Welcome back to the blog and another interesting week – one in which Covid-19 has continued to have a dramatic effect on the industry as a whole, but also one that’s seen a range of airlines and airports starting to slowly return.
This week we started daily aviation news updates across our social media platforms, so be sure to check them out! Without further ado, lets take a look at the key events and announcements in aviation this week.
Qantas Halt International Flights for the Long Term
The Australian flag carrier have suspended the sale of international flights up until the 28th March 2021.
Heavy restrictions in the country have meant the airline has been severely hampered by the current coronavirus crisis.
Whilst its unlikely the carrier will see no international services until 2021, its becoming a very real possibility that they’ll be a predominantly domestic carrier for a very long time.
Manston Airport to Become Cargo Hub
Kent Manston Airport, which closed in 2014, is set to be redeveloped as an important cargo and corporate hub.
Hoped to be ready by 2023 for reopening, the airfield is in close proximity to Dover and also London – making it in a beneficial position for cargo transport.
The hope is for Manston to handle more than 10,000 cargo flight movements every year.
British Airways Returning to Gatwick
BA have recently confirmed the return to Gatwick operations. In what was a shock surprise several months ago they announced a suspension and possible exit from the South London airport.
They now are ready to bring back long haul operations – starting with routes to the Caribbean. It’s likely short haul flights will remain solely at Heathrow for the foreseeable future, but it’s good news to see the airline not abandoning the second largest UK airport completely.
London City Airport is Back
In brilliant news for UK aviation, London City has reopened this week.
BA Cityflyer have been welcomed back with some key flights offered – and demand coming back at a surprising level.
KLM are to return early next week, as the airport slowly returns with new health and safety standards throughout the terminal.
United May Suffer Mass Furlough
The US carrier have announced they may be required to put up to 36,000 staff on furlough.
They expect capacity in July to be down by 75% on last year. It’s likely a big portion of their staff may be made redundant by this Covid-19 crisis.
Redeveloped Terminal B Opens at LaGuardia
The $4 billion redevelopment of New York’s LaGuardia Terminal B fully opened this week.
The new 850,000 square foot design incorporates state of the art facilities – and the first major US infrastructure upgrade in a long time.
Articles Posted This Week:
easyJet's Cost Cutting Strategy: Backed By a Political Motive?
A look into easyJet's Covid-19 strategy, and whether it is based on political means - is it just coronavirus underpinning their reaction?
Why the 747 Retirement Deserves to Completely Outshine the A380
Why I believe the Queen of The Skies deserves a hell of a lot more recognition than its European counterpart.
That’s it from this week – stay updated in the week on our Twitter and Instagram pages below!
Images used: ‘African International Airways Douglas DC-8 at Manston Airport’ by James Stewart. View here. Licensed under CC BY 2.0. View license. No changes made.
‘London City Airport at sunset’ by James Petts. View here. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. View license. No changes made.
