EVA Air's monthly passenger statistics, published this week, showed the Taiwanese airline carried 22,023 passengers in April, a 98% fall from 1.1 million in the prior corresponding period.Read More » The airline's load factor for April was down 70 percentage points, at 13.5%. Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) tumbled 97% in the month.
In its monthly traffic statistics for March, published on Monday, Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) said it carried 244,342 passengers on its international flights in the month, down 72.1%, from 875,047, in the prior corresponding period. Load factor more than halved to 35% from 78.3% in March 2019. RPKs tumbled 63.8%.
The Star Alliance member carried 1.6 million domestic passengers in March, a 59% decline from 3.9 million in the same month a year earlier. Load factor dropped 37.3 percentage points, to 35.6%, from 72.6% previously. RPKs were down 58.5% for the month.
Singapore Changi Airport said on Tuesday it would temporarily close Terminal Four (T4) from May 16 in response to the decline in passenger traffic and to save running costs such as utilities and cleaning. The international airport, which shuttered Terminal Two at the start of May, said in a statement the timing of T4’s reopening would depend on "when air travel demand picks up and on the requirements of airlines seeking to relaunch flights at Changi Airport".
Singapore’s Changi airport handled 25,200 passengers in April, which represented a 99.5% decline, from 5.58 million in the prior corresponding period. Total commercial aircraft movements fell 87.7%, to 3,870, from 31,500 previously. Its monthly traffic figures also showed air freight was down 38.3%, to 96,500 tonnes in April.
The Indonesia government was preparing to support national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia (GA), with a bridging loan and assistance with restructuring its debt book, the Bloomberg news agency reported this week. Deputy State-Owned Enterprises Minister, Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, told reporters a US$500 million bridging loan would help with working capital requirements. He added GA would put forward options to bondholders of about US$500 million of Islamic bonds later in May.
Filipino low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific Air, said yesterday middle seats would be "kept vacant as much as possible to give way for social distancing on board" when flights resumed. The LCC said it had introduced measures for "contactless flights", such as encouraging passengers to check in online, offering up the barcodes of boarding passes for touchless scanning at boarding and stowing their own bags in overhead lockers.
Air New Zealand (Air NZ) said on Monday it would add seven routes to its planned domestic schedule, due to operate from Thursday, when the country's restriction of movement rules are eased from Alert Level Three to Alert Level Two. The seven additional routes brings to 32 the number of domestic routes Air NZ plans to ramp up in coming days and weeks.
Solomon Airlines, which has not flown since March 27, has delayed the resumption of scheduled passenger flights by another seven weeks, to July 15. The Pacific carrier had previously planned to return to the air at the start of June. Commercial manager, Colin Sigimanu, said in a statement on Monday the decision was made in consultation with the Solomon Islands government and was a "necessary precaution due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the resulting current border restrictions".
