South Africa will reopen four further airports to domestic travel, bringing the total number of operational gateways in the country to 18. The airports being reopened are Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa in Limpopo, and Margate in KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa relaxed its restrictions on movement slightly on 18 August to enable greater economic activity, although international air travel remains banned. Flight data shows that on 25 August just 64 flights departed from South African airports, against 448 a year prior – a decline of 86%. In terms of flight duration, departing services on that day accounted for a total 112 hours, compared to 950 hours a year before. However there is evidence that domestic activity is picking up. On 25 August, there was an 88% increase in flight hours against the same period last week, when just 34 flights departed South African airports. Current flight operations in the country are almost entirely domestic, with just six international services departing on 25 August.

Source: Cirium

Spirit Airlines’ pilots have agreed to work fewer hours as part of a deal that will prevent the airline from needing to lay off 600 of pilots. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) says nearly half of Spirit’s pilots will “temporarily work fewer hours each month” to prevent the layoffs, which would start as soon as 1 October. On that day, US airlines that received financial aid through a US government coronavirus relief bill can begin laying off staff. The bill prohibits airlines that took money from laying off workers until then. “Spirit Airlines’ pilots and management worked together to reach an agreement that mitigates the remaining furloughs planned for October 2020,” Scott Vallach, chairman of ALPA’s Spirit Airlines council, says. “Effective immediately, the 600 planned furloughs have been cancelled.” ALPA notes that airlines industry-wide have warned more than 11,000 US pilots that they may lose their jobs come October. More broadly, some 80,000 US airline industry jobs may be at risk due to looming downsizing, according to carriers. “Currently, dozens of other ALPA pilot groups are exploring various furlough mitigation plans to preserve as many jobs as possible until the industry recovers,” the union says.

Source: Cirium

Thailand's Central Bankruptcy Court could decide on 14 September whether the country's flag carrier will be permitted to restructure under business rehabilitation. Thai Airways on 25 August concluded three days of court hearings, following its filing for business rehabilitation back in May. The first hearing was held on 17 August, and among other things, criticism was levelled against one of the rehabilitation planners, EY Corporate Advisory Services. In addition, the court set dates for two additional hearings, on 20 and 25 August. At the 20 August hearing, one of the 16 creditors which had previously raised objections to Thai's rehabilitation plan withdrew that objection. On 25 August, another creditor, Data Products Toppan Forms, an ATM card manufacturer, presented its witnesses to the court. The court also scheduled the next hearing for 14 September, 10:00. Thai Airways said in a same-day statement: "Today's process of investigating complaints has been smooth and promising." The court said at yesterday's hearing that it had gained enough information from witnesses to give a verdict but will allow seven days for parties to file an objection, the Nikkei Asian Review reports, citing local media. If there is no objection, the court will decide on 14 September whether to approve the rehabilitation. If the court approves the airline for business rehabilitation at that hearing, Thai Airways' legal execution department will notify all creditors about the registration procedure for submitting debt settlement requests. It will also invite creditors to hear details about the rehabilitation plan.

Source: Cirium