The New Zealand government has approved Qatar Airways for a second daily flight from Auckland to Doha, as part of measures to help repatriate foreign nationals stranded in New Zealand. Earlier, the carrier said on 26 March that it will operate flights to Brisbane for the first time and add seat capacity on routes to Australia and New Zealand. The government is implementing various measures to allow its foreign counterparts to organise repatriation flights, with the first such flight, operated by Air New Zealand, expected to leave on 3 April. Deputy prime minister and foreign minister Winston Peters said in a statement today: "Given that Air New Zealand intends to fly charter flights from New Zealand to Europe for European governments, we will explore the extent to which New Zealanders can return in the planes on the way back." Peters adds that any foreign nationals wishing to travel domestically must have a ticket for a confirmed and scheduled international flight out of New Zealand, while foreign governments wishing to organise repatriation flights must satisfy local health requirements. “We are conscious that returning foreign nationals to their home countries will reduce the potential pressure on health services in New Zealand, and reduce the risk of welfare issues developing for those people who are stranded and unable to afford to be here much longer.” New Zealand’s current Level 4 lockdown means that only those considered essential workers were allowed to travel by air, effectively stranding tourists requiring a domestic flight to get to Auckland International airport. The restrictions have also decimated domestic demand for Air New Zealand, which on 2 April announced a bare minimum domestic schedule after transporting just 163 passengers on 1 April.

Source: Cirium

Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is consolidating freighter operations at Dubai International from 1 April, suspending operations at the city’s Dubai World Central hub. Emirates is reorganising its freight network in response to the disruption from the coronavirus crisis. It says the decision to concentrate on Dubai International, the main passenger airport, will enable it to “streamline” its SkyCargo services given that dedicated cargo flights are being conducted using aircraft from the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER passenger fleet. Emirates operates a fleet of 11 Boeing 777 freighters but its passenger 777s are capable of transporting 40t of payload on their lower decks. These aircraft will be deployed on a revised schedule of all-cargo services, the carrier states. “Schedules and destinations for the dedicated cargo flights on passenger aircraft have been planned keeping in mind optimal interconnectivity with Emirates’ scheduled freighter operations,” it adds. Passenger-freighters are primarily being used on nine routes to India and Pakistan, around 13 in the Gulf and Africa, eight in Europe, and single connections to Korea, Japan and Australia. Full-freighter services are being used to serve some 20 destinations including those in China, the USA and Mexico. Some routes such as Madrid, Frankfurt and Khartoum will have both full-freighter and passenger-freighter links. “We have been able to establish a new network and schedule for our cargo operations within a very short period of time,” says Emirates divisional senior vice-president for cargo Nabil Sultan. SkyCargo has been assisting with specific medical support efforts including transport of coronavirus testing kits from Guangzhou to Sao Paulo, face-masks from Hong Kong to Sydney, and hospital equipment to Milan, and pharmaceuticals to New York. Emirates says the SkyCargo operation will conduct charter and ad hoc flights alongside its new scheduled network, according to demand.

Source: Cirium

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has published rules that US carriers must follow if they decide to accept government aid as a result of financial difficulties resulting from the global coronavirus crisis. The DOT says in a show cause order released on 31 March that airlines will be required to conduct minimum service levels “to the extent reasonable and practicable” between now and 30 September as part of the 880-page Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act support passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump last week. “The order proposes that air carriers receiving financial assistance under the CARES Act maintain minimum air services on a nationwide basis, with some exceptions,” the DOT says. The determination will be based upon airline schedules prior to 1 March 2020. For example, if before 1 March an airline served a US city with one flight per day at least five days per week, the carrier would need to provide at least one flight per day, five days per week, for that point, the DOT says. If it was one flight a day on less than five days per week, the carrier would only need to serve that point with at least one flight on one day per week. “A covered carrier can also meet its minimum service obligation for a given point by dividing its flights across multiple cities, if it so chooses. If several carriers served a point, each would have to serve the point in accordance with the minimum service levels, regardless of the service decisions made by the other carriers serving that point,” the DOT writes. The DOT also points out that the new provisions do not lift antitrust rules currently in place. That said, airlines can also request exemptions where it would not be “reasonable or practicable” to maintain service. On 27 March, the President signed a $2 trillion aid package designed to support distressed companies and employees after the coronavirus pandemic massively disrupted the US economy in the past weeks. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act has provisions for the air transport industry and its workers to the tune of $58 billion. It includes provisions for passenger and cargo airlines, general aviation, as well as air transport-related employees and contractors who fear for their livelihoods after demand for air travel dropped as the pandemic spread around the world. The Senate approved the bill on 25 March after about a week of negotiations between politicians of the two chambers. The measure includes loans to passenger airlines and related businesses ($25 billion), cargo airlines ($4 billion) and business “critical to maintaining national security” ($17 billion). Aside from loans, the bill will provide ”payroll support” of about another $29 billion for passenger and cargo airlines, and $3 billion for contractors like baggage handlers and catering workers. This money must be used for wages, benefits and health care. Airports will also receive an additional $10 billion, with $100 million going specifically to smaller general aviation airports. The document also provides relief from excise taxes for general aviation commercial operations.

Source: Cirium