January 25, 2022

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January 25, 2022

Cathay Pacific had only 717.059 passengers

The largest airline in the Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific, was also hit hard by the corona pandemic and the strict entry and quarantine rules last year. The carrier only had 717.059 passengers. This was significantly weaker than in 2020. In the first year of corona, it had 4,6 million travelers on board. For comparison: In 2019, there were still 35,2 million passengers. Cathay Pacific was thus hit to an incomparable extent by the pandemic and Hong Kong's entry and quarantine regulations. In the freight sector, the company was able to maintain the level of 2020 and had around 1,3 million tons on board. However, this was also well below the volume of 2019, when it had around two million tons of cargo. This meant that Cathay Pacific was not really able to benefit from the partially increased demand. The group currently expects the loss last year to have been between 5,6 and 6,1 billion Hong Kong dollars. The balance sheet is currently undergoing the usual audit and has therefore not yet been certified. The deficit was reduced compared to 2020, when the company closed with a loss of 21,6 billion Hong Kong dollars.

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Because of uniforms: Montenegro Airlines insolvency administrator sued Air Montenegro again

The insolvency administrator of the former airline Montenegro Airlines has now filed the third lawsuit against the state-owned successor company Air Montenegro for alleged violations of trademark rights. This time it concerns the uniforms of the flight personnel. In the aftermath of insolvencies, it often happens that, for example, flight attendants temporarily wear the uniforms of their former employer at their new employer. For example, former Air Berlin cabin crew at Eurowings were in the uniforms of the insolvent airline for a long period of time. A current example is ITA Airways, as most of the flight personnel still wear Alitalia clothing. It has been a similar story at Air Montenegro, as almost all pilots and cabin crew continue to use their Montenegro Airlines uniforms. This does not suit the insolvency administrator at all, as he not only sees this as a violation of trademark law, but also takes the view that the uniforms are the property of Montenegro Airlines. The items of clothing would therefore be part of the insolvency estate. The lawsuit is also based on clauses in the employment contracts. These state, among other things, that the uniforms are the property of Montenegro Airlines and must be returned when leaving the company. However, the closure of operations was quite chaotic, as many employees have not received a salary for several months. The lawsuit is not against individual employees, but against the state-owned successor, Air Montenegro. The legal action is primarily based on trademark law. The insolvency administrator has already filed two other lawsuits in this context. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges "copying" the logo.

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ANA: The Frankfurt – Tokyo/Haneda route is ten years old

The Japanese airline is celebrating despite difficult times: Ten years ago, the company used the Boeing 787 ("Dreamliner") aircraft type, which had been completely newly developed by Boeing, for the first time on intercontinental long-haul routes - with the flight connection between Frankfurt and Tokyo/Haneda. The flight was a premiere in several respects: The additional daily flight connection Frankfurt - Tokyo was the first connection from Germany to Haneda Airport near the city. In contrast to Narita Airport, which is much further away, it was reserved exclusively for domestic Japanese flights for decades. Even during the corona pandemic, which has had a dramatic impact on the global aviation industry and during which Japan is taking special precautions, the flight connection between Frankfurt and Tokyo remains in place. It was flown continuously throughout the pandemic. ANA is already flying the route daily again and on some days of the week it even offers it twice a day again - with the Boeing 787. Ten years ago, the "Dreamliners" were still rare in the world: Japan's largest airline, as the first customer, had already used some of the aircraft and had already transported its first 100.000 passengers, mostly within Japan, with this jet. But for daily service on the Frankfurt - Tokyo/Haneda route, for which two jets are needed, a second aircraft with intercontinental equipment was still missing. Accordingly, the arrival of the first Boeing 787, which would serve Europe with a scheduled connection in the future, at Frankfurt Airport was observed by numerous aircraft fans, spotters and journalists.

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ITA Airways and Air Baltic announce codeshare

ITA Airways and the Latvian airline are entering into a codeshare agreement. Air Baltic customers will benefit from access to various destinations in Italy. At the same time, ITA passengers can now purchase tickets to Riga on direct flights from Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Malpensa. "We are pleased to add ITA Airways as another partner to our existing network of codeshare airlines. Our strong partner network enables us to further improve the connectivity of the Baltic states. The new partnership offers convenient connections to existing destinations in Italy," said airline CEO Martin Gauss.

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Wizz Air installs third flight simulator at Budapest Training Center

The low-cost carrier is putting a third flight simulator into operation at its training center in Budapest. Following an investment of EUR 7,7 million, the new CAE-built 7000XR Full Flight Simulator (FFS), simulating one of Wizz Air's A320neo aircraft, together with two additional FFS and a fixed FFS at the training center, will increase training capacity by 33 percent. This acquisition will result in an additional 6.800 hours of FFS training capacity, reinforcing the airline's announcement to recruit 2030 new pilots by 4.600. "We are delighted to add an additional full flight simulator to our training center in Budapest. The new simulator underlines our commitment to industry-leading training and development and will support the current pilot recruitment drive across our network. It also reinforces our positive expectations as the industry continues to recover from the pandemic. We look forward to bringing world-class talent to Hungary to train the pilots of the future in this state-of-the-art simulator,” said Michael Delehant, Group Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Wizz Air.

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Bremen Airport: Slight passenger increase compared to 2020

In 2021, 630.062 passengers used Bremen Airport. This is an increase of 5,9 percent compared to 2020 (594.680 passengers). "The global corona pandemic continues to slow down air traffic considerably and, especially at smaller airports such as Bremen Airport, the recovery currently seems to be taking longer than at large hubs," says airport boss Elmar Kleinert about the development last year. "We were able to record a slight increase in passenger numbers in the summer months from July, which continued until the end of the year, but we are still a long way from our traffic figures from 2019." Compared to 2019, Bremen Airport still recorded a decrease in passengers of 72,7 percent (2.308.338 passengers). Flight movements in 2021 amounted to 18.949 takeoffs and landings. This is a decrease of 6,1 percent compared to the previous year with 20.172 take-offs and landings. Compared to 2019 and thus before Corona, this is still a decrease of 47,8 percent and 36.307 flight movements. The cargo volume, on the other hand, looks much better. Compared to 2020, Bremen Airport recorded an increase of 10,2 percent. A total of 2021 tons of cargo were handled in 12.764. Compared to 2019, this is a decrease of 11,1 percent (14.360 tons). "We assume that Corona will dominate developments in air traffic this year too and that the situation will remain very dynamic and unpredictable," says Elmar Kleinert. "As in the past year and a half, it is currently impossible to predict how the pandemic will develop. Every new virus variant with the associated and

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Snow whirled Aegean flight plan

Large parts of Greece have been literally buried in snow in recent days. Since this does not happen very often, many airports are poorly prepared for winter conditions. The result: flights have to be cancelled. The country's largest provider, Aegean, decided on Monday to cancel most of its flights. This also affects domestic flights operated by its subsidiary Olympic Air. Regular operations have gradually resumed since 12:00 on Tuesday. On Monday, the Aegean Group only operated flights from Thessaloniki to Frankfurt, from Larnaka to Athens, from Frankfurt to Athens and from Thessaloniki to Stuttgart and back. Due to the fact that aircraft are currently still at the "wrong" airports, it may take a few days until the flight schedule finally stabilizes.

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Financial problems: Crystal Cruises stops operating

The shipping company Crystal Cruises has to cease operations until further notice. The background to this is that the financial situation is very strained due to the insolvency of the owner Genting Hong Kong. There will be no ocean cruises until at least the end of April 2022. The river cruises have even been canceled until the end of May 2022. The shipping company's management is currently examining whether it can continue under the current conditions, which are not exactly advantageous due to the owner's bankruptcy. It is currently unclear whether there will be a sale or a closure. However, Crystal Cruises stated that the cruises that are currently running will still be completed. Crystal Symphony was to be seized due to outstanding fuel bills. However, an unusual incident has already occurred, as the Crystal Symphony changed course at short notice. The ship was actually supposed to call at Miami, but there was a threat of the cruise ship being confiscated there. A US court had ordered this due to outstanding fuel bills. Peninsula Petroleum is demanding around 4,6 million US dollars from the shipping company. This official measure could have been avoided by not entering the territorial waters of the United States of America. There, a US marshal would have taken command and led the Crystal Symphony into a harbor and chained it up there. But that did not happen because the captain changed course and took the ship to the Bahamas instead of the USA.

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Singapore simplifies testing regime for VTL passengers

On Monday, the government of Singapore relaxed entry requirements for fully vaccinated people. This primarily affects people who fly to the city-state via the so-called "Vaccinated Travel Lane". The basic requirement is that you have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus at least 14 days before your planned entry. The vaccines from Moderna, AstraZeneca, Biontech/Pfizer and Johnson&Johnson are recognized. It is also necessary that the country in which you were vaccinated has a VTL agreement with Singapore. At least three and a maximum of 60 days before your upcoming entry into Singapore, passengers must apply for a so-called "Vaccinated Travel Pass" online. This is necessary in order to be able to use the VTL non-stop flights. Only these special connections entitle you to take advantage of the entry relief. You may only have stayed in the VTL contracting states, for example Germany, in the last 14 days before departure. However, proof of vaccination is not sufficient for quarantine-free entry to Singapore. Several corona tests must be carried out. The first one must have already been completed before departure. It must be a PCR or rapid antigen test that is no more than 48 hours old. The decisive factor is that it is carried out by an official testing center or a doctor. The result or negative test certificate must be carried with you and presented upon request. The next corona test must be carried out at the airport immediately after landing in Singapore. This is a PCR test. You can then travel on to the hotel, but you must wait there for the negative result. You can then move around in Singapore. However, you must

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Stuttgart had 3.582.906 passengers in 2021

The German airport in Stuttgart-Echterdingen handled a total of 3.582.906 passengers last year. This was 11,5 percent higher than in 2020, but significantly below the pre-crisis level. Managing Director Walter Schoefer expects a "significant recovery" for this year. The number of flight movements, at 62.135 take-offs and landings, was only slightly higher than last year (+ 5,7 percent). Demand for air freight at the state airport developed positively in the pandemic year. Last year, a total of 40.523 tons of cargo were handled, an increase of 112,4 percent. Many of the global supply chains were affected by the pandemic, and air transport ensured rapid delivery and the maintenance of production and supplies of important goods. "The effects of the corona pandemic on aviation were and are currently serious. Our task remains to steer FSG well through the crisis, to secure liquidity and employment, and at the same time to continue to implement our ambitious climate goals. We see a great need to catch up on travel, whether for business or private purposes. We are therefore expecting a good 6 million passengers this year," explains Stuttgart Airport CEO Walter Schoefer.

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