Thai AirAsia X (TAAX) will suspend route expansions until at least mid-2017, after Thailand's aviation industry receives international safety approval. The carrier sees a good chance to launch new routes after the ICAO has decided to remove the red flag imposed on Thailand for its aviation safety shortcomings. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has earlier this month expressed hopes that it will pass the next ICAO audit in June next year, thus clearing the major impediment to the country's aviation industry put in place in June 2015. TAAX CE Nadda Buranasiri declined to name specific countries TAAX wants to fly to, though he said countries in Eastern Europe and Down Under are under study for future coverage. <br/>
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Arik Air Wednesday said it has chartered a B767-300ER aircraft to minimise the disruption and inconveniences caused passengers on its Lagos-New York route. The airline also announced the resumption of flight to the American city from Thursday. The airline’s head of communications revealed that the chartered plane could not fly Tuesday due to the closure of Lagos airspace for several hours because of bad weather He said the airline decided to charter the aircraft following the damage to its A330-200 aircraft by a ground handling company at JFK International a few days ago. He noted that this arrangement was put in place to cover for the period until the return to service of its A330-200 aircraft Dec 28. <br/>
Hoteliers have voiced concern that Air Malta could be shutting shop by stealth after dropping its services to Frankfurt and Manchester. The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association complained that it learned of the decision to stop services to Manchester from the media, despite attending a meeting with the airline just 2 days previously. "MHRA is concerned by the latest twist in the Air Malta saga and wonders whether the airline is now relinquishing its role as a national airline and relegating itself to just another airline that services Malta," the association said. In a reaction, Air Malta said that it was projected to lose up to E2m in variable costs by operating its Manchester route with 4 flights per week in summer 2017. <br/>