I had planned to be gorging on sunshine and hummus in Beirut this week but instead I’m stressing about social distancing alongside an Aldi conveyer belt.

US stocks fell tonight as New York State followed California in ordering non-key workers to stay at home and the UK caught up with the rest of Europe by ordering the closure of pubs and cafes to fight the deadly Covid-19 outbreak.

Shares in Aer Lingus owner IAG plunged 9% and Ryanair fell more than 1% as the crisis for international airlines, in the wake of the spread of the Covid-19 virus, deepened.

Australia and Taiwan have joined the growing number of governments offering financial aid to airlines, while authorities in Europe rushed to agree steps to rescue carriers which have had to park planes and cut jobs as the coronavirus pandemic puts the brake on travel.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said the airline is in talks with Boeing about a follow-on order for the US manufacturer’s grounded Max model.

Whenever it’s seemed like Airbus might steal a march on Boeing, something has come along to throw a spanner in the works.

A subsidiary of Airbus, the world’s largest planemaker, is preparing to launch a financial product aimed at helping its airline customers hedge against risks to revenue.

Shannon Airport is confident of a return to passenger growth this year after taking a significant hit from the grounding of Boeing's 737-Max aircraft and a Brexit-related downturn in UK visitors to Ireland during 2019.

Last week, more than 10,000 farmers with 5,000 tractors made their way from across Germany to Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate for a protest rally.

France has hit back at a US threat to slap 100% tariffs on French cheese, Champagne and other products, with the president telling Donald Trump the move would amount to an attack on all of Europe.

An order from Kazakhstan’s newly-launched budget carrier came as the Chicago-based company works to try and win US regulatory approval to get the plane back in the sky by early next year.

The jury assessing damages in a case taken by an Aer Lingus pilot against the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) over defamatory emails it sent is expected to go out to consider its decision on Thursday.

The trade union representing workers at aviation manufacturer Bombardier has “cautiously” welcomed the Canadian company’s agreement to sell its Belfast manufacturing facility.

Aircraft manufacturer Bombardier’s Northern Ireland operations have been sold to US firm Spirit AeroSystems.

A probe into a series of engine failures on Airbus’s smallest jet, the A220, is studying if a software change set off unexpected vibrations that damaged fast-moving parts and forced three emergency landings, people familiar with the case said.

A faceoff between the US and EU over jetliner tariffs risks making travel more expensive for passengers, the world’s biggest long-haul airline has warned.

Production issues are reportedly holding up the delivery of eight Airbus aircraft that Aer Lingus has ordered.

There was a Storm Lorenzo silver lining for Airbus yesterday as the aircraft manufacturer seized the opportunity to test their planes in adverse conditions.

Farmers and dairy industry bosses will be impacted by the news this morning.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe could tap hundreds of millions from surging tax receipts to fund giveaway measures in his budget next week — but much will still depend on the scale of potential health spending overruns for the rest of the year.

Fears have been raised that Irish goods could be dragged into

Ryanair can wait out price rises sought by aircraft makers since the global grounding of the Boeing 737-Max, the airline’s boss Michael O’Leary has said.

A coffee spillage in the cockpit of an airliner flying over the Atlantic Ocean forced the plane to turn back and land in Ireland.

The father of an Irish doctor who perished when an Air France transatlantic flight from Brazil crashed has said that the family will appeal a decision by French judges to drop charges against the airline and Airbus.

The start of any European Commission brings with it a sense of hope, a sense of new beginnings and new possibilities and a feeling curiosity in the face of the unknown personalities taking up the lead roles for the 27 countries of Europe.

Mark Carney has warned of the damage to the global economy from rising protectionism, describing a “widespread slowdown” that may require a major policy response.

Last week two Irishmen, who are leaders in the world of aviation, made decisions that will have profound consequences for air travel worldwide.

Airbus has called for a chance to compete for a blockbuster plane order by Aer Lingus and British Airways-owner IAG, which stunned industry executives at this week’s Paris Airshow by ordering 200 of Boeing’s grounded 737-Max planes.

IAG’s boosting of Aer Lingus’ transatlantic fleet contributed to Airbus and Boeing landing more than $17bn (€15.2bn) in plane deals on day two of the Paris Airshow as their sales teams scrapped for orders after a downturn in business and the grounding of Boeing’s top-selling jet.

Last week’s elections across Europe brought a wave of local and European politicians centre stage that represent strong environmental agendas.

A beluga whale wearing a harness approached fishing-boats off the Norwegian coast last month

Uncertainty again faces 3,600 jobs at Bombardier in Belfast after the Canadian planemaker said it had put up for sale facilities across the city.

Airbus earnings surged in the first quarter as the European planemaker churned out higher numbers of its A320 narrow-body jet, which is the biggest global rival to Boeing’s grounded 737-Max.

The Dairygold Co-op board has maintained the March milk price at the February level of 31.19 cent per litre (cpl), including VAT, and a 0.65cpl quality and sustainability bonus.

It would indeed be ironic if a Brexit Britain were to be an early casualty of an imploding global trade order but institutions like the WTO have also served Ireland well, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

The European Commission has drawn up a list of US imports worth around €20bn that it could hit with tariffs over a transatlantic aircraft subsidy dispute, EU diplomats said.

Boeing’s 737 MAX fleet has been grounded by airlines around the world for the last three weeks.

Aer Lingus has announced today that it is introducing a new customised mood lighting system to its fleet of aircraft.

The skies had been, in aviation parlance, “severe clear” for Dennis Muilenburg since he took the helm at Boeing four years ago.

Airbus secured a $35bn (€31bn) jet deal from China during a state visit by President Xi Jinping to France, dealing a blow to Boeing as it grapples with the grounding of its best-selling jet.

Norwegian Air International, which flies Boeing’s 737 Max to the US east coast from Irish airports, has no plans to abandon orders of the aircraft, even as the Ethiopian Airlines crash looks

Air traffic control strikes and staff shortages cost the EU economy €17.6bn in 2018 in the worst year of delays for air passengers in nearly a decade, industry association Airlines for Europe has said.

One of the many remarkable outcomes of the Brexit debacle is the disdain displayed towards the business community by the UK political establishment, writes Joe Gill.