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Talks to end a strike by the largest pilots’ union at Colombia’s flagship airline Avianca were suspended after failure to reach agreement on wages and benefits, the two sides said Wednesday, extending an indefinite walkout that has left travellers grounded. The Colombian Association of Civil Aviators (ACDAC), which represents more than 700 of the 1,300 Avianca pilots working in the country, began the strike on Sept. 20 when talks mediated by the Labor Ministry ended without a deal. Avianca said the ACDAC did not accept the company’s proposal, which included a wage increase of 12.75%, and the union said the airline then withdrew the offer without allowing it to consult with affiliates. “Widespread demands, including a 60% increase in wages and a number of benefits that exceed the limits of the company, would cost more than $274m annually, are inadmissible and puts at high risk the (company‘s) sustainability and competitiveness,” Avianca president Hernan Rincon said. A statement from the ACDAC said several of the agreements reached during mediation with the Labor Ministry were changed and that Avianca “in an attitude of pride decided to leave the table and withdraw the proposal.”<br/>

Lufthansa is restarting long-haul flights from Berlin and growing the long-haul fleet of budget unit Eurowings, moving into the gap left by insolvent rival Air Berlin. Lufthansa will fly from Berlin to New York from November, basing a long-haul jet in the German capital for the first time since 2001, it said Wednesday. It will also increase the long-haul fleet of Eurowings to 10 A330 aircraft for summer 2018, against a planned seven by the end of this year. Air Berlin will end its remaining long-haul routes from Oct. 15 after leasing companies recalled their planes.<br/>

Air India has tied up with public sector lender Punjab National Bank and private lender IndusInd to secure loans to the tune of over 3,000 crore (US$451m) for meeting working capital requirements. The airline expects the two banks to disburse the amount by next week, a source close to the development said. Earlier this month, the disinvestment-bound Air India had floated tenders for availing government guarantee backed INR short-term loans totalling up to 3,250 crore in the first phase to meet its urgent working capital. Banks were asked to submit their financial bids by September 19, indicating the amount of government-guaranteed short-term loans they were willing to offer. “Punjab National Bank and IndusInd bank have won the mandate to lend us loans worth 3,250 crore. They are expected to disburse the amount next week,” the source said. He said the funding will be used for repayment of dues to the airport operators, oil companies and other vendors.<br/>

EgyptAir will suspend flights to and from Erbil airport in northern Iraq from Friday, two company sources said Wednesday. The move comes after the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority sent a notice to foreign airline companies telling them that international flights to Erbil and Sulaimaniya will be suspended at 1500 GMT and that only domestic flights will be allowed. <br/>

Turkish Airlines flights to Erbil and Sulaimaniya are continuing as scheduled, the company said Wednesday, adding that it had received no official notification that the two airports in Kurdish northern Iraq are being shut to international traffic. <br/>