DAL - EU to Suspend Airline Rules as Travel Plummets Due to Coronavirus
With air travel dropping sharply over coronavirus concerns, European carriers like Air France-KLM (OTC: AFLYY) and Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL) joint venture Virgin Atlantic were stuck between a rock and a hard place. So-called "slot rules" at European airports forced them to use allotted flight slots or potentially lose them. That resulted in costly "ghost flights:" empty or nearly empty flights being flown solely to satisfy the rules.
On Tuesday, in response to an outcry by airlines and environmental groups, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said regulators would temporarily suspend those rules.
Major airlines breathed a sigh of relief as the EU said it would suspend slot rules. Image source: Getty Images.