Most airlines around the world have been grounded since March as COVID-19 shut down non-essential travel. However, as widespread travel restrictions begin to lift, some airlines are slowly resuming services this summer, albeit with limited capacity and new rules regarding social distancing and sanitation.
American Airlines
American Airlines is resuming transatlantic services with flights from Dallas to Madrid in May, alongside additional flights to Dublin, London, and Athens from Chicago in June. Moreover, the airline will reinstate services from Miami to Lima, Quito, Guayaquil, Santiago, and Sao Paulo before June.
Delta
From June, Delta plans to revive a number of major transatlantic and Caribbean routes. This includes daily flights to Amsterdam, Cancun, and Mexico City. In a statement, the airline confirmed its plan to resume Shanghai service on June 1 from both its Seattle and Detroit hubs.
EasyJet
EasyJet will resume a “small number” of routes from mid-June to meet customer demand. It will primarily service domestic routes within France and the UK, averaging about 189 flights per week. Additionally, a limited number of flights will operate between Portugal, Switzerland, and Spain.
Etihad Airlines
Etihad has collaborated with the government of the UAE to resume services, stating on their website: “Our aim is to gradually return to a fuller schedule as soon as it is safe for us to do so.” Weekly services from Melbourne to London will resume on May 21, with new destinations including Belgrade, Dublin, Geneva, Milan, Paris, and Toronto being added soon. The airline plans to continue repatriation flights until June 15.
Lufthansa
The German carrier has published its summer schedule and announced a “significant” expansion of its services in June. This includes added destinations like Los Angeles, Toronto, Hong Kong, Dubai, Tel Aviv, and Mumbai. With a goal of offering 1,800 round-trips per week to over 130 destinations, the airline aims to resume services to popular European summer spots like Majorca, Nice, Budapest, Dublin, and Krakow.
Korean Air
Korean Air aims to provide services on 32 international routes by June, including flights to Washington DC, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Frankfurt, Beijing, and Kuala Lumpur.
Qatar Airlines
Qatar has maintained flights to at least 30 destinations during the pandemic, according to Forbes, including Dallas and Chicago. It plans to gradually reinstate services to 80 destinations by the end of June, which will include flights to London, Dublin, Manchester, and Edinburgh.
Tap Portugal
The Portuguese carrier will resume a number of international flights starting from May 18, including destinations such as Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, London, Madrid, Newark, and Ponta Delgada (Azores). More destinations are expected to be introduced by late summer.
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines is planning to resume flights to 19 countries in June after lifting the ban on passenger flights on May 28, as reported by Reuters. The airline aims to increase its capacity to 99 countries by September.
United Airlines
The Chicago-based carrier suspended 90% of its services in April but continued to operate limited flights to Europe and South America. It now plans to resume services from Newark to Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo in June, as well as from San Francisco to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Frankfurt. More routes are expected to follow as travel demand increases.
Wizz Air
The low-cost airline has announced five new routes for summer 2020, according to the Guardian. Starting in July, it will operate flights from London (Luton) to Faro, Portugal and to various Greek destinations including Corfu, Heraklion, Rhodes, and Zakynthos. Additionally, Wizz will launch operations in Abu Dhabi, connecting the UAE hub to Budapest (Hungary) and Bucharest (Romania) in June, with more routes planned in September. “Although travel is currently restricted by government regulations, we are planning for the easing of restrictions as the situation improves,” said Owain Jones, Wizz’s managing director.
This article was first published on May 7 and updated on May 21, 2020.
Lockdowns are easing globally as the world adjusts to a new normal.
