLM Wins EU Approval for $7.7 Billion Bailout
EMEA 09 May 2020 Air France Air France-KLM Uneasy With French Government’s ‘Good Airbus Customer’ Mandate For Coronavirus Aid
EMEA 14 May 2020 KLM KLM yields to refunds for cancelled flights
EMEA 11 May 2020 Government Why the UK’s New 14-Day Quarantine Rule Is Particularly Troubling to Business Travel Managers
EMEA 15 May 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa Group publishes June schedule with plans to fly 1,800 weekly flights
EMEA 14 May 2020 Government IAG’s Chief Willie Walsh Says British Government is Holding Back Travel Recovery
EMEA 27 May 2020 Air France Air France agrees to cut many domestic flights
EMEA 28 May 2020 SAS Airline SAS in talks on more funding to ride out coronavirus crisis
EMEA 08 Jun 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa secures €600 million state aid package for Austrian
EMEA 05 Jun 2020 Government What South Africa’s Virus Protocols Tell Us About Balancing a Travel Economy With a Nation’s Health
EMEA 11 Jun 2020 Lufthansa German airline Lufthansa plans to cut 22,000 jobs
EMEA 16 Jun 2020 British Airways Willie Walsh defends British Airways over job cut plans
EMEA 18 Jun 2020 Level Europe IAG’s Austrian Airline Level Europe Files for Insolvency
EMEA 18 Jun 2020 Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Rebuilding U.S. Service
EMEA 08 Jul 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa airlines to slash leadership, cut 1,000 administrative jobs
EMEA 10 Jul 2020 Air Namibia Air Namibia Grounding Overturned By Court
EMEA 13 Jul 2020 Emirates Emirates to cut up to 9,000 jobs
EMEA 24 Jul 2020 KLM KLM Outlines A Full Return To Destinations Served Pre-Crisis
EMEA 28 Jul 2020 British Airways British Airways faces strike threat over job cut plan
EMEA 03 Aug 2020 British Airways IAG’s Walsh warns against obtaining liquidity without structural reform
EMEA 20 Aug 2020 Emirates Emirates Eyes 100% Route Recovery By Next Summer
EMEA 24 Aug 2020 Brussels Airlines Brussels Airlines gets approval for €290 million bailout
EMEA 26 Aug 2020 Lufthansa LUFTHANSA TOPS LIST OF COVID-SAFE CARRIERS IN NEW RESEARCH
EMEA 10 Sep 2020 British Airways British Airways owner IAG to cut more flights
EMEA 11 Sep 2020 British Airways BA Pay Deal: Cabin Crew divide shows
EMEA 11 Sep 2020 Government First European 'travel bubble' ends as coronavirus cases rise in Estonia
EMEA 21 Sep 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa takes 1.1 bln euro impairment as it further shrinks fleet
EMEA 13 Oct 2020 Government EU traffic light scheme will mean ‘borders remain effectively closed’
EMEA 16 Oct 2020 British Airways British Airways fined £20m over data breach
EMEA 19 Oct 2020 British Airways New BA boss Doyle criticises government inaction on UK-US routes
EMEA 16 Mar 2020 British Airways Willie Walsh postpones retirement
EMEA 18 Mar 2020 Air Dolomiti Air Dolomiti temporarily suspends ops
EMEA 23 Mar 2020 Iceland Air Icelandair is operating only 14% of its planned flight schedule