An employee of a Malaysian airline was among eight people arrested in Australia on charges of trafficking more than 14 kg of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines, Australian authorities said on Wednesday. The suspect worked for Malindo Air, a subsidiary of Indonesia's Lion Air, which said the crew member had been suspended with immediate effect pending termination. "Malindo Air stands ready to co-operate with all the relevant authorities be it in Australia or in Malaysia in this regard," it said. The 38-year-old airline crew member was part of a group that brought drugs from Malaysia for sale in Australian cities, police and customs officials said. The gang, which police believe was run by a Vietnamese crime syndicate, was based in Melbourne, said Tess Walsh, Victoria State police crime command assistant commissioner. Police seized some 14 kg of drugs when the suspects were rounded up. "Intelligence would tell us that this crew has been operating for some years. I would say five plus," Walsh said.<br/>
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Ryanair pilot unions in several countries have suspended talks with management in protest at what they see as the airline using the threat of base closures as a bargaining tool in labor talks, the European Cockpit Association (ECA) said Wednesday. The unions include those representing pilots in two of Ryanair's biggest markets, a union source said, declining to name which markets they were. The temporary suspension is a reaction to Ryanair's closure of bases in the Dutch city of Eindhoven and Bremen in Germany and the reduction of capacity in the German region of Niederrhein. The European Cockpit Association in October described the move as a "declaration of war". Ryanair has also threatened to close two bases in the Canary Islands if cabin crew in Spain do not sign up to a collective labor agreement by next week, the ECA said on Wednesday.<br/>
Air Arabia filed a lawsuit against Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi, becoming the first publicly-traded company to initiate legal proceedings against the Pakistani entrepreneur. The low-cost carrier said it began legal proceedings "through the filing of a misdemeanor case" in a court in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates. "Air Arabia Group has investments outstanding with private equity firm Abraaj," it said. The Dubai-listed airline, which has a market value of about $1.3b, said in June that it had an exposure of $336m to funds managed by Abraaj Group, adding that it won’t have a "significant impact" on daily operations or its liquidity status. Abraaj was one of the most high-profile private equity companies in the Middle East until its dramatic collapse last year. The firm owes banks more than $1b and is being restructured after it was found to have borrowed money from some of its own funds to meet operating expenses without investors’ consent, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The buyout firm at one point owned 17% of the carrier.<br/>
Norwegian Air will axe a number of routes in Europe and to the US and the Middle East, shutting several bases as part of a cost-cutting plan announced last month. The fast-growing carrier has been under pressure over the past 18 months to control costs and shore up its balance sheet as it looks to crack the transatlantic market by undercutting established rivals. “The company has reached a point where it needs to make necessary adjustments to its route portfolio in order to improve the sustainability and financial performance in this very competitive environment,” said Helga Bollmann Leknes, Norwegian Air’s CCO. The airliner will close its bases in Palma de Mallorca, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife in Spain, as well as in Stewart and Providence in the United States. It would also shut the 737 base at Rome’s Fiumicino airport but keep its Dreamliner base there.<br/>
Icelandic LCC WOW Air has disclosed that US private equity firm Indigo Partners is looking at an initial 49% investment, although this could be increased at a later date. Indigo Partners emerged as a potential investor in WOW Air in November 2018, after Icelandair’s plans to acquire its rival collapsed. At the time, an investment value of up to $75m was announced, although no details were given about the percentage shareholding that Indigo was planning to take. In a Jan. 9 letter to bondholders, WOW Air founder and CEO Skuli Mogensen gave further details about the planned deal. “The initial shareholding of Indigo Partners will be 49%. Subject to foreign ownership regulations, Indigo Partners could obtain additional equity should the conversion option be exercised during the tenor of the loan,” Mogensen said.<br/>