Portugal’s supplementary budget for 2020 includes as much as E1.2b ($1.4b) in aid for TAP after the airline had to suspend most of its operations due to the coronavirus outbreak. The process to provide aid for TAP hasn’t been concluded yet, Secretary of State for Treasury Alvaro Novo said Tuesday. The government has already sent a request for state aid approval to the EC, which should take a decision this week, according to Novo. Portugal has previously said it won’t let its national flag-carrier collapse and won’t rule out any instruments it can use to intervene. The government already controls 50% of TAP. Airline entrepreneur David Neeleman and Portuguese investor Humberto Pedrosa jointly own another 45% through the Atlantic Gateway venture.<br/>
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Thai Airways has asked German and Swiss courts to protect its planes, deposit accounts and other assets overseas from creditors, a government spokeswoman said. The airline, which is under bankruptcy court protection in Thailand, will seek the same recognition from courts in other countries, including Japan and the United States, Naruemon Pinyosinwat said Tuesday. A legal adviser to Thai Airways, which will have a first hearing on Aug. 17, has said the timeframe for its rehabilitation may be up to seven years.<br/>
THAI has proposed appointing an additional person with state-owned enterprise credentials to join the five other people, as well as a professional services firm, tasked with drafting a turnaround plan for its beleagured business. The carrier, which had its application for business rehabilitation accepted by a court on 27 May, wants former president and CE of Thai oil and gas company PTT, Chansin Treenuchagron, to become a rehabilitation planner. The airline had appointed him to its board on 4 June, though it did not announce his appointment until 8 June. Treenuchagron took the helm of state-owned PTT in August 2018, and served as president and CE until May 2020, according to his profile on the company’s website. Treenuchagron replaces Pailin Chuchottaworn, another former PTT president and CE, who resigned from Thai’s board after just one day following his 25 May appointment. Chuchottaworn had resigned over “potential legal worries”, as he was a deputy transport minister from November 2017 to December 2019. The country’s National Anti-Corruption Commission bars a cabinet minister from sitting on the board of a private company for two years after leaving the cabinet. <br/>
Air NZ is shuffling off its wide-body 777 aircraft to the heat of the Australian desert. Chief revenue officer Cam Wallace says the aircraft will go into "deep storage" in Alice Springs. They will join at least $5b worth of planes currently housed at the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS). "We just don't see any likelihood of us using them in the next 12 months," said Wallace. He said the value of the planes had to be written off on the airline's balance sheet as the aircraft market globally was "swamped". The writing had been on the wall for the aircraft. The national carrier has eight of the 777-200ER which have an average age of 14 years, and seven 777-300ER with an average age of eight years. Analysts believed the ageing 777-200ERs, which were introduced in 2004 and due to be replaced by the Boeing 787-10, were no longer needed. It was based on an expectation that the airline would be 30% smaller in two years time and international travel may take even longer than that to recover. <br/>
Canada and the US are set to extend a ban on non-essential travel to late July as both countries seek to control the spread of the coronavirus, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Washington and Ottawa introduced month-long restrictions in March and renewed them in April and May. The ban, currently due to expire on June 21, does not affect trade. Canadian and US sources said although the governments had not yet taken a final decision, a further extension was highly likely. "It's going to be a clean rollover" on June 21, said a US source who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. "We will want to look at it again in July." A majority of provinces have privately told Ottawa they are reluctant to resume non-essential travel, said a second source. Extending the measures would hurt Canadian airlines and the tourism industry. Carriers, including Air Canada, have been among the worst hit as travel bans resulted in thousands of flight cancellations. "There is a push from some sectors for reopening (the border), like Air Canada," a Canadian government source said. Asked about reopening the border, Air Canada said in a statement that governments around the world are relaxing restrictions and said it was working with tourism and industry groups to "streamline and clarify rules around travel".<br/>