April 26, 2021

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April 26, 2021

Breeze Airways: Neeleman wants to send A220 to long-haul routes

The US startup Breeze Airways, behind which David Neeleman stands, plans to operate both Airbus A220-300 and Embraer E190/195 aircraft. During an online conference, company founder Neeleman explained that they are relying on this dual strategy. They will initially start with regional jets from the Brazilian manufacturer, as the first A220-300s are not due to be delivered until October 2021. Breeze Airways has ordered a total of 60 units. The manager has not yet named any destinations, but said that the first flight will take place in summer 2021. They are on the "home stretch" in terms of the approval process. In total, the startup organized 74 Embraer regional jets. Depending on the route profile, they want to use E190, E195 and later also A220-300. The latter type will primarily be used on longer routes. Neeleman also explicitly said that the Airbus A220-300 will be used for long-haul flights. He emphasized that the costs are lower than those of the Airbus A321LR. In this context, talks are underway with the manufacturer about installing additional tanks in order to further increase the range of this type of aircraft. Among other things, the A220 is planned to fly to Europe and South America. However, exact destinations were not mentioned.

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Fuel pumps: EASA has A320 checked

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) sees a potential risk of explosion in some Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. This affects aircraft that were produced before June 30, 2015 and use certain fuel pumps. According to the airworthiness directive, a loose locking pin on the impeller shaft could be a source of sparks. According to EASA, this could be dangerous if the pump is not completely filled with kerosene. Airbus presented the authority with a list of serial numbers. The authority ordered that the affected parts must be replaced within ten days, but no later than after 50 flights. The operators are also to be contacted by the manufacturer Airbus. In the unlikely event that an operator fails to make the repairs, the affected aircraft will automatically be banned from flying. This applies until the EASA's instruction is complied with.

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India flight bans: Governments still reluctant

A mutation of the coronavirus that has emerged in India is making governments increasingly nervous. The first cases have already been detected in Europe, which is why some politicians are calling for an EU-wide flight ban for India. Many heads of state are still cautious. As of Sunday, Great Britain, Canada, Kuwait and Hong Kong, among others, have already taken action and issued a ban on passenger flights departing from India. Germany is classifying the country as a so-called virus variant area with effect from Monday, April 26, 2021 (midnight). This means that, among other things, Lufthansa - with a few exceptions - is only allowed to transport people with German citizenship and/or residence in the Federal Republic. People who are allowed to enter Germany from a so-called variant area must present a negative corona test before departure. In Germany, you have to go into quarantine for 14 days. There is no possibility of a test. German Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) repeatedly called at the weekend for air traffic between India and the European Union to be severely restricted. He even sees the success of the vaccination campaigns in danger.

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LSG closes kitchen in the Czech Republic

Gategroup will close the LSG kitchen in Bor, Czech Republic. In a statement, the group stated that demand has fallen noticeably due to the corona pandemic and that sufficient capacity is available in Frankfurt and Munich, among other places. Lufthansa sold LSG's European business to competitor Gategroup some time ago. According to a report in the news magazine Spiegel, the latter is now focusing on production in Germany. The previous owner relied more on outsourcing to countries with lower wages.

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Entry into Austria: high incidence areas only affect commuters

As part of the last extension of the Covid entry regulations, Austria also introduced a new category of "high-incidence area". This primarily affects commuters, because their test results are no longer valid for seven days, but only for a maximum of 72 hours. The listing in Annex B of the regulation has no immediate impact on the "general public". Austria currently only allows entry without quarantine from Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the Vatican. Coming from all other countries - unless you fall under an exception - a ten-day isolation period applies, from which you can test yourself free on the fifth day. In addition, a negative antigen or PCR test must be presented upon entry. Special feature: People residing in Austria can also catch up on this within 48 hours within Austria. As of April 25, 2021, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus are classified as so-called high-incidence areas. Commuters must therefore be tested more frequently. Most recently, the Republic of Malta was removed from the so-called Annex B. Since there are currently no flight connections between Vienna and Luqa, the impact is likely to be very limited. However, there are commuters between the two countries. For example, the airline Lauda is said to have many "commuters" between its offices in Schwechat and Pieta (Malta).

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Laudamotion: Stansted incident now before the ECJ

The European Court of Justice must deal with the Laudamotion engine defect and the subsequent evacuation of the then OE-LOA. The incident occurred on March 1, 2019 at London Stansted Airport. An Austrian woman is suing the company because she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident. The British accident investigators heavily criticized the former Austrian airline in their final report. Among other things, the senior flight attendant in charge was accused of lacking previous experience. She was promoted after less than a year of practice. The authority also believes that evacuating the plane was not necessary and, on top of that, the captain's instructions were ignored. The pilots were even surprised that passengers were suddenly seen around the plane. However, since the still functioning engine was not switched off and the evacuation was initiated, a passenger was "thrown several meters through the air" according to court documents. The woman went to court. A passenger on the OE-LOA suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident and filed a lawsuit with the Schwechat District Court (reference number: 17 C 1014/19z-7). The defendant, Laudamotion GmbH, did not consider it necessary to comply with the court's summons, so the first instance issued a default judgment. Due to the absence, the plaintiff's position was fully upheld. The judgment of the Schwechat District Court is dated November 12, 2019. Laudamotion "skipped" first court hearing Apparently, the management of Laudamotion realized the significance of the default judgment, because the passenger was awarded a large amount of damages. This can also result in costly liability for consequential damages. The former

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