Effects of Covid-19 on airlines

[Big Boy]

I read this yesterday, and my very first temperature reading during this crisis was 37.5. I've had little more than a sniffle at any time over the last 4 months. I've checked a couple of online sites this morning, and they all say >37.5 indicates a fever.

So where do they get 37.3? I can see unnecessary chaos at check-in. Only the super-healthy can fly.

Airlines must prepare an adequate supply of cleaners on each flight.

Does this mean cleaning will go on throughout the flight (GWR style), or are they talking about things like hand gel?

[buksida]

airlines.jpg (109.18 KiB) Viewed 1225 times

[nil]

I read this yesterday, and my very first temperature reading during this crisis was 37.5. I've had little more than a sniffle at any time over the last 4 months. I've checked a couple of online sites this morning, and they all say >37.5 indicates a fever.

So where do they get 37.3? I can see unnecessary chaos at check-in. Only the super-healthy can fly.

Airlines must prepare an adequate supply of cleaners on each flight.

Does this mean cleaning will go on throughout the flight (GWR style), or are they talking about things like hand gel?

Thats what i've found too. The normal temperature range is considered as 36.5–37.5 °C. You would think that with the inaccuracy of the handheld infrared temperature scanners they would add a bit on top for false positives.

[Nereus]

British Airways to cut Gatwick operation and lay off 1130 pilots

https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/company ... spartanntp

British Airways plans to lose more than 1,100 pilots and make heavy cuts to its Gatwick airport operation as part of 12,000 redundancies.

The airline has informed staff of detailed plans after it announced on Tuesday evening that it intended to lay off up to 30% of its workforce.

Letters sent to union representatives for all sections of the airline set out swingeing cuts, as well as drastic changes to terms and conditions across the company as it responds to the grounding of most air travel since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

BA plans to lay off almost four in five crew managers at Gatwick and 60% of other cabin crew, more than 1100 of almost 1900 staff. The jobs of just over 400 ground staff will be outsourced to the airport and its contractors.

In emails to staff and unions, managers at BA warned that “there is no certainty as to when services can return” to London City or Gatwick airports, and that they had “not ruled out suspending the remainder of our Heathrow operation”.

Ground staff at Heathrow are also likely to be forced to accept the same contracts as recent starters, which pay around £10,000-15,000 less, according to employees.

All 4,346 pilots will be asked to sign new contracts changing their terms and conditions, and accept new rostering arrangements. BA will be seeking to lay off 1130 pilots.

Pilots union Balpa said it would fight to save every pilot job. The general secretary, Brian Strutton, said: “The company has declined government support claiming it is financially secure enough to survive the coronavirus crisis, so it is hard to see how these cuts can be justified.

“There are many options to ensure BA can continue its business and survive coronavirus and Balpa does not accept that job loss are the only answer.”

The Unite union has described BA’s moves as “unlawful and immoral”.

Around 22,000 BA employees were furloughed in April and May, while pilots accepted unpaid leave instead of furloughing to allow them to restart swiftly should travel recommence.

The general secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey, said: “UK taxpayers have not handed over their money to BA for it to embark on an opportunistic course of slashing jobs, conditions and wages, and potentially jeopardising jobs right across [the] aviation sector.”

BA’s parent company IAG announced the planned redundancies to the Stock Exchange on Tuesday. In a memo to staff, the BA chief executive, Álex Cruz, said: “What we are facing as an airline … is that there is no ‘normal’ any longer.

“We do not know when countries will reopen their borders or when the lockdowns will lift, and so we have to reimagine and reshape our airline and create a new future for our people, our customers and the destinations we serve.”

IAG has declined to seek government help, unlike Virgin Atlantic, which has so far been rebuffed, or EasyJet, which has received a £600m Bank of England loan.

[STEVE G]

I read this yesterday, and my very first temperature reading during this crisis was 37.5. I've had little more than a sniffle at any time over the last 4 months. I've checked a couple of online sites this morning, and they all say >37.5 indicates a fever.

So where do they get 37.3? I can see unnecessary chaos at check-in. Only the super-healthy can fly.

Airlines must prepare an adequate supply of cleaners on each flight.

Does this mean cleaning will go on throughout the flight (GWR style), or are they talking about things like hand gel?

The company I work for is operating cargo aircraft worldwide and the rules for cleaning and disinfecting are evolving and also different for various nations.
When they mention cleaners, they mean antiviral wipes, sprays and sanitizer dispensers.
Obviously meeting these requirements for a cargo aircraft with two to four people onboard is easy compared with a passenger aircraft.

[buksida]

Domestic flights resume with extra safety protocols
Four airlines resumed domestic flights on Friday with unprecedented public hygiene measures to reduce the possibility of Covid-19 transmission.

Nok Air, AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet Air were allowed to reinstate flights between 14 provinces after a month-long suspension now that the number of Covid-19 infections was falling.

The 14 provincial airports are in Lampang, Tak's Mae Sot, Phitsanulok, Buri Ram, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Roi Et, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Krabi, in addition to Don Mueang airport and Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.

The airlines are required to comply with additional health and safety measures prescribed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).

Perspex barriers have been installed to block contact between passengers and airport officials, according to Tawee Gasisam-ang, director-general of Department of Airports.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/19 ... -protocols

[buksida]

More foreign flights allowed
More airports have been given permission to operate special international flights between 7am and 7pm each day, according to a new order issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on Sunday.

After domestic flights resumed on Friday, most airports, except Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao, have remained closed to international flights.

The CAAT order allows all international airports, including Krabi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Samui, Surat Thani, Hat Yai and Hua Hin, to handle special status international flights, such as those repatriating foreign nationals or flying home Thai citizens.

Phuket International Airport will continue to be shut to the public until May 15 but will permit landings and takeoffs of overseas repatriation flights. Phuket has been one of the Covid-19 hotspots in the South, with 220 infections and two deaths so far.

However, scheduled, commercial flights to and from overseas destinations remain off-limits to international airports after the CAAT on April 27 extended the ban on them until the end of the month in a sustained effort to contain the outbreak.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/19 ... ts-allowed

[STEVE G]

The company that I work for, Cargolux,(I'm there now on a Sunday afternoon!), gets a mention in this article:

Queen of the skies: The Boeing 747 is playing a hero's role during Covid-19 crisis
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ ... index.html

"With the passenger fleet largely idled, cargo that once moved unknowingly under our feet on wide-body passenger jets has to find its way to market some other way.
Airlines have scrambled to take out seats to perform rudimentary conversions of passenger planes to keep them earning money, but it's the freighter fleet that is carrying the heaviest load.
"When it comes to this pandemic, seeing a 747 Freighter land at an airport is like in an old western, when the cavalry rides in to help the people in distress," said Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst and founder of Atmosphere Research Group.
"The 747 is definitely playing a hero's role in moving essential cargo around the world in this crisis."

[hhinner]

^^ But it's future looks bleak:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... jet-sunset


When Sir Richard Branson marked the 25th anniversary of Virgin Atlantic in 2009, he and the model Kate Moss posed on the wing of a Boeing 747. This symbol of the jet age was the only option for the billionaire showman. But a decade later, the plane has become a symbolic casualty of the chaos engulfing the airline industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Virgin Atlantic said it would retire all seven of its 747s.

More than 1,500 of the jumbo jets have been delivered over the 52 years it has been in service, but analysts say the savage decline in passenger traffic as governments seek to contain the spread of Covid-19 could hasten the decline of the plane, heralding an ignominious end for the so-called Queen of the Skies. ...

[Nereus]

The company that I work for, Cargolux,(I'm there now on a Sunday afternoon!), gets a mention in this article:

Is this why you are there now on a Sunday?

"You know that you're carrying lifesaving equipment down below, and you know it's going to make a difference to those who need it on the front lines.

747.jpg (25.84 KiB) Viewed 797 times

[STEVE G]

....Is this why you are there now on a Sunday?

I work in the Avionics department on the flight line and we provide 24 hour support, 365 days a year but yes, we are flying a lot of PPE and other medical supplies. Cargolux also specializes in flying temperature controlled pharmaceuticals which is obviously in high demand at the moment as well.

[pharvey]

The start of things to come....

Colombian Airline Avianca Files for Bankruptcy in US Court

"Colombia's national airline, Avianca, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court.

The carrier is the second-largest in Latin America, but its passenger operations have been grounded since March because of coronavirus.
It said the pandemic had cut more than 80% of its income, and it was struggling with high fixed costs.

If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Avianca will be the first major airline to go under amid the pandemic.

In a statement, the firm said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a court in New York. The process postpones a US company's obligations to its creditors, giving it time to reorganise its debts or sell parts of the business."


Taken from: - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-52612335

[buksida]

14 airports in operations, 8 others remain closed in Thailand
The Department of Airports (DOA), which operates 22 provincial airports across Thailand, is reiterating via its Facebook Page: Department Of Airports that 14 of its airports are in operations while either others remain close for this month.

For the period of 1-31 May, 2020, four airlines – Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet Air – have resumed domestic flight operations to DOA’s airports in Buri Ram, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Lampang, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phitsanulok, Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon, Surat Thani, Tak’s Mae Sot, Trang, Ubon Ratchathani, and Udon Thani.

There are no commercial domestic flights to DOA’s eight other airports in Chumphon, Hua Hin, Loei, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Narathiwat, Phrae, and Ranong. However, these airports are still in operation for emergency landings, state or military aircraft, cargo aircraft, and medical and relief flights.

The DOA is advising all passengers to follow the provincial orders regarding entry/exit rules before travelling.

Meanwhile, five of the six international airports managed and operated by the Airports of Thailand (AOT) have also seen domestic flight resumptions from early May. These include Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Mae Fah Luang-Chiang Rai, and Songkhla’s Hat Yai International Airports. However, the Phuket International Airport remains closed until 15 May, 2020.

https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnew ... and-299357

[Nereus]

A Thai Government-organised Thai Airways flight will fly from Bangkok to Sydney on 20 May. Please enter your details here to express your interest in this flight. Registrations will be accepted using this form only. This applies even if you have already contacted the embassy to express your interest or request consular assistance.

If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, please ensure you have a valid visa and, if required, a travel exemption to allow you to travel before registering for this flight. More information on the travel ban exemption is available here: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/coming-australia.

[PeteC]

Update: Phuket airport reopening delayed again

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/phuk ... -paperwork

UPDATE:
In a surprise reversal, The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has announced the postponement of the reopening of Phuket International airport indefinitely. Although Phuket has gone 13 days with no new Covid 19 infections, it is still considered a risk area that “needs to be monitored to stop the spread of the disease to other areas as well as within Phuket.” At the recommendation of the CCSA, the airport is to remain closed until further notice......