Going concern status doubts amid Virgin Atlantic fundraising

Tel Aviv, Israel temporarily closed because of COVID-19.

Israel’s Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport has closed to foreign-registered aircraft from January 26 until January 31, 2021, except for cargo flights, medical emergency evacuations, and firefighting flights.

This follows restrictions on the operations of airports and flights effective from 0001L (2201Z) on January 26 until 2359L (2159Z) on January 31, 2021, an airport statement said.

The Israeli government recently decided to return the country to a state of lockdown from 0000L on January 13, 2021, as it looks to keep out new strains of COVID-19.

The airport said Israeli aircraft would be permitted to land, but only for reasons "for which an operating permit was not required according to the country’s Aviation Services Licensing Law".

All inbound passengers, whose arrival was approved under the specified exceptions, are subject to special approval, health declarations, home or State quarantine, and negative PCR tests.

Passengers are only allowed to leave Israel with prior permission from the Health and Transport ministries and under certain conditions, such as needing medical treatment, attending a funeral, or for legal reasons....

Editorial Comment: Removed Izhavia from list of airlines serving Tel Aviv. - 27.01.2021 - 06:41 UTC

Hong Kong's South Pacific Airlines shut down, fined by court

Virgin Atlantic ends B747 operations, returns Gatwick slots

Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) has completed the retirement of its fleet of B747-400s with the last unit of the type, G-VROY (msn 32340), ferried from London Heathrow via Las Vegas McCarran to Marana over the course of December 21-22, 2020.

The ch-aviation fleets history module shows that Virgin Atlantic operated a total of thirteen B747-400s. The fleet peaked in 2013 and has been gradually downsizing since then. While at the end of 2019 Virgin Atlantic still had eight of the Boeing quadjets in its fleet, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the type's retirement. The B747's last commercial service for Virgin Atlantic was on March 30 from Los Angeles Int'l to Heathrow.

Following maintenance and reconfiguration, G-VROY, G-VROS (msn 30885), and G-VROM (msn 32339) will be taken over by Atlas Air (5Y, New York JFK) and operated in a high-density passenger configuration.

In the past, Virgin Atlantic also operated B747-100s (all retired by 2000) and B747-200s (2004). The carrier retired its...

Aer Lingus sets up UK subsidiary for transatlantic ops

Irish carrier Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) is seeking to enter the UK-US transatlantic market in the IATA summer season with flights from a new base at Manchester Int'l to New York JFK, Orlando Int'l, and Boston.

A new subsidiary, Aer Lingus (United Kingdom) (Belfast City), has been set up for this purpose and it expects to receive its Air Operator Certificate (AOC), operating license, and a route license from the UK Civil Aviation Authority around February 2021.

This is according to a joint application by Aer Lingus Limited (parent) and Aer Lingus (UK) to the US Department of Transportation. In terms of this, Aer Lingus (UK) has applied for a Foreign Operator's Permit to operate daily flights from Manchester to New York (JFK); daily summer flights and four flights per week in the winter to Orlando; and daily summer flights to Boston, a route that is currently unserved.

Two A330-300s, EI-EDY (msn 1025) and EI-ELA (msn 1106), will be used and, as such, will both be...