Inside the aviation industry’s toughest battle yet: Getting back in the skies

Big chunks of the US and Europe are following Asia in reopening their economies as Covid-19 infection rates start to ebb. But despite signs of rebounding demand in sectors like retail, fliers so far aren’t returning to the skies in large numbers. United, for instance, is expecting June revenue to be about 90% lower than last year. Airlines and airports are partly blaming a standstill in international travel on governments, for not lifting travel bans, quarantines and other restrictions more quickly. Australia’s Qantas said Thursday that it was cancelling most international flights through October. The move came after the Australian government indicated it would keep its borders shut to most international travelers until next year to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus. “In five or 10 years’ time the market will be bigger,” Heathrow CE John Holland-Kaye said. “But how quickly really depends on how quickly we can get countries to reopen their borders.” Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport and No. 2 in the world in terms of international traffic, behind Dubai. It is now at the center of a divide between industry executives and government and public-health officials over how and how quickly to resume significant international air travel. The UK, for instance, has said travellers coming into the country will be subject to a strict two-week quarantine once they land. Airlines and Heathrow have fought back, but so far the government isn’t softening its stance. Story has more.<br/>