Ryanair flights to and from Britain were running as scheduled as some of its British-based pilots began a three-day strike which the airline said it did not expect to disrupt any travel on Monday. Widespread strikes over pay and conditions a year ago forced Ryanair to cancel hundreds of flights, hitting its profits in the busy summer months. But a series of strikes in Britain, Spain and Portugal in recent weeks has caused minimal disruption. The Irish budget airline, Europe’s largest, said its first flights to and from UK airports operated with 95% punctuality, blaming air traffic control delays for the slight slippage. Ryanair has said only around half of the pilots operating from UK airports are members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA). BALPA, whose action on Aug 22 and 23 also caused minimal disruption, said the airline was using contractors, who are not entitled to join unions, and crews from other jurisdictions to ensure flights operated. “The union is pleased this action has disrupted Ryanair while having minimal impact on the public,” BALPA said in a statement. “We hope this second round of walk-outs will signal the resolve of our members.”<br/>
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Norwegian is putting up slots at London Gatwick as part of an exchange package as it seeks to delay repayment of unsecured bonds. The airline says it is requesting extension of the maturity dates for two sets of unsecured bonds – designated NAS07 and NAS08 – until November 2021 and February 2022.These bonds originally had due dates of December 2019 and August 2020. Norwegian says the request to delay the repayment is intended to "ensure successful operations" and provide "adequate liquidity headroom". It points out that the value of the Gatwick slot portfolio exceeds that of the $380m nominal value of the bonds. The airline stresses that it operational performance "continues to improve" with projected earnings of NKr6-7b ($658-768m) at EBITDAR level for the year, despite the impact of the Boeing 737 Max grounding and the technical issues affecting its Rolls-Royce Trent-powered Boeing 787s. But Norwegian says that, while it has been making "significant" progress, its working capital has been "negatively affected" – to around NKr1.5b – by the aircraft problems. "In addition, terms in the credit-card acquirer market have tightened," it adds, putting the impact of amounts not received from these acquirers at NKr4b during Q2. Norwegian says the seasonality of its operations means it needs to build liquidity reserves before the weaker winter period. It has already agreed to sell its shareholding of an internal bank, and it is also discussing deferral of payments to lessors.<br/>
A passenger on board a Regional Express flight from Sydney to Merimbula which suffered engine failure on Thursday night has contradicted the airline’s claim the engine did not catch fire during the incident. Julian Boot, a passenger on the flight from Sydney to the New South Wales south coast told Guardian Australia on Monday he had been staring at the engine as it “erupted in a ball of fire” during the flight. “I was about three or four metres from the engine, staring down the exhaust pipe, and I was watching a couple of bright sparks coming out,” he said. “Then, literally, the engine erupted in a ball of fire with a big bang. It wasn’t that I heard the noise and looked out the window, I was staring right at it.” Boot’s comments come as the Australian Transport Safety Bureau announced on Monday it had launched an investigation after the Regional Express flight was forced to land with one engine. “The ATSB decided to launch an investigation into the in-flight engine shutdown incident on Friday, after evaluating initial information provided by the operator,” a spokesman said. The Saab 340 aircraft left Sydney at 6.45pm for a two-leg journey that included a stop in Moruya and a second in Merimbula. The plane – which is able to fly with one engine – landed safely and no one on board was injured.<br/>
France’s second-largest airline, Aigle Azur, went into receivership after filing for bankruptcy Monday, following years of losing millions of euros, France’s civil aviation authority (DGAC) said. “The Aigle Azur airline was today placed in receivership,” the authority said, citing “several months of cash flow problems. It said the government was “mobilized to seek the best solution to preserve jobs and ensure the continuation of economic activities,” it said. The move comes after a shareholder coup ousted chief executive Frantz Yvelin last week, accusing him of making “strategic mistakes over the past two years.” Destinations in Algeria make up half of Aigle Azur’s operations, and the company posted revenues of E300m last year after transporting some 1.9m passengers. But it wasn’t enough to stem heavy losses that last month prompted the airline to announce plans to sell its Portugal routes to low-cost rival Vueling. “Aigle Azur is in cession of payments after several years of drifting because of numerous improper strategic decisions, and must ask for commercial court protection,” employees said in a statement after a meeting with management. Bankruptcy protection would allow the airline, which has 1,150 employees, including some 350 based in Algeria, to continue operations.<br/>