Virgin Atlantic seeks up to £900m in rescue bid after coronavirus turbulence June 28, 2020 Embattled airline Virgin Atlantic is looking to raise up to £900m in a last-ditch rescue bid days after it said it was unlikely to secure a government bailout. The carrier, founded by Sir Richard Branson in 1984, has beefed up its original £750m cash call amid forecasts for an extended recovery period for the aviation [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary calls on EU to block KLM bailout June 26, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called on the European Union to block a €3.4bn (£3.1bn) rescue package for the Dutch wing of Air France-KLM. In a statement, O’Leary said: “We call on the European Commission to block this subsidy doping to KLM, which will further reduce competition and consumer choice in the Dutch and French [...]
Quarantine rules set to be relaxed for some countries from July June 26, 2020 Environment secretary George Eustice has confirmed the UK is considering relaxing its blanket quarantine measures to allow travel from countries with a lower risk of contracting coronavirus. Ministers are currently finalising the plans, with an announcement on the matter expected on Monday. Speaking to the BBC, Eustice said: “I know that (transport secretary) Grant Shapps [...]
Easyjet raises £419m through share placing to bolster finances June 25, 2020 Low-cost carrier Easyjet today announced that it had raised £419m through a share placing in order to help it withstand the coronavirus pandemic. In total, the budget airline placed 59.5m ordinary new shares – 15 per cent of the firm’s existing share capital – at a price of 703p per share. The placing price represents [...]
British Airways must follow rules when it comes to job cuts, ministers warn June 24, 2020 The transport secretary has warned British Airways (BA) that it must follow the rules when it comes to making sweeping job cuts, saying he is “very, very concerned” about the 12,000 roles set to be made redundant. BA has come under heavy fire in recent weeks over its decision to make the cuts, with many [...]
UK to relax quarantine rules for some countries in July June 19, 2020 The government is planning on relaxing its quarantine rules for travellers coming to the UK from some countries in early July. The BBC reported that the government is hoping to make an announcement on 29 June that it has secured “travel corridors” with a number of countries. Discussions are currently still continuing between UK officials [...]
Three quarters of customers ready to fly, says London City Airport June 18, 2020 Ahead of restarting services on 21 June, London City Airport has said that over three-quarters of its customers have said they are likely to travel when they are told it is safe to do so. An anonymous survey of over 4,700 of the airport’s customers showed that 78 per cent of respondents were either very [...]
IAG chief hits back after MPs blast BA as ‘national disgrace’ over job cuts June 15, 2020 The chief executive of British Airways (BA) owner IAG has hit back at MPs after a report from the transport select committee labelled the UK’s flag carrier a “national disgrace”. Tensions between lawmakers and the airline have become inflamed over BA’s plans to make 12,000 of its staff redundant during the coronavirus crisis. The report [...]
Coronavirus: Plans for Portugal-UK ‘air bridge’ going well June 15, 2020 Portugal’s prime minister Antonio Costa has said that negotiations over an “air bridge” with the UK were still in progress and going well. Speaking to foreign media, Costa said: “We are working towards an agreement and will wait for it to happen”. If the measure is agreed, people in England will be able to travel [...]
Easyjet resumes flights with social distancing measures in place June 15, 2020 Easyjet took to the skies for the first time in 11 weeks, as it resumed domestic flights with social distancing measures in place. The budget airline will relaunch 310 flights across its European network, as its first flight took off from London Gatwick at 7am this morning for Glasgow. The majority of flights this month [...]