Over 1,000 flights are being planned for the two-week 'Operation Matterhorn' repatriation programme following leisure giant Thomas Cook Group's collapse. The first day of the programme, 23 September, involved 64 flights and the transport of more than 14,700 passengers – over 95% of those due to return from holiday on that date, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority. It states that another 74 flights carrying 16,500 customers are scheduled to operate on 24 September, and that more than 1,000 flights will be carried out by the time the repatriation ends on 6 October. "We will do everything we can to minimise [disruption to passengers] as the operation continues," says chief executive Richard Moriarty. It has not identified specific carriers involved in the repatriation but various operators – from flag carriers and budget airlines to wet-lease specialists and leisure airlines – were recruited to conduct a similar effort when Monarch Airlines ceased flying two years ago. Thomas Cook Airlines, ironically, had been among the carriers assisting with that programme, and the airline subsequently picked up several ex-Monarch aircraft to add to its own fleet.

Source: FlightGlobal

Slowing passenger demand and rising costs are set to pull airline profits back this year, IATA has warned. Profits will decline to $28 billion in 2019 from $30 billion last year, predicts the airline association's director general Alexandre de Juniac. "The trend is more in the decreasing mode than the increasing mode," says de Juniac. "A big uncertainty is the oil price." Singling out air cargo in particular, he notes that demand was 3.2% weaker in July 2019 than in the same month last year. He was speaking on a press call to mark the 40th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is convening today in Montreal. Foremost among IATA's hopes for the assembly is encouraging ICAO member states to back a market-based industry effort to combat climate change, namely the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Three years ago, ICAO member states agreed to implement CORSIA, which is a mitigation programme for the industry. During the 40th assembly, IATA is pushing states to reconfirm their commitment to "stick to the principle that aviation's international emissions should be accounted for only once, with no duplication". This has run into opposition from the EU and several European countries, who are looking to enact their own market-based policies to reduce carbon from the sector in addition to CORSIA, such as the emissions trading system. De Juniac warns that these efforts risk undermining the scheme: "The strength of CORSIA is that it is to be applicable everywhere in the same way… If states take unilateral measures… it will unbalance the program," he says, identifying a risk the industry could suffer double charging in some jurisdictions "There is a single programme. We should abide by the single programme full stop," he says. De Juniac also notes that the industry has already made large strides in its efforts to combat climate change. Having brought in the first measures to combat carbon emissions around 10 years ago, the industry is making more progress than expected, he argues. Although overall emissions are rising, he notes that per-passenger they have fallen by 3-4%, against an expected level of 1-2%. IATA hopes that by 2050 airlines will emit just half the carbon that they did in 2011.

Source: FlightGlobal

Leisure firm Thomas Cook Group and its associated UK companies have filed for compulsory liquidation after discussions on recapitalisation and restructuring fell through. The company says in a 23 September statement that the discussions "have not resulted in agreement" between its stakeholders and potential investors, leaving the board with "no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect." It made the application to the UK High Court and was granted permission to appoint an official receiver to act as the company's liquidator. Special managers were appointed to assist the official receiver with the liquidation, the UK government says in a statement. AlixPartners has been assigned to oversee the airline and tour operator companies, and KPMG, the retail division and aircraft maintenance companies. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also stepped in to conduct repatriation flights between 23 September and 6 October, either with CAA-operated flights or existing flights with other carriers depending on location. "We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook’s future for its employees, customers and suppliers. Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable," says Thomas Cook's chief executive Peter Fankhauser. The fate of Thomas Cook Airlines' affiliated carriers based in Denmark and Spain remains unclear, as their websites are offline at the time of writing. However, its German affiliate Condor posted on its Twitter account stating that it remains in operation, even though its website is offline. Just days before, Thomas Cook Group said on 20 September that it was in discussions to secure a £200 million ($250 million) standby fund on top of its previous capital injection. Earlier, it reached a provisional agreement covering the "key commercial terms" of a £900 million capital injection, one involving Chinese tourism group Fosun, with plans to implement by October.

Source: FlightGlobal