IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac expects governments that have taken new shareholdings to help prop up cash-strapped airlines during the crisis will not be long-term investors in the carriers. States have been forced to step in to help airlines survive the sustained grounding of passenger flights, in some cases taking or increasing shareholdings in carriers as a result. “I am not sure the state presence in the capital or shareholding of airlines will last long,” de Juniac said. “They are there for rescue. Are they going to stay for a long period? Or are they going to sell their shares when things get better, as has been the case for General Motors in the US after the financial crisis? I think governments will re-privatise [airlines] and I’m not sure they will use their presence to influence the way the companies are managed.” One area governments may look to exert influence is on heightening efforts over environmental targets. Pressure, particular in Europe, for further measures to tackle aviation’s climate change impact had been gaining momentum in the months prior to the crisis. In some cases, notably for example in French support for Air France, financial aid given during the crisis is conditional on meeting environmental targets. “The requirement to continue or strengthen our environmental commitments – it will be strong, ” said de Juniac.<br/>
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On September 11 2001, Donald Carty, then CE of American Airlines, was at home shaving when a dispatcher at the Dallas base called to say that a flight attendant had reported her aircraft had been hijacked. Carty said he would be in the office in 20 minutes. When the news came that a plane had flown into New York’s World Trade Center, many initially assumed it was a small private aircraft. “I knew in my gut that it wasn’t,” he recalls. For Rod Eddington, then-CE of British Airways, his first thought on news of the 9/11 attacks was of the BA aircraft that were heading to the US without enough fuel to return. The aircraft made for Newfoundland and Nova Scotia instead. At her Stansted airport base in Essex, Barbara Cassani, head of low-cost airline Go, worried that the US attacks meant that an aircraft, perhaps one of hers, would be heading into London’s Canary Wharf. Having accounted for all of Go’s planes, she set about dealing with the immediate crisis — heightened security and a collapse in passenger confidence in flying. The three have vivid memories of 9/11 and the trauma that followed, which inform their view of the Covid-19 crisis gripping the airline industry now and their assessment of what comes next. Story explores their take on the current situation. The former chief executives agree on three points: crises are part of running an airline, the current one is the modern industry’s most severe — worse than 9/11 — and the recovery will be long and uneven. Some flyers, particularly business travellers, will be reassessing how much flying they need to do in future.<br/>
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Monday pushed back against pressure from airlines to reopen the nation's borders, saying moving too quickly could spark a second wave of the coronavirus. "I understand there are a lot of tourism firms and airlines who would like us to be able to once again to welcome tourists," Trudeau told a daily briefing. "But these people all need to understand that if we take steps too quickly, if we are not sure of what we're doing at each stage, we risk hitting a second wave ... and having to close our economy again." Last week, a group of 27 leading executives added to calls for looser air travel restrictions in a open letter published in the Globe and Mail newspaper. A senior official with Air Canada - the country's largest airline - urged the government on Monday to quickly reopen borders and dilute quarantine requirements, citing what other nations were doing. "Otherwise our sector and the Canadian economy will suffer far longer than it needs to," Ferio Pugliese, senior vice president of government relations, told the House of Commons health committee. "I understand how difficult this is and how frustrating this is for some people but ... we are going to be very, very careful about when and how we start reopening international borders," Trudeau said. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told reporters later on Monday that "airlines are going to take longer to come back than some other parts of the economy".<br/>
Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong has urged commercial airlines in the country to reduce their fares amid growing concerns that COVID-19 has made it too expensive for many people to fly. Wee said Monday that he held a meeting with the country’s three biggest airlines - Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and Malindo Air earlier in the month to discuss the recovery of the aviation industry. He noted that the airlines “must now begin to reduce their airfares and increase flight frequencies” in line with the relaxation of social distancing rules for scheduled and non-scheduled passenger flights. “Moving forward, the Government has reminded the airlines to set reasonable price levels that would not unduly burden air travellers for work or otherwise, during this time of national recovery from the pandemic,” said Wee. He had earlier confirmed that airlines were no longer required to enforce compulsory social distancing during flights as the nature of air travel makes it easier for authorities to perform contact tracing should the need arise. Wee’s statement came as many travellers expressed concern over what has been regarded as pricey tickets for domestic flights.<br/>