Indonesia’s flag carrier is betting on further easing of social distancing rules to spark a revival in travel for work and leisure after the coronavirus pandemic pushed the airline to seek a debt restructuring and government aid to stay afloat. Garuda Indonesia’s passenger traffic has risen to 16% of its capacity after the government lifted a temporary ban on non-essential travel last month, President Director Irfan Setiaputra said. Travel demand may further improve if authorities open up popular tourist destinations like Bali, he said. “There have been continuous improvement in consensus among analysts on when the industry will fully recover,” Setiaputra said. “In May, they were saying it will happen in 2023 but as of last week it has been moved forward to 2022. If the industry can fully recover only in 2022, then Garuda will not be able to make it.” Garuda reported a net loss of $120m in the first quarter and was forced to restructure $500m of debt last month to survive the hit from the pandemic that’s hurt airlines worldwide. The carrier has cut employee salaries and renegotiated aircraft lease agreements to survive the travel slump and secured a credit line from the government. Garuda reported a net loss of $120m in Q1 and was forced to restructure $500m of debt last month to survive the hit from the pandemic that’s hurt airlines worldwide. <br/>
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A Fijian citizen died on board chartered international flight GA 8820 operated by Garuda Indonesia on Tuesday, raising concerns over the safety of other passengers and crew members due to the current COVID-19 crisis. The passenger passed away after experiencing breathing difficulties midway through the New Delhi-Batam-Merauke-Fiji flight, which departed at 9:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday with 112 Fijians due for repatriation from India, Garuda Indonesia president director Irfan Setiaputra said. Crew members had assisted the distressed passenger by providing them with an oxygen mask, he said. “Prior to the flight, the passenger in question had [provided a swab sample] for a polymerase chain reaction [PCR] test, the result of which came back negative for COVID-19,” Irfan said. He went on to say that the body of the Fijian national was recovered during a stopover at Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, in accordance with the existing COVID-19 protocol. Hang Nadim Airport director Suwarso said that 13 flight crew members were subsequently removed from the plane and put into quarantine at a COVID-19 hospital on Galang Island to minimize the risk of coronavirus infection among the passengers. The flight then resumed its course from Batam with a new crew.<br/>
Delta may extend its coronavirus-era policy of leaving middle seats vacant on its flights even as other carriers go back to booking full planes. “Medical experts we’ve worked with advise that keeping middle seats blocked and limiting capacity makes a real difference in keeping travellers and our people safe on board -– and our customers tell us it gives them peace of mind when they fly,” CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees Thursday. “That’s why we extended our policy through September, and I expect we will continue to block middle seats beyond that date.” Delta’s plan underscores an emerging divide among carriers about the value of separating passengers as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. American Airlines Group resumed selling seats to full capacity Wednesday, saying it’s impossible to effectively social distance in flight and that masks and new cleaning methods have stepped-up protection. United never pledged to keep seats open. Southwest is only booking planes two-thirds full through September and JetBlue Airways also is blocking middle seats. Delta will fly about 600,000 customers over the upcoming July 4 holiday weekend, compared with 3.2m a year earlier, Bastian said.<br/>
Delta said Thursday it has amended its $2.65b credit facility agreement with covenants, which include restricting the US airline's ability to pay dividends or repurchase stock before Sept. 30, 2021. The amendment also requires the company to maintain a minimum liquidity of $2b. The amended facility includes a $1.33b three-year facility, $1.25b of which has been extended for an additional year to April 2022, and a new $216m standby letter of credit facility, which matures in April 2022. Last month, Delta Air Lines forecast a 90% plunge in Q2 revenue and warned it would need to renegotiate its debt agreements to avoid a default next year. The company now has the option of pledging aircraft, among other assets, as additional collateral, Delta said in a filing.<br/>