Cathy Pacific which is the worst-hit airline outside mainland china has grounded about half of its fleet and cancelled over three-quarters of its flights that were scheduled for March.
According to sources familiar with the matter, about 120 aircraft currently remain grounded at any given time. This number is set to increase as the airlines warned further cuts in flight schedules.
The airline had earlier announced that 75% of its workforce that accounts to about 25000 employees were asked to take unpaid leave.
Not disclosing the exact number of grounded aircraft, a company spokesperson said, “We are continuously assessing our fleet and aircraft deployment in order to best align capacity with market demand”
Airlines worldwide are experiencing a drop in business due to a lack of demand out of Coronavirus fears. As most of the airlines worldwide have been forced to take cost-cutting measures, IATA in its recent report estimated a loss of $ 27.8 Billion to the Aviation industry worldwide.
in its effort to support the Airlines, IATA has requested the global suspension of slot rules.
At present, the rules for slot allocation mean that airlines must operate at least 80% of their allocated slots under normal circumstances. Failure to comply with this means the airline loses its right to the slot the next equivalent season. In exceptional circumstances, regulators can relax this requirement.
