British Airways parent IAG settled a dispute with the UK over a policy to force visitors to self-isolate for 14 days, agreeing to withdraw the London litigation when the government updated its plan Friday. The agreement came together just four hours after proceedings began in London’s High Court. BA attorney Tom Hickman said the carrier agreed to drop its action with the release of the official guidance. The quarantine was introduced in early June to guard against a resurgence in coronavirus cases as lockdowns eased. But just before the court hearing began, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK would scrap the requirements for people arriving from more than 50 countries, and the plan was released around 3 p.m. The original approach had been criticized by airlines and holiday firms. At Friday’s hearing, the airlines said the government’s own scientific adviser, Professor John Aston, noted that compulsory isolation should only be imposed “on people arriving from countries that have a higher prevalence” of coronavirus.<br/>
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Judges in the trial of suspects in the 2014 downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight over Eastern Ukraine on Friday accepted a defence request that an investigator examine possible alternative explanations for the crash. According to Dutch prosecutors, flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was deliberately shot down by a BUK missile fired by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, who obtained the missile launcher from a Russian army base just across the border. After nearly six years of research by international investigators, four defendants went on trial in March over the downing of flight MH17, which killed all 298 aboard. The four - Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko - remain at large. Pulatov has instructed lawyers to defend him, while the other three are being tried in absentia without representation. On Friday the court accepted a request from Pulatov's lawyers that investigating judges obtain testimony from more witnesses, to examine other possible scenarios. Those include a theory that the civilian aircraft was shot by mistake or that it was being used as a shield for a military aircraft. The trial was adjourned until August 31.<br/>
Finnair said Friday it would raise around E512m from an oversubscribed rights issue, aimed at strengthening its finances to cope with the coronavirus crisis. Airlines across the world have been scrambling to raise cash and slash costs after lockdowns to contain the virus brought global air travel almost to a halt. Finland's flagship airline, which is 55.8% state-owned, has said it was losing about E2m a day as 90% of its flights were grounded, and has warned it could take two to three years for air traffic to recover to 2019 levels. "With this successful share issue, we strengthen our equity, which helps to reach our goal of sustainable, profitable growth," CEO Top Manner said. Finnair said it would receive E501m euros in net proceeds from the issue, taking into account transaction costs in connection with the offering.<br/>
Qantas and Afterpay said Monday they had agreed to allow users of the airline’s frequent flyer programme to benefit by using the buy-now-pay-later firm’s payment platform. Under the agreement, Qantas frequent flyers could earn points after linking their membership number to their Afterpay account, the firms said in a joint statement to the stock exchange. The deal is the latest boost for Afterpay, an alternative credit firm offering small loans to mostly to online shoppers, which has benefited from a shift to online shopping during the coronavirus crisis. Afterpay’s shares rose nearly 2% in early trade against a 0.3% drop on the ASX200 index , hitting a record high scaled in the previous session. New users on Afterpay’s platform would earn 500 Qantas points for joining and linking their Qantas membership, and thereafter 1 point for every A$1 spent through the platform, the companies said. Existing users would need to spend A$1,000 through the platform, after which they would earn the same rewards. The offer for existing Afterpay users however was limited to the first 50,000 customers who sign up for the deal.<br/>
Royal Air Maroc plans to cancel some air links, cut jobs and may sell 20 aircraft to secure state aid it needs to cope with the coronavirus crisis, a source from within the company said on Friday. A government aid package for the state-owned carrier will be revealed in the upcoming review of the 2020 budget, the source said, but it will be conditional on spending cuts. The timing of the review is not yet known. RAM said in May it may seek a state loan guarantee to help cover expenses as it struggles with $5m in daily losses caused by the pandemic. It resumed domestic flights on June 25 but international air traffic in and out of Morocco remains suspended.<br/>
Cathay Pacific said Monday it was evaluating whether to send some of its aircraft to less humid locations for storage as it reviews the size of its fleet in light of the fall in demand due to the pandemic. Cathay is examining plans to store more than 50 widebody aircraft from its fleet of around 236 planes outside Hong Kong in less humid locations like Dubai and the Australian desert, a source familiar with the matter said. Cathay declined to comment on the number being considered for storage but said they were from a number of different fleets within the group, which operates the Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon and Hong Kong Express brands. "We are exploring alternative locations beyond Hong Kong's humid summer climate that can provide appropriate conditions for our aircraft while they are not flying," Cathay said. "This is a prudent decision from an asset management perspective."<br/>