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Kenya Airways plans to add as many as 20 new destinations in Africa, Europe and Asia in the next five years, CEO Sebastian Mikosz said. The route-network expansion will help sub-Saharan Africa’s third-biggest carrier, in the midst of a turnaround program after a record loss in 2016, return to profit. On Wednesday, the airline reported a 6.1b-shilling ($60.3m) loss for the nine months through December. KQ, as the company is known, will seek board approval for the new-route plan in April, Mikosz said in an interview in the capital, Nairobi. It’s also preparing to take back five aircraft it sub-leased to other carriers, to build capacity and cater for additional passengers, he said. “We are looking at at least one European route and one Asian route on top of the African network,” Mikosz said. “In 2018, we might announce maybe two, three new routes to be operated in 2019.” The carrier is exploring partnerships and joint ventures with other airlines and has began discussions with South African Airways. Kenya Airways is considering collaborating on aircraft repairs and route joint ventures with the state-owned South African carrier, Chairman Michael Joseph said in the same interview. <br/>

Aerolineas Argentinas has grounded 15 Boeing 737 aircraft in its domestic and regional fleet, after the aircraft were damaged by a severe hailstorm on 14 March at Buenos Aires Aeroparque airport. The airline has cancelled multiple domestic flights until 25 March and temporarily halted all domestic fare sales. The carrier cancelled 35 flights and re-scheduled 49 flights today. No other airlines have reported similar damage to their aircraft. An Aerolineas spokesman says the airline is assessing the aircraft damage with the help of Boeing, adding that some aircraft will require more complex repairs while others have been returned to service. Aerolineas is deploying an Airbus A330 to transport passengers on high demand routes, he adds. The airline hopes to have most of the aircraft back in operation before the Easter travel weekend.<br/>