Australia's Regional Express says it will be able to maintain routes and jobs, thanks to a financial assistance package unveiled by the government over the weekend. Rex is the country's largest independent regional carrier and operates a fleet of 60 Saab 340 aircraft. It said today that it had been preparing to shut down its entire network and lay off 90% of staff but will now be able to continue operations in "almost its entire current network of 59 destinations". It will establish a revised schedule in the next two days. Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack announced on 28 March a A$198 million ($120 million) regional airline assistance package, underwriting airlines’ operating costs on selected routes. An additional A$100 million is also available as direct financial support for smaller regional airlines. “This package guarantees core routes for domestic air freight will remain open and essential workers remain employed, while providing vital financial support for airlines servicing regional and remote locations,” McCormack said in a statement. That comes on top of an A$715 million aviation relief scheme announced on March 18, which comprises the waiver of certain fees and charges. Rex welcomes the new regional package, saying it comes during “the worst operating conditions the industry has ever seen.”

Source: Cirium

The coronavirus pandemic has opened a new route for Qatar Airways, which will operate flights to Brisbane for the first time and increase services to Australia to help people get home. The Doha-based carrier said on 26 March it will add 48,000 seats from 29 March and use larger aircraft like the Airbus A380 on these routes. Doha is one of the few transit options left for people wishing to get to and from Australia and New Zealand after many countries moved to tighten border restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Qatar will fly daily from Doha to Brisbane using a Boeing 777-300ER, twice daily to Perth with an A380 and 777-300ER, and twice daily to Melbourne with an A350-1000 and 777-300ER. The carrier will fly three times a day to Sydney using an A350 and 777-300ER. Previously, Qatar only flew to Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. “We know there are many people who want to be with their families and loved ones during this difficult time,” Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker states. “We are thankful to the Australian government, airports and staff for their support in helping us to add additional flights to get people home, and in particular, to bring flights to Brisbane.” He adds that Qatar Airways is working with governments around the world and will add or reinstate more flights where it can. It currently operates around 150 daily flights to over 70 cities worldwide, he says. The British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Laura Clarke says in an email to British nationals stuck in New Zealand that Qatar Airways has also added additional flights from Auckland to the UK via Doha. Singapore Airlines has also agreed to operate a one-off flight on the Auckland-Singapore-London route on Sunday, Clarke writes in the email. As Singapore is currently closed to transit passengers, travellers will have to remain on the flight.

Source: Cirium

The Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) is further cutting the number of international flights allowed by both local and foreign carriers, in a bid to contain the "increasing risks" of imported coronavirus cases. Effective 29 March, each Chinese airline is allowed to operate just one route to any specific country, with no more than one flight per week. Similarly, each foreign airline is allowed one route to China, with no more than one weekly flight. Load factors on these flights must not exceed 75%. As a result, the CAAC expects weekly flight volumes to drop to 130, and the number of passengers arriving by air on each day to drop from the current 25,000 to about 5,000. "We will pay close attention to the changing situation of epidemics abroad and take further measures to tighten the total number of international passenger flights in accordance with the needs of prevention and control," the CAAC says. The CAAC is allowing airlines to keep the operating permits, as well as the take-off and landing slots relating to flights that the airlines will cut. They can also operate all-cargo flights with passenger aircraft, which will not be counted against the total number of passenger flights operated. Today, according to Reuters, mainland China reported its first locally transmitted coronavirus infection in three days, although cases imported from overseas continued to dominate the total number of new cases.

Source: Cirium