Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Austrian Airlines and Canada’s Porter Airlines will each suspend all flight operations this week due to Covid-19-related entry bans and the rapid decline in air travel, the airlines announced Wednesday. Austrian’s suspension starts Wednesday and Porter’s begins on Friday. Initially, Austrian will cancel all flights scheduled until March 28, while Porter doesn’t plan to resume service until June 1.

 


Austrian’s last flight—OS 066—departs from Chicago and lands in Vienna on Thursday in the morning hours. The airline said it will try to rebook passengers on other airlines but that stranded passengers should contact the Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs. Austrian said will not conduct evacuation flights.

 


Porter, meanwhile, said it intends to operate “a schedule” through Friday to ensure all its customers can either complete their trips or make last-minute alternative travel arrangements.

 


“The speed of developments related to Covid-19 is shocking. It is having an unprecedented impact around the globe on businesses, economies, and people,” said Porter CEO Michael Deluce. “Porter supports the efforts of the Canadian, U.S., and global authorities in their responses. Government actions make it apparent that restricting activities by people in all communities is what’s required to keep everyone healthy, and ultimately to end this fast-spreading pandemic.”

 


The moves by Austrian and Porter follow an announcement by Ryanair that it would ground more than 80 percent of its flights on Wednesday. The Irish LCC said that as of Tuesday, March 24, it would ground “most if not all of its flights” except for a small number of flights to preserve “essential connectivity,” primarily between the UK and Ireland. &nbsp;

News about commercial airlines, including regulations, aircraft orders, safety, acquisitions, and mergers.

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