TWTWTW 29 June to 3 July
A week of sheer astonishment; some institutions need to embark on a thorough self-analysis
Monday saw the newest New Alitalia taking shape with appointment of its new leadership. The Italian government picked former Poste Italiane CEO and GE Aviation subsidiary Avio director Francesco Caio as chairman —reportedly former ENAV CEO, Roberta Neri was also in the running for the position— and Fabio Lazzerini, who is currently serving as the carrier’s chief commercial officer, as CEO. That was the easy part. Receiving the blessing from Brussels for the latest €3 billion bailout as part Alitalia’s re-nationalisation will prove to be a more challenging task. But then, maybe not. Here is why: “The aviation industry is important in terms of jobs and connectivity. In the context of the coronavirus outbreak, Alitalia has also been playing an essential role in the repatriation of citizens and for the transport of medical equipment. This €3 billion Italian recapitalisation will provide Alitalia with the liquidity that it urgently needs to withstand the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Italy has also announced plans for certain green policy choices as regards Alitalia. Good. Member States are free to design measures in line with their policy objectives and EU rules.” Yes, you guessed it. We took the liberty to transpose —almost word for word— the rational of Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to greenlight another flag carrier’s multi-billion. All she needs to do is copy and paste it to suite the Italian flag carrier. The coming months will reveal if we were wrong or right.
On Tuesday, Brussels sent out a novel example of spin, hoping to convince the world, and Europe’s citizens, that the bloc is united in fighting corona. Following on a proposal from the European Commission and a week of taxing negotiations among member states, the presidency of the Council adopted a recommendation on the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU and the possible lifting of such restriction. ICYMI: Tuesday was 30 June and the “recommendation” called for the “possible” easing of travel bans at the EU external borders from … 1 July, leaving ample time for airlines to adapt their flight schedules and for passengers to know whether or not they could travel to the EU. Not that it really matters since the list contains just 15 —fifteen—countries whose citizens would be allowed entry in the EU. In practice, the list is much, much smaller, as the recommendation recommends that “reciprocity should also be taken into account regularly and on a case-by-case basis.” Take Algeria: the government announced 28 June — two days before the Council recommendation— its borders would remain closed. Take Australia: since 25 March 2020, all Australian citizens and permanent residents have been prohibited from travelling out of Australia. unless granted an exemption. Take Canada: foreign nationals departing from any country other than the U.S. are prohibited from boarding an aircraft for a flight to Canada. Take Morocco: the state of emergency is currently effective until 10 July, and thus its external borders remain closed; also for EU citizens. Take New Zealand: the country’s border is closed to most travellers. Take Thailand: authorities extended the state of emergency until 31 July and entry restrictions for non-essential travel for non-Thai citizens continue to apply. Etcetera. One more observation about this “recommendation” for a “possible” easing of travel restrictions. A number of EU member states, including the home country of Council president Charles Michel, opted to keep the recommendation under consideration, and maintained a status quo till at least 7 July. This begs the question: why bother and spend resources, aka taxpayers’ money, on a confusing list that member states endorse yet not implement? We know, it is a recommendation.
On Wednesday your TWTWTW team was again confused, this time by EASA’s decision to suspend the Third Country Operator (TCO) authorization of Pakistani carriers Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Vision Air, effective today. The decision, EASA’s director general Patrick Ky noted in his letter to PIA, follows continued safety compliance issues dating back to 2019 and the recent statement by Pakistan’s aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan to the country’s parliament that 262 out of 860 Pakistani pilots are fraudulent. Based on the latter, Ky said, the agency is concerned about the validity of Pakistani pilot license and the authorities’ capability to ensure that Pakistani air operators comply with international standards. Hold on for a minute. EASA knew about PIA’s safety deficiencies but neither the airline nor Pakistan are the EU’s list of airlines banned from operating to the bloc’s airports. And PIA is on IATA’s registry of IOSA certified airlines. We can’t fail to wonder if Europe’s aviation safety regulator needs to redirect its primary focus to safety rather than setting green standards for aircraft and expanding its competence to the whole air transport eco-system, including the on-board health of passengers. Ninety-eight people lost their lives in the PIA Airbus A320-200 crash on approach to Karachi-Jinnah International Airport of 22 May. BTW, EASA gave PIA a grace period until 3 July to allow the airline to operate already planned services into the EU—this despite the company acknowledging on Twitter that “Dubious Pilots Licenses do not pertain to PIA alone. Let it be on record, these licenses were issued by the competent authority and are valid as per their records.” Shocking?
Thursday saw the European Commission act on Greece’s and Italy’s flagrant disregard of EU261 and open infringement proceedings against the two countries for having adopted legislation allowing airlines to offer vouchers as the only form of reimbursement. Under the EU passenger rights regulation, however, passengers have the right to choose between reimbursement in money and other forms of refund, such as a voucher. If they are offered vouchers, the passengers have to agree to this solution. Are other countries next in line? Likely. The European Commission confirmed it is also assessing the situation in other member states by requesting further information on the application of the rules.
Friday brought good news for British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair. The three airlines dropped their legal challenge against the UK’s 14-day quarantine rule after the UK government abandoned the self-isolation requirement for travellers arriving from a list of 59 countries plus Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man which are exempt as they are part of the common travel area. The 14 British Overseas Territories are also exempt. While much longer than the EU’s list, it is equally confusing from a Covid-19 epidemiologic perspective. The UK quarantine will remain in place for many countries that have lower rates of infection, including some European countries —Portugal and Sweden— China, and the United Arab Emirates. The decision only applies to England, and not to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. So that is clear.