Irish airlines were keeping a watching brief Sunday after Italian authorities announced closures in the north of the country following a surge in the number of Coronavirus cases. Italy temporarily banned public events in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto following a spike in the number of confirmed virus cases to 130 from 3 over the weekend. Ryanair and Aer Lingus both fly to Milan in Lombardy. Ryanair said that flights to and from Milan were continuing as normal. Aer Lingus said that it was “monitoring the situation and following all guidelines from the relevant authorities in relation to this issue”. Lombardy and Veneto said they would close schools for a week beginning Monday while the affected regions postponed carnivals, football matches and fashion shows. <br/>
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Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary is facing criticism for suggesting Muslim men should be singled out for extra scrutiny at airports. The CE told Saturday’s Times of London that families with young children should not be subjected to airport security checks because there was “zero” chance of them being bombers. He said terrorists "will generally be males of a Muslim persuasion." “Thirty years ago it was the Irish,” he said. “If that is where the threat is coming from, deal with the threat." The Muslim Council of Britain called the comments “racist and discriminatory.” In a wide-ranging interview with the Times, O’Leary branded most airport security “utterly useless,” complained that airlines unfairly got the blame for climate change, and said requirements that Ryanair’s Dublin offices have disabled access to all floors were “nonsense.” <br/>
Jetstar workers face losing close to A$200,000 in lifetime wages and superannuation as a result of an 18-month wage freeze Qantas imposed between 2014 and 2016. An analysis of the cumulative impact of wage freezes from September 2014 until March 2016 has found the workers, who went on strike in December, stand to lose up to $150,000 in lifetime wages and $40,000 in superannuation. The analysis said workers continue to experience losses long after the wage freeze has been lifted and “even a temporary wage freeze imposes a growing lifetime economic burden on affected workers”. Report author, economist Jim Stanford, said the cumulative loss of income resulting from the wage freeze expands each year, despite the restoration of normal annual pay increases. <br/>
JetBlue has signed on to a new credit facility that is priced according to its performance on environmental and social matters, the first of its kind in the airline industry. The carrier’s US$550m sustainability-linked loan, which was set up by BNP Paribas, gives it a financial incentive to follow through on its public commitment to reduce its carbon footprint. The margin the airline pays will go up or down in conjunction with its environmental, social and governance (ESG) score as determined by Vigeo Eiris, a Paris-based sustainability research group that was recently acquired by Moody’s. So-called “positive incentive” loans such as this one have been rising in popularity, with the market increasing 250% year on year in 2019. Unlike green bonds, these loans do not come with restrictions on how their proceeds can be used. <br/>
Former Air Moldova chief Iulian Scorpan is heading up a private start-up budget carrier, branded HiSky, for the Central European republic. While all Moldovan carriers, with the exception of Air Moldova, FlyOne and Aerotranscargo, are blacklisted, the start-up will be formed through a partnership with a Romanian operating carrier, Cobrex Trans, based in Brasov. Cobrex Trans is listed in the Romanian civil aviation authority’s operator registry as having a single Boeing 737-300 and an Airbus Helicopters. But HiSky says it intends to commence operations with a pair of Airbus A320s. The airline will begin services April 10. It is planning to start flights on a network of 6 European destinations including London, Paris, Dublin, Lisbon, Bologna and Dusseldorf. <br/>