A medical evacuation plane carrying supplies and personnel crashed on takeoff from Manila, Philippines, killing all eight on board Sunday night, officials said. Tion Air Flight RPC 5880, which was en route to Tokyo, caught fire as it was taking off from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, according to Manila's International Airport Authority, as reported by CNN. Aboard the plane were an American and a Canadian, as well as six Filipinos, according to the manifest. They included a flight medic, nurse, doctor, three members of the flight crew, a patient and companion of the patient, according to the Philippine Red Cross. <br/>
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Virgin Atlantic is applying for hundreds of millions of pounds in state aid to keep afloat during the coronavirus crisis, after the chancellor told the stricken aviation sector this week he would consider assisting firms on a case-by-case basis. With a purely long-haul and passenger business, Sir Richard Branson’s carrier has been hit hard by the travel bans and does not have the cash reserves of larger rivals such as BA or easyJet. Virgin led calls for state aid for airlines two weeks ago as bookings dropped almost to zero. Almost all staff have accepted unpaid leave, and Branson has said he will inject $250m into the group. The airline declined to comment, but was understood to have approached the government and bankers, Rothschild, who are handling negotiations, for a package worth hundreds of millions of pounds in commercial loans and guarantees. The loans would cover fixed costs rather than staffing. Credit guarantees would allow passenger revenues for future bookings to be passed on to the airline rather than retained by credit card companies – removing one of the issues that helped sink Flybe as its financial woes became apparent.<br/>
Customers of Emirates airline have been warned not to respond to the latest scam doing the rounds on the internet, which claims to offer a refund for cancelled flights. Emirates confirmed that they are aware of phishing attacks that contain the subject headline “Your flight is cancelled: collect your refund.” The airline further stated that this type of email was not sent by Emirates. “Please be careful to protect your personal information and don’t respond or click on links in such emails. The easiest way to detect a fake email is to look at the email address it was sent from. All official emails from Emirates are sent from one of these two email addresses: emirates@e.emirates.email or do-not-reply@emirates.email," it explained. Since March 25, Emirates temporarily suspended all passenger services as per the government’s directive to prevent the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.<br/>
SpiceJet crew member has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in self quarantine, the airline said Sunday. The unnamed crew member didn’t operate any international flight in March. His last domestic flight was from Chennai to Delhi on March 21. He has gone in self quarantine since the day of the flight. “One of our colleagues, a First Officer with SpiceJet, has tested positive for COVID-19. The test report came on March 28,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said. “As a precautionary measure, all crew and staff who had been in direct contact with him have been asked to self-quarantine by staying at home for the next 14 days.” The domestic carrier added that it is following the WHO and the Union government’s guidelines regarding the coronavirus pandemic. All flights in India have been cancelled until April 14 as the country observes a 21-day lockdown in a bid to counter the spread of coronavirus. <br/>
Southwest is losing “big money” on every flight, raising the risk of worker furloughs in the longer-term despite billions of dollars in immediate aid from the US government. The biggest US discounter is “appreciative” of the package of loans and cash assistance approved by the Senate and awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said Thursday. If approved and signed by President Donald Trump, the program would provide an option to secure cash “that’s at least accessible, and quickly and simply,” he said. “The load factors are at levels we’ve never seen,” Kelly said in a video message to employees. “I can assure you we are losing money on every single flight, and big money. So that can’t be sustained indefinitely.” Kelly said he’s a “firm believer” that in economic catastrophes the federal government must “flood the country with liquidity or cash to give people the means to get through this” and avoid bankruptcies across industries. Airlines are among those hardest hit by the crisis, he said. Southwest, which has never laid off workers or cut pay, doesn’t have plans for furloughs, but “I can’t promise that won’t happen,” Kelly said.<br/>
Seven Thai airlines are likely to seek a 16b baht bailout from the Finance Ministry so they can pay their employees while their services are suspended. The carriers are Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, Nok Air, Bangkok Airways, THAI Smile, Thai VietjetAir and Thai AirAsia X. Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Asia Aviation (AAV), the largest shareholder of Thai AirAsia, said the airlines had jointly decided to seek financial aid in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Most international and domestic flights have been suspended in Thailand since last week. In negotiations with the Finance Ministry expected Monday, the airlines hope to secure a financial package, such as long-term loans, to boost their liquidity and get subsidies on payroll. "All airlines are tightening their belts during this tough period. Thai AirAsia is still keeping its employees, but has had to cut their wages by up to 30%. Even though we are doing our best, Thai AirAsia will only be able to survive for three months if there is no financial injection," Tassapon said.<br/>