Aviation Daily Roundup: March 16

Italy plans to nationalize Alitalia in a bid to save the already-bankrupt airline as part of a €25 billion ($27.8 billion) economic support package aimed at helping the country, still on lockdown, recover from the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, Italian media reported.

Satair will now oversee multiple activities for the A220 (pictured).

Air New Zealand intends to reduce its workforce by up to 30% in response to network cuts caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

U.S. airlines stripped their international schedules to skeletal levels over the weekend, parking their widebody fleets and signaling difficult decisions ahead over reining in labor costs.

Following increased government travel restrictions and massive drop in demand because of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus, Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines and Ryanair subsidiary Laudamotion have decided to suspend all operations from Vienna this week.

China Southern Airlines has canceled plans to increase services to the U.S., following intensification of Chinese entry controls to prevent reimportation of the novel coronavirus, said several sources close to the airlines.

India has dramatically tightened its restrictions for international travelers, including a ban on entry from European nations.

Korean Air has begun using grounded Airbus A330 passenger aircraft for some cargo-only flights and intends to extend this initiative to more destinations.

Air France-KLM, EasyJet, International Airlines Group and Ryanair all said Mar. 16 that they will cut most of their flights in the coming days as travel restrictions push demand for air transport close to zero.

By the end of May-2020, most airlines in the world will be bankrupt. Coordinated government and industry action is needed—now—if catastrophe is to be avoided.

Several Middle East nations have severely limited, or entirely banned, commercial air services as they struggle to contain the spread of the COVID-19-causing coronavirus.

UK airlines have joined together and called for government support as they struggle to deal with the international impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.