The demise of Europe’s air-travel rebound and a fresh warning on jobs from Airbus are adding to evidence that the region’s aviation industry is in for a tough winter. A rise in European air traffic that built up over July and August has abruptly shifted into reverse, the body that oversees the region’s skies said on Monday. The head of Airbus said separately that voluntary staff departures probably won’t be enough to cope with the deepening crisis. The tally of flights this year will be about 6m, or 55% below 2019’s level, Brussels-based Eurocontrol said Monday. That represents a 1m-trip reduction from its April forecast. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said mandatory job cuts are now on the cards as the company hunkers down for a “deep and long downturn.” A hoped-for surge in late summer traffic failed to materialize for European airlines, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to flare and countries apply a hotchpotch of restrictions on travel. Eurocontrol says that after recovering to about half of the usual schedule in August, the proportion of flights operated will be down 60% by January, versus its prior estimate for a 20% shortfall. “We’re going backwards now and it’s really worrying for the entire industry,” Eurocontrol DG Eamonn Brennan said, blaming a lack of coordination between countries over the resumption of flights for sowing confusion and putting people off booking. Eurocontrol said harmonized virus testing and common assessment criteria would provide more predictability and boost demand, while continuing blanket restrictions and quarantine measures could see a further deterioration. Airbus CEO Faury delivered his grim assessment of future demand in a letter sent to staff Friday. “The recovery in airline traffic over the summer period has not been at the level the industry was counting on,” he said, adding that it’s unlikely voluntary job cuts “will be enough” to deliver required savings. Story has more.<br/>
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The EU announced Monday it will extend until March 27 a waiver of the requirement that airlines use 80% of their take-off and landing slots, to help an industry still suffering from the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The waiver was put in place to avoid airlines operating empty "ghost flights" to keep their slots. European Transport Commissioner Adina Valean said a study showed demand was not likely to pick up fast enough to lift it. "Today's report shows that air traffic levels remain low, and more importantly, they are not likely to recover in the near future," she said. "In this context, the lack of certainty over slots makes it difficult for airlines to plan their schedules, making planning difficult for airports and passengers." Valean also urged airlines to start thinking about a return to a normal slot regime once air traffic picks up again, and said she hoped to present a proposal on this before the end of the year. She noted that the requirement that airlines use their slots was important for efficiency and fair competition. "Slots are not always relinquished in time for other users or airports to plan operations as they would like; competition may also be distorted if airlines seek to benefit by increasing their market presence without using their slots and airport capacity correctly," she said.<br/>
Rome's Fiumicino Airport is the first in the world to receive a five-star Covid-19 safety rating, based on an audit by air travel rating agency Skytrax. Skytrax, which also runs the World Airline Awards and World Airport Awards, conducted an audit of the airport over three days in September. According to Skytrax, the audit involves testing of "cleaning procedures and consistency, front-line contact points relating to hygiene and cleanliness, social distancing policies and implementation, the standard and use of staff personal protective equipment, and scientific validation of cleanliness and disinfection processes for the end-to-end customer journey through the airport". The audit found Covid-19 hygiene policies at Rome Fiumicino Airport were well-enforced, citing the airport's 40-strong 'Bio-Safety Team' charged with ensuring social distancing and mask-wearing compliance. Skytrax also audited London's Heathrow, one of the busiest airports in the world, giving it a three-star rating. While Heathrow was praised for its signage, mask usage and availability of hand sanitiser, Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said they found "a lack of consistency across different areas, both for cleanliness and expected control of social distancing."<br/>
No job, no visa, no health care -- and barred from returning home. This powder keg of misfortunes is the current reality for tens of thousands of expats who hold the world's ninth most powerful passport. While situations differ, one point remains the same -- Australians abroad feel abandoned by their government during the coronavirus pandemic.<br/>Sunday marked two months since PM Scott Morrison introduced a cap of just under 4,000 international arrivals per week. He made the move in response to the country's second coronavirus wave, which was sparked by a hotel quarantine security scandal. The cap has resulted in a barrage and backlog of canceled flights, with ticket prices skyrocketing. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says at least 25,000 Australians, many of who are financially and medically vulnerable, have registered their need to come home since July. However, the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia estimates the true number of those stranded is closer to 100,000.<br/>
London City airport is to make more than a third of its staff redundant in the latest job cuts in the battered aviation sector. The airport, situated in east London and serving a largely business clientele, has started consulting over up to 239 job losses in what it called a restructuring plan to safeguard its future. London City shut down for three months at the height of the pandemic and, after reopening in late June, is now operating only 17 routes. Most staff were furloughed and the airport has until now avoided the kind of widespread job cuts seen elsewhere. CE Robert Sinclair said: “The aviation sector is in the throes of the biggest downturn it has ever experienced as a result of the pandemic. We have held off looking at job losses for as long as possible, but sadly we are not immune from the devastating impact of this virus.” He said the airport’s focus in the coming weeks would be to help its staff through this period, but added: “We believe that the difficult decisions we are taking now will enable the airport to bounce back in a better shape when growth returns.” Last month the airport suspended most of its GBP500m redevelopment programme, including an extended terminal, bar works already under way.<br/>
Airbus has stepped up warnings of compulsory layoffs as air travel fails to recover as quickly as expected from the coronavirus crisis, putting itself on a potential collision course with unions and the French government. The warning in a letter to its 130,000 staff from CE Guillaume Faury, marks a more pessimistic tone from the planemaker, which had previously said only that it could not rule out compulsory measures. "I owe it to you to be transparent: it's unlikely that voluntary departures will be enough," Faury wrote in the letter distributed on Friday. Unions and the French government have urged the Toulouse-based planemaker to avoid compulsory layoffs as it sheds up to 15,000 posts to cope with plummeting travel demand. Airbus has repeatedly warned that the outlook is uncertain as the industry's worst crisis hits aircraft deliveries and severely weakens airline finances. But a disappointing rise in air travel over the summer has cast a fresh pall over the company's biggest ever restructuring plans. "Unfortunately, the recovery in airline traffic over the summer period has not been at the level the industry was counting on," Faury wrote. "We must now prepare for a crisis that will probably be even deeper and longer than the previous scenarios suggested".<br/>