Airlines Singapore Airlines and Helvetic next airlines to cease flight operations

  • Helvetic Airways

Singapore Airlines and Helvetic are the next airlines to cease flight operations after the demand heavily decreased due to the Coronavirus.

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Singapore Airlines announced, that it will be cutting 96% of the capacity that had been previously scheduled between now and the end of April. A major key consideration was the tightened border controls around the world over the last week.

This decision implicates the grounding of around 138 Singapore Airlines and SilkAir, a subsidiary airline of SIA, aircraft. In addition, the group´s low-cost carrier Scoot will also suspend the majority of its flights schedules, resulting in the grounding of 47 aircraft of its 49-airframe strong fleet.

SIA Group has stated that it of course remains unclear when the airlines are able to resume normal services. It is uncertain when the stringent border controls will be lifted. The company however is actively taking steps to build up its liquidity and to reduce the operating costs and capital expenditure.

Main steps for the group are the deferment of aircraft deliveries and payment, salary cuts for the SIA Group´s management and lines of credits to meet the immediate cash flow requirements. "The Company continues to explore measures to shore up its liquidity during this unprecedented disruption to global air travel. The Company will release further details when such measures have been firmed up," SIA Group concluded in a statement.

Singapore Airlines was founded in 1947 and is the flag-carrier airline of Singapore. The fleet currently consists of 136 aircraft, including Airbus A330s, A350 XWBs, A380s, Boeing 747Fs, B777s and B787s. SilkAir flies with two Airbus A319s, seven A320s and 17 Boeing 737s. Scoot operates low-cost flights with 29 Airbus A320s and 18 Boeing 787s.

Next to Singapore Airlines, Swiss carrier Helvetic Airways had to announce the temporary suspension of all passenger flights. The airline released a statement: "In the aviation sector and well beyond, the present coronavirus crisis is facing us with ever-new events and developments. The situation is no different at Helvetic Airways. In view of this, the Management has resolved to temporarily cease all flight operations with immediate effect [...] We will also be making (and maintaining) all the preparations needed to ensure that Helvetic Airways can resume its operations again at short notice."

Helvetic Airways is a Swiss carrier, that was founded in 2003. Main operational hubs are at Zurich and Bern. The fleet consist of three Embraer E190-E2s and 11 ERJ-190s.

Source © singaporeair.com

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