Aviation Daily Roundup: April 27

April 27, 2020

Norwegian Unveils Plan To Access State Aid; Sees April 2021 Restart

Credit: Credit: Nigel Howarth/Aviation Week

Norwegian Air Shuttle said it expects to remain grounded until April 2021 as it set out a debt-for-equity conversion plan to avoid running out of cash by mid-May.

COVID-19: North America Market Update

Credit: Nigel Howarth/Aviation Week

Welcome to Routes’ look at how the North American aviation market is responding to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, helping you understand the schedule changes and manage the impact so we can navigate through this crisis together. Routes is part of the

Irkut's MC-21 Resumes Flight Trials After COVID-19 Lockdown

Credit: Irkut Corporation

Irkut Corporation has resumed the flight trials of its new MC-21 narrowbody aircraft in Zhukovsky, near Moscow.

AirBaltic Approves New Business Plan; Nordica Secures Funding

Credit: Credit: Joe Pries

Baltic carriers airBaltic and Nordica have each made progress with their COVID-19 crisis responses, with Latvia’s airBaltic approving a revised business plan and Estonia’s Nordic Aviation Group (Nordica) securing €30 million (€32 million) in state funding.

Branson: No plans to sell Virgin Atlantic

Credit: Virgin Group

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson has rejected media reports that he plans to sell UK long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic, but the search for further investment continues.

Condor Gets $595M Government Bailout

Credit: Rob Finlayson

German leisure carrier Condor has secured a €550 million ($595 million) rescue package by the German government and the state of Hesse, ensuring the airline can survive a prolonged halt to regular flight operations in the coronavirus crisis.

‘Survival Of Airbus At Risk,’ Faury Warns

Credit: Airbus

Guillaume Faury

Netherlands Pledges Up To $4.4B Aid For KLM Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Credit: Joe Pries

The Dutch government plans to provide €2-4 billion ($2.2-4.4 billion) in COVID-19 crisis-related financial assistance to KLM, following on France’s pledged €7 billion in to help Air France and the Air France-KLM group.

EU Aims For Mid-May Release Of Aviation Restart Guidelines

Credit: Credit: Nigel Howarth / AWST

European transport commissioner Adina Valean is planning to finalize a set of social-distancing and sanitation guidelines for aviation by mid-May, paving the way for flights to resume in a unified way.

Porter Airlines Delays Restart Until Late June

Credit: Porter Airlines

Porter Airlines is pushing its planned operational restart back four weeks to June 29, citing the likelihood of continued coronavirus-related travel restrictions both within Canada and across the U.S. border.

Half Of CARES Act Airline Grants Disbursed, U.S. Treasury Says

Credit: Credit: Rob Finlayson

The U.S. Treasury Department announced over the weekend that roughly half of the $25 billion in federal payroll support earmarked for passenger airlines under the CARES Act was distributed last week.

Wizz Air To Resume Select London Luton, Vienna Routes

Credit: Rob Finlayson

Hungary’s Wizz Air plans to resume flights out of London Luton (LTN) and Vienna (VIE) from May 1 with new protocols put in place to help ensure the health and safety of passengers and crew.

Wizz Air to restart Vienna operations May 1

Credit: Credit: Wizz Air

Wizz Air will restart operations from its Vienna base May 1 and is emerging from the crisis as a “structural winner,” according to the Central and Eastern European ULCC’s deputy CEO.

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