Aviation Covid-19 Situation Report (28th March 2020)

March 28, 2020

To keep our affiliates updated, we will be posting daily Covid-19 situation reports on our blog. These reports will focus on the effect the virus is having on the aviation industry, and specifically on aviation workers. These reports are a compilation of publically available information provided to us by our affiliates and media outlets.

If you have information to provide please contact us at civilaviation@itf.org.uk.

The ITF cannot guarantee that the information provided is accurate at the time of reading. This update is not complete as we can only post what information we have been given by our affiliates or on news outlets.

Keep up to date on all transport COVID-19 stories at https://www.itfglobal.org/en/news-events/covid-19-updates.

Global

• Ground handler Menzies has temporarily cut half of its active global workforce, approximately 17,500 workers across 34 countries. 

Albania

• All international flights from Tirana (TIA) have been suspended.

Algeria

• Domestic and international flights are suspended until April 4.

Austria

• All flights from Czech Republic, France, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and outside of the Schengen area are suspended.

Azerbaijan

• Flights to Russia and Iran have been suspended.

Bahrain

• Flights to Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan and Morocco are suspended until further notice.

Canada

• Members of the Canadian Labour Congress has called on the Canadian federal government to ensure that federal relief for airlines focuses on workers. 
• Commuter airline, Harbour Air, has suspended operations and expects to be flying again by May 4. 

Cape Verde

• Authorities in Cape Verde are further restricting air travel and reduced inter-island air services from March 27-April 17.

China

• China’s domestic seats now down just 8% year on year. 

Cyprus

• Authorities have banned all passenger traffic until April 4 with the exception of outbound repatriation flights.

Democratic Republic of Congo

• In addition to all international flights, all domestic flights between Kinshasa and the provinces has been indefinitely suspended.

Egypt

• All traffic to the country’s airports is suspended through April 15.

European Union

• The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and other members of the European Aviation Social Dialogue Committee have released a joint statement calling on the European Commission to support and protect the industry. 
• The European Commission has issued guidance to states on supporting air cargo operations in the EU.
• EASA have issued new guidelines to protect cabin crew and pilots from COVID-19.

Georgia

• All international flights have been banned until at least April 1.

Germany

• Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH, the operated of Berlin’s airports have agreed to introduce a short-time work policy for its approximately 2,200 workers with its work council. This has mostly been achieved through reducing hours. The agreement sees workers earning 80% of their net pay, and 90% net pay for single parents. 

Iraq

• All international flights have been suspended until April 11.

Israel

• El Al has suspended all passenger operations until at least April 4.

Lebanon

• Authorities have closed Beirut (BEY) airport and regional airports until at least April 12.

Malaysia

• Air Asia and Air Asia X will suspend services from 28 March. Air Asia will be grounded until 21 April, while Air Asia X will be grounded until 31 May. 

Morocco

• All flights to/from Morocco are suspended indefinitely.

Mongolia

• The Mongolian government has effectively banned all international travel. International flights to Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Japan, South Korea and Turkey remain suspended.

Mozambique

• All inter-island connections have been suspended, but airports remain open. This will be in effect from March 27-April 17.

Netherlands

• All flights to Austria, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Spain have been suspended indefinitely.

North Macedonia

• Authorities have closed both airports – Skopje and Ohrid – to foreign citizens.

Portugal

• All flights to/from Italy have been suspended.

Saudi Arabia

• All domestic flights have been suspended until at least April 4.
• All international flights have been suspended until at least March 29.

Senegal

• Authorities have suspended international and regional flights from March 20-April 17 however local flights are continuing.

Singapore

• JetStar Asia Airways has suspended operations through April 15.

Sudan

• All international flights have been suspended into Sudan for an unknown period of time.

South Africa

• South African Airways temporarily suspends all operations until 16 April. 

South Sudan

• All international commercial flights have been suspended indefinitely from March 24.

Tunisia

• Tunisia’s air border are closed to passengers indefinitely.

Turkey

• As of 29 March, passengers on domestic flights will be obliged to present documentation proving they have been allowed to travel by their governor.
• Pegasus Airlines have announced that all domestic flights will stop from 28 March-30 April.
• On 27 March, Turkey suspended all international flights.
• Turkish Airlines has announced that it is limiting domestic flights to only Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Samsun, Trabzon, Erzurum, Diyarbakir, Malatya, Van, Gaziantep, Konya, Adana, Antalya and Kayseri, from 28 March.

Ukraine

• All passenger air traffic has been suspended indefinitely from March 27.

United Kingdom

• UK ground handlers Swissport, Dnata, Menzies and WFS have written to the UK government seeking urgent dialogue to obtain support. Together they have a combined workforce of 25,000 in the UK.

Yemen

• Sana’a International Airport (SAH) is closed until at least April 1.

Zambia

• Ndola (NLA), Livingstone (LVA) and Mfuwe (MFU) airports are closed indefinitely as of March 25. Lusaka (LUN) remains open until further notice.

Zimbabwe

• All commercial air travel has been suspended indefinitely.

Tags: coronavirus, COVID-19