Debris of the crashed plane are seen at Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Sunday. (Manila International Airport Authority Media Affairs Division via Reuters /-)

Plane explosion in Philippines kills eight, including two foreigners

Manila, Philippines
Mon, March 30, 2020

A medical evacuation plane exploded during takeoff in the Philippine capital on Sunday, killing all eight passengers and crew, including an American and a Canadian, officials said.

The plane, owned by a Philippines-registered charter service Lionair, had been bound for Haneda, Japan, but burst into flames at the end of the runway around 8 p.m. (1200 GMT), Manila's main airport said.

Indonesian carrier Lion Air issued a statement making clear that it is unrelated to Manila-based Lionair.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/202 ... gners.html

|Apr 7, 2020,03:46am EDT
18 Month Closure For Singapore’s Changi Airport T2
James Asquith
Changi Airport in Singapore has announced that they will be closing Terminal 2 for a period of 18 months from May 1. The suspension of operations from the 30-year-old terminal has been brought about due to the global impact on travel and aviation from the spread of COVID-19.

Singapore’s Minister for Transport, Khaw Boon Wan announced in Parliament on April 6 that airlines will be relocated to the airport’s other terminals and all of the nation’s flag carrier operations at Singapore Airlines will be consolidated in Terminal 3.

With the majority of flights suspended to and from Singapore, the move comes as little surprise and is symbolic of closures worldwide. Yesterday London Heathrow Airport announced that it would be consolidating operations to one runway, from the airport’s usual dual-runway operations.

Similarly, Gatwick Airport has closed its North Terminal since April 1 and operations at London City Airport remain completely suspended.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesasqui ... b163f66d17

Vietnam Airlines’ stake in Cambodia Angkor Air up for sale
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50712484/v ... -for-sale/
Interesting. CAA is arguably the WORST airline I've ever had the misfortune to fly. Still, their promotion back in 2017 of camera and iPhone give-aways netted me one of each so I shouldn't complain too much... I digress.
I'm guessing one of the Chinese carriers will try the buy-out?
Despite my feelings it's still sad that there's no stable flag carrier.

All big UK airlines and travel firms denying refunds, Which? finds
Up to £7bn owed for trips cancelled because of coronavirus - but operators fear bankruptcy if they pay out
Gwyn Topham
Wed 22 Apr 2020 06.01 BST

All of the UK’s biggest airlines and most big holiday companies are systematically breaking the law by denying timely refunds to customers for travel cancelled during the pandemic, researchers have found.

Consumer groups have warned that the sector risks permanently losing public confidence in booking travel, with Which? finding 20 of the UK’s largest operators are illegally withholding refunds that should be paid within 14 days.

Most have instead offered vouchers or credit notes, and customers have complained they have been unable to obtain refunds online or get through to make a claim on the phone.

On Monday Ryanair started telling its customers that they will have to wait until “the COVID-19 emergency has passed” if they want a refund for a cancelled flight. Initially, the Dublin-based carrier had said it would process refunds within 20 working days but soon started back-tracking.

According to the travel industry’s own estimates, up to £7bn could be owed for cancelled trips. However, industry bodies such as Iata, for airlines, and Abta, for travel firms, say firms would be bankrupted by repaying now as they are receiving no booking revenue.

Confidence in booking is likely to have plunged further since the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said on Friday that he would not book a summer holiday now. The Foreign Office has advised against non-essential foreign travel indefinitely.

Which?, the consumer association, said 20 of the UK’s biggest biggest travel operators and airlines were breaking the law by not repaying money promptly. It has received thousands of complaints and requests for help from people struggling to secure refunds for cancelled trips, and said vouchers or credit notes could prove worthless if firms collapsed.

However, it backed travel industry calls for the government to intervene, recognising that firms were under “unprecedented strain” and could go out of business should they process refunds immediately.

While Which? said consumers’ legal right to cash refunds should be protected, it recommended extending the processing deadline to 28 days, and for any vouchers to be guaranteed against insolvency and eventually redeemable for cash. It also called for a definitive timescale for Foreign Office travel warnings, and transparent travel insurance terms and conditions, to help restore confidence.

Which? researchers found 10 of the UK’s biggest holiday companies, including Love Holidays and Tui, are not offering full refunds within the legal limit of 14 days, with some only offering customers the choice of rebooking or a voucher. Some are withholding the air ticket price until received from the carrier.

It also found almost all airlines are failing to refund passengers on time, with many customers unable to reach call centres to process complaints.

Some carriers, such as Air France and KLM, have refused to offer refunds before a 12-month period has elapsed, issuing credit notes or allowing rebooking instead. Which? said it was “a fair solution and a reasonable balance between the protection of their passengers and the operational realities that every airline has to face”.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... oronavirus

Doc67 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 3:33 pm Physical distancing will end era of cheap air travel, industry warns

I think you overlook the creativity of companies in times of need.

For decades, there was no incentive to change anything in the airline industry. Now there is. Even if the governments will allow air travel again, the public won't be lining up like before. I'm sure the brightest companies will come up with inventive solutions, either new filters, changed airflow inside the plane, shielding seating areas, offering disposable personal protection equipment, more cargo space, whatever.

It became clear to me Ryanair won't be among the survivors when they declared 'the government has to pay for the empty middle seat or we won't fly'.