British Airways' new chief executive Sean Doyle is pressing the UK government for a rapid rollout of pre-flight Covid-19 testing at airports as a means of eliminating the requirement for passengers to quarantine. "We think pre-departure testing is the way forward," he said during the Airlines 2050 conference today. "There is a risk we will not see beyond this crisis if we do not get people flying again." Highlighting evidence that quarantine of just one week is enough to deter passengers from taking flights, BA is focused on removing them altogether. To this end, the IAG-owned airline is urging the establishment of a pre-flight testing pilot scheme which can then be rolled out on a wider scale – but complains of being left in the dark as to the authorities' strategy. "At the moment we are not getting any support or action, and we are not hearing from government what they're thinking," says Doyle. BA is particularly keen to reduce the need for quarantines on transatlantic routes, but this will require an agreement between the US and UK governments. The carrier's US network has shrunk from 30 cities pre-pandemic to less than half that now, Doyle notes, while its 12 daily flights to New York have reduced to just two, often carrying fewer than 200 passengers pay day. Doyle replaced Alex Cruz as BA chief last month, having previously headed up Irish IAG stablemate Aer Lingus. Speaking as part of the same event, following Doyle, UK transport secretary Grant Shapps outlined his hopes that a test-and-release scheme would be ready in around six weeks' time. This would involve Covid-19 testing of self-quarantined passengers one week after their arrival back in the UK. He dismisses the viability of pre-flight testing because it "may wrongly tell people they are not bringing Covid back with them". Launched last year, Airlines 2050 is hosted by FlightGlobal in partnership with industry groups Airlines UK, BAR UK and IATA.

Source: Cirium

UK airlines desperately need a coronavirus testing regime in place avoid a “really, really bleak winter” for the industry, according to Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK. “All airlines today are effectively going bankrupt,” he states during the Airlines 2050 conference. “It’s just a matter of time, depending on their own balance sheets and their own economic situations.” Calling on the government to take action on the introduction of pre-flight coronavirus testing as soon as possible, Alderslade says “we know the clock is ticking”. He notes progress on testing is being made by the UK government through a task force which is due to report its findings soon, but cautions that “airlines are running out of money, and if we cannot get a testing regime in place, economic measures come to the fore”. On the latter point, he highlights the importance of the UK’s economy-wide furlough scheme in helping airlines through the last few months, but laments that little sector-specific support is available looking forward. In the absence of either a comprehensive testing regime or further financial help, UK airlines could collapse. Then, ”you are effectively outsourcing your connectivity to heavily subsidised overseas carriers”, Alderslade states, citing the government bailouts given to airlines elsewhere in Europe, including Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, which ensures their survival. UK aviation summit Airlines 2050 – launched last year by airline groups Airlines UK, BAR UK and IATA UK, alongside FlightGlobal – is being held today via a live online stream.

Source: Cirium

Collapsed UK regional operator Flybe’s administrators have been holding talks with parties interested in acquiring the business, with prospects potentially raised by success in retaining the company’s operating licence and slots. Flybe ceased operations in early March this year and is being overseen by four joint administrators. These administrators state that a sale of the business and certain assets “may be possible” and that “a number of parties” have shown interest in such a transaction – although they point out that a transaction would be “unlikely” to include sale of the company as a legal entity. “We continue to facilitate due diligence,” the administrators add, in a 2 October update. But they are withholding the identities of the parties, and not disclosing the nature of the assets involved, in order “not to prejudice” the negotiations. The administrators’ efforts to sell the company have received a lift after they won a legal tussle to retain the carrier’s operating licence – which is crucial to the airline’s retaining its airport slots. Slots are being considered as part of the business transactions under discussion. Flybe’s license had faced revocation by the UK Civil Aviation Authority and this decision was being appealed. But as the appeal was progressing, the onset of the pandemic led to amendment of European Union air transport legislation, and this changed the threshold test for assessing revocation of the operating license. The administrators successfully argued for a fresh assessment and, on 9 July, the CAA withdrew its revocation decision. In response, the administrators withdrew their appeal, and Flybe was permitted to keep its licence, subject to certain undertakings. Even with the licence retention, Flybe faces legal wrangle over the slots it held at London Heathrow. These slots were taken over by IAG, the parent of British Airways, after Flybe ceased operations, but the administrators are “challenging” this action. Flybe was granted grandfathering rights over the Heathrow slots by the European Commission on 4 August, the administrators state. “In light of the ongoing dispute with IAG, we are unable to comment further on the company’s prospects for realising value from this asset at present,” they add. Uncertainty also surrounds Flybe’s air operator’s certificate, which is subject to a separate revocation proposal and panel hearing from the CAA, on the grounds that the airline could no longer meet the regulatory requirements to hold the AOC. “We have argued that such a hearing should be delayed whilst there is an opportunity to financially reconstruct the company,” the administrators state, adding that no hearing date has been set.