Aviation Daily Roundup: March 30

Vietnam Airlines is cutting its domestic network to a handful of flights on trunk routes in response to tighter government restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paris’s second airport Orly will close temporarily to commercial flights from Mar. 31 after the COVID-19 crisis wiped out demand for air travel.

Scandinavian Airlines has started the search for a new CFO, after Torbjørn Wist announced plans to leave by September 2020.

Aeroflot LCC subsidiary Pobeda Airlines is suspending all flights from Apr. 1 until May 31, following the Russian government’s recommendation for the country’s resorts to halt operations to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The bosses of the four main ground handling service providers operating in the UK have written to the government to call for financial support, warning that the collapse of their businesses would have knock-on effects for the aviation sector’s post-COVID-19 recovery.

Philippine authorities are likely to ground charter operator Lionair while they investigate the cause of a fatal Mar. 29 crash that is the second such accident involving the operator in the past seven months.

Qantas pilots have voted to accept new contract conditions that would allow ultra-long-haul flying, although plans to order aircraft for such flights are on hold.

The proposed Air Canada-Air Transat merger would create too many monopoly markets with high barriers to entry for potential competitors, higher fares, and less choice, Canada’s Competition Bureau said, setting the stage for potential concessions from the companies if Transport Canada agrees with the conclusions.

Seven Thai carriers have banded together to request a THB16 billion ($490 million) financial aid package from the Thai government to help continue paying their employees.