Alitalia on Wednesday resumed international flights from Milan as Italy gradually reopens its airports to foreign travellers and scraps restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The carrier, which is in the process of being nationalised after 11 years of troubled private management, will fly from Milan Malpensa airport to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and London. Milan city airport Linate, which before the health crisis was Alitalia's second-biggest airport after Rome's Fiumicino, will reopen on July 13, two sources close to the matter said. Starting from July Alitalia will also serve a dozen of domestic destinations from Milan Malpensa, expanding its offer from the Lombardy region, one of the most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Alitalia is currently run by a temporary administrator and the government announced in March that the treasury would become its main investor after the coronavirus sent the carrier's planned sale into tailspin. Bolivian-born entrepreneur German Efromovich, who had expressed his interest in investing in Alitalia before the health crisis, said on Wednesday he was still open to buy a stake in the Italian carrier alongside the government.<br/>
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Garuda Indonesia posted an operating profit of $616,000 in Q1 of 2020, a sharp fall from the $49.4m profit in the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter ended 31 March fell by 30.1% year-on-year to $768m, led by a 29.2% decline in revenues from scheduled passenger services to nearly $655m. The carrier’s expenses declined 9.9% to nearly $946m, due to a reduction in costs associated with flying operations, airports, as well as passenger services. On the other hand, administrative and aircraft maintenance costs increased. Despite the operating profit, the airline recorded a net loss of $120m due to significantly higher finance costs, compared to a $20.5m net profit in Q1 2019. As of 31 March, Garuda had $163m in cash and cash equivalents, down from $337m a year before. The carrier says it is exploring options to overcome challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. These include rightsizing capacity, offering discounts on selected routes, optimising cargo and charter services, renegotiating with its vendors to reduce cost and obtain payment delays, and early termination of aircraft leases.<br/>
Grupo Aeromexico SAB’s financing plan under its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing could be ready in the next four to six weeks, CEO Andres Conesa said. The voluntary filing will allow the company to weather the coronavirus pandemic however long it may last, Conesa said Wednesday. Aeromexico’s bankruptcy protection filing came after the carrier saw the number of passengers it flew plummet more than 90% as governments grounded flights and travellers stayed home. Airlines in Latin America, unlike their counterparts in the US and Europe, have received scant government support. “We’re solvent, we have assets, but we haven’t been able to tap financial markets over the past three months,” Conesa said. “This will allow us to access better financing that we wouldn’t get otherwise.” Since the pandemic started, the carrier has had to dole out 1.5b pesos ($65.8m) to repay debt, Conesa said. Aeromexico’s total debt reached $1.9b and 7.9b pesos, according to the first day petition filed on Wednesday before the court.<br/>