Air, Freight News

Brussels moves to stop ghost flights

[ March 10, 2020   //   Chris ]

The European Commission is to temporarily lift airport slot usage obligations during the corana virus crisis and avoid carriers operating empty ‘ghost flights’.
Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said that without such a measure, airlines would have to continue to operate flights, even if largely empty, to guarantee their current slots at EU airports. Given the urgency, the Commission will in due course present a legislative proposal and calls on the European Parliament and the Council to swiftly adopt this measure in co-decision procedure.”
The Commission will shortly adopt a proposal to amend the EU Slot Regulation. This amendment will then need to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
Meanwhile, low cost carrier Norwegian said it plans to cut about 3,000 flights between mid-March and mid-June, while Air France expects to cut 3,600 flights in March alone, according to the Routes Online website. LCC Norwegian is cutting about 15% of its total capacity in response to the corona virus outbreak and will temporarily lay off a significant part of its workforce. Air France-KLM expects to reduce long-haul capacity by 13% and will continuously monitor the situation and make additional network adjustments if required.

Tags: European Commission; Norwegian; Air France KLM