U.S. House Democrats proposed sending airlines payroll grants totaling $37 billion, shortly after a Republican-led Senate bill that offered loans but not grants failed along procedural lines for the second time in as many days.
French unions have reacted negatively—or, at best, cautiously—to Airbus’ Mar. 23 announcement it is partially resuming production in the country, amidst an unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian carrier Regional Express Holdings (Rex) warns it will have to close down almost all of its domestic services unless state and federal governments provide more financial support.
German engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines is suspending engine and components manufacturing, followed by a scale-down of its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities amid the COVID-19 crisis.
An electrical turbogenerator has been test fitted on a Yakovlev Yak-40 flying testbed at a Siberian research institute as part of a Russian project to demonstrate hybrid-electric propulsion for short- and medium-haul airliners.
Shanghai will close Hongqiao airport to international flights beginning Mar. 25, diverting services to the city’s major airport, Pudong, according to three industry sources.
Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways will suspend all passenger flights for 14 days beginning Mar. 25 following a United Arab Emirates (UAE) government directive aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19.
GE Aviation, the leading division within General Electric, is cutting 10% of its U.S. workforce as it anticipates a steep falloff in maintenance, repair and overhaul work for three months, and it will continue to let go outsourced workers in the wake of the novel coronavirus, the company’s head executive said March 23.
Major aviation training and simulator provider CAE said it is temporarily laying off at least 465 staff starting March 27 and cutting staff manager salaries in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director general Andrew Herdman is calling for financial assistance from governments to assist the aviation sector and says the crisis should not be used as an occasion to weed out weaker carriers.
Embraer has placed all employees at sites in Brazil who cannot perform their jobs remotely on temporary paid leave through March 31 because of the virus causing COVID-19, the company said.
Hawaiian Airlines plans to cut back its international and domestic networks in the wake of a state quarantine directive that will further deflate demand.
Following the closure of borders at home and abroad, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it will cut 96% of its capacity until the end of April in what it described as the “greatest challenge” SIA group has ever faced.
Airbus is faced with an avalanche of requests for delivery deferrals and is preparing for substantial production cuts as many of its customers struggle with the impact of COVID-19 coronavirus on air transport.
