As the Canadian government gears up to deliver relief measures for hard-hit industries, smaller airlines worry they’ll be left out. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that federal financing will be available to the country’s largest employers to help weather the COVID-19 economic crisis. Loans will start at $60 million for companies with at least $300 million in annual revenues.

Regional carriers, most of which fall far short of that threshold, fear they might go under without a tailor-made support program from Ottawa as border shutdowns and the collapse of global travel continue to choke off demand.

The $300-million threshold rules out about three-quarters of Canadian airlines from the new relief program, said John McKenna, president of the Air Transportation Association of Canada, which counts 30 smaller carriers as members. McKenna has asked the government for $2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for smaller carriers and maintenance and repair operators.

In a letter sent to the prime minister Friday, his association and a dozen other groups including the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) – which represents Air Canada, WestJet and Transat – requested relief from various taxes, fees and charges, on top of financial support.

Mike McNaney, head of the NACC, thanked Ottawa on Monday for addressing the “urgent liquidity challenges facing airlines,” but said he needed more details around “timelines and process.”

Strings attached to the bridge financing require companies to have already gone unsuccessfully to the banks or the market and demand that recipients open themselves to financial scrutiny and prove their commitment to fighting climate change.

The federal government has also waived the monthly rent paid by airport authorities to Ottawa for the rest of the year, providing support worth up to $331.4 million in ground lease rents from March through December.

Aviation elsewhere

At least 20 countries from Norway to New Zealand have announced financial aid specifically for airlines, ranging from equity stakes to loans and grants, sometimes with strings attached that limit dividends and executive bonuses.

Last month the United States rolled out US$25 billion in government aid to pay airline workers and avoid massive layoffs. The assistance includes a mix of cash and loans, with the government getting warrants that can be converted into small ownership stakes in the leading carriers.

The French government has announced at least US$7.66 billion in loans and loan guarantees to rescue Air France, with conditions requiring it to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 on long and medium-haul routes.

In Germany, the government is in talks with Lufthansa AG for up to US$10.85 billion in aid but demanding a 25 percent stake in the airline.

FlightHub

FlightHub Group Inc. is entering creditor protection. The Montreal-based travel firm cites the “catastrophic” consequences of confinement measures and border shutdowns that drove down revenues by more than 90 percent in less than two months. FlightHub said that it and five subsidiaries “are no longer able to meet their financial obligations,” with one of them owing suppliers $15 million.

The company has temporarily laid off 90 employees in Canada and 18 in the US, roughly half of the firm’s pre-coronavirus workforce. FlightHub draws its revenues from airline, hotel and car rental commissions, service charges and fees for add-ons such as cabin upgrades and seat selection.

The company warned of potential shortfalls due to credit card chargebacks issued by customers through their banks following the tide of flight cancellations since mid-March.

The United States

Florida vacation rental owners are suing governor Ron DeSantis claiming they are being unfairly treated as hotels, motels, resorts, and other lodging establishments were exempted from closure. DeSantis ordered all rentals to close in March, citing Covid-19 concerns and even as the state begins to reopen, the vacation rental ban has been extended indefinitely.

The suit claims the executive order exceeded the governor’s authority and is a violation of equal protection rights of homeowners with licenses to legally rent out their properties. Vacation rental hosts claim there is a clear bias, as they say private accommodations offer more protection from contracting Covid-19, compared to public places like hotels which remain open. According to a 2018 study the vacation rental sector generates about $16.6 billion in direct spending.

Dining in restaurants can resume in New Orleans beginning Saturday – with reservations. Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Tuesday announced a loosening of restrictions on businesses adopted to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. Restaurants, which have been limited to take-out orders in New Orleans, will be able to provide outside table service and dine-in service at 25% of capacity. But diners will have to make reservations, providing a name and phone number.

Walk-in diners will be allowed to enter, but they will have to provide a name and number for an on-the-spot reservation. The information will have to be kept by the restaurant for 21 days to aid in contact tracing if needed.

Portland is considering temporary street closures in the downtown area to help restaurants and retailers. The proposal would allow restaurants and retailers to expand onto sidewalks and other public and private property for restaurant seating or to display and sell retail merchandise. Officials envision closing six streets as businesses emerge from the coronavirus-related economic shutdown on June 1.

Portland Parks and Recreation says it will not open seasonal public swimming pools this summer and will cancel all camps and activities because of the coronavirus pandemic. Parks, trails and nature areas remain open and park greeters will be deployed “to make sure people know how to use their park system safely during the pandemic.”

The Colorado Tourism Office has launched a campaign urging out-of-state travellers not to visit the state this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think there certainly is a wish among practitioners of tourism that there will be travellers this summer,” department director Cathy Ritter said. “Those may be in-state travellers. There may be other conditions that happen that make it impossible to invite travellers back into our state” this summer.

The department instead launched a “Waiting to CO” campaign encouraging people to indulge their favourite Colorado pastimes at home, officials said. The campaign is intended to let travellers know now is not a good time to visit the state.

“For now, we hope our message keeps Colorado top of mind as a beloved vacation destination,” Ritter said.

“There definitely is a resolve within the tourism industry to be ready. To hit the restart button if the conditions are right,” he said. “But I think there’s also an understanding and a resignation to the fact that day may not come this summer.”

Seven tourism and business groups are urging Maine Gov. Janet Mills to drop the 14-day quarantine requirement for visitors from other states. The Mills administration has said it’s looking into alternatives to the quarantine, but no options have been made public.

Visitors need to know that they’ll be welcomed to Maine this summer without a quarantine, the organizations said in an open letter. The letter was signed by the Maine Tourism Association along with the Retail Association of Maine, HospitalityMaine, Ski Maine Association, Maine Camping Guide, Visit Portland Maine and Visit Greater Bangor Maine. Under the governor’s plan, lodging and restaurants will open for Maine residents on June 1, and for out-of-state visitors on July 1.

Boeing said this week that it’s gone another month without a single airplane order, cruise ships are devoid of passengers and gasoline prices are plunging because few people are commuting to work or taking road trips. Global travel is close to a standstill.

Six Flags is launching a new guest reservation system that will allow it to manage daily attendance levels and avoid overcrowding at theme parks. Advanced reservations through the company’s website will be required to enter parks. People can get on a waiting list if the park is at capacity. Members of loyalty clubs and season ticket holders get priority.

Australia and New Zealand

Compared with April 2019, Australia’s arrivals last month were down by a huge 99%, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data. There were less than 7,000 foreign arrivals into the country during the month.

The Government began restricting travel in and out of the country in February and is unlikely to open borders for Australians to travel overseas apart from any designated ‘travel bubble’ until late-2020 or even 2021. Domestic trips may get a phased restart by July.

The Australian and New Zealand governments are planning to kickstart overseas tourism via a Trans-Tasman travel bubble which may be expanded to other countries in the region like Fiji.

New Zealand reported zero new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, the second day in a row without any and the fourth such day since early last week.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said it was encouraging news as the country prepares to ease many of its lockdown restrictions from midnight. Most businesses, including malls, retail stores and sit-down restaurants, will be able to reopen. Social distancing rules will remain in place and gatherings will be limited to 10 people.

China

China reported seven new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday. Six of them were in the northeastern province of Jilin where authorities have raised alert levels and suspended rail connections to once county where a cluster of unknown origin has appeared over recent days.

Another 754 people are in treatment for being suspected cases or for having tested positive but not shown symptoms, while 104 people are in hospital undergoing treatment. China has reported a total of 4,633 deaths among 82,926 cases.

On Tuesday, local media reported the government would conduct tests on all 11 million residents of Wuhan, the central industrial city where the virus was first detected late last year.

South Korea

South Korea says it has no immediate plans to revive strict social distancing rules despite a spike in coronavirus cases linked to nightclubs in Seoul. The government says it needs more time to analyze details of recent outbreaks before determining whether to maintain relaxed social distancing guidelines.

South Korea has eased up on much of its strict social distancing rules last week before it has about roughly 30 new cases each day in the past several days. On Wednesday, South Korea recorded 26 new cases, 20 of them associated with clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon entertainment district.

Health officials say in principle they would maintain relaxed social distancing rules if the country’s daily jump is below 50 and the number of untraceable cases account for less than 5% of all confirmed cases.

Pakistan

Pakistan crossed 2,000 new positive coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time since the outbreak earlier this year. The increase comes just days after Prime Minister Imran Khan eased lockdown restrictions and stepped up the return of Pakistanis stranded overseas, ignoring pleas for stricter controls by Pakistan’s medical professionals.

Scenes of crowds of people crammed into markets throughout the country greeted the letup in restrictions despite the government’s call for safe distancing, which has been largely ignored by many of Pakistan’s 220 million people. The latest figures show 34,312 positive cases following a 24-hour high of 2,255 new cases.

Venezuela

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro says the nationwide lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the new coronavirus will last another month in a measure he says is necessary to protect the nation. One new case had been diagnosed for the day, bringing Venezuela’s reported illnesses amid the pandemic to 423. Officials say 10 people have died since the first coronavirus cases were discovered in mid-March.

Venezuela, with an estimated population of 25 million, is gripped by a political and social crisis. Most residents don’t have access to running water and regular electrical service. Health care workers warn that the country’s broken hospitals could easily be overwhelmed by the spread of the virus.

The Caribbean

Describing travel as being in a “free fall” and the airline industry as being “bare bones” due to the impact of coronavirus, the trade association for the world’s airlines is advising Caribbean governments to cut passenger taxes if they wish to be competitive when service is restored.

Peter Cerda, the regional vice president for the Americas at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), says the state of the global airline sector, including carriers in the Caribbean, is “as bad as one could expect”, and they will need government support to resume any form of service.

Cerda warns that the aviation sector will emerge from the crisis with fewer carriers offering leaner services to fewer routes and flying smaller aircraft. And “when it comes to the Caribbean, it won’t be the same market”.

Therefore, he says, regional governments must prepare for this eventuality by taking the necessary steps to reduce the cost of air travel.

“Governments can … help the international carriers continue to operate there [by] lowering passenger fees and taxation fees,” Cerda suggests. “One of the biggest problems that we’ve always faced in Caribbean is the Caribbean is a very highly taxed market. And it’s always taxed on the airline side, on the passenger, consumer side. And this will be a big challenge for the Caribbean once we are able to escape from this crisis.”

The IATA executive predicts that in the early stages of the resumption of air travel the people who fly would rather remain close to home. He says the Caribbean’s proximity to the United States and Canada gives it an advantage in this case, but it can quickly lose this advantage if the countries fail to be prudent.

“Because of the financial crisis that will follow the apprehensions that the consumer has, if the Caribbean does not position itself – that it is competitive, it has a good level of service in terms of medical services, it has the right procedures being implemented – these passengers may decide to go somewhere else, somewhere else in Central America, Mexico or even see in the US,” Cerda says.

While predicting that international travel will return to the Caribbean by next month, Cerda says Caribbean economies could lose US$740 million and face 23,000 job cuts if borders remain closed through to the end of June. When all of travel and tourism is considered, he says, the cost to the region could reach US$6.5 billion, with over 350,000 jobs at risk.