Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung has offered a cautious outlook for air travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with Bloomberg television, Ong described the trade-off leaders faced in March, when Covid-19 was less understood and there was a shortage of testing capacity. “Back in March it was a very stark trade-off,” he says. “Either you close your borders and suffer economic consequences, or you open up, get infected with the virus, and you still have economic consequences.” In March, Singapore could only conduct 2,000 tests daily, mainly in hospitals or for acute cases. Singapore still faces the same trade-off, but it is less stark given that the virus is well under control locally, with negligible transmission rates, and testing capacity is no longer as much of a constraint, with Singapore conducting 30,000 tests daily, going up to 40,000 in November. “A good proportion of tests will be dedicated to airport usage, and the airport will set up its own dedicated test lab,” says Ong. “With this we can strike a better balance between travel and epidemic control.” He acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic has been extremely challenging for Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport. On the decision to stop development of the planned Terminal 5 for two years, Ong said that the assumptions behind the plan have “totally changed.” Moving forward, he said the country plans to gradually open its borders and keep air links with key destinations. “We can’t wait around for the vaccine to happen,” he says. He adds that a widely available vaccine is essential, and that this could happen in one year to 18 months. “When there is a vaccine and it is widely available around the world and people gain confidence to travel again and visit other countries, then we’ll have aviation almost fully on his feet again. How long would that take? I can’t make a guess. I would say minimally a couple of years.”

Source: Cirium

Lufthansa will bring four Airbus A350-900s out of storage to operate in place of the less fuel-efficient Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A340-300 aircraft deployed on three long-haul routes from Frankfurt. The German carrier says it will use A350s for flights from Frankfurt to Chicago and Los Angeles until the end of March. The Airbus jets are "temporarily replacing" 747-8 on those US routes. From December, Lufthansa will deploy the A350 instead of the A340-300 on its Frankfurt-Tokyo Haneda route. Munich-based crew will operate the A350 flights from Frankfurt. Lufthansa says the A350 consumes about 12% less fuel and emits less carbon dioxide than the 747-8. "By operating the A350-900 in Frankfurt, the fleet will be optimally used in an efficient and sustainable way under the current circumstances," adds the airline. It has 16 A350-900s, all of which are based in Munich. However, citing the "sharp reduction" in the number of flights amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the carrier says it will operate only seven A350s from Munich initially in the winter period, on routes to North America and Asia. Lufthansa had said last month that it intended to keep its 747-8s in service while grounding all its Airbus A380s amid a stepped-up fleet-reduction effort and a wider industry trend toward smaller long-haul twinjets. On 21 September, the carrier disclosed its decision to retire 150 aircraft by the middle of the decade – 50 more than previously announced. Eight parked A380s have been "removed from planning" and will only be reactivated in the event of an "unexpectedly rapid market recovery".

Source: Cirium

ACI World and IATA have issued a joint call for non-debt-generating financial support to “prevent the systemic collapse” of the aviation industry. “The Covid-19 pandemic remains an existential crisis, and airports, airlines and their commercial partners need direct and swift financial assistance to protect essential operations and jobs,” said ACI World director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira during a briefing today. “Without this action, it is not an exaggeration that the industry is facing collapse.” The airports and airlines bodies also reiterated their demand for a universal testing regime to be introduced globally as a means to “safely reopen borders and re-establish global connectivity” amid a dire situation for international flights. “We need action quickly,” states IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac. “Momentum is building in support of testing to reopen borders. It’s the top operational priority.” The two associations believe that the measures described would avert an employment crisis in the travel and tourism sector, while at the same time keeping “critical aviation structure” viable, supporting the economic and social benefits of the industry. Governments are therefore being urged by ACI and IATA “to address the devastating impact of border closures and other government-imposed travel restrictions by supporting aviation’s viability through direct financial support”. On testing, the two bodies have again called on the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force to provide an internationally agreed approach to replace the quarantine requirements and travel restrictions that are currently stymieing connectivity.

Source: Cirium