Lufthansa Group CEO: Coronavirus placing the industry in an 'unprecedented state of emergency'
Lufthansa Group chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr said (19-Mar-2020) the coronavirus outbreak has placed the global economy and the company in an "unprecedented state of emergency". He argued the consequences of the crisis are unforeseeable, however, the group will "have to counter this extraordinary situation with drastic and sometimes painful measures". He also said that the longer the crisis lasts, the more likely the future of aviation cannot be guaranteed without state aid. [more - original PR]
IATA: Governments must prioritise airline financial support during COVID-19 crisis
IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac called (18-Mar-2020) on governments around the world to "avoid an industry calamity" in the air transport sector, resulting from the global spread of COVID-19, by offering financial relief measures such as direct financial support, loans and tax rebates or suspensions. Mr de Juniac noted the measures governments have introduced to restrict travel are shrinking the size of passenger operations, which is "also removing significant cargo capacity from the system - capacity that is vitally needed to keep supply chains going, including the delivery of critical medicines and medical equipment". IATA proposed three ways in which governments could use financial means "to avoid an industry calamity":
- Direct financial support for carriers to compensate for reduced revenues, and therefore support liquidity due to travel restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19;
- Loans, loan guarantees and support for the corporate bond market by the government or central bank, either directly to the airline or to commercial banks that may be reluctant to extend credit to airlines in the present situation in the absence of such a guarantee;
- Tax relief, rebates and/or suspensions on all employer imposed payroll taxes paid to date with an ongoing review for the rest of 2020, along with a temporary waiver of ticket taxes and other government imposed levies. [more - original PR]
Qantas CEO: 'No airline in the world is immune' to coronavirus crisis
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce reported (19-Mar-2020) "The efforts to contain the spread of Coronavirus have led to a huge drop in travel demand, the likes of which we have never seen before" with "devastating" impacts on airlines. Mr Joyce stated: "No airline in the world is immune to this, with the world's leading carriers making deep cuts to flying schedules and jobs". [more - original PR]
Virgin Atlantic Airways CEO welcomes 'the unprecedented level of support' from UK Government
Virgin Atlantic Airways CEO Shai Weiss, via his official LinkedIn account, welcomed (18-Mar-2020) "the unprecedented level of support announced by the Government" and its commitment to supporting the aviation sector. Mr Weiss said coronavirus is the biggest crisis in the aviation sector's history and "From crew to baggage handlers, and pilots to engineers, tens of thousands of livelihoods are at stake".
APEX: Coronavirus economic impact worse than 2001 and 2008 combined
Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) CEO Joe Leader said (17-Mar-2020) the economic impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic on the global airline industry has already surpassed the combined economic events of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks and the 2008 global financial crisis. [more - original PR]