Heathrow records 97% drop in passenger numbers in April

The number of passengers travelling through Heathrow last month was down by around 97% compared with April 2019, the airport has announced. It expects passenger demand will “remain weak” until governments around the world “deem it safe to lift travel restrictions”. Heathrow recorded an 18.3% year-on-year decline in demand to 14.6 million passengers between January…

BREAKING Ryanair to cut up to 3,000 jobs amid COVID-19 crisis

Ryanair is planning to shed up to 3,000 jobs because of the “unprecedented” coronavirus crisis. The budget airline also hit out at the state bailout of competitors, including Lufthansa and Air France, which chief executive Michael O’Leary has criticised as “financial doping” and “manifestly unfair”. The jobs to go will be mainly pilot and cabin…

Airbus is developing a solution to install freight pallets directly onto the cabin floor after removal of the economy-class seats

Airbus is developing a modification for A330 and A350 family aircraft which will enable airlines to install freight pallets directly onto the cabin floor seat tracks, after removal of the economy-class seats. This solution will help with the airlines’ own business continuity, and also alleviate the global shortage of ‘belly-freight’ air cargo capacity due to…

ALERT Air Mauritius goes into voluntary administration

Air Mauritius went into voluntary administration on Wednesday due to the debilitating impact of travel bans to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Air Mauritius expects not to be able to meet its financial obligations “in the foreseeable future”. The board hopes that going into administration will safeguard the interest of the company and…