mo4ch:>Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic admits flying near-empty planes

Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic admits flying near-empty planesCoronavirus: Virgin Atlantic admits flying near-empty planesBy Theo LeggettBusiness correspondent, BBC News 10 March 2020 Related TopicsCoronavirus outbreak Image copyrightGetty ImagesVirgin Atlantic has confirmed it has been forced to operate some near-empty flights after bookings were dented by the coronavirus outbreak.It is operating the flights to try to retain take-off and landing slots at major airports such as Heathrow.Under European law, if flights are not operated, slots have to be forfeited.UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has written to the European Commission, asking for rules on slot allocation to be relaxed during the outbreak.Skip Twitter post by @grantshappsAviation demand is reduced due to COVID-19, but airlines are being forced to fly some ‘ghost flights’ to avoid losing their slots – bad news for the environment, airlines & passengers. I've written to the regulator to request urgent reconsideration …