Avianca says initial motions in the proceedings for reorganisation under its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing have been approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, allowing it to pay employees and creditors and maintain some operations. The Bogota-based airline voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week following the “unpredictable impact” of the coronavirus crisis on its operations. “We are very pleased with the prompt approval by the court of our “first day” motions related to employees, customers, travel agency partners and suppliers, among others,” Avianca chief executive Anko van der Werff said on 12 May. “This was an important and positive step forward in our reorganisation and supports Avianca continuing to operate through this process.” Van der Werff adds that the process is a “responsible way” to protect and preserve the 100-year-old company as it navigates the coronavirus’ impact on the airline, tourism and air transport industry. Prior to the crisis, the Colombian carrier was implementing an ambitious new strategic restructuring plan called “Avianca 2021”, following the bankruptcy of Avianca Brazil and after a several management changes last year. The court approved several motions that allow Avianca to pay wages, compensation and benefits, maintain customer service programmes and honor obligations to travel agencies, vendors and suppliers. On 10 May, Avianca voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in order to restructure its balance sheet and obligations and to manage aircraft orders, leases and other responsibilities. In court documents, Avianca said 14 jets on lease from AerCap, GECAS, GOAL, Orix Aviation were “excess aircraft” and no longer required under the airline’s business plan. The airline says its next court date will be 11 June 2020.

Source: Cirium

Auckland airport is bringing forward runway pavement replacement work while operations are at a minimum during the Covid-19 outbreak. “We’ve experienced a significant reduction in flights and passenger numbers, with aircraft movements currently 90-95% lower than a normal busy day," Andre Lovatt, general manager of airport development and delivery, said in a statement on 11 May. "This project has been planned for some time," he adds, "but it was clear that we had an opportunity to bring construction forward to the earliest available time while runway movements are at an all-time low." The operator says construction begins in two weeks and will last eight to 10 weeks. Using a displaced threshold method, the existing runway will be shortened by 1.1 km but aircraft continue to operate while work is carried out safely. Under normal circumstances, there could be a need for airlines to reduce aircraft weight but the operator says it does not anticipate this with fewer fully laden aircraft flying. This project, valued at NZ$26 million ($15.8 million), is "a critical component of Auckland Airport’s much reduced infrastructure development programme over the next couple of years, one which prioritises selected capital projects that are focused on essential safety and asset maintenance". The operator says these were designed to accommodate passenger numbers that were projected to double by 2044. Lovatt said: “It’s extremely disappointing to put on hold much of the [NZ$1.2 billion] worth of construction projects already underway around the precinct prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. "But with no certainty around when the aviation market will recover it just isn’t realistic to keep progressing these projects at this point in time.”

Source: Cirium

Singapore's Changi airport will temporarily close Terminal 4 (T4) from 16 May, "in view of the small number of flights still operating in the terminal". "The timing of [when T4 will resume operations] will depend on when air travel demand picks up and on the requirements of airlines seeking to relaunch flights at Changi airport," operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) said in a statement today. Airlines currently based in T4 will operate at T1 or T3 instead. Retail and food outlets at T4 will close and the shuttle bus service connecting to T3 will be suspended "until operations in T4 resume". The operator says: "Even as terminal operations are scaled down during this period, CAG continues to work closely with its airline and airport partners and stands ready to restart operations at T4 as soon as a sufficient number of flights return to the terminal." Changi handled 25,200 passenger movements and 3,870 commercial aircraft movements in the month of April, marking a 99.5% and 87.7% reduction year-on-year, respectively. Air freight movements during the month were down by 38.3% to 96,500 tonnes. In April, CAG announced that it will shut T2 for 18 months starting 1 May, with an eye on suspending operations at T4 temporarily "but with the objective of restarting operations quickly when airlines confirm the resumption of flights". It also stated the opportunity for accelerating planned upgrades at T2, with expected completion potentially brought forward by up to one year from the 2024 schedule. In the latest statement, CAG said that shutting T2 will further consolidate terminal operations "to optimise resources in tandem with the sharp decline in flight movements because of the global Covid-19 pandemic". Reiterating its stand from April, the operator says: "This move will enable CAG and its airport partners to continue to save on running costs such as utilities and cleaning."

Source: Cirium