Southwest said Wednesday it was eliminating all exemptions from its face-covering requirement except for children under 2 years old, in the toughest policy yet among US airlines. American Airlines followed suit with a similar order later on Wednesday. Until now most airlines have exempted passengers with medical conditions, though United and Delta require that any conditions be cleared before flying. But Southwest, whose mandate goes into effect July 27, will no longer allow medical or disability exemptions, saying that if someone is unable to wear a face covering for any reason, it "regrets that we will be unable to transport the individual." Passengers can remove their coverings to eat, drink or take medicine, but Southwest said it expects those instances "to be very brief." <br/>
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Southwest will test thermal cameras for spotting people with fevers beginning next month at the Dallas airport as it tries to convince people to fly during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Wednesday. The trial could run up to three months, but readings captured by the cameras won’t be linked to individual travelers, said officials with the city and the Dallas-based airline. The trial will evaluate the cameras, where equipment should be placed, and how thermal screening would affect traffic flows at security checkpoints at Dallas Love Field. Southwest said it and city representatives will then decide on additional testing. The airline did not say when readings could be tied to individuals. A spokesman said that the airline will tell customers and employees about any changes to current procedures at the airport. Scott Halfmann, the airline’s VP of safety and security, said the test “could be an important, additional layer of precaution that Southwest can offer customers,” which he said is especially important during the virus pandemic. The TSA is considering taking passengers’ temperatures at other airports. Airlines like the idea, but health officials warn that it would not detect people who have COVID-19 but don’t show symptoms. <br/>
Spirit Airlines says its flexible network and lower fuel and flight operations costs helped it weather the coronavirus storm in the second quarter, and expects the next months to continue to be volatile as the pandemic drags on. The Miramar, Florida-based ultra-low-cost carrier reported a net loss of $144m on 22 July, and says its operating revenue for the quarter fell 86.3% year-on-year, to $138.5m. The airline’s capacity between April and June was 83% lower than the same period a year ago. Load factors on those flights increased from just under 18% in April, near the beginning of shelter-in-place orders, to 79% in June, at the end of the quarter, when leisure customers were itching to leave home for their summer vacations. Costs fell 61%, driven by a lower fuel price and reductions in other operations-related expenses due to the small volume of flights it operated at the height of the crisis. The airline expects further instability in the coming months, and is predicting capacity will decline again in Q3. <br/>
Jeju Air said Thursday it will scrap a deal to acquire Eastar Jet amid the fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic. In a regulatory filing, Jeju Air said that Eastar failed to meet demands required to seal the deal. In March, Jeju Air signed a deal to acquire a controlling 51.17% stake in Eastar Jet from Eastar Holdings for 54.5b won ($45.53m) as part of its expansion strategy despite the COVID-19 pandemic. But the deal had been on the verge of breaking down, as Jeju Air and Easter have been making little progress in talks over debt payments amid the losses incurred by the virus outbreak.<br/>
Icelandair Group has revealed the extent of the coronavirus impact on Q2, indicating an operating loss of around $100-110m. The company says its revenues for the three-month period to 30 June were down by 85% to some $60m. Its operating loss in the same quarter last year stood at $24m – on revenues of $403m – owing to the substantial negative effect of the Boeing 737 Max grounding. Icelandair Group says it has entered the “final stages” of negotiations with stakeholders to enable it to issue new shares and complete its financial restructuring. The company, as part of the restructuring, has been forging new collective agreements with pilots, mechanics, and cabin crew – although the cabin crew pact has yet to be formally approved. Icelandair Group expects “fully documented” agreements with all the remaining stakeholders to be completed this month, and is still planning to commence the new share offering in August. “The group took swift actions at the beginning of the pandemic to minimise operational expenses and cash outflow and continues to monitor these closely,” it states. But the Q2 performance – which will be detailed on 27 July – was still “significantly affected” by the crisis, it adds.<br/>
The CE of Wizz Air said airlines faced months of uncertainty as some countries reintroduced restrictions and that the recovery of flying in Europe would not be "a straight line". Wizz Air was flying 77% of its 2019 capacity last week, putting it ahead of many larger airlines which are still flying at less than half of last year's capacity as the travel market restarts slowly from months of lockdown and restrictions. Wizz Air's CEO Jozsef Varadi said Wednesday that airlines would have to be flexible and be able to quickly redeploy capacity in the current environment. "We are seeing now measures taking the industry backwards, actually. We are seeing countries reintroducing restrictions, flight bans and all sorts of regulatory constraints," he said. "I think the next period of time is going to be full of uncertainties in the operating environment."<br/>