Garuda's creditors given three weeks to file claims
December 15, 2021
Garuda Indonesia's creditors have just over three weeks to file debt claims against the airline, following a Jakarta court's decision to grant a temporary suspension of debt-payment obligations. The court has set 6 January, 17:00 local time, as the deadline for creditors to file their claims, according to a 14 December announcement from Garuda placed in three local newspapers. The announcement outlines the key milestones and deadlines that the court has set for Garuda and its creditors. It also names Dulhusin as the judge appointed to supervise the process, as well as six administrators: Jandri Siadari, Martin Patrick Nagel, Albert Hasoloan Limbong, Asri, Mulyadi and William Eduard Daniel. The court's 9 December decision to allow the temporary suspension of debt-payment obligations (PKPU) gives Garuda 45 days to submit a "composition plan that includes the restructuring of Garuda's business obligations to creditors". The supervisory judge has scheduled on 24 January a "deliberation meeting" of a panel of judges to decide on the case. Leading up to the deliberation meeting, the supervisory judge has set three meetings on various matters. These include a 21 December meeting to determine the schedule for the first creditors' meeting, a 20 January creditors' meeting for tax verification and receivables matching, and a meeting on 21 January to determine the schedule for the hearing to discuss and vote on the composition plan and/or a proposed PKPU extension.
UK scraps Covid travel red list
December 15, 2021
The UK government will remove all 11 countries from its travel red list at 04:00 local time on 15 December. All existing Covid-19 testing requirements will remain in place and will be reviewed in the first week of January, UK health secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons on 14 December. The move means that from tomorrow, travellers arriving in England from Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe will no longer be required to quarantine in government-appointed hotels. The UK added South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia to its red list on 26 November, following the emergence in South Africa of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. With Omicron now spreading rapidly within the UK, however, the decision has been taken to scrap the red list entirely. Trade association Board of Airline Representatives (BAR UK) has welcomed the move as a "pragmatic" step, and is calling for all travellers from the 11 countries already in quarantine hotels to be released immediately and refunded. It also argues that the testing restrictions are "ineffective" and says a January review is "critical". Airport Operators Association (AOA) chief executive Karen Dee says the removal of all 11 countries from the red list is "a welcome recognition that these measures have little purpose when Omicron is rapidly becoming the dominant variant in the UK". She adds that "it is difficult to understand why the UK and devolved governments did not recognise that the same logic applies to the blanket, expensive and burdensome testing regime".
Airlines urge UK to roll back Omicron restrictions
December 14, 2021
The largest airlines operating in the UK have called on prime minister Boris Johnson to remove the "disproportionate" travel restrictions enacted to slow the spread of Omicron, as well as provide further economic support to the sector. Amid the rapid spread of the Covid-19 variant over recent weeks, the UK government placed several African countries back onto its 'red' list, effectively closing down travel to and from those destinations, and made it mandatory for everyone arriving in the UK, including the fully vaccinated, to complete a pre-departure PCR test. The chief executives of British Airways, Ryanair, EasyJet, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2.com, Tui UK & Ireland and Loganair, as well as lobby group Airlines UK, argue in a joint letter that such moves have "severely undermined customer sentiment", hurting bookings into the crucial Christmas and New Year periods when up to 30% of annual tickets are typically sold. Such action could lead to "permanent scarring" of the industry, they warn. The letter, published ahead of meeting between several airlines and government officials on 13 December, calls on authorities to remove the need for testing of fully vaccinated individuals and for an immediate package of "bespoke economic support measures" for the sector. "Only the UK requires pre-departure and post-arrival PCR tests, irrespective of vaccination status. Whilst we have heard much talk of cracking down on the ‘rip-off’ testing regime – charging up to £399 [$529] for a PCR test – we’ve seen precious little action, despite repeated promises," it states. The signatories add that organisational problems have arisen for arrivals from red-list countries that have left passengers severely out of pocket. "Many people are stranded abroad through no fault of their own, due to a policy that cannot be executed properly." In recent days, the UK's largest airport London Heathrow warned that travellers were cancelling trips because of the spread of Omicron, while several airlines have noted a drop-off in bookings and souring customer sentiment.