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 This page is no longer updated but remains a source for looking back on the events our industry weathered during our toughest times.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 03 Apr 2020 El Al El Al Won’t Operate Any Scheduled Flights In April
EMEA 07 Apr 2020 SAS SAS traffic tumbles 62% in March as pandemic hits
EMEA 09 Apr 2020 Norwegian Air Norwegian Air seeks debt restructuring to stay in business
EMEA 13 Apr 2020 Air Seychelles Air Seychelles temporarily suspends domestic services
EMEA 02 Apr 2020 IATA IATA: Middle East and Africa Airlines Revenue Losses Mount - Urgent Government Support Required
EMEA 07 Apr 2020 COVID-19 EasyJet secures £600m coronavirus loan from UK Treasury and Bank
EMEA 23 Apr 2020 RyanAir Leaving middle seat empty is idiotic, says Ryanair
EMEA 27 Apr 2020 Industry Aviation recovery – Importance of a coordinated approach
EMEA 30 Apr 2020 British Airways BA may not reopen at Gatwick once pandemic passes
EMEA 01 May 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa aims for autumn restart ‘at the earliest’
EMEA 10 May 2020 Government France Won't Enforce Airlines to Respect One Metre Distance Rule on Planes
EMEA 14 May 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa Bailout Sparks Debate in Government About Direct Stake
EMEA 20 May 2020 Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines Extends Flight Suspension To Mid-June
EMEA 27 May 2020 South African Airways South African Airways' rescuers pour cold water on plan to resume domestic flights
EMEA 09 Jun 2020 Air France Airbus & Air France Set To Benefit From New French State Aid
EMEA 12 Jun 2020 Air France Air France capacity should reach 40% in August
EMEA 12 Jun 2020 Turkish Airlines 4 US Routes To Be Relaunched By Turkish Airlines This Month
EMEA 16 Jun 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa Seeks Agreements With Trade Unions To Cut 22,000 Jobs
EMEA 12 Jun 2020 Government France to lift border controls for EU travellers on June 15
EMEA 22 Jun 2020 Air France AIR FRANCE URGED BY MINISTER TO AVOID FORCED LAYOFFS
EMEA 25 Jun 2020 South African Airways VOTE ON SAA’S BUSINESS RESCUE PLAN POSTPONED TO JULY
EMEA 30 Jun 2020 KLM KLM CEO Still Sees Slow Recovery Even as More Flights Resume
EMEA 06 Jul 2020 British Airways Pilots' union has reached outline deal with British Airways in fight to save jobs
EMEA 14 Jul 2020 El Al We Now Know Who’s Looking To Bid For El Al
EMEA 21 Jul 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa set to slash Airbus A350, A320neo deliveries
EMEA 25 Jul 2020 British Airways EasyJet and British Airways plan to continue UK-Spain flights
EMEA 27 Jul 2020 Government Airlines In Libya Resume Flights After 4 Month Pause
EMEA 03 Aug 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa Is Adapting To The Challenges Posed By COVID-19
EMEA 01 Sep 2020 Government IAG’s Willie Walsh Calls For Government To Open Up The UK
EMEA 06 Sep 2020 Emirates Emirates To Restore Employee Salaries To 100% By October
EMEA 14 Sep 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa's Swiss unit could cut 15% of jobs
EMEA 22 Sep 2020 Alitalia Alitalia Looks To Introduce COVID Free Domestic Flights
EMEA 03 Oct 2020 SWISS SWISS Plans On Flying To 85% Of Its Destinations This Winter
EMEA 21 Oct 2020 Air Portugal Wow: TAP Air Portugal Launches Unlimited Europe Flight Pass
EMEA 21 Oct 2020 Air Europa Spain’s Air Europa may get €450m aid, resumes more int’l ops
EMEA 23 Oct 2020 Industry European LCCs Cut Flights In Response To Second COVID Wave
EMEA 16 Mar 2020 Air France Cutting capacity by up to 90%
EMEA 16 Mar 2020 Lufthansa Cuts long haul capacity by 90%
EMEA 17 Mar 2020 Brussels Airlines Brussels Airlines temporarily suspends all its flights as of 21 March until 19 April
EMEA 23 Mar 2020 Etihad Emirates, Etihad to stop flying entirely following UAE ban
EMEA 07 Apr 2020 Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines Won’t Fly Again Until Late April
EMEA 13 Apr 2020 Air France Air France-KLM Expects Two Years To Return To Normal Operations
EMEA 17 Apr 2020 Air France French state may call on banks to contribute to Air France bailout
EMEA 17 Apr 2020 Emirates Emirates becomes first airline to conduct on-site rapid COVID-19 tests for passengers
EMEA 25 Mar 2020 Amadeus Amadeus Cuts Costs As European Travel Tech Lobby Pleads For Aid
EMEA 28 Apr 2020 Iceland Air Icelandair Group: Reduction in the number of employees and restructuring
EMEA 27 Apr 2020 Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic still seeking govt loans to mitigate COVID-19 impacts
EMEA 30 Apr 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa Plans To Reduce Fleet Size By 100 Aircraft
EMEA 11 May 2020 Government Spain Calls For EU-Wide Approach To Airline Aid
EMEA 12 May 2020 Government Iceland To Open To Tourists Again On June 15th (With Conditions)