ALL flights from Ryanair Group to and from Poland have been cancelled from midnight tonight, and Jet2 planes on their way to Spain turned back mid-air.
The announcement was “in response to the decision of the Polish government to ‘lock down’ the entire country and contain the spread of the Covis-19 virus”.
In a statement, the group said: “We are contacting all affected customers by email to advise them of their options and we urge customers not to call us. This is a fast-moving and complex situation and the safety and well-being of our people and customers is our main priority. We will continue to comply fully with all WHO and EASA guidelines and we will follow any travel restrictions that are imposed.
Today Spain revealed that their number of coronavirus cases has risen by 1500 to more than 5700 in just one day.
Meanwhile, Unite the union has written to the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, requesting the immediate establishment of a Civil Aviation Crisis Task Force as the industry faces an unfolding crisis in the aftermath of Flybe falling into administration and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unite, as the UK’s leading civil aviation union, is warning that Edinburgh Airport and other airports across Scotland could be on the brink of collapse without support and stabilising measures from the Scottish Government. In his letter yesterday to the First Minister, Unite Scottish Secretary, Pat Rafferty called for the establishment of a Civil Aviation Crisis Task Force within 72 hours as the industry faces an unfolding crisis tantamount to that which faced the banking and financial services sector in 2007, he wrote:
Dear First Minister,
RE: CIVIL AVIATION INDUSTRY CRISIS TASK FORCE
I am writing to you with the utmost urgency regarding the crisis facing the civil aviation industry in Scotland. Unite has been informed that hundreds of jobs are at immediate risk of redundancy in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports. The situation as you know directly results from Flybe falling into administration and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scale of the crisis facing the aviation industry in Scotland, and across the UK, is tantamount to the crisis facing the banking and financial sector crisis from 2007 onwards. Unite understands that several airports across the UK are on the brink of collapse which would have a devastating impact on workers and the general public. In these extraordinary times as the pandemic moves into different phases in Scotland it is incumbent upon us to bring forward contingency measures to enable airports to remain functioning and to stabilise the industry and prevent mass redundancies.
TUI also cancelled a number of holidays amid travel advice to Malta, Cyrpus and more. The announcement triggered a high volume of calls to the company which was forced to shut down its responses to social media queries.
yes, Ryanair, Jet2 and Tui have all cancelled flights t Edinburgh
