SYDNEY - Major global airlines projected layoffs, furloughs and capacity cuts over the next few months, with Air New Zealand on Tuesday warning it expected staffing levels to be 30 percent lower than it is now, due to the coronavirus pandemic - and others applying for state aid.»

LONDON - British budget airline Easyjet has grounded its fleet of 344 planes and has no clear idea when it might resume flights, it said on Monday, highlighting the strain on airlines trying to survive the coronavirus pandemic. The airline might cut back on its tally of outstanding plane orders.»

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate voted to give the U.S. aviation industry $58 billion in a coronavirus-rescue package, half in the form of grants to cover some 750,000 employees' paychecks, in a badly needed lifeline for an industry facing the worst travel downturn in history.»

DUBAI - IAG investor Qatar Airways will have to seek government support eventually, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told Reuters on Sunday, warning that the Middle East carrier could soon run out of the cash needed to continue flying. The airline maintained operations throughout the crisis.»

KUALA LUMPUR - Female flight attendants working for Japan Airlines will be allowed to wear trousers and abandon high heels next month, the company said on Thursday, after a feminist campaign took off. Japan Airlines is the the first to change its policy on dress code and footwear requirements.»

LONDON - Britain is continuing talks with the aviation industry about how best to support the sector, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and pilots union Balpa said this week, reviving the prospect of a sector-specific support package that had seemed to be on hold only a few days earlier.»

SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines said it had secured up to S$19 billion ($13 billion) of funding to help see it through the coronavirus crisis and expand afterward, in a sign of confidence travel demand will eventually return. It is the single biggest Covid-19 financing package announced by an airline.»

WASHINGTON - U.S. airlines are preparing to tap the government for up to $25 billion in grants to cover payroll in a sharp travel downturn triggered by the coronavirus, even after the government warned it may take stakes in exchange for bailout funds, people familiar with the matter said.»

BEIJING - China has ordered airlines to sharply cut the number of flights in and out of the country out of concern that travellers from overseas could reignite the coronavirus outbreak that paralysed the country for two months. Arriving passengers will be subjected to a strict quarantine regime of 14 days.»

LONDON - Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand and Lufthansa are the latest passenger airlines to say they would offer cargo charter services on passenger planes to boost revenue as the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to give its carriers $58 billion in aid, including payroll support.»

LONDON - Britain has told airlines it will only consider stepping in to help them survive the coronavirus crisis once they have explored the possibility of raising capital from other sources including existing investors. Airlines shall tap "shareholders, lenders and the markets" before a possible bail out.»

DUBLIN - Ryanair on Tuesday said it does not expect to operate flights in April or May and has offered its aircraft to European governments for rescue or the essential movement of medicines and personal protective equipment. The airline will ground almost its entire fleet amid coronavirus outbreak.»