South Korea's Asiana Airlines fly empty A380 to nowhere to keep pilots licensed

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines reportedly flew empty Airbus SE A380 over the country in May for a few hours a day for three days to keep its trainee pilots certified. According to a media report, the airlines wanted to send the trainee pilots to Thailand to use a simulator owned by Thai Airways International Pcl but had to cancel the plan because of travel bans.

Asiana Airlines couldn’t afford to keep flying empty jets to train the remaining pilots since it cost a lot of money, that too when commercial airlines are facing a huge financial crisis due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. South Korean transport ministry had to finally extend the flying credentials of the pilots under a special exemption.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has provided guidelines for pilots to keep up their skills and it takes at least three takeoffs and landings in last 90 days for the pilots to retain their flying license. However, it is difficult for airlines to fly superjumbos when the demand has hit its nadir due to travel restrictions and virus transmission fear.

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'Long shadow'

Earlier this month, International Air Transport Association (IATA) CEO Alexandre de Juniac told a press briefing that the crisis will have a long shadow. He said that two-thirds of passengers are seeing less travel in their future, be it for vacation, visiting friends, relatives or for business purposes.

Boeing’s chief executive recently said that the air traffic may not bounce back for two or three years to the pre-pandemic levels. Speaking at an annual meeting, Boeing CEO David Calhoun presented a sober outlook of the aviation industry and predicted that it could take three to five years to restore the company’s dividend. Calhoun said that it is difficult to estimate when the situation will stabilise due to the unpredictable and fast-changing environment owing to coronavirus crisis.

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(Twitter / @Flyasiana)