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February 11, 2021

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February 11, 2021

Austria: Brunner wants to use “Stop Corona” app for travel

Jan Gruber 11. February 2021 14:03

Austria's Aviation Secretary of State Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) proposes that the "Stop Corona App" should be used in the future as proof of testing and vaccination for passengers. For this to happen, it would have to be expanded accordingly. Vienna Airport and travel agencies welcome the proposal. At the beginning of the Corona pandemic, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) even wanted to make the controversial app compulsory. People who do not have a smartphone should be given a special keychain. Due to considerable concerns from the opposition, the idea and the smartphone app quickly disappeared into the drawer. This "Stop Corona" application has long since ceased to play a role and is just as toothless and ineffective as the so-called "Corona traffic light". The latter no longer even has any symbolism and any consequences from the respective color have never arisen anyway. Both of the government's "duds" have cost a lot of taxpayers' money. Vienna Airport sees the proposal positively Now they are trying to somehow get the "Stop Corona" app, which has hardly been used at all, into use and are considering using it in travel as proof of vaccination and testing. Once again, this does not seem to have been fully thought through, as it is a national solo effort. The IATA has already developed an international model that is already being used by various countries either permanently or on a trial basis. The IATA's idea is simple: use a single app internationally and not a national patchwork that will inevitably lead to problems. If passengers have to download a separate application for each country, which also has to be used differently in each country, it is to be expected that many will be overwhelmed. Nevertheless, the initiative by Magnus Brunner, who will probably still have some

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GRZ: Freight flights bring masks to Austria

Granite Pireci 11. February 2021 13:30

Today at 15:30 p.m. the first of two cargo flights with the important medical cargo from China landed. The demand for high-quality medical products - currently mainly FFP2 masks and rapid antigen tests - continues to rise significantly due to the new regulations in many European countries. In order to meet this demand, Diwa Medical, in cooperation with Belenos GmbH and the logistics company Quehenberger as well as Sky Cargo Solutions, is bringing around 2 million masks from China to Austria with a Boeing 777-200. Graz Airport was chosen as the destination airport. "We are of course very pleased that the transport of the FFP2 masks is being handled via Graz Airport and that we can once again demonstrate that we can also handle wide-body aircraft professionally," explains Wolfgang Grimus, Managing Director of Graz Airport, "after all, cargo, which we have been operating in close and excellent cooperation with Swissport for several years, is an important business segment for us." Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, charter flights to Central and Eastern Europe have been taking off regularly, it is announced. “We are delighted to now be able to demonstrate our expertise in handling cargo aircraft in Graz,” says Andreas Ottendorf, station manager at Swissport Cargo Services Graz.

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FRA: Only 882.869 passengers in January

Granite Pireci 11. February 2021 13:00

The tightened lockdowns and travel restrictions due to the corona pandemic have also ruined the start of the new year for Frankfurt Airport. Flight operations remain at an extremely low level: In January, Fraport counted only 882.869 passengers at Germany's largest aviation hub - 80,9 percent fewer than a year earlier. In December, the volume had already plummeted by 81,7 percent year-on-year. The background to this is - how could it be otherwise - the ongoing travel restrictions and the resulting collapse in demand as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, it is reported. Many airlines have further reduced their already capped flight offerings in recent weeks. The number of flight movements also fell by 13.196 percent, with 63,7 takeoffs and landings. The cargo business, on the other hand, performed significantly better. In January, the volume of freight and airmail in Frankfurt increased by 18,1 percent year-on-year to 176.266 tons. And thus reached the second highest value ever for a January. According to current information, Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte expects a recovery in passenger traffic for the new year, especially in the second half of the year. Overall, however, he estimates that passenger traffic will only reach 35 to 45 percent of the record year of 2019. 

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Fraport completes major project

Granite Pireci 11. February 2021 12:25

Airport operator Fraport has completed the modernization of 14 Greek airports three months earlier than planned. This was announced on Wednesday by Fraport Greece's head Alexander Zinell. 440 million euros were invested. Five airports now have a completely new building, including the airports on the islands of Lesbos, Kefalonia and Mykonos. In addition, the runways at twelve airports were modernized and expanded. Modern security systems were also installed. The facilities at the airport in Greece's second-largest city, Thessaloniki, were also modernized and doubled. Greece now has 14 modern airports and is thus ready "for a restart of the tourism industry," explained Zinell. Fraport officially took over the operation of 2017 Greek regional airports in April 14. The awarding of the concessions over a period of 40 years is considered one of the largest privatization projects in Greece, which was completely over-indebted at the time. Athens' privatization fund received 1,234 billion euros for this, as news.gtp.gr reports.

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Slovakia quarantines all immigrants

Granite Pireci 11. February 2021 11:45

The Slovak government is taking action. Slovakia is tightening its border policy from Monday next week. According to a government decision, all people entering the country from abroad will be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine, Health Minister Marek Krajci announced today in Bratislava. This applies to everyone, without exception - including people arriving from "safe countries", said Krajci. From Monday, state facilities will also be offered where people arriving can spend their isolation period. The quarantine can be ended by presenting a negative test result on the eighth day at the earliest, according to the ORF. If the situation requires it, the rules could be made even stricter, warned Krajci. A purely state-imposed mandatory quarantine is also an option. Only commuters will be largely spared from these drastic measures. It seems that they will continue to need a negative Covid-19 test that is no older than seven days to enter the country.

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Easyjet launches Standard Plus package

Granite Pireci 11. February 2021 11:05

Easyjet is simplifying the booking process - and is introducing the additional option Standard Plus. This complements the Standard and Flex tariffs and is only available if premium seats (seats in the front of the aircraft) are still available. The option can be booked from 10,49 euros. In addition to a seat in the first rows, this also includes the ability to take a large piece of hand luggage on board, fast boarding and the Easyjet Plus baggage drop-off. "We are delighted to offer the Standard Plus package, which combines our most popular products such as fast boarding and a seat in the first rows in one package. This allows customers to see the total cost at the first booking step," says Sophie Dekkers, Chief Commercial Officer at Easyjet. 

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Government sends Air Namibia into liquidation

Jan Gruber 11. February 2021 10:36

The airline Air Namibia is finished. Flight operations were suspended on Thursday and according to the government, the company, which was in the air for around 75 years, is to be liquidated. Affected passengers should contact the airline for possible reimbursement claims. The state-owned aviation company currently employs 636 people who are to receive severance pay. However, the prospects for new jobs are not exactly rosy in view of the current corona crisis. On Thursday, representatives of Air Namibia, the union and the government plan to meet and discuss further details of the liquidation. The background to the closure is that the airline lost a lawsuit by the lessor Challengair in Namibia's Supreme Court at the beginning of the month. Negotiations were about outstanding leasing installments for a Boeing 767-300ER. The claims date back to 1998. Ultimately, it was agreed that a sum of 9,9 million euros would be paid in installments. The first partial payment of five million euros is due on February 18, 2021. In any case, the government does not agree with this decision and since the state-owned Air Namibia is already in financial difficulties, the decision was made to liquidate it. Finance Minister Ipumbu Shiimi estimated the capital requirement at around 461,6 million US dollars. This is not a sum that the taxpayers want to pay. Air Namibia's fleet most recently consisted of three Airbus A319s, two A330-200s, four Embraer 135s and an inactive Boeing 737-500. The long-haul jets are leased from Castlelake. One Airbus A319 is leased from Deucalion Aviation Funds. The other aircraft are owned by the airline.

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Adria Airways: Brand rights sold for only 33.000 euros

Jan Gruber 11. February 2021 10:02

After several attempts, the insolvency administrator managed to sell the Adria Airways brand. The proceeds were not particularly high, however, as according to the official announcement, only 33.000 euros were raised. Quite little for a once proud brand. But the reputation that Adria Airways enjoyed in the last few years of its existence is likely to have had a very negative impact on the purchase price of the brand rights. The bankrupt carrier and the German owner, who has since disappeared into obscurity, regularly made negative headlines. It is therefore not surprising that the insolvency administrator had to make several attempts to find a buyer for the brand. The minimum bid was repeatedly lowered and now an unnamed bidder has struck for 33.000 euros. The starting price, which was recently reduced again, was 10.000 euros. Before the last reduction, no bids were received at all.

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Klagenfurt: stalemate between the public sector and the investor

Jan Gruber 11. February 2021 09:35

The majority owner of Klagenfurt Airport, Lilihill Group, wanted to increase its shares and was in negotiations with the city of Klagenfurt and the state of Carinthia. Now these have failed, at least for the time being, reports the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, citing negotiating circles. No one wants to officially confirm the ORF's reporting (yet), but the fronts between the public sector and the private investor have been considered hardened for some time. About 1,5 years ago, Lilihill announced major investments that also included the construction of a new terminal, but not much was implemented. Two aging hangars were razed to the ground for static reasons and a former Laudamotion manager was hired for airline marketing. Even before the Corona pandemic, there was not much going on in Klagenfurt. Only the destinations Cologne/Bonn and Vienna were served all year round. There were always seasonal scheduled and charter routes, but otherwise it was quiet at Carinthia's airport. The crisis has now led to the airport once again having no regular flights at all and once again significantly reducing the operating hours on which general aviation, for example, depends. Future of the Vienna connection uncertain The return of Eurowings is not considered to be in danger, but things are a little different in the case of Austrian Airlines. The Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary will end operations of its only turboprop model, the DHC Dash 2021-8, at the end of March 400. The smallest model will then be the Embraer 195. The costs of using the regional jet on this ultra-short route are significantly higher than those of the Dash. The fact that demand for Klagenfurt-Vienna has fallen in recent years is due to the fact that the airline has not yet been able to provide a reliable service.

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Frankfurt: ANA launches special flights to Nagoya

Jan Gruber 11. February 2021 09:01

The Japanese airline ANA will operate two rotations between Nagoya and Frankfurt am Main in March 2021. The target group are Japanese people working or studying abroad, because the entry and quarantine regulations are strict. Flight NH 1916 will be offered for March 14 and 21, 2021. A Boeing 777-300 will be used. The flight departs from Frankfurt at 18:00 p.m. and arrives at Chubu Airport near Nagoya at 13:30 p.m. the following day. In addition, additional flights have been added for the months of February and March 2021. The offer will be expanded to include flights from Tokyo to Bangkok and Manila and supplemented by individual additional flight connections, primarily to the Chubu region. For example, from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago - and from Frankfurt.

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