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Rostock-Laage Airport has to cut staff

The Corona crisis is also hitting Rostock-Laage Airport hard. Now the airport has no other choice: it has to lay off staff. How many employees will be laid off in the end is currently up in the air, as the news magazine "NDR" reports. As with almost all airports, the number of flights carried out at Rostock-Laage has fallen enormously. And with it the need for staff. "It is the effects of the Corona pandemic that make staff cuts unavoidable," says managing director Dörthe Hausmann, who is currently negotiating a reconciliation of interests and a social plan with the works council.

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High-risk country: Cyprus reacts to the increasing number of cases in Austria

Corona numbers in Austria have been skyrocketing for some time. The Republic of Cyprus has also seen this and is downgrading the Alpine republic from category B to C on September 24th. In the future, Austrian citizens will have to prepare for coronavirus-related tightening measures that are quite serious. When entering the country, a negative RT-PCR test certificate for Covid-19 must be carried out at least 72 hours before departure. But even that doesn't get you very far. Despite a negative test, affected persons must go into self-isolation for 14 days. But that's not all: on the last day of quarantine, the Republic requires an additional test. This makes tourist trips to Cyprus impossible. A bit surprising for many: Switzerland is also to be downgraded following the Austrian example. This is a bitter blow for the ailing outgoing tourism of both countries, as well as for the airlines. Since June 15, there have been daily scheduled flights between Vienna and Larnaca with Austrian Airlines, and since the beginning of July WizzAir has been flying from Larnaca to Salzburg three times a week. It is currently unclear how long this classification of Austria and Switzerland will apply, according to Cyprus Tourism.

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Lufthansa: contract extension for Harry Hohmeister

While thousands of employees across the Lufthansa Group are worried about their jobs, at least board member Harry Hohmeister can look forward to an early contract extension of three years. The contract now runs until June 30, 2024. The supervisory board passed the corresponding resolution on Monday. "Harry Hohmeister's extensive experience and expertise are more important than ever in these times of great challenges. He enjoys the trust of the supervisory board, and we are pleased that he will continue his successful work on the board," said Lufthansa supervisory board chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley. Hohmeister has been a member of the board of Germany's largest airline since July 2013 and is currently head of the "Commercial Passenger Airlines" division.

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Peoples have to cut the flight plan again

Due to the fact that the Swiss Confederation has declared the Austrian capital Vienna a risk region, the Austrian regional airline Peoples must now reduce its flight operations. From October 5, 2020, there will only be one daily flight between Altenrhein and Vienna vv during the week. The weekend rotations will be canceled until further notice. The replacement flight schedule is provisionally valid until November 2020. The company is closely monitoring how the situation develops and will react if necessary. If there is sufficient demand, increases cannot be ruled out. People who have been in Vienna must go into quarantine in Switzerland. Altenrhein is an important airport, especially for Vorarlberg, but is located on the territory of the Swiss Confederation. The entry rules provide for various exceptions and relaxations, but unfortunately not every passenger falls under these.

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Sardinia: court overturns PCR test submission requirement

From now on, a negative PCR test is no longer required to enter the Italian Mediterranean island of Sardinia. A court overturned the regional government's order. At least until October 7, 2020, entry is again possible without presenting a negative test report. The Cagliari Administrative Court is of the opinion that the testing requirement restricts the fundamental right to freedom of travel. The central government in Rome took action against the regional government's order and won in the first instance. However, the process will continue on October 7, 2020. Until then, however, the order issued by the President of the Sardinia region is no longer in force. The other corona measures on the Italian island are not affected, as they were not the subject of the proceedings.

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New British Airways 777 come with first class suites

From October 2020, British Airways will receive additional Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. These are equipped with new, lockable first class suites. This class of travel will initially be available on a few selected aircraft. According to “Simple Flying”, these are the same seats that are already used in the Dreamliners. The big difference, however, is that these are now arranged as a suite with a lockable sliding door. It is therefore not a completely new first class. However, all Boeing 777-300ERs that are due for delivery will be put into service equipped with this configuration.

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NRW is taking Düsseldorf under its wings with 250 million euros

Due to the consequences of the corona pandemic, Düsseldorf Airport is to receive a financial injection of 250 million euros. This is a loan that is secured with a guarantee from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This is reported by the local daily newspaper "Rheinische Post". The airports in Düsseldorf and Mönchengladbach not only suffered from the consequences of the lockdown, but traffic volumes are still well below those of recent years. Demand is also currently declining. At the same time, however, everyone is facing regular costs, because not everything can be offset by short-time work. According to the "Rheinische Post", the situation in Düsseldorf is now very tense, so support is needed. The 250 million euro loan, for which the state wants to guarantee, also means that the owners of the airport and its subsidiary in Mönchengladbach must forego any profit distributions for six years. However, the next few weeks and especially months will show whether the sum is even sufficient, because the further development of the corona pandemic and its consequences cannot be estimated.

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Paderborn: Supervisory Board gives the go-ahead for filing for bankruptcy

The German regional airport Paderborn-Lippstadt was hit hard by the corona crisis. The supervisory board has now decided that the management will file for insolvency in court this week. However, self-administration is also being applied for. The "Neue Westfälische" reports that this form of restructuring should reduce the costs of the necessary restructuring by around 600.000 euros. The downside, however, is that Paderborn Airport is to be reduced to a capacity of just 300.000 travelers per year. Of the 170 jobs, only 60 are to be retained, which is why many people are now threatened with unemployment.

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Eurowings and Hanse-Merkur launch “Corona insurance”

Now the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings is also offering special Corona insurance in cooperation with an insurance company. This is already included in bookings made by September 27, 2020, at no extra charge. The insurer is Hanse-Merkur, a German specialist provider in the field of travel insurance. Eurowings and the insurance company are reacting to the cautious booking behavior of many potential customers. The subjectively perceived uncertainty is very great at the moment. In the introductory phase, the insurance product is included in all ticket purchases made via the homepage or the app by September 27, 2020, at no extra charge. It is relevant that this is an international return flight. "People want to fly and travel, but want more security for uncertain times. We are providing this in the form of a new Corona insurance policy," said Jens Bischof, CEO and spokesman for the management of Eurowings. The contents of the insurance are described as follows: Trip cancellation, for example if a temperature check is not passed at the departure airport; international health insurance including medically necessary return transport; and trip cancellation insurance (vacation guarantee), which includes, for example, a refund for a newly booked return flight or an extended stay due to illness. All Eurowings flights with a return flight date up to the end of 2021 are insured. The tariffs will not become more expensive, but will be expanded to include the above-mentioned services free of charge as part of the autumn campaign ("From everyday life to vacation"). After the end of September, Corona insurance can still be added to all tariffs on request.

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The German aviation industry is to receive new corona aid

The German Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer is promising new Corona aid packages for the ailing aviation sector. He is calling a summit to this end. The Corona crisis is hitting the aviation industry right in the face and is costing not only nerves but also a lot of money. The CSU politician is aware of this and is inviting people to the summit. Above all, there is to be further support for the entire industry - including the airports. In recent weeks and months, they have felt abandoned by the government, while large corporations such as Lufthansa have been promised billions in aid. "I will invite people to an aviation summit as soon as possible to look at the consequences of the Corona crisis for the entire aviation industry. Of course, we are also thinking of the airports. We are currently preparing a concept for regional airports and are addressing the major commercial airports. Because if we lose important infrastructure at this point, we will no longer be able to reactivate it," said Scheuer, who named "preserving the structure" as the top priority. It concerns the entire aviation industry, "from the aircraft manufacturer to the airline." The airport association ADV welcomed Scheuer's announcement that he would examine an aid concept for the airports. "The airports have their backs against the wall," said ADV General Manager Ralph Beisel. Flight operations without income cannot be sustained in the long term, as airliners.de reports.

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