Aviation Daily

By Ben Goldstein
The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) has finalized its order spelling out minimum service levels for carriers receiving federal aid, adding greater flexibility for ULCCs and smaller airlines while sticking to the general goal of preserving connectivity for all regions during the COVID-19 crisis.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Sean Broderick
The Trump Administration has asked Congress for an additional $250 billion in small-business payroll loan funding, providing more cash to the coronavirus pandemic emergency funding program that many small aerospace suppliers are expected to tap.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Bill Carey
Atlas Air Worldwide and UPS are participating in a White House-led airlift to deliver critical medical supplies from other countries to the U.S. as cargo airlines ramped up their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Victoria Moores
Icelandair Group has appointed three financial advisors to strengthen the company’s long-term capital, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the airline to cut its flight schedule to just 10% of normal operations.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
IATA’s latest Airline Safety Report shows commercial aviation accidents fell to 53 in 2019, compared with 62 in the prior year, equating to 1.13 accidents per million flights.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Michael Bruno
Howmet Aerospace, formerly the aviation and defense-focused assets under the Arconic brand, said April 6 it will work to save about $100 million in costs as its OEM customers halt production of large commercial aircraft due to COVID-19 fallout.
Marketplace

By Jens Flottau
Lufthansa decided April 7 to make deep cuts to its future fleet, repositioning it to becoming an airline around 20% smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic crisis.
Airlines & Lessors

By David Casey
Alaska Airlines plans to maintain flights to all points it currently serves in Alaska as well as bringing forward the launch of seasonal routes to Dillingham (DLG) and King Salmon (AKN) after the demise of RavnAir Alaska.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
The government of Latvia has tentatively approved a €36.1 million ($39 million) treasury loan for Riga-based airBaltic and could make further funds available if the COVID-19 crisis continues.
Airlines & Lessors

By Kurt Hofmann
Israel’s Ministry of Finance has rejected El Al Israeli Airlines’ request for a $350 million state loan to sustain it through the COVID-19 global crisis.
Airlines & Lessors

By Sean Broderick
The U.S. Treasury Department’s updated guidance on aviation-specific loans available via the $2 trillion stimulus package indicated that applications will start being accepted soon but leaves several large questions about the $46 billion program unanswered.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Kurt Hofmann
Turkish Airlines has canceled all remaining domestic flights, which means the carrier has no scheduled passenger flights until April 20, according to CEO Bilal Eksi.
Airlines & Lessors

By Helen Massy-Beresford
Eurocontrol’s member states have agreed to let airlines defer the payment of up to €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in air traffic control (ATC) fees in the coming months.
Airlines & Lessors

By Jens Flottau
IATA plans to hold a series of regional meetings with governments and other stakeholders to determine under what conditions air traffic can be resumed once the coronavirus crisis is under better control.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Chen Chuanren
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has extended the temporary ban on all international flights to the country from April 6 to April 18 as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By David Casey
Welcome to Routes’ weekly look at how the Middle East and African aviation markets are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping you understand the schedule changes and manage the impact so we can navigate through this crisis together.
Airlines & Lessors

By Chen Chuanren
The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) is urging aviation stakeholders to only seek financial help from Malaysia’s government “as a last resort” with fiscal resources stretched amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
South African carrier Comair has abandoned its acquisition of Star Air Cargo and Star Air Maintenance.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
Swedish domestic carrier Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA) has suspended flights and filed for court reorganization—roughly the equivalent of administration—after a collapse in demand following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Airlines & Lessors

By Sean Broderick
Boeing will suspend its 787 production and some related work at its North Charleston, South Carolina facility on April 8 “until further notice,”
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Ben Goldstein
A handful of U.S. carriers updated the markets over the weekend on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results were not pretty. Delta Air
Airlines & Lessors

By Jens Flottau
In one of its latest COVID-19-related updates IATA estimated that the airline industry will reduce its second quarter investment spending from $17 billion planned in pre-crisis days to essentially zero.
Air Transport

By Bill Carey
Aviation industry labor unions called on the U.S. government to enforce medical guidelines to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, saying their members risk ongoing exposure to infection despite a dramatic decline in air travel.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Helen Massy-Beresford
Air France-KLM is reportedly in talks with the French and Netherlands governments over a state-backed loan of up to €6 billion ($6.48 billion) to help the airline group weather the COVID-19 crisis.
Airlines & Lessors