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

UK budget airline EasyJet on Monday said it would suspend all scheduled operations and ground its fleet of 334 Airbus A320-family jets due to travel restrictions imposed by European governments amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The move comes a day after the airline operated the last of some 650 rescue flights to repatriate more than 45,000 customers.

 


In a statement, EasyJet said it could not estimate a date for restarting commercial flights at this early stage. "We will continuously evaluate the situation based on regulations and demand, and will update the market when we have a view," it said.&nbsp;"We continue to take every action to remove cost and non-critical expenditure from the business at every level in order to help mitigate the impact from the coronavirus.&nbsp; The grounding of aircraft removes significant cost."

 


EasyJet also said it would furlough 4,000 UK cabin crew for two months starting April 1. Those employees will receive 80 percent of their salaries through a government retention scheme. The London Luton-based airline, which employs some 9,000 people in the UK, remains in talks with the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) over a plan for pilot furloughs.

 


On Monday, Balpa called on the UK government to “stop delaying details of the support it is offering to aviation through the coronavirus crisis.”

 


Balpa said that apart from EasyJet, “all other airlines are scaling back to virtually zero flights.”

 


“EasyJet, Virgin Atlantic, and Loganair have been reported as calling for urgent government help and Flybe, the first casualty of the coronavirus, should not be overlooked,” Balpa said in a statement.

 


“We saw the impact that coronavirus had on Flybe and predicted then that other airlines would suffer severely if no help was offered,” added Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton.&nbsp;“The government promised that it would implement bespoke packages of support for the aviation industry, but where are they?

 


“Airlines have done what they can to mitigate the effect of having almost no revenue for the summer, their key earning period, as they were asked to do,” said Strutton. "Now the government needs to fulfill its promise to help, before it is too late.”

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

EasyJet Grounds Entire Fleet Due to Travel Bans

The London Luton-based budget carrier operated the last of 650 rescue flights on Sunday.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Hanneke Weitering

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

Archer plans demo flight at 2025 World Expo in Osaka

JAL/Sumitomo Subsidiary Soracle To Operate Archer’s eVTOL in Japan

Charles Alcock

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Britain's new government is under pressure to invest in public infrastructure

How Regional Air Mobility Could Boost the UK's Strained Transport Network

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

Danish charter and scheduled operator could buy up to 15 of the electric seaplanes

Nordic Seaplanes Signs for Elfly's Noemi Electric Amphibious Aircraft

Odys' blown-wing design is being developed for both uncrewed freighter and piloted airliner roles

Fiji Airways Plans To Connect Pacific Islands with Laila VTOL

Scotland-based regional airline aims to achieve zero carbon emissions

Loganair and Heart Team To Decarbonize UK Domestic Flights

UK green start-up airline wants to operate domestic services with zero carbon emissions

Ecojet Plans To Operate Arc Aerosystems' Linx P9 Hybrid Helicopter

Cathy Buyck

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

The Boeing electronic flight bag solution will support the low-cost carrier’s 737NG and Max fleet

Ryanair to Use Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro 5.0 EFB 

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

More In Airlines