An Isreali aerospace industries westwind 24 aircraft exploded while taking off at the Manila International airport. The aircraft with a registration number RPC 5880 is owned by a general aviation company Lion air. The accident happened today 29th March, 2020 at runway 24 while taking off with 8 souls onboard bound for Haneda Japan. The flight which was a Medvac mission to Haneda Japan. Unfortunately, no one survived the accident. The runway has been temporarily closed as investigators from the aircraft accident investigators board of the Philippines are now on site for on the spot assessment of the accident and to commence investigation. The plane had 2 Pilots, 1 flight crew, 1 flight med , 1 Nurse, 1 Doctor, 1 patient, 1 Patient assistant. Pic credit : Ray Tarol.

Emirates airlines have informed Pilots to take unpaid leave as the coronavirus epidemic hammers demand for travel. The Gulf carrier had to slash dozens of flights, which are crucial for their Dubai hubs that millions of passengers pass through each year. In an email sent to concerned Pilots "You are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave". Emirates Group, which employed over 100,000 people, including about 4,000 pilots withing the past year asked staff to take unpaid leave earlier this month, although pilots were not included in the request as at then. This new request by Emirates therefore significantly outline how devastating the Corona virus have been to the airlines and the travel industry in general.The Airline has frozen recruitment and continues to cut flights as the situation worsens globally.

Philippines budget carrier Cebu Pacific is set to lay off over 150 cabin crew members as a result of the effect of travel restrictions due to Corona virus epidemic ravaging the aviation industry. The  airline had to scale down and suspend flight operations due to travel restrictions covering Metro Manila, as well as key provinces and cities in the country. Furthermore, as a result of the enhanced lockdown as announced by the Government, all international departures from Luzon is also suspended untill further notice.The airline earlier had to cancel flights to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau since early February after the Philippine government issued travel bans to these areas hard hit by the disease known as COVID-19. This was eventually broadened to cover North Gyeongsang province of South Korea, until the month-long Metro Manila quarantine forced Cebu Pacific to cancel all flights to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s main transport hub. Most

Ryanair has announced plans to ground the majority of its aircraft fleet across Europe over the next 7 to 10 days due to covid-19 pandemic. In a statement, Ryanair said the airline is expecting to reduce its seat capacity by up to 80% and a full grounding of the fleet cannot be ruled out. Ryanair flies in a point to point model  rather than the more traditional airline  hub and spoke  model where the passengers have to change aircraft in transit at a major airport, usually being able to reach more destinations this way. It is also worthy to note Ryan air is the largest operator of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft model.

Tap airlines have completed plans to commence direct flight from Porto to Sal in Cape Verde, with one flight per week.  The flight set to commence on June 20th will depart from Porto on Saturdays at 10:25 p.m. and arrive on the Cape Verde island at 12:55 a.m. and in the opposite direction will depart from Sal on Sundays at 1:45 a.m. and arrive at Port airport at 7:55 a.m. Tap airlines currently operates an all airbus aircraft fleet. The national carrier has a fleet size of 87 aircrafts with an additional firm orders for 25 other variants of the airbus aircraft which include Airbus A320neo, A321LR, A321neo and A330-900neo. The island of Sal is known notable for it's  rocky plains and white sand deserts, is considered to be one of the best destinations for holidays. Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and composed of sand from the desert, Sal has its own charm which enchants visitors from all over the world. The new service will be operated with a

A Turkish Airlines aircraft was flown back to Istanbul without any passengers on board on Thursday on orders from authorities in Singapore after a passenger who had arrived on the same plane on Tuesday tested positive for coronavirus. The infected passenger was not Turkish and transited through Istanbul en route to Singapore from another location, a Turkish aviation official told Reuters, adding there were 143 passengers aboard the flight, as well as three pilots and 10 crew members. Singapore’s aviation regulator said that the pilots and crew of flight TK54 that had arrived on Tuesday were on the return flight to Istanbul, where they would be placed in quarantine. The aviation official said the crew tested negative for the virus in Singapore. “The crew had come into close contact with a passenger on flight TK54 who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in contact w