The latest on COVID-19 in relation to travel, tourism and entertainment: Ontario looks at relaxing restrictions, Porter delays return, not everyone likes Boeing’s new Board, masks on planes are the new etiquette, loaded guns are on the rise, theatres will stay dark and Israel plans reopening.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has released a three-stage framework to gradually ease some of the restrictions imposed to suppress the coronavirus. Stage one could include opening parks, resuming some non-urgent surgeries and opening select non-essential workplaces that can modify operations, such as providing curbside pickup or delivery. Stage two could include opening more businesses and outdoor spaces and stage three would allow all workplaces to open. Restrictions on public gatherings would be also be gradually relaxed over the three stages but large events such as sports games and concerts would still be banned. There are few specifics or timelines but the stages would occur in two to four-week increments so health officials could watch for new outbreaks.
Aviation
Porter is the latest Canadian airline to announce new flight cancellations due to the COVID-19 crisis. The Toronto-based carrier says fights will be suspended for another four weeks until June 29th. Porter stopped flying on March 21st as demand plummeted due to travel restrictions imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 and rising public health concerns.
The move follows WestJet’s announcement last week to remove some 18,000 flights between May 5 and June 4 due to record-low passenger numbers.
Air Canada has cancelled all flights to the US starting yesterday after Ottawa extended its border closure with the United States by 30 days, with most international flights also halted and seat capacity down more than 90 percent.
Air Transat and Sunwing have also cancelled all trips until May 31.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), predicts global revenues will fall by US$314 billion this year, or 55 percent from 2019.
JetBlue will start requiring all customers to wear a face covering while travelling, the airline announced Monday. Passengers will be required to cover their nose and mouth during check-in, boarding, in flight and while deplaning. The policy goes into effect May 4.
“This is the new flying etiquette,” Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer of JetBlue, said in a news release. “Onboard, cabin air is well circulated and cleaned through filters every few minutes but this is a shared space where we have to be considerate of others.”
Delta announced earlier Monday that it will require flight attendants to wear masks starting Tuesday, and American Airlines said Monday night it will mandate the same beginning May 1. The airlines will join United, JetBlue and Frontier in requiring masks be worn by flight attendants during flights.
The new regulations follow outrage on social media over a crowded American Airlines flight with many passengers not wearing masks. The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents United flight attendants but not those at JetBlue, American, Delta or Southwest, asked the federal government to require that passengers wear masks.
Boeing shareholders approved a slate of 12 company-backed nominees for the board on Monday despite recommendations from two proxy advisers against five directors, including the chairman, for what the advisers called poor oversight of the company’s handling of the 737 Max crisis.
Glass Lewis said shareholders should reject Chairman Lawrence Kellner, and Institutional Shareholders Service targeted four other longtime directors and told investors to support CEO David Calhoun “with caution.”
All served on the board during development of the Max, which has been grounded since March 2019 after two crashes that killed 346 people.
Boeing said preliminary results from the online-only meeting gave each board nominee a majority. Shareholders narrowly approved a measure calling for an independent chairman. Kellner is an outsider, but Dennis Muilenburg held both CEO and chairman titles until he was fired in December.
Former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley resigned from the board last month, saying she opposed Boeing’s effort “to lean on the federal government for a stimulus or bailout” to cope with the virus pandemic, which has caused air traffic in the US to plunge about 95% and led global airlines to ground 2,800 planes and delay plans to buy new ones.
Boeing is expected to apply for a share of $17 billion in low-interest loans that Congress and the Trump administration set aside for defence companies.
Last week, the company resumed production in Seattle-area plants that had been shut down after workers tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Calhoun said it will take years for the aircraft-building business to return to levels seen before the pandemic. That may be so, but Boeing’s handling of the Max 8 issues put the company in crisis long before the world heard the words ‘COVID-19.’ Boeing shares have dropped about 60% this year.
Norwegian Air isn’t expecting flights to get back to normal until 2022. The low cost carrier is planning to keep most of its flights grounded until next spring, after which it plans to start ramping up its services for the peak summer season.
The airline needs to secure a NOK 2.7 billion ($362.1 million) loan from the Norwegian government within the next three weeks to ensure it can survive until the end of this year.
With far fewer people flying because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, airport security screeners are naturally finding fewer guns in carry-on baggage. But the ratio of guns to passengers seeking to board airplanes has jumped sharply.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)said Monday that it found 58 guns at checkpoints from March 22 to April 22, compared with 346 guns over the same stretch last year.
Adjusting for the 95% drop in travellers, that means TSA screeners found one gun for every 80,000 people screened – or 2.7 times the rate of a year ago, when they found one gun for every 216,200 people. Most of the guns found are loaded.
The Arts
Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino says the entire 2020 season is on hold until it is safe to gather in theatres. It was supposed to run April 11 to Nov. 1. Meanwhile, David Mirvish says his season – which traditionally starts in September – won’t launch until January 2021 out of “an abundance of caution.”
COVID-19 precautions suspended theatre shows in mid-March, halting audience favourites including Mirvish’s “Hamilton” and “Come From Away” and forcing Stratford to scrap its April and May shows.
Cimolino called the cancellation “devastating” for the southern Ontario city, where “thousands of people and hundreds of business owners rely on the festival for their livelihood.”
Mirvish says the largely Toronto-based cast and crew of “Come From Away” can be ready to relaunch if public health officials deem it safe, suggesting “they would need very little time to get the show up and going again.’
Destinations
The Israel Ministry of Tourism has announced that it is beginning to take steps to plan the reopening of its domestic tourism sector. At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was agreed that on May 3, hotels and accommodations with ground-floor rooms (such as Zimmers/Bed & Breakfast) will return to operate as the first step in the tourism industry’s return to activity.
The return to activity will be subject to several measurable health and safety factors and guidelines will be formulated together with the Ministry of Health, for operating hotels and accommodations during the COVID period.
Israel was one of the first countries to completely lock-down – measures including shutting and ground all flights in or out of Ben Gurion International Airport, closing all land border crossings, and hotels and other modes of accommodations were also shut. Strict measures were put into place to prevent persons from congregating, non-essential businesses where shut down and other businesses and industry closed keeping workers and the general population safe and at home.