De Havilland Aircraft of Canada and Viking Air on Friday suspended their respective production of the Dash 8-400 regional turboprop in Toronto and Twin Otter Series 400 in Victoria, B.C., and Calgary until further notice, as parent company Longview Aviation Capital addresses the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak. Longview said the move would affect 800 De Havilland employees, or 65 percent of the Toronto workforce, and 180 Viking employees, or 40 percent of that Western Canadian workforce.
The Coronavirus impact on the aviation Industry
Mar 20, 2020 - 1:00 PM
With Congress weighing how best to establish an omnibus relief package for businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has increased its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill, seeking sweeping assistance measures for its constituent aviation businesses.
Mar 20, 2020 - 12:54 PM
Positive Covid-19 tests are increasingly disrupting the U.S. air traffic control system, forcing the FAA to temporarily shutter several of its towers for cleaning. The most recent notification came on Friday when a positive test involved a technician who worked at the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. While the technician was last at the tower briefly on March 16 and did not enter the cab where controllers work, the FAA decided to close the tower as a precaution.
Mar 20, 2020 - 12:54 PM
Nine days from the World Health Organization declaring the Covid-19 outbreak to be a pandemic, the global aviation industry is engaged in an exhausting day-to-day scramble to assess the impact of the crisis and how it can best react to it. It seems as much as companies and their employees can do to deal with the short-term ramifications, and while these, for the most part, seem unremittingly negative—especially for the airline sector—business aviation seems to be trying to focus on the glimpses of opportunity.
Mar 20, 2020 - 12:08 PM
The European Union’s ban on almost all non-citizens crossing its borders is set to result in the loss of almost 50,000 airline flights and more than 10 million seats, according to travel analytics group ForwardKeys. With airlines worldwide bleeding cash and issuing increasingly desperate pleas for state assistance, its latest data published on March 19 raises important questions about the viability of carriers responding to government requests to maintain essential services.
Mar 20, 2020 - 10:34 AM
Covid-19 – a few months ago, many of us might have thought the acronym stood for a new regional aircraft under development by a wannabe manufacturer. The speed at which this deadly respiratory disease is already at pandemic proportions is difficult to comprehend. Exceptionally hard hit already are air travel and related industries, which are facing existential threats as flight operations are silenced and a massive number of would-be travelers stay locked behind their doors. The costs of this awful contagion are already incalculable. Make no mistake – the rapid shutdown of airline services is already without precedent.
Despite the often-mentioned differences between commercial and business & general aviation, these segments of civil aviation have much in common and together provide a more complete service than either could deliver on its own.
Mar 20, 2020 - 10:10 AM
The organizers of the Farnborough International Airshow have canceled the event, scheduled for July 20 to 24, due to concerns over the Covid-19 outbreak.
“After very careful consideration, the unprecedented impact of the global coronavirus pandemic has forced this decision in the interests of the health and safety of our exhibitors, visitors, contractors, and staff,” said Farnborough International’s board of directors in a written statement.
Mar 20, 2020 - 9:27 AM
The Arsenal of Democracy commemoration surrounding the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II joined the litany of events that have been delayed or canceled in recent weeks in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the works over the past few years with the backing of the likes of the Bob Hope Legacy and Bob and Elizabeth Dole, along with numerous aviation industry groups such as the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the celebration events have been pushed back to the week of September 20.
Mar 19, 2020 - 10:31 PM
The Covid-19 crisis has not materially impacted the nation’s air ambulance industry yet, but an Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) request for relief suggests concerns of constraints lie ahead.
Mar 19, 2020 - 4:30 PM
Varying priorities among U.S lawmakers in Washington, D.C. threaten to delay a bailout package promised by the federal government for airlines and aerospace companies, most notably Boeing and its suppliers. At press time, Congress still hadn’t passed legislation to address the need for financial help due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, as one after another airlines either announced a complete withdrawal of service or severe cuts. Boeing, meanwhile, continued to burn through cash reserves as it watched its stock price decline by some 70 percent.
