Sri Lanka has revived the process of privatizing the state-run carrier that is saddled with at least $1b of debt, a year after talks with sole bidder TPG Capital collapsed following due diligence of the struggling airline. The island nation’s finance ministry will seek preliminary bids for SriLankan Airlines Ltd. by September or October, Mano Tittawella, an adviser to the ministry, said in an interview late Monday. There has been “fairly serious” interest in the sale, and the government expects to be in talks with at least two parties by Q1 next year, he said. SriLankan Airlines is competing with Gulf carriers for customers in the local market, and years of losses have prompted the government to look for a buyer and offer to absorb all the company’s debt. In the latest attempt that started in 2016, at least eight parties showed interest in a sale. <br/>
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Hawaiian Airlines said Tuesday that it has decided to suspend its thrice-weekly non-stop flight between Honolulu and Beijing after the National Day Golden Week holiday in October. Passengers with tickets for after the end of regular scheduled service will be offered a full refund, or the option of traveling on earlier dates on available flights, the airline said. Hawaiian, which gave no reason for the suspension, said it intends to return to China and would maintain its sales partnership, sales agent, and its representative office in the country.<br/>
Jet Airways India, the carrier that deferred earnings this month pending endorsement of its books by auditors, said it’s unaware of any probe initiated by government authorities after a report said the company is under scrutiny for alleged embezzlement of funds. The Registrar of Companies, which is under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has started an initial inquiry into potential wrongdoings such as diversion of cash, and will also look at the role of auditors, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified citing government rules. The examination is only preliminary, and it may turn into a formal probe upon any evidence, one of them said. Jet Airways “has not received any communication from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in this regard,” it said in a statement to the stock exchange Tuesday. The examination of its accounts by authorities is the latest trouble to hit the Mumbai-based airline, which is seeking funds to meet liquidity requirements after cash on hand dwindled to $46m, the lowest since at least 2008. <br/>
Ryanair has started selling Air Malta flights through its own website, as part of a drive to improve the passenger experience, including website improvements, flight partnerships with other airlines and connecting flights. Starting Aug. 21, passengers can book flights on 21 new routes from Malta to eight countries across Africa, Asia and Europe, Ryanair said. Ryanair already offers 53 routes to and from Malta and will deliver 2.7m customers annually, the LCC said. “This partnership is the latest AGB [Always Getting Better] enhancement as we continue our journey to becoming the ‘Amazon of travel,’” Ryanair CCO David O’Brien said. Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion said: “Over the last year, Air Malta has made significant improvements not only to expand its network of destinations with more frequencies and destinations but also changing its product in terms of fare structure and onboard service. This agreement will also help Air Malta increase its visibility in overseas markets and tap into new revenue streams.”<br/>
Ryanair passengers who have received compensation for cancelled and delayed flights have been charged extra fees after banks rejected the cheques. Several people said their bank had returned cheques they had received from the airline because they were unsigned. One passenger, who waited 11 months for compensation, said she was now worse off after the bank added a fee of E20. Ryanair has apologised and blamed the problem on an "administrative error". Since April, more than one million Ryanair passengers in Europe have had delayed or cancelled flights, according to the airline's own figures. The latest one-day pilots' walk-out on 10 August led to the cancellation of nearly 400 flights. The Civil Aviation Authority recently stepped in to advise passengers caught up in strikes that they should apply for compensation. <br/>
A federal air marshal was removed from a Republic Airlines flight in Minneapolis after a flight attendant mistook him for a gun-carrying passenger. The Transportation Safety Administration says the marshal was apprehended along with another marshal after Flight 3531 landed Monday night at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. According to the agency, the marshal was on official business. The TSA says protocols are in place "to avoid incidents like this." Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan says the two were taken to the airport's police station and questioned by the FBI. An FBI spokeswoman says the marshal was assigned to the flight. The TSA said the second man also was an air marshal. Republic says the airline is working with investigators.<br/>