Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian reported (14-Jul-2020) the carrier recorded an adjusted pre tax loss of USD3.9 billion in 2Q2020 and more than USD11 billion in revenue decline compared to 2019, illustrating the "truly staggering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business". Mr Bastian continued: "Given the combined effects of the pandemic and associated financial impact on the global economy, we continue to believe that it will be more than two years before we see a sustainable recovery". The carrier will work to utilise its people, brand, network and operational reliability to position it for success "when demand returns". Measures taken by Delta to position it for recovery following COVID-19 include the following:

• Retired MD-88, MD-90, Boeing 777 and 737-700 fleets, and partial retirement of 767-300ER and A320 fleets in 2020;
• Accelerated airport construction projects in Los Angeles, New York LaGuardia and Salt Lake City, in an effort to lower total costs and shorten timelines;
• Launched voluntary separation and early retirement programmes; 
• Obtained USD5.4 billion in grant funds and unsecured loans through the PSP programme, to be paid in instalments until Jul-2020;
• Extended maturities of USD1.3 billion in borrowings under revolving credit facilities from 2021 to 2022;
• Amended credit facilities to replace all fixed charge coverage ratio covenants with liquidity based covenants. [more - original PR]

African Airlines Association (AFRAA) reported (13-Jul-2020) the following highlights in its second COVID-19 impact assessment:

• Revenue losses for African airlines estimated to reach USD8.56 billion in 2020;
• Passenger revenue decreased by USD506 million (-17.3% year-on-year) in 1Q2020, followed by a larger impact of USD2.74 billion (-90.2%) in 2Q2020;
• Traffic (RPKs): Decreased by 48.3% in Mar-2020, 76.3% in Apr-2020, 89% in May-2020 and 88.9% in Jun-2020;
• Capacity (ASKs): Decreased by 19.7% in Mar-2020, 77.7% in Apr-2020, 79.2% in May-2020 and 76.2% in Jun-2020;
• Recovery is expected to start from mid 3Q2020;
• AFRAA noted the COVID-19 infection rate in Africa is rising, with the number of cases more than tripling between 14-May-2020 and 14-Jun-2020. The most impacted countries are South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana and Algeria. [more - original PR]

New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo announced (13-Jul-2020) a travel enforcement operation will commence on 14-Jul-2020 at airports across the state to ensure travellers are following the state's quarantine restrictions. [more - original PR]

flydubai, according to its official website, reported (Jul-2020) passengers boarding a service to Dubai from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey and certain destinations in the US must obtain a negative COVID-19 certificate in order to be accepted for travel, effective 10-Jul-2020. This certificate must be issued no more than 96 hours before travel.

Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev announced (14-Jul-2020) Russia's aviation industry will recover faster than the global industry and European airlines. Mr Savelyev noted Russia's airline sector is growing by an average of 9% to 10%, compared to the global average growth rate of 6%, and European growth of 4.5%. Mr Savelyev said to accelerate recovery, Aeroflot Group must develop domestic operations. [more - original PR - English/Russian]

Fly540, via its official newsletter, announced (14-Jul-2020) plans to resume operations on 15-Jul-2020. The carrier's staff participated in COVID-19 sensitisation training at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Nairobi Wilson Airport and all passengers will be required to wear masks. Initial destinations comprise the following:

• Eldoret: Daily;
• Homa Bay: Twice weekly;
• Kisumu: Six times weekly;
• Lamu: Daily Fly540 and daily EastAfrican services;
• Lodwar: Daily;
• Maasai Mara: Twice daily;
• Malindi: Daily Fly540 and daily EastAfrican services;
• Ukunda: Daily;
• Wajir: Daily.