Southwest is providing $5,000 checks and $1,000 travel vouchers to passengers who were on a flight this week when an engine broke apart, killing a woman on board. “We value you as our customer and hope you will allow us another opportunity to restore your confidence in Southwest,” CEO Gary Kelly said in a letter to the customers. “In this spirit, we are sending you a check in the amount of $5,000 to cover any of your immediate financial needs.” The NTSB is trying to determine why a fan blade tore loose, shattering the CFM engine and shooting fragments at a wing and the fuselage of the Boeing Co. 737-700. Federal investigators found signs of metal fatigue where the blade broke off. Beyond the check and the voucher, Southwest offered the passengers assistance with other “necessities,” including help being reunited with luggage that was on the flight or other expenses. “Our primary focus and commitment is to assist you in every way possible,” Kelly wrote.<br/>
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Southwest said it cancelled about 40 flights on Sunday, or 1% of those scheduled, as it inspects engines after last week’s deadly accident in Pennsylvania. The airline said the cancellations were the result of the company’s announcement on Tuesday that it would over the next 30 days begin inspecting other CFM56-7B engines, manufactured by CFM International, the engine involved in last week’s accident. At the time, Southwest said those inspections would cause some impact on operations, but it has not said how many engines it planned to inspect. On Friday, the FAA and European airline regulators ordered emergency inspections within 20 days of nearly 700 aircraft engines similar to the one involved in a fatal Southwest engine blowout earlier this week. Southwest has declined to answer questions about its CFM56-7B inspection program, including how many engines were inspected prior to the accident and if the engine that failed had been inspected.<br/>
The United Arab Emirates said Qatari fighter planes intercepted a civilian aircraft carrying 86 passengers to Bahrain on Sunday, UAE state news agency WAM reported. Quoting its civil aviation authority, the agency said the UAE civilian craft had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision. It did not name the airliner involved. Both countries have accused each other of a series of mid-air incidents since Abu Dhabi and other powers imposed travel, diplomatic and trade sanctions on Qatar in June. There was no immediate comment by Qatari officials on the accusation.<br/>
Oman Air is considering adding more flights to Asia, including to China and South Korea, but is delaying its break even date to beyond this year, its new CE said on Sunday. The state-owned airline, which no longer relies on government funding, had earlier delayed its break even date from 2017 to this year. It could now potentially break even in the next two to three years, CE Abdulaziz al-Raisi said. He later said it was difficult to set a date because stemming losses would partly depend on external factors. Middle East air traffic has been disrupted in recent years by conflict in Iraq and Syria. A political dispute in the Gulf since last June has also barred flights from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. Oman has remained neutral. Raisi said he was concerned about escalating conflict after a warning this month for airlines to exercise caution in the eastern Mediterranean ahead of air strikes by the United States, Britain, and France on Syria. Raisi, a 33-year Oman Air veteran, was appointed as CEO Sunday having held the position in an acting capacity since October. He said the airline would focus on carrying more passengers to and from Oman. "We are not trying to compete with the three big ones," Raisi said, referring to Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways, which focus on connecting passengers through their Gulf hubs.<br/>
LAN Express said Sunday it was extending until April 28 a plan to cancel or reschedule flights in Chile and other South American destinations due to a strike by cabin crews demanding contract improvements. The LATAM unit had already adjusted flight itineraries through April 25, but extended the changes after workers on Friday rejected a salary package proposed by the company. The strike had been on for 12 days as of Sunday. “We are very aware that our passengers are the most affected by this paralysis, so we are making all efforts to mitigate the impact,” said Claudia Sender, vice president for customers at LATAM Airlines Group. Under the previous itinerary adjustments, 1,575 flights were cancelled, affecting more than 273,000 passengers. It was not immediately clear how many would be affected by the extension. The company said it would keep negotiating to “reach a satisfactory agreement with the union as soon as possible.”<br/>
Thai police on Friday arrested a German man accused of making a bomb threat on a Nok Airlines plane bound for Bangkok, the airline said. The man, who was not named, was arrested after he claimed he was carrying an explosive device in his carry-on baggage on the plane from Loei province in the northeast to Bangkok. The man made the claim before the plane took off, the airline said. Police have not confirmed whether the bomb threat was fake or real. Nok Air, a subsidiary of Thai Airways, said Flight DD 9705 carrying 83 passengers and five crew took off as scheduled after the man was arrested.<br/>