China Airlines' monthly traffic report showed the Taiwan flag carrier flew 16,241 passengers in June, down 98.8% from 1.35 million in the prior corresponding period. However, the June figure represented an improvement from 11,031 passengers in May. Capacity, or available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 70% from May to June, while demand, measured by revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), grew by 60%.Read More » Load factor eased slightly to 39.1% in June, from 42% in May.
There were 52,989 passengers on scheduled international passenger flights into and out of Australia during the month of May, down 98.3% from 3.2 million in the same month a year earlier, Australian government figures show. The number of operated flights fell 81.4% to 3,027, while capacity, measured by available seats, dropped 95.2% to 200,874. Load factors on inbound and outbound flights were 34.6% and 18.4%, respectively.
Vietnam's Ministry of Transport said yesterday it had given the green light for airlines to restart scheduled passenger services between Vietnam and China, the Reuters news agency reported. The date of the resumption, as well as which routes and the frequency of flights, was being worked on by aviation officials in both countries. Flights between the two countries ended in February due to the coronavirus pandemic.
France has restricted Chinese airlines to one flight a week between France and China due to what it described as an imbalance in services between airlines of the two countries. The announcement, posted on France's Beijing embassy website yesterday, said Air France was currently operating one flight a week on the Paris CDG-Shanghai Pudong route and had been unable to secure authorisation from Shanghai authorities to operate the two additional frequencies it was entitled to under modified rules due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, three Chinese airlines – Air China, China Eastern Airlines (CEA) and China Southern Airlines (CSA) – have been operating a weekly flight between France and China since March 26. France said discussions were underway between the two governments in the hope of reaching a satisfactory solution.
The United States Department of Transportation (DoT) said on Friday (U.S. time) it had granted ZIPAIR Tokyo a foreign carrier permit, allowing the Japanese low-cost carrier (LCC) to operate scheduled passenger and cargo flights and charter services to the country. ZIPAR, which is owned by Japan Airlines (JAL), applied for the foreign carrier permit in April. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the LCC commenced flying cargo-only service between Tokyo Narita and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi in June.
New Zealand has sought to dampen expectations of a safe travel zone, or bubble, being established with the Cook Islands any time soon after Cook Islands deputy prime minister, Mark Brown, had told local media talks were at an advanced stage and suggested flights could commence next week. However, a spokesperson for New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, told media today no dates had been set, adding that with any speculation at this stage would be premature.
