Lithuania's government intends to establish a new national airline later this year or early in 2021. The ministry of transport and communications says it will "initiate establishment of a virtual Lithuanian national airline" to restore air links from the Baltic state "in a post-Covid-19 situation", without reliance on external operators. A new national airline will enable the government to "adapt more flexibly to the new demands of the Lithuanian air connectivity… thus minimising dependence on the constantly changing strategies of the foreign air carriers", the ministry argues. It says the project will "most certainly" involve private-sector partnership, but "to which extent remains to be seen". Noting a "highly fluid situation with the pandemic" and the "complexity" of establishing an airline, the ministry adds: "We are still in the early stage of defining which possible solution could be optimal for Lithuania… All options are still on the table." Many airlines have scaled down expansion plans to save costs and because they foresee reduced travel demand over coming years as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Lithuanian leisure carrier Small Planet Airlines suspended operations in 2018. The Vilnius-based airline – which had German and Polish subsidiaries that ceased flights prior to their parent – operated a fleet of eight Airbus A320s before Lithuania's civil aviation authority revoked its licence in November 2018. In 2015, Air Lituanica halted flights less than two years after launching. That airline had operated across Europe with a fleet of Embraer E-Jets. It was the latest attempt to create a stable carrier in the Baltic state following the failure of Lithuanian Airlines in 2009. Latvian carrier Air Baltic operates from Lithuania and Estonia as well as its home country, where it has its main hub at Riga.

Source: Cirium

Singapore is easing some border control measures but travellers will now bear the cost of mandatory Covid-19 testing and quarantine measures. "Going forward, as we reopen our border to more international travel, those who enter Singapore would have to bear the costs of fulfilling [Covid-19-related] requirements, as part of the cost of travel in a Covid-19 world," the health ministry said on 15 June. It indicates that a Covid-19 test for an individual subject to 14-day quarantine measures costs up to S$200 ($144) and staying at a dedicated facility during that time costs S$2,000. Singapore imposed a 14-day self-quarantine on all incoming travellers from 21 March, known as a "stay-home notice". From 17 June, 23:59, incoming travellers will have to undergo an additional test, scheduled a few days before the end of the 14-day period, at a designated facility. They are to arrange their own transportation and avoid public transport. All inbound and outbound travellers are now required to pay for their Covid-19 tests, where applicable. Travellers who are not citizens or permanent residents will have to pay for their stay at dedicated "stay-home notice" facilities. The Singapore government has thus far borne the cost of stay at such facilities for all inbound travellers, as well as majority of Covid-19 tests, says the health ministry. Concurrently, the parameters for the 14-day quarantine will be eased for select incoming travellers. Those who remained in Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, mainland China, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam 14 days prior to entering Singapore are not required to serve their "stay-home notices" at dedicated facilities. Holders of a long-term visit pass will still require prior approval to enter Singapore, while short-term visitors are still not allowed, except those with special prior approval or entering under "green lane" or "fast lane" arrangements. Singapore currently has one such agreement with China, and the ministry says this will eventually cover more countries and regions.
Singapore is preparing for a second round of easing social-distancing measures and will reallow some economic activities after 18 June, 23:59. In line with that, the ministry says it has been reviewing border control measures and will implement progressive changes as the country reopens to international travel. It says: "These include ongoing discussions with various countries/regions on developing bilateral arrangements for safe travel, and allowing more Long-Term [Visit] Pass holders still outside Singapore to return."

Source: Cirium

Cross-party parliamentarians in the UK have sharply criticised British Airways’ restructuring measures in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the airline of a “calculated” attempt to use the crisis to weaken employees’ terms and cut jobs. The transport select committee’s inquiry into the impact of the pandemic on the aviation sector has issued a harsh verdict against the airline, calling its attitude towards personnel a “national disgrace”. “It falls well below the standards we would expect from any employer, especially in light of the scale of taxpayer subsidy, at this time of national crisis,” the committee says. BA is consulting on cuts of up to 12,000 jobs and to downgrade the terms and conditions of approximately 35,000 employees, it states. Parent company IAG’s chief executive, Willie Walsh, had stressed several times during testimony to the committee that the company had not made any final decisions on job restructuring, and stated – giving little detail on the numbers involved – that it was conducting its consultations in line with the law. While the committee acknowledges that job losses in the airline sector might be “inevitable”, it has questioned the motivations of those that have already moved to declare redundancies – having heard from unions, including the pilots’ association BALPA, that carriers were trying to “take advantage” of the crisis to reduce their workforce unnecessarily. Under-secretary of state for transport Kelly Tolhurst, in a statement to parliament on 3 June, had pointed out that the government’s job-retention scheme – under which it funds the wages of furloughed employees – was not intended as a mechanism to enable companies to prepare those personnel for redundancy. But the committee itself acknowledges that this practice is in line with the government’s own guidance, even if ministers disapprove. Part of the problem, the committee notes, is that companies are having to make decisions without clarity information on the resumption of air travel. It is urging airlines not to make redundancy decisions “prematurely” and to wait until there is “clearer information” on the recovery period, and avoid “hastily” proceeding with large-scale job cuts at least until the job-retention scheme ends in October. BA’s consultation is due to end on 15 June, the committee says. It states that the airline is consulting on meeting minimum statutory obligations on redundancy pay, given the expense of enhanced voluntary redundancy, and to revise various aspects of employment procedures for remaining personnel. The airline is also discussing temporary lay-off for cabin crew and amended rostering for pilots. If the carrier cannot reach agreement on the proposals, it would effectively make all staff redundant and re-employ a proportion of them under new terms – a process which has been described by unions as “fire and rehire”. The committee is pressing BA to extend consultation periods to allow all parties to examine the staffing changes in the context of government plans to assist the air transport sector. But Walsh had already told the committee that the airline needed to act immediately to preserve jobs, and would not put the consultation on hold. Walsh refuted the claim that BA and IAG were exaggerating the scale of the problems it faced, in a letter to the committee. 'However, he did not provide any reassurance that BA staff would have their pay, terms and conditions restored, should the company’s financial situation improve after the pandemic,” it adds. Over half of BA staff, some 22,000 personnel, have been furloughed under the job-retention scheme and the airline had benefited from £35 million funding under the scheme by mid-May. The airline has also secured £300 million from the government’s corporate financing scheme for businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis. BA has not approached the government for a bespoke funding support package, the committee notes.

Source: Cirium