British Airways has furloughed thousands of employees again after the UK government's plan to begin reopening international travel from 17 May fell short of industry expectations. BA has confirmed a BBC report which says that the airline has put thousands of staff back under the government's coronavirus job-retention scheme. The scheme pays 80% of eligible employees' wages, up to a cap of £2,500 ($3,536) per month. It has been extended from the end of June until the end of September 2021, although grants will reduce to 70% of wages (up to a maximum of £2,187.50 per month) in July and 60% of wages (with a monthly cap of £1,875) in August. It is understood that affected employees include those working in management and those not linked to safety operations or operational-critical roles. "Like many companies, we are using the furlough scheme to protect jobs during this unprecedented crisis," states BA. "However, it's vital the government follows its risk-based framework to reopen international travel as soon as possible, putting more low-risk countries like the US on its green list at the next available opportunity." The aviation industry has been frustrated with the government's traffic-light system, which was put in place to enable international travel to restart from 17 May. Only a handful of countries have made the green list – meaning travellers do not need to self-isolate when they return to the UK – and the government is advising people against visiting amber-list countries for holidays. Popular holiday destination Portugal was initially on the green list, but was removed with little notice shortly after it opened up, prompting a last-minute dash back to the UK by travellers keen to avoid quarantine.

The administrators of Air Mauritius have secured a further postponement to the deadline for presenting a plan of reorganisation to the carrier's creditors. In a stock market disclosure on 8 June, administrators Grant Thornton say they have gained supreme court clearance to hold the watershed meeting no later than 31 January 2022. The administrators Sattar Hajee Abdoula and Arvindsingh Gokhool had previously had until 30 June to present the plan, itself a postponement from an original deadline of December 2020. Grant Thornton says discussions are under way to finalise the "financial means" and the "structural reforms" to be implemented at the flag carrier. Abdoula says the administrators final proposals will depend "greatly on the support funding" that the future backers of Air Mauriritus are prepared to invest in the carrier. "Discussions were initiated and we hope that the necessary arbitrations will be made quickly,", Abdoula adds. The island-based carrier filed for voluntary administration in April 2020.

Airbus plans to raise production of A320 family aircraft to 45 units per month by the end of 2021 and 60 in spring 2023, according to Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury. Speaking to the Airlines for Europe annual summit, Faury comments that the manufacturer is looking to boost production rates to reflect reduced deliveries through the crisis, with airlines looking to restart the renewal of their fleets as the recovery takes hold. Airbus was producing roughly 60 A320 family jets before the crisis hit, with Faury continuing that the manufacturer would return to these rates "three years after the start of the pandemic". The French OEM is currently producing 40 a month. He notes that in contrast to the steady demand for short and medium haul aircraft, for widebodies it is a matter of "lower for longer", as intercontinental travel remains stymied by travel restrictions. In response to a question about how the manufacturer is looking to develop its product offering in the years to come, Faury responds that "the evolution will be on those existing platforms", adding that they are "more looking at how to evolve those platforms." He continues that Airbus is "seriously working" on longer-term aircraft solutions, including hydrogen – with an expectation that the first hydrogen-powered aircraft would enter service by 2035. "The speed at which things are changing at the moment, I am more and more optimistic every day", he adds.