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CAPA News Briefs

CAPA publishes more than 400 global News Briefs every weekday, covering all aspects of the aviation and travel industry. It’s the most comprehensive source of market intelligence in the world, with around 50 per cent of content translated from non-English sources. The breadth of our coverage means you won’t need any other news sources to monitor competitors and stay informed about the latest developments in the wider aviation sector.

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Our daily News Briefs are only available to CAPA Members. Membership provides access to more than 400 News Briefs every weekday, with quick links to our Analysis Reports, Research Publications, Data Centre and more.

It’s easy to keep your News Briefs relevant by customising your email alerts based on topic, region, sector, frequency and more. Once you’ve saved your settings, you can stay up-to-date wherever you are, by quickly scanning our News Briefs online or via the CAPA mobile app.

Membership also provides full access to our Analysis Reports, in-depth Research Publications and comprehensive Data Centre. Premium CAPA Members can also access add-ons such as our exclusive Fleet Database, Airline Cask Data tools and more, to enjoy the full capabilities of our global platform.

Below is a sample of the latest news headlines.

ACI World director general Angela Gittens reported (01-Apr-2020) aviation industry recovery from the coronavirus pandemic "may take a year to 18 months to reach pre-crisis traffic level". Ms Gittens stated: "The industry may not record pre-COVID-19 traffic volumes again before the end of 2021". [more - original PR]

Sarajevo Butmir International Airport, via its official website, reported (Apr-2020) the following traffic highlights for Mar-2020:

  • Passengers: 28,249, -58.4% year-on-year;
  • Aircraft movements: 537, -47.1%. [more - original PR]

Southwest Airlines announced (02-Apr-2020) its intention to apply to the US Department of Treasury under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, in order to discuss specific details regarding grants that could increase its liquidity and provide job security until 30-Sep-2020. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, via a video post on the airline's official blog, stated the grants would "help provide much needed cash flow to cover a significant portion of salaries, wages and benefits". [more - original PR]

LATAM Airlines Group announced (02-Apr-2020) a further reduction in operations during Apr-2020. The carrier will operate 5% of its normal schedule in Apr-2020. Measures will be evaluated on an ongoing basis based on travel restrictions of different countries as well as demand. Passenger operations during April 2020 are as follows:

US President Donald Trump, when asked in a press briefing if the government would consider a temporary domestic air travel ban, stated (01-Apr-2020) the government is "certainly looking at" ceasing to allow people to travel between coronavirus "hotspots", such as New York and Miami. He noted there are "very few flights" that operate "from hotspot to hotspot", adding that while the government is "thinking about hotspots", a domestic air travel ban would mean "you really are clamping down on an industry that is desperately needed". Mr Trump stated: "But closing up every single flight on every single airline, that's a very - very, very rough decision", adding the government will let the public know "fairly soon". [more - original PR]

Etihad Airways announced (02-Apr-2020) over the past week it has been operating special services to facilitate the return of stranded passengers and to utilise the bellyhold capacity of passenger aircraft for cargo. These services covered a number of destinations, including the US, Australia and Sri Lanka. The carrier plans to commence regular services from Abu Dhabi to Seoul Incheon, Melbourne, Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Amsterdam from 05-Apr-2020. These destinations are subject to government approval. [more - original PR]

Emirates Airline received (02-Apr-2020) approval to operate outbound services from the UAE to select European destinations from 06-Apr-2020. The carrier plans to operate four times weekly Dubai-London Heathrow service and three times weekly services to Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels and Zurich. All routes will be operated with Boeing 777-300ER equipment. Emirates will also carry bellyhold cargo in both directions, supporting trade and communities with the transport of essential goods. Emirates Group chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum stated: "These initial passenger services, although limited to travellers who meet the entry requirements set by the destination countries, will be welcomed by our customers seeking to return home to their countries and families". Mr Al Maktoum added the airline is maintaining close contact with all authorities for the latest updates on the coronavirus situation and will "announce any additional services as they become available". [more - original PR]

Boeing president and CEO Dave Calhoun, via a letter to employees, said (02-Apr-2020) he believes it will "take time for the aerospace industry to recover from the [coronavirus] crisis", and Boeing will "need to balance the supply and demand accordingly as the industry goes through the recovery process for years to come". Mr Calhoun added that when the world emerges from the pandemic, the "size of the commercial market and the types of products and services our customers want and need will likely be different" and it is "important we start adjusting to our new reality now". [more - original PR]

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, in a report entitled: 'Why Australia needs Virgin Australia to survive', stated (02-Apr-2020) Australia needs functioning, full service airline competition after the coronavirus outbreak, and this will not be the case if Virgin Australia exits the market. If a new airline were to enter the market, there would be a hiatus in the months it would take for a new airline to be authorised, during which Qantas would consolidate its position. Meanwhile Virgin, a functioning airline with 10,000 direct employees and many more reliant on its activity, would have disappeared. [more - CAPA Analysis]

EUROCONTROL director general Eamonn Brennan, via his official Twitter account, reported (02-Apr-2020) it "looks like we've hit the bottom now" as operations decreased 86% to 88% year-on-year for the four days from 01-Apr-2020. Mr Brennan stated: "Skeleton schedules, cargo, repatriation and maintenance flights make up most of what's left". 

CAAC East China Regional Administration reported (02-Apr-2020) the following traffic highlights for 44 Chinese airports:

  • Feb-2020:
    • Passengers: 5.0 million, -84.3% year-on-year;
      • Domestic: 4.3 million;
      • International: 774,000;
    • Cargo: 309,339 tonnes, -9.3%;
    • Aircraft movements: 75,411, -67.9%;
  • Two months end of Feb-2020:
    • Passengers: 35.3 million, -45%;
      • Domestic: 29.6 million;
      • International: 5.6 million;
    • Cargo: 841,000 tonnes, -8.9%;
    • Aircraft movements: 329,000, -33.8%. [more - original PR - Chinese]

Croatian National Tourist Board announced (02-Apr-2020) less than 10% of tourist capacity is in use. Minister of Tourism Gary Cappelli said it is uncertain when tourism traffic will be restored. Mr Cappelli added the Ministry is preparing a plan to inject around HRK600 million (EUR78.6 million) into the sector. [more - original PR]