United said Monday it was further expanding its international schedule in September by bringing back service between Chicago and Hong Kong and Los Angeles and Sydney, and adding new nonstop flights between Chicago and Tel Aviv. United said last week it will add nearly 25,000 domestic and international flights in August, tripling the number it flew in June, while standing ready to shift plans if a spike in COVID-19 cases hits demand.<br/>
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SAS is to restart flights between Oslo and the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland, in a bet that restrictions will be lifted on the countries next week. On Monday, the airline said it was restarting flights between Oslo and London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dublin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Zürich. <br/> "As demand and interest in air travel across Europe returns, SAS is resuming flights on routes to many destinations," the airline wrote. "Restrictions are being relaxed on travel between Norway and England and elsewhere, and SAS is starting flights to London and Manchester." The new routes will start operating from July 16 -- the day after Norway has said it will lift travel restrictions on European countries with an "acceptable" level of infection. Although Norway's government only plans to publish its list of open countries on July 10, SAS appears confident that the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland will all be on the list. The airline said it would reopen more routes in Europe as demand returns. Story has list of routes.<br/>
Austria's flagship airline is replacing one of its flights with a more frequent train service, in order to meet the environmental criteria of its recent government bailout. The company will no longer fly between capital city Vienna and Salzburg, operating a rail service instead. As part of its recent E600m government aid package, the airline is required to cut its domestic emissions by 50% by 2050 and to end flights where there is a direct train connection to the airport that takes "considerably less than three hours." From July 20, there will be up to 31 direct train services a day between the Vienna International Airport and Salzburg's central station, up from three rail connections per day, the airline said. "Vienna Airport can be reached by train from Salzburg in well under three hours and without changing trains," said airline CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech. "This is why our AIRail offer is a good and more environmentally friendly alternative to flying." "AIRail" is a terrestrial service in partnership with the country's national rail operator ÖOB.<br/>
The EC has approved a E150m subordinated loan to compensate Lufthansa's Austrian Airlines for damages suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak, it said on Monday. The loan would enable Austria to partly compensate Austrian Airlines for the damages it has incurred due to travel restrictions, Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said in a statement, adding that the aviation sector had been hit particularly hard. "We continue working with member states to discuss possibilities and find workable solutions to preserve this important part of the economy in line with EU rules," she said.<br/>
New Zealand’s government will limit the number of citizens flying home with the national airline to reduce pressure on its overflowing quarantine facilities. Bookings for seats on Air NZ flights “will be managed in the short term to ensure the government is able to safely place” arrivals into managed isolation or quarantine, Housing Minister Megan Woods said in a statement Tuesday. Air NZ said it has put a three-week hold on new bookings on international services into New Zealand following the government’s request. Thousands of New Zealanders living abroad are flocking back to the South Pacific nation after it eliminated Covid-19 within its borders, allowing the government to lift all restrictions on people and businesses. The border remains closed to foreigners, and returning citizens or residents must serve two weeks in a managed isolation facility before they can re-enter the country in order to catch anyone infected with the virus. Over 26,400 people have been through managed isolation and quarantine since March 26, Woods said. There are currently almost 6,000 people in 28 facilities, typically hotels approved for the purpose, and the government is working to increase capacity as arrival numbers rise. Air NZ said it is also looking at aligning daily arrivals with the capacity available at managed isolation facilities, which may mean that customers with existing bookings will need to be moved to another flight.<br/>