The union representing US flight attendants has called on Congress to extend government financial assistance for airlines through the end of the year. The payroll support program, part of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March, designed to help airlines manage through the coronavirus crisis, runs out on 30 September. In return for $25 billion in government support, airlines agreed to maintain a network of skeleton service and pledged no involuntary layoffs or furloughs until that date. But the Association of Flight Attendants says this is not enough time for the airlines to get back on stable financial footing following the pandemic. The union has asked for Congress to extend the programme through the end of 2020 in order to avoid mass layoffs at the end of September if passenger demand does not return. “The programme is set to expire on September 30 and the time to prepare for October 1 is now,” Susannah Carr, a United Airlines flight attendant and union representative, tells a hearing of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on 9 June. “When CARES was written it was expected the industry would be closer to full recovery by the fall. It is clear now, that will not happen. At a minimum, Congress should extend the program through the New Year,” Carr says. So far, about 40,000 flight attendants across the US, or 35% of the country’s flight attendant workforce have taken voluntary leave offered by their airlines, she adds. Major US airlines are still running significantly reduced operations, though many have said they have seen a small uptick in bookings as lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders across the country are being eased. But United has told employees that it will likely only need about 15% of its flight attendant workforce for the month of June. It is unclear when and how travel demand will return, making it almost impossible for airlines to plan beyond a few weeks out. United received about $5 billion of government payroll aid. Airline trade industry group Airlines for America (A4A) and pilots’ union Air Line Pilots’ Association, International (ALPA) did not respond to requests for comment on the testimony. Safey issues and protection from the virus remain important issues in travelers’ decision-making process of whether they will return to the air and if so, when. The flight attendants’ union also says airlines are not doing enough to inspire passengers’ confidence to return to air travel. Calling the coronavirus pandemic “the biggest crisis aviation has ever faced” Carr says that “a hodge-podge of individual voluntarily-adopted measures” by airlines have put workers and passengers at risk of becoming sick. She encouraged Congress to pass emergency safety and health rules that would mandate airlines abide by “enforceable, mandatory, national standards” including additional cleaning protocols, social distancing measures and requiring all passengers to wear face coverings. “It is clear to anyone working a flight that the current environment of inconsistent and voluntary airline policies is not working as it should,” Carr says. “These airline policies and practices are poorly communicated to crew and passengers alike, leaving flight attendants to risk our health and safety while attempting to manage the otherwise avoidable conflicts that result,” she adds.

Source: Cirium

South African Airways’ rescuers are seeking creditors’ approval for a further postponement to the deadline for publishing a business plan for the embattled flag carrier. The rescue practitioners have previously secured four extensions to deadlines for publishing a plan – the most recent to 8 June – since SAA entered the rescue process in December last year. But three unions, representing the majority of SAA personnel, have sent a letter to the practitioners seeking a further postponement to 15 June. A draft business rescue plan has already been distributed to employees and creditors, and had been awaiting the inclusion of submissions from the respective workers’ and creditors’ committees following consultations scheduled for 4 June. The practitioners state that there have been “meaningful engagements” with the creditors’ committee regarding the draft plan, but that the employees’ committee wanted instead to consult via the ‘leadership compact’ unveiled on 1 May by the government’s department of public enterprises. “This consultation has not occurred,” the practitioners add. Legal representatives for the three unions – NUMSA, cabin crew association SACCA, and pilot group SAAPA – have objected to the business plan’s being published on 8 June, and have sought the extension. “The practitioners thought it would not be appropriate to proceed with the publication of the business rescue plan without conveying the request of the unions that represent a majority of the SAA employees,” the practitioners state. “Should such request be approved the practitioners will do everything possible to limit the negative impact of the extension of the publication date.” They point out that any extension “will not stop” the practitioners from taking necessary measures to conserve cash and protect the interests of the airline.

Source: Cirium

British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair have started legal proceedings against the UK government over the introduction of a mandatory 14-day quarantine measure for travellers arriving in the country from 8 June. The three carriers sent a pre-action protocol letter to the government on 5 June, describing the measure as "disproportionate and unfair on British citizens as well as international visitors arriving in the UK". Under the new rules, all arriving passengers – bar those covered by a short list of exemptions – will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. Failure to comply will be "punishable with a £1,000 [$1,270] fixed-penalty notice in England or potential prosecution and unlimited fine", says the UK Home Office. It is unclear how the measure will be enforced in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, a point raised by the three airlines. "We challenge the UK government on a number of defective measures," say British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair in a joint statement. These include "the fact that this quarantine is more stringent than the guidelines applied to people who actually have Covid-19", the airlines note, and that "if you live in Scotland, to date, the rules won't apply". The joint statement also notes that commuters to the UK from European Union member states such as France and Germany "will be exempted", and questions the logic of "banning people from countries with lower R rates [the rate at which the virus spreads] than the UK". Calling for abandonment of the quarantine measure, the airlines argue it would "have a devastating effect on UK's tourism industry and will destroy (even more) thousands of jobs in this unprecedented crisis". The government plans to review the measure by 29 June.

Source: Cirium