We start each day’s update with this message from DFS Group when the retailer reopened its stores in Macau on 20 February after a 13-day closure.

Published in Chinese, it translates as:

No winter can’t be passed
No spring will not come

For updates from 6 April on, click here.

5 April

South Korea

China

China will make preventing imported cases the top priority in the country’s COVID-19 response and even for a “prolonged” period of time, President Xi Jinping said on 1 April, according to a report issued by state news agency Xinhua.

“The epidemic situation in China is moving steadily in a positive direction, and the peak of the current COVID-19 outbreak is over in the country,” Xi said. However, the risk posed by imported cases has sharply risen as the epidemic is accelerating its spread across the world, he said. [Source: Xinhua.net]

4 April

Scotland

Glasgow Airport’s long-stay car park is being transformed into a drive-thru mobile testing facility to support the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 17-acre car park site is part of a series of measures being introduced to increase testing and response to the spread of COVID-19.

The Glasgow Airport-based facility is being introduced to test frontline NHS staff only at this stage and those being asked to provide swab samples from Sunday onwards will do so by appointment only. The testing centre is not open to the public.

Glasgow Airport Managing Director Mark Johnston said: “We are in regular contact with both the UK and Scottish Governments and have offered our facilities available to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Glasgow Airport has the space and infrastructure capable of accommodating a large-scale testing area and we are only too happy to support in this way. The impact of this virus affects us all and Glasgow Airport, the wider AGS Airports group and our people will continue to support the national effort to overcome COVID-19 and stand ready to help in any way we can.”

Last week, Glasgow and the wider AGS Airports group donated £40,000 to homeless charity Simon Community Scotland’s #GiveHope appeal. The funding is being used to support the purchase of hotel accommodation for people who are homeless. They will be able to stay in single rooms, allowing them to self-isolate if necessary whilst accessing the range of services offered by the Simon Community.

International

China

South Korea

3 April

Dubai

In big breaking news, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and CEO & Chairman of Emirates Group has just tweeted that Emirates Airline will recommence flights (outbound from Dubai only) on 6 April.

South Korea

Shilla IPark Duty Free Shop in Yongsan, Seoul is closing down from 4 to 20 April due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The store is run HDC Shilla Duty Free Shop, a joint venture between construction giant HDC Group and The Shilla Duty Free parent company Hotel Shilla.

A notice alerting customers of the store closure (see below) was issued today with the company stating that the temporary closure represented an active participation in ‘social distancing’. The online store will continue to operate but with some products unavailable.

The popular downtown duty free retailer cut three hours off daily trading on 24 February but with plummeting visitor numbers stronger measures were required.

International

The profound impact of the crisis on air travel is highlighted by new data from travel analytics company ForwardKeys, showing that international airline seat capacity this week (to 5 April) fell to just 23% of the level available in the first week of April last year. Just 10 million seats were still in service worldwide, mainly to facilitate essential travel, compared with 44.2 million a year ago.

For the full story, click here.

Latin America

Airports Council International Latin America (ACI LAC) and Asociación Sudamericana de Tiendas Libres (ASUTIL) join the global call for financial relief from governments for the airports sector and for related services. In a joint statement, they urge Latin American governments to support airports and their business partners including duty free retailers amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The measures they propose include deferment of concession fees for airport companies, financial support for airports and their service providers to preserve liquidity, and suspension of tax payments.

The associations, which represent airports and the duty free sector in the region respectively, note that passenger traffic “has almost disappeared at many airports, negatively affecting the entire aviation ecosystem revenues and the financial sustainability of the industry”.

Full story here.

International

China

South Korea

2 April

Middle East/Africa

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has strengthened its call for action from governments in Africa and the Middle East to provide financial relief to airlines. The latest IATA scenario for potential revenue loss by carriers in Africa and the Middle East stands at US$23 billion (US$19 billion in the Middle East and US$4 billion in Africa). This translates into a drop of industry revenues of -32% for Africa and -39% for the Middle East for 2020 compared to 2019.

“The air transport industry is an economic engine, supporting up to 8.6 million jobs across Africa and the Middle East and $186 billion in GDP,” said IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East Muhammad Al Bakri.

“Every job created in the aviation industry supports another 24 jobs in the wider economy. Governments must recognise the vital importance of the air transport industry, and that support is urgently needed. Airlines are fighting for survival in every corner of the world. Travel restrictions and evaporating demand mean that, aside from cargo, there is almost no passenger business.

“Failure by governments to act now will make this crisis longer and more painful. Airlines have demonstrated their value in economic and social development in Africa and the Middle East and governments need to prioritise them in rescue packages. Healthy airlines will be essential to jump-start the Middle East and global economies post-crisis.”

IATA today also revealed global passenger traffic data for February, showing that demand (measured in total revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) fell -14.1% compared to February 2019.

This was the steepest decline in traffic since 9/11 and reflected collapsing domestic travel in China and sharply falling international demand to/from and within the Asia Pacific region, owing to the spreading COVID-19 virus and government-imposed travel restrictions.

“Airlines were hit by a sledgehammer called COVID-19 in February. Borders were closed in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. And the impact on aviation has left airlines with little to do except cut costs and take emergency measures in an attempt to survive in these extraordinary circumstances. The -14.1% global fall in demand is severe, but for carriers in Asia Pacific the drop was -41%. And it has only grown worse. Without a doubt this is the biggest crisis that the industry has ever faced,” said IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac.

International

The latest economic analysis by Airports Council International (ACI) World has found that the COVID-19 pandemic will wipe out 38.1% of passenger traffic and almost half of revenues for airports in 2020.

The shortfall in passenger traffic would equate to 3.6 billion passengers in absolute terms (9.5 billion originally forecast), with a severe impact on revenues. While the industry was expected to generate about US$172 billion, it is now predicted it could lose about 45% or more than US$76 billion by the end of this year.

“A drastic decline of such magnitude for the global airport industry represents an existential threat,” said ACI World Director General Angela Gittens.

Click here for the full story.

South Korea

Shinsegae Duty Free has closed another store at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 due to plummeting passenger traffic (down circa -90% year-on-year over the past few days). A spokesperson told The Moodie Davitt Report: “In consultation with Incheon Airport, four of the 19 stores in the concourse, Terminal 1, have been temporarily closed since March 23 and another one has been closed since April 1 because of COVID-19.”

Meanwhile, The Shilla Duty Free Jeju downtown store is closing for a total of ten days in April, including weekends and holidays. Shilla said: “It is an inevitable decision in the wake of the sharp drop in Jeju tourists due to COVID-19 and the continued deterioration of the business environment even after reductions in business hours.”

The closed days are eight days of weekends, the 21^st National Assembly Election Day (15 April) and the Buddha’s birthday(30 April).

The Shilla Duty Free Jeju International Airport store has also been temporarily closed as most international flights to and from Jeju have been suspended. More to follow.

International

1 April

International

The travel retail community has embraced The Moodie Davitt Report’s call to join together and applaud the work of the medical community worldwide involved in helping the world deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taking our cue from individual initiatives across the world, The Moodie Davitt Report asked members of the industry community, whether at home in isolation or at work in offices, downtown stores or at airports, to join a worldwide burst of applause on 31 March (#ClapforourCarersTravelRetail).

We have received many contributions from companies and individuals, which we will present in instalments. You can view some of the many contributions here.

South Korea

The Korean government announced today that it will offer large airport duty free retailers a -20% rent cut for a maximum six months due to the COVID-19 outbreak’s impact on air travel and retail spending. Small and medium-sized retailers will have their rents reduced by 50% (up from the previously stated 25%).

Korea’s ‘big three’ – Lotte Duty Free, The Shilla Duty Free and Shinsegae Duty Free – had been lobbying intensely to get concession relief in the wake of plummeting traffic over the past two months.

For the full story, click here.

In other news from Korea, Lotte Duty Free has extended its support for small and medium-sized domestic business partners affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Effective from this month, the retailer will shorten its payments cycle to assist around 400 smaller players with cash flow. The company will pay domestic SME partners twice a month rather than once, with a total of KRW150 billion (US$122 million) to be paid out between and June, Lotte Duty Free said.

For the full story, click here.

International

China

While the numbers from the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (click to enlarge) continue to be encouraging, it should be noted that starting from today, the organisation will also publish the details of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, amid rising public worries over whether those individuals will cause further infections.

South Korea

31 March

UK

British Airways is suspending all flights to and from Gatwick Airport.

“Due to the considerable restrictions and challenging market environment, like many other airlines we will temporarily suspend our flying schedule at Gatwick,” the airline said in a statement.

UAE

Crisis brings out leadership qualities and there aren’t many greater leaders in our business than Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin. With Dubai on lockdown and the retailer’s stores closed, here is Colm’s simple but powerful message to his team.

International

Philippines

Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced today that it has suspended all domestic and international flights from 26 March until 14 April. The national carrier aims to resume operations on 15 April, if allowed by the Philippine government and international authorities.

In a statement the company said, “We deliberated very carefully, and finally concluded that PAL could no longer sustain even a limited number of international flights due to the strict travel and entry restrictions imposed by more and more countries; the resulting collapse in demand for travel; and continuing challenges in staffing our Manila airport hub during the ongoing lockdown.”

The airline has implemented flexible ticketing and waiver policies to allow passengers to rebook their flights even after their flight date or after the end of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine period.

China

South Korea

Indonesia

Indonesia will suspend all foreigner arrivals and transit travel to curb the outbreak of COVID-19, according to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. He was speaking to local and international media today after a briefing by the President.

Indonesia had already imposed travel restrictions on entry from China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK.

Germany

Passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport fell by -90.7% year-on-year to just 118,965 in week 13 (23-29 March), underlining the extent of the catastrophe hitting German airports. Aircraft movements slumped -80.8% to 1,836. Selected areas in Terminals 1 and 2 are temporarily closed. Cargo movements stabilised, falling -27.5% in metric tonnes to 33,147.

30 March

International

Canada

Calgary International Airport today announced partial terminal closures as the airport continues to assist in the COVID-19 public health response

“We are now facing the stark reality that many parts of the aviation sector, including airports, require drastic cost-cutting measures and external support to remain viable,” said Bob Sartor, President and CEO, The Calgary Airport Authority. “Grounded aircraft are being parked on our aprons, taxiways, and a runway, thousands of aviation-related jobs have dissipated; in-terminal businesses are closing; and it’s unknown when air travel will rebound.”

Beginning 31 March at 12:01 a.m the airport will begin consolidating  terminal operations to adjust to declining passenger volumes. All decisions regarding operations, both in terminal and airside, are designed to ensure the continued safety and security of guests, staff and partners.

YYC is anticipating the following impacts as a result of the dramatic passenger volume decreases and flight cancellations should COVID-19 continue as predicted:

• Passenger volumes are expected to decline by more than -90% between March and June 2020, and approximately 60% over the entire year (compared to 2019 volumes)
• A projected revenue loss of 40-50% in 2020 because of the impact of COVID-19 on travel and as of March 31:
  • All airport or airline lounges are closed
  • 80% of food & beverage and retail outlets closed 
  • 90% decline in parkade occupancy
  • 90% decline in rental car volumes
  • 90% reduction in taxi and ride share demand.
• Simultaneously, some costs have increased, including increased cleaning, staffing and communications efforts aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19.
• YYC has deferred almost all capital spending and halted discretionary spending.
• The authority made the decision to reduce its workforce by approximately one third. Executive leaders and senior management positions took salary reductions.

Qatar

In another sign of normality beginning to return to the Chinese economy as well as the aviation sector, Qatar Airways Cargo, one of the world’s leading air cargo carriers, today resumed scheduled belly-hold cargo operations to China with the utilisation of wide-body and passenger-configurated aircraft. The additional cargo capacity is being added to the carrier’s existing freighter service amid increased demand for the shipment of immediate goods in and out of the region.

As reported yesterday, Qatar Airways has performed impressively during the crisis – actually stepping up flight activity in its mission to “get people home” as many other carriers have sharply reduced operations. Yesterday it announced an important boost to its loyalty programme, Privilege Club.

The airline said it will further honour the loyalty of its members by extending or reinstating their tier status for 12 months, for memberships due to expire before 31 January 2021. Members can retain their current tier benefits such as upgrades, Shop & Pay with Qmiles, extra baggage, lounge access, and more, for 12 months.

International

The latest data from flight schedules analyst OAG today shows that 20 million seats have been removed from airline capacity around the world in the last week alone, meaning the aviation industry is now just half the size it was in mid-January.

The latest dramatic cuts come from US and Indian carriers in their respective domestic markets. In detail, these include 4.4 million fewer seats in the US market (a -21% reduction in capacity), of which 3.5 million are domestic. A -70% reduction in capacity from India equates to some 3.6 million fewer seats a week, added OAG.

The ten largest regional markets have all reported sharp further reductions in capacity with South Asia and the Southwest Pacific cutting around two-thirds of capacity week on week, led by Singapore Airlines (-90%), Qantas (-63%) and Air New Zealand (-61%).

OAG Senior Analyst John Grant noted: “Using 100,000 scheduled seats as a minimum criterion there are 14 country markets where capacity has more than halved in one week. Whereas last week the largest reductions by country market were in Europe this week sees a wider distribution of capacity cuts; major South American markets and the two largest Southwest Pacific markets. In many of these markets we are aware of further capacity cuts that have been announced by airlines that have still yet to be filed which will of course further impact capacity next week.”

Further cuts will come, noted OAG, with easyJet’s announcement today that it is grounding its entire fleet. Capacity adjustments are also expected from Wizzair in Europe and from the three biggest Chinese airlines following the imposition of restrictions on international flights.

Grant said: “It took the airline industry some eight weeks for global capacity to fall from 106 million to 90 million and a further two weeks for that to fall to 49 million. With a number of schedules updates expected this week and no real signs of capacity in next week’s current data we could expect capacity to be closer 44 million seats a week.

“If deeper cuts take place in some of the major markets then we will perhaps get close to 40 million, a point from which we would hope to begin to see some signs of recovery occurring.”

UK

UK airline easyJet today grounded its entire fleet. It follows the many travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic and national lockdowns across many European countries. The company operated the last of its repatriation flights on 29 March, after returning 45,000 travellers to the UK in recent days.

The company said: “At this stage there can be no certainty of the date for restarting commercial flights. We will continuously evaluate the situation based on regulations and demand, and will update the market when we have a view. We continue to take every action to remove cost and non-critical expenditure from the business at every level in order to help mitigate the impact from the coronavirus. The grounding of aircraft removes significant cost.”

easyJet said that it maintains a strong balance sheet, with no debt re-financings due until 2022. From 1 April cabin crew will be on furlough through a UK government job retention scheme, which guarantees 80% of their average pay.

Netherlands

Royal Schiphol Group said today that passenger traffic could fall by -26% and revenues by €400 million in 2020 compared to 2019, under a potential post-COVID-19 scenario. The revised figures imply a recovery that does not begin before June, along with an economic recession.

The company, which runs Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, said today that it had withdrawn its original forecasts and financial targets for 2020 due to the uncertainty in the market. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Schiphol Group was expecting limited growth in passenger numbers and a stable net result comparable to 2019. As reported, net revenue was €1,615 million in 2019 with pre-tax profits at €438 million.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has and will have, for a yet unknown period of time, an adverse effect on passenger demand for air travel at Royal Schiphol Group’s airports. As there is no precedent for an outbreak at this scale and since it is unclear how the COVID-19 virus will develop, the scale of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Royal Schiphol Group’s business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition is unpredictable,” it said.

The €400 million decline in revenues, said the group, would feature lower income from airport charges, concessions and parking fees, as well as to a lesser extent rents and other revenue.

As reported, Schiphol Airport has reduced its operations but remains open for flights involved in the repatriation of Dutch citizens, freight traffic, emergency services and other non-commercial aircraft.

On 26 March, credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s revised the long term credit rating of Royal Schiphol Group from A+ with a stable outlook to A+ with negative credit watch. The group said it has cash and committed facilities available of €0.9 billion.

Cambodia

Effective from midnight tonight (30 March), Cambodia is introducing further restrictions on foreigners entering the country to halt the spread of COVID-19. The measures include suspending visa on arrival and e-visa schemes. It means any foreigner intending to enter Cambodia must apply in advance to their local embassy and provide confirmation from their local health authority that they do not have the coronavirus.

Cambodia Airports (Vinci Airports is 70% shareholder) has already taken action to scale down activity. At Phnom Penh International, flights from T2 Domestic moved to T1 International on 21 March. At Siem Reap International, flights scheduled for T2 Domestic also moved to T1 International.

Lebanon

The closure of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, originally scheduled to run until 29 March, has been extended until at least 12 April, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has said.

China

This set of figures, courtesy of the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China and updated daily by The Moodie Davitt Report, remains the information most monitored by our readers in the travel retail and aviation community. Once again Hubei province, whose capital Wuhan was the original epicentre of the outbreak, recorded zero new cases – the 11th such day out of the last 12. As we have reported regularly over recent weeks, the key concern now for the Chinese authorities is to stop the import of new cases from overseas.

Yesterday, for example, the Mainland recorded 31 new cases of confirmed infections (30 imported and 1 indigenous case – in Gansu province), and 17 new suspected infections (all imported).

As much of the world reels in the face of the COVID-19 onslaught, China’s figures offer hope that a combination of confinement, common sense, social responsibility and strict government measures can lead a country away from catastrophe.

Mainland China’s total count since the outbreak began supports that view. As of 24:00 on 29 March, the National Health Commission had received 81,470 reports of confirmed cases and 3,304 deaths in 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese Mainland (and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), and in all 75,770 patients had been cured and discharged from hospital.

South Korea

Canada/International

The Moodie Davitt Report this weekend proudly released a fund-raising song themed around the global COVID-19 pandemic, in association with Canadian duty free executive and professional singer-songwriter Jeff Orson, National Director – Duty Free for PMA. All funds raised (minus any Canadian government taxes) are being donated to the newly established UN COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie has personally funded the recording costs.

‘Pray’ is released via North America online music company Bandcamp, which allows listeners to buy (or gift) the track by making a payment of their own choice (anything from C$1 upwards). Please click the following link to buy (https://lnkd.in/gMsK2jF) or gift it (you can leave a personalised message) to someone you care about who you might not see for a while. For full story and Podcast interview with Jeff Orson, please click here.

International

29 March

From today, we start each day’s update with the message from DFS Group when the retailer reopened its stores in Macau on 20 February after a 13-day closure.

Published in Chinese, it translates as:

No winter can’t be passed
No spring will not come

Qatar

Qatar Airways, which has performed so impressively during the crisis – actually stepping up flight activity in its mission to “get people home” as many other carriers have sharply reduced operations – today announced an important boost to its loyalty programme, Privilege Club.

The airline said it will further honour the loyalty of its members by extending or reinstating their tier status for 12 months, for memberships due to expire before 31 January 2021. Members can retain their current tier benefits such as upgrades, Shop & Pay with Qmiles, extra baggage, lounge access, and more, for 12 months.

Ireland/International

Like other leading travel retailers worldwide, Aer Rianta International (ARI) has been hit by the impact of airport and terminal closures. The operations that remained open as of 27 March are those at Muscat, Bahrain, Jakarta and Barbados airports, plus the Qatar Distribution Company business in Qatar.

The company is monitoring the situation closely with its partners in each region with a view to reopening when appropriate.

International

DFS Group, the world’s leading luxury travel retailer, has temporarily closed several of its operations as follows:

• DFS, Abu Dhabi International Airport: Closed from March 25 until April 7 (both dates inclusive).
• T Galleria by DFS, Bali: Closed effective March 28 2020 until April 28 2020 (both days inclusive).
• Hawaii DFS locations:
• T Galleria by DFS, Hawaii: Closed effective March 20 2020 until April 30 2020 inclusive.
• DFS Kahului Maui Airport stores: Closed effective March 20 2020 until further notice.
• DFS stores at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport: Closed effective 2pm on March 20 2020 until April 30 2020 inclusive.
• T Galleria by DFS, Bali: Closed effective March 28 2020 until April 28 2020 (both days inclusive).
• T Galleria by DFS, Auckland: Closed effective March 25 and at Auckland Airport effective March 24 until further notice.
• DFS, John F. Kennedy International Airport: Closed effective 10:00 pm on March 20 until April 19, 2020 (both days inclusive).
• DFS, Los Angeles International Airport: Closed effective 12:01 am on March 20 until April 19, 2020 (both days inclusive).

DFS will monitor the situation and official guidance to determine when best to reopen its stores.

International

China

China is building a ‘fortress’ to ensure that new cases of COVID-19 are not brought in from overseas, writes Sky News Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire from Dalian today. It’s an excellent piece (click here to read) that underlines the strict – but vital and highly effective – measures being taken by China to eradicate a feared second wave of cases brought in from abroad.

How long such measures will remain in place is uncertain but one thing is for sure – any early recovery in Chinese travel will be dominated by intra-Chinese travel.

Speaking on Friday during an OAG webinar, Institute for Aviation Research Professor Zheng Lei said: “Recently, airline [domestic] traffic has picked up. China Southern now has a 60% load factor on average so that is an improvement. The latest data from Hainan Airlines shows an average load factor of 62% on 254 flights on 21 March.

“With the coronavirus coming under control, airlines are gradually resuming their traffic. That is what we are seeing in China. Consumer confidence hasn’t fully come back yet and will take a while to get back to normal. But airlines have done a great job to reassure travellers with regular cleaning of aircraft, for example.”

For the travel retail sector that means only one thing. Focus on Hainan and the resort island’s lucrative offshore duty free industry. As reported, Hainan’s provincial government this month announced a CNY150 million (US$21.2 million) rejuvenation plan for the island’s beleaguered tourism industry with duty free shopping at the heart of its plans.

Click here for our latest analysis.

South Korea

28 March

Australia

Dufry will close its stores at Melbourne and Perth airports from midnight tonight (28/3/2020) until further notice. The decision was inevitable after the recent Federal Government announcements that 1) from 9pm AEDT 20 March, only Australian citizens, residents and immediate family members could travel to Australia; 2) From 12:00pm 25 March 2020 all Australian citizens and permanent residents would be prohibited to travel out of Australia unless exempted.

International

Here again, courtesy of The Moodie Davitt Report Fashion, Beauty & Social Media Editor Hannah Tan-Gillies, is a timely video summary of the kindness and compassion that is pouring from our industry’s collective heart during these darkest of times.

South Korea

Latin America

China

International

Flight analyst OAG has highlighted the early recovery of the Chinese aviation market as capacity returns and load factors increase. Details emerged during an OAG webinar that outlined the latest capacity reductions among the world’s airlines in recent days.

Click here for the full story.

27 March

Here, courtesy of The Moodie Davitt Report Fashion, Beauty & Social Media Editor Hannah Tan-Gillies, is a video summary of the kindness and compassion that is pouring from our industry’s collective heart during these darkest of times.

On a grim day for aviation, tourism and travel retail (and The Moodie Davitt Report), it is worth remembering the message from DFS Group when the retailer reopened its stores in Macau on 20 February after a 13-day closure. Published in Chinese, it translates as:

No winter can’t be passed
No spring will not come

UK

AGS Airports, operator of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, this afternoon announced further restrictions to its operations. Chief Executive Derek Provan said: “With many of our airline partners having completed their repatriation flights and in line with passenger demand, there are now only a limited number of services available from the AGS group of airports. In light of this and to protect the health and wellbeing of all the staff who work so hard to keep our airports running, we will be introducing temporary restrictions on our operations from 1 April.

“To support our country’s response to this accelerating pandemic, Aberdeen and Glasgow airports will continue to support essential services. These will include lifeline links to remote communities in the Highlands and Islands, NHS and air ambulance services, and helicopters for the oil and gas industry. Southampton Airport will similarly support lifeline services to the Channel Islands. Our airports will also cater for those airlines who are continuing to operate. At this stage, it is difficult to say how long these measures will remain in place, however, we will continue to follow all government advice and keep them under constant review.

“We are facing extremely challenging times and like all organisations, we have a duty of care to our staff, our business partners and to all those who use our airports. Introducing temporary operating restrictions will allow us to significantly reduce the number of staff who must travel to work.

“Alongside this, we are working with our people and their trade union representatives to ensure those employees who will be furloughed during this period will have access to the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We have also proposed other measures to support the business at this time including temporary pay cuts for all staff including our Board and leadership team, an end to bonus payments, the option for staff to take unpaid leave and the option for reduced working hours.”

UK

Gatwick Airport will consolidate its operations into the South Terminal and limit the operating hours for its runway for the entirety of April.

The London airport said the temporary closure of the North Terminal and the decision to limit scheduled flights on its runway to between 2pm and 10pm every day for the month had been made to protect passengers and staff.

Gatwick Airport Chief Executive Stewart Wingate said: “Gatwick is a resilient but also responsible business and during these extraordinary times we need to take unprecedented measures to protect the health and wellbeing of our staff and passengers, while also shielding the business from the impact of the coronavirus.”

The decision to scale back the airport’s operations will be kept under regular review and could be extended beyond the initial one-month period.

New Zealand

Auckland Airport has told travellers to stock up on necessities before travelling to the airport as most retail and F&B outlets in the airport have closed.

New Zealand this week escalated the COVID-19 alert system from Level 3 to Level 4, which means that many retail stores, cafes and restaurants across the country have had to close. Of the 100-plus retail and F&B outlets usually open at the country’s busiest airport, only a convenience store, juicer F&B outlet and pharmacy shop are currently open.

Read the full story here

International

ACI World Director General Angela Gittens has called for urgent financial relief measures to protect the more than 6.1 million people employed by airports globally either directly or indirectly. State aid should be “non-discriminatory and not benefit one actor at the expense of another actor in the aviation ecosystem”, however, she says.

Click here for the full story and details of the measures ACI World is urging governments to consider.

International

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) says that between five and seven years’ worth of tourism growth will be lost to COVID-19, based on its latest estimates.

The organisation today released its updated assessment of the impact, saying that 2020 international tourist arrivals will be down by -20% to -30% compared with 2019 figures.

Full story here.

UK

Netherlands

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is scaling down activity and transitioning to what it terms ‘Core Schiphol’ after a -90% reduction in passenger traffic in recent days, and with flight numbers at 25% of their usual level.

From today, check-in will be limited to Departures Lounges 2 and 3, with security screening and passport control at Departures 2.

Some shops remain open to service the limited traffic. Most F&B outlets have been closed since 15 March (until at least 6 April) with kiosks, Grab & Fly counters and some cafés still functioning.

South Korea

26 March

China

In a concerted effort to halt the import of COVID-19 cases from overseas, China is to suspend entry for foreign nationals from 28 March. As reported, while the situation in China has eased, the number of cases brought in from other countries is a big concern for the Chinese authorities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Immigration Administration said in a statement this evening: “In view of the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world, China has decided to temporarily suspend the entry into China by foreign nationals holding visas or residence permits still valid to the time of this announcement, effective from 00.00 on 28 March.

“The suspension is a temporary measure that China is compelled to take in light of the outbreak situation and the practices of other countries. China will stay in close touch with all sides and properly handle personnel exchanges with the rest of the world under the special circumstances. The above-mentioned measures will be calibrated in light of the evolving situation and announced accordingly.”

The restrictions include port visas, transit visas and covers foreign nationals with APEC Business Travel Cards. Other groups affected will include those who avail of the Hainan 30-day visa-free policy, the 15-day visa-free policy for foreign cruise group tours through Shanghai Port, the Guangdong 144-hour visa-free policy for groups from Hong Kong or Macau and the Guangxi 15-day visa-free policy for tour groups from ASEAN countries.

USA

Miami International Airport has temporarily closed its Concourse G in response to reduced passenger traffic caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The move affects Bahamasair, Frontier and United Airlines, whose flights are being moved to concourses E, F, H and J. In addition, Concourse E is opening from 1pm daily.

Some airport, shops and restaurants have temporarily closed or changed their hours of operation. Among the retail closures are Duty Free Americas’ core category stores and some boutiques, along with the 10,000sq ft multi-category concept The Shoppes at Ocean Drive.

In F&B, standalone bars have been closed until further notice. Other dining locations and airline lounges are restricted to 50% capacity, and social distancing measures have been implemented.

The Miami-Dade Aviation Department said that concession services remain available for all scheduled flights.

Thailand

The Thai government has declared a state of emergency until 30 April, closed border crossings and banned the entry of foreigners except those with diplomatic status and with work permits.

As reported, King Power International’s flagship location King Power Rangnam, one of Asia’s and the world’s most important duty free doors, closed on 22 March in line with a government edict that ordered the temporary closure of all shopping centres, entertainment venues and markets. The travel retailer’s other Bangkok store, King Power Srivaree, was already shut temporarily.

Russia

The Eurasian Duty Free Association has appealed for support from the Russian government, with international air travel set to cease from midnight to stop the spread of COVID-19, as reported below.

The latest measures follow a shutdown of frontier crossings, which prompted duty free border shop closures from 23 March. Now, said the association, all duty free shops in the country will close by tomorrow (27 March).

For the full story, click here.

China

The China Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) today instructed airlines to sharply cut international schedules to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. While the situation in China has eased, the number of cases imported from overseas is a big concern for the Chinese authorities.

The CAAC said that, from 29 March, each Chinese airline is only allowed to maintain one route to any country with no more than one flight per week. Foreign airlines are only allowed to maintain one route to China with no more than one weekly flight.

Under the guidelines, flights can have load factors of no more than 75%.

Asia Pacific

International passenger traffic at Asia Pacific airlines plunged -43.9% year-on-year in February, to 17 million, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

With the situation only worsening since then, Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Director General Andrew Herdman called for further support. “Whilst some governments have moved quickly to provide measures of financial support, much more needs to be done to reduce the risks of permanent damage to critical sectors of the economy,” he said.

Click here for the full story.

Russia

Russia will suspend all regular and charter flights to and from the country starting 27 March other than those repatriating Russians, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered yesterday. Russia confirmed 182 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 840 and marking the largest one-day increase to date [Source: The Moscow Times].

USA

The US government has pledged US$10 billion in direct assistance to airports as part of its US$2 trillion stimulus package for the economy, which was agreed yesterday.

Airports Council International–North America (ACI-NA) has applauded the agreement between Congress and the Trump Administration, saying it would “provide needed relief for US airports facing at least $14 billion in losses because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global health pandemic”.

Full story here.

International

China

Mainland China saw a big spike yesterday – but each of the 67 new confirmed cases and 58 new suspected infections were imported, according to latest figures from the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China. 541 confirmed cases have now been imported from overseas, a big concern for the Chinese authorities.

401 patients were released from hospital nationwide after being cured. 721 people who had had close contact with infected patients were freed from medical observation. Serious cases decreased by 164.

Hubei province reported no new cases of confirmed infections, no new cases of suspected infections, and 6 deaths (5 in Wuhan). 391 patients were released from hospital after being cured, including 382 in Wuhan.

South Korea

25 March

France

Lagardère Group today suspended market guidance provided in late February about its 2020 performance, amid the deep impact of the COVID-19 crisis, notably on its travel retail arm. It said the full effects could not yet be assessed “precisely and reliably”.

Click here for the full story.

UK

London City Airport is suspending commercial and private flights from today (25 March). The shutdown is expected to last until the end of April, but will be kept under review.

In a statement, the airport added: “At this point in this fast-moving and unprecedented situation, we think this is the responsible thing to do for the safety and wellbeing of our staff, passengers and everyone associated with the airport.”

An important update from the airport at the heart of London.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you back soon. But for now, stay home and stay safe. https://t.co/WynJSJ3NaO pic.twitter.com/KEZLdHiZiv

— London City Airport (@LondonCityAir) March 25, 2020

International

Pernod Ricard has said it is anticipating a -80% decline in its travel retail business for the period from February to the end of June.

Read the full story here

International

The global passenger traffic figures from Airports Council International (ACI) for January 2020 show the rapid impact the COVID-19 outbreak had on air travel.

Read the full story here

Canada

The Canadian Airports Council (CAC) has reignited its calls for arrivals duty free in Canada as part of a number of measures designed to reinvigorate the country’s airports.

In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the trade body outlined how the government can help coronavirus-impacted airports by both providing short-term financial relief and introducing measures that will kick start an eventual relief.

Read the full story here

Spain

Aena, the operator of Spain’s major public airports, will exempt commercial outlets in closed terminals from rent payments.

As reported yesterday (24 March), the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda announced a series of terminal closures across the Aena network to consolidate operations. The number of scheduled commercial flights in Spain was down -82% year-on-year yesterday.

In its full announcement, the Ministry added: “The commercial activities of airports that cannot be operational as a result of these reorganisations will be exempt from the payment of the income that was applicable to them during the period of inactivity.”

International

South Korea

As a result in the recent rise of new imported cases, the government plans to apply stricter quarantine measures on US arrivals starting midnight Friday, the Korea Herald reported. The measures have so far only been applied to inbound travellers from Europe.

Of the 100 new cases yesterday, 51 were imported from overseas and 34 of them identified by airport quarantine screening, said the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Foreign tourists and short-term visitors without symptoms will be tested and must await the results at designated facilities. If they test negative, they can enter the country but must report their health conditions on a daily basis to the authorities.

China

24 March

International

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that airline industry passenger revenues could fall by US$252 billion or -44% below the 2019 figure due to the impact of travel restrictions and the expected global recession brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.

The figures are based on a scenario in which severe travel restrictions last for up to three months, followed by a gradual economic recovery later this year.

IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said: “The airline industry faces its gravest crisis. Within a matter of a few weeks, our previous worst case scenario is looking better than our latest estimates. But without immediate government relief measures, there will not be an industry left standing.”

Passenger traffic has fallen dramatically worldwide, though IATA notes that a partial recovery is underway in China domestic.

Full story here. 

Qatar 

Qatar Airways announced that it will continue to operate in over 70 cities worldwide with more than 150 flights day. The airline sent a message of reassurance to partners and passengers that it will get ‘as many people as possible home safely to their loved ones.’

In a statement, the airline said: “We are constantly reviewing our operations to see where there is more demand and requests, and wherever possible we will add more flights or bigger aircrafts.”

“This is a challenging time for the aviation industry, and we are thankful to airports and authorities and their staff around the world for their incredible efforts to help us get passengers home.”

China

In what is shaping as a landmark moment for the battle against COVID-19 in China, the lockdown of Wuhan, Hubei Province, where the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported, will be lifted on 8 April, reports Global Times. This will allow people to travel outside the province for the first time in around two months. In other cities, outbound traffic control measures will be lifted as soon as tomorrow.

Global Times noted: “Lifting the lockdown is seen as a major sign that the country has scored a victory in this battle. It has been over two months since Wuhan, a city with about 11 million population which was hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, was completely locked down.

“The National Health Commission said no new confirmed cases have been reported in Hubei from Wednesday to Sunday, and the World Health Organization said Wuhan’s recovery from the  COVID-19 pandemic gives the rest of the world hope as the highly contagious disease has spread to 168 countries and regions as of Tuesday.”

UK

London Heathrow Airport has called on more airlines and freight companies to maximise the use of the hub’s quieter schedule so that the aviation industry can play its part in the economic and social fight against COVID-19.

It noted that air freight can keep vital supply lines open and help to get time-critical and temperature-sensitive goods, such as medical supplies and food, across the UK.

Next week, Heathrow’s cargo movements are forecast to increase by +53%, as more airlines and freighters use the available capacity to transport goods which will assist in the fight against coronavirus. This figure is set to increase further as the airport scales up its cargo operation. It noted that pharmaceutical products are one of Heathrow’s top imports, with the airport handling 41% of the UK’s pharmaceutical imports (by value). In 2019, over 12,000 tonnes of medical supplies such as medicines, vaccines, sanitisers, syringes and respirators travelled through Heathrow.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye, said: “This is an unprecedented time for the international community, with COVID-19 requiring us all to work together, adapt and adopt extraordinary measures to quell the spread of this virus. For the first time in a decade, our airport has additional capacity in its schedule, capacity which we’ve begun to see used to help push vital supplies across the globe to help support frontline teams in the battle against this pandemic.

“We stand ready to support the country through this crisis. Our intention is to remain open at all times to serve those passenger flights that will continue to operate. And as the UK’s biggest port, we will temporarily increase the number of dedicated cargo flights. These will bring in vital supplies of food and medical equipment to help Britain weather this storm.”

Australia/New Zealand

Lagardère Travel Retail has begun closing stores across its Australia and New Zealand network, in line with government moves to slow the outbreak of COVID-19 in these countries. The closures, which are effective from 23 or 24 March depending on the location, run for an initial four weeks.

In New Zealand they include stores at Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, Palmerston, Queenstown, Rotorua and Wellington. In Australia they include Adelaide, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

Lagardère Travel Retail CEO Pacific Przemek Lesniak said in a note to partners: “Unfortunately, we have had to start implementing some unprecedented measures in order to keep our team safe and our business strong for the future.

“This week we began the process of temporarily closing some of our retail locations. These are predominantly in terminals that are exposed to international traffic. In addition to our planned temporary store closures, we have now been faced with the change in the Alert Status in New Zealand which has forced us to close all our stores and warehouses there as they are deemed non-essential. These measures are in place for four weeks but will be continually reviewed by the government.”

Spain

Spanish airports group Aena has announced a series of terminal closures across its airport network in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak. These will take effect in coming days.

At Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, operations at terminals 1, 2 and 3 and T4S will be suspended, with all flights moving to T4.

At Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, all flights will be concentrated in Terminal 1 areas A and D, with T2 closing.

At Malaga Airport, all flights will operate from T2 from 24 March.

Airports in the Balearic and Canary Islands have already cut back operations. Further to this, there will be partial closures of the terminals at these airports to match the limited numbers of flights.

Aena said that only those outlets that meet the essential needs of workers and travellers will remain open at the airports, mainly F&B, press and convenience. Lounges are closed and Meet & Assist services are suspended.

Germany

China

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