LONDON: Heathrow airport has seen passenger numbers decline by 18 per cent during quarter one, with 14.6 million guests arriving over the period. As the toll from the coronavirus grows, numbers are expected to be down by around 97 per cent in April. Overall revenue fell 12.7 per cent, to £593 million, while adjusted EBITDA fell by 22.4 per cent to £315 million However, the airport said it has £3.2 billion in liquidity, “sufficient to maintain the business at least over the next 12 months, even with no passengers”. Officials took action to conserve cash and reduce costs by around…
Author: holidayweekly
GENEVA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that its rescheduled 76thAnnual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from November 23-24. IATA ’s 76th AGM and World Air Transport Summit will be hosted by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines at the RAI Convention Centre. The dates were selected in anticipation that government restrictions on travel will have been lifted and that the public health authorities in the Netherlands will permit large gatherings at that time. IATA will work with public health authorities to ensure that all precautions are taken for the meeting…
MANAMA: In line with national efforts aimed at combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in coordination with a number of Bahraini enterprises specialising in medical supplies, assisted in the importation of 9 tons of medical items needed to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19, as well as general medications, medical equipment and hygienic products. The medical drugs and equipment were chartered on special Gulf Air flights in an initiative spearheaded by Team Bahrain. The collaboration between the national carrier and the local companies is to ensure the Kingdom possesses an abundant supply…
ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has suffered a loss of over Rs10.5 billion in last two months due to suspension of flight operation in the wake of Covid-19. According to the Aviation Division, the CAA suffered a loss of Rs67.5 million per day in April due to the suspension of flight operations across the world amid the coronavirus outbreak. Mr.Abul Sattar Khokhar Senior, Joint Secretary Aviation Division told that the suspension of international flights is causing a loss of Rs2.5 billion per week to CAA. “Over 1000 flights used to pass through Pakistani air space daily. The figure has…
MONTREAL: The International Air Transport Association has announced Sebastian Mikosz will join the organisation as Senior Vice President for member and external relations. The appointment will take effect on June 1st. Most recently, Mikosz was group Managing Director and Chief Executive of Kenya Airways (2017-2019), during which time he served on the IATA board of governors. During his tenure this carrier was recognised as Africa’s Leading Airline Business Class by voters at the World Travel Awards. At IATA, Mikosz will lead global advocacy activities and aero-political policy development, along with managing strategic relationships. Mikosz will report to chief executive, Alexandre…
BEIJING: China’s most populous cities saw a spike in outbound travellers, tourists and day-trippers on May 1, first day of a long holiday weekend, led by Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic that first struck the country late last year. The number of people travelling outside their home cities jumped nearly 50% at the start of the Labour Day weekend, compared with the first day of the Tomb Sweeping holiday on April 4, according to a calculation on data from China’s internet giant Baidu Inc (BIDU.O). The increase in outbound travel during the five-day holiday, one of China’s peak tourism…
American Airlines has reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.2 billion, or $5.26 per share. Excluding net special items, first-quarter net losses totaled $1.1 billion. Revenue at the US-based carrier dropped nearly 20 per cent year-on-year to $8.52 billion. “Never before has our airline, or our industry, faced such a significant challenge,” said American Airlines chief executive, Doug Parker. “We have moved quickly and aggressively to reduce our costs and bolster our liquidity. “We are particularly grateful for the $5.8 billion in financial assistance American will receive through the payroll support program, and we appreciate the bipartisan congressional and United…
ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines will only begin operating domestic and international flights after May 28, the company announced on Tuesday. Turkey’s national flag carrier said the decision to extend the suspension of operations has been taken in the public interest. “In accordance with decisions taken by the state authorities, all flights have been suspended until May 28, 2020, in order to protect public health in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” read a statement issued by the airline. The company had earlier suspended all international flights through May 20, while domestic flights were suspended through May 1. “We know it…
LONDON: British Airways may be forced to cut more than a quarter of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on one of Europe’s biggest airlines. Parent company IAG (ICAGY) said in a statement day that British Airways is notifying labor unions about a restructuring program which will affect most employees and “may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them.” IAG, which also includes Spanish airline Iberia, said its first quarter revenues declined 13% to €4.6 billion ($5 billion) as it swung to an operating loss of €535 million ($579 million). The airline group warned…
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) chartered flight will depart for Washington on May 12 to bring back stranded countrymen, sources told. The national flag carrier after approval from the US for direct flights to repatriate stranded Pakistanis has started planning the flights schedule. The flight to US will fly back on May 10 to Lahore International Airport carrying 250 passengers. Four additional flights will depart from Islamabad airport for Dubai and the UK. The arrangement was made after PIA was allowed to operate direct flights to the US to airlift its stranded citizens last week. The permission was granted by…