IndiGo CEO, Ronojoy Dutta, has outlined plans to "bid a painful adieu" to 10% of the Indian carrier's workforce due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dutta said the decision to cut 10% of staff was made after "carefully assessing and reviewing all possible scenarios", and added it was the first time in the LCC’s history it had undertaken such a painful measure. "From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices in order to sustain our business operations," Dutta said yesterday. Read More »
IndiGo is flying a small percentage of its full fleet of 250 aircraft, Dutta said. Affected staff would receive pay in lieu of notice, a severance payment, any applicable annual bonus or longevity bonus, a leave encashment, if any, and a gratuity. Medical insurance would be extended to December 2020 and the company would provide professional and emotional support services for redundant employees, a company statement said.
International travellers heading to China will be required to submit evidence of a negative test for COVID-19 conducted within five days of their flights, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have announced. Chinese passengers can upload the negative nucleic acid test certificate via an app, but foreigner travellers must apply for a declaration of health status from a Chinese embassy or consulate. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on its website yesterday the requirement was to ensure the health and safety of international travel and reduce the risk of cross-border spread of COVID-19.
Figures from the CAAC showed there were 25.8 million air travellers in China in May 2020. The figures were down 52.6% from May 2019, but were a 54.5% improvement from 16.7 million passengers in April 2020. Domestic passengers rose to 25.73 million in May, from 16.64 million in April. Passenger load factor improved 2.2 percentage points, to 68.5% in May, from 66.3% in April.
South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has organised a series of charter flights to Vietnam and China for business-related travel, the Yonhap News Agency has reported. Chartered flights to Vietnam were scheduled to depart tomorrow with 570 people from 240 companies with another 1,500 planned to travel in August. About 160 business people from small and mid-sized companies were due to head to Guangdong province in China on Thursday. All passengers would be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine after arriving in China and Vietnam, the report said.
Brazil-headquartered Embraer delivered four commercial aircraft in the three months to June 30: two E175s and two E190-E2 regional jets, the manufacturer said. The deliveries declined from nine commercial aircraft in the same period a year ago. In a statement overnight Embraer said the reduced output was "largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting the world". At June 30, Embraer's commercial aircraft backlog stood at 314 firm orders.
Philippines low-cost carrier (LCC), Cebu Pacific Air, planned to resume international flights to seven destinations in August, the Airlineroute website has reported. While the flights were not available for booking, Airlineroute said filed schedules showed Cebu Pacific intended to restart flights from Manila to Nagoya, Osaka Kansai and Tokyo Narita, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong, Taipei Taoyuan and Singapore during the month. This was in addition to an existing service to Dubai.
