COVID-19 network update: SAS suspends all Italy flights

As the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak continues to evolve, here is a day-by-day update of some of the key route suspensions, as filed by the airlines with OAG. Although these are filed schedules, the fluid situation means they are subject to change, and flights ultimately operated may differ.

The European Commission has now confirmed emergency legislation to (temporarily) suspend the 80:20 slot rule, whereby a slot must be used 80% of the time or the rights to it would be lost the following season. Amongst the other network developments today: 

• SAS Scandinavian Airlines has joined other global carriers in suspending all flights to Italy. The Star Alliance carrier operated 36 weekly flights from its hubs in Copenhagen Airport, Stockholm Arlanda and Oslo Airport to six Italian destinations.

• Lion Air has suspended four routes, with a total of 19 weekly flights, notably including the 10-weekly Madano service from Jakarta.

• Cathay Pacific has suspended three routes, amidst a 75% capacity cut since the start of February. The airline has also advised it is expecting a “substantial” loss in 1H20 and is rumoured to be temporarily re-purposing regional arm Cathay Dragon as a cargo-only operation. More frequencies are forecast to be taken out of the schedule, with the airline down to just 60 daily flights on by 17 March – compared with some 284 at the start of February. 

• Peach has announced the suspension of its Osaka Kansai to Seoul Incheon route. The service represented 15 weekly flights, and 2,700 seats.

• Virgin Atlantic has announced the suspension of their daily London Heathrow to Tel Aviv route between 12 March and 01 April, after the Israeli authorities extended their travel restrictions to UK passengers. This represents 1,848 weekly seats.
• Lufthansa Group carriers Austrian and Swiss have also suspended Tel Aviv flights, from their respective Vienna and Zurich hubs. This represents a cut of 20 combined weekly flights, and 3,948 weekly seats.