A Spirit Airlines passenger headed to Fort Lauderdale from New York on Friday was removed from the flight after removing his face mask, which are required by the airline as part of their coronavirus policy. Videos shared to Twitter show law enforcement confronting the man seated on the plane. "The whole plane is a witness, I didn't do anything," the unidentified man tells the Port Authority officer. "Tell me why I'm not flying." A person in the background can be heard supporting the passenger saying things like "that's racist" and "they take their mask off to drink." The officer continues to talk to the passenger letting him know that he needed to leave the flight. "I've been sitting here waiting for you to come," the passenger tells the officer. "I'm going home to see my father who had a stroke." The officer proceeded to ask the passenger: "What would you like me to do?" to which the passenger responded saying he wanted to stay on the flight. Additional footage shows the man was eventually removed from the flight. The man, who was flying from LaGuardia airport, took off his face covering and refused to put it back on, according to a Spirit Airlines spokesperson.<br/>
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Large owners of Virgin Australia's unsecured bonds have launched an extraordinary intervention to derail the bankrupt airline's sale to Bain Capital and allow creditors to vote on their alternative plan for the company. Virgin's administrator Deloitte announced on June 26 that it had entered a binding agreement for the US private equity giant Bain to buy and relaunch Virgin, but has so far refused to release the terms of the deal. The Australian government Takeovers Panel said on Monday it had received an application from Broad Peak Investment Advisers and Tor Investment Management – which own some of Virgin's $2b of unsecured bonds – asking the regulator to intervene in the Bain deal. The panel said bondholders argue that "certain circumstances regarding the process conducted by the administrators are unacceptable" and blocked them fro Creditors – which include about 9000 workers, secured bank lenders and aircraft lessors - are owed a combined $6.8b. The bondholders are seeking an interim order forcing Deloitte and Bain to release the terms of the proposed sale, and final orders that would enable the bondholders to submit their plan for Virgin to a creditors' vote. The Takeovers Panel said it had not decided whether to conduct proceedings on the matter and made no comment "on the merits of the application".<br/>
Canada announced Thursday an agreement to launch negotiations with Iran on compensation for the families of the foreign victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down in January, with Sweden expressing confidence Tehran would pay. An international "coordination and response group" of countries whose nationals died on the plane signed a memorandum of understanding, formally paving the way for negotiations with Tehran, according to a Canadian government statement. The countries -- Canada, Britain, Ukraine, Sweden and Afghanistan -- each had citizens die when Tehran's armed forces mistakenly shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. "The five states created the legal structure necessary to start these negotiations," Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told AFP. "It is a first step -- necessary but only a first step -- to begin negotiations to obtain reparations for the victims' families," he said. Earlier in the day, Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde told news agency TT that Tehran had agreed to compensate the families of foreign victims.<br/>
El Al’s fate is expected to be decided in the coming days, with the Israeli airline looking to reach a deal with workers on job and spending cuts to get government aid. An official at El Al, which has put almost all of its 6,500 workers on unpaid leave and suspended passenger service, told Reuters that its board will choose between two proposals. Avi Edri, chairperson of the transport workers union at the Histadrut labour federation, said 2,000 job cuts are likely, as well as salary reductions to pilots. “Without (government) money El Al will go bankrupt,” Edri said. “We don’t have any choice but to dismiss workers.” El Al has signed a deal with flight attendants and is in talks with mechanics and pilots. Of the two proposals on the table, one includes $400m in bank loans, 82.5% guaranteed by the state, and El Al issuing 150m shekels ($43m) in shares, requiring capital from controlling shareholders. A second is a $250m, 75% state-backed loan plus a $150 million share offer, in which the government commits to buy whatever shares are not purchased by the public. Either decision will drastically alter El Al since a key condition for receiving the loans is achieving $400m of cost savings a year.<br/>
Assets of South African regional carrier SA Express, including Bombardier CRJ200 jets, are being offered for sale through an online auction as the airline edges towards liquidation. The airline was placed in provisional liquidation on 28 April but a final liquidation order has been deferred until early September. But an online auction platform, Go-Dove, is seeking expressions of interest for several assets of the airline which, it states, are “immediately available for negotiation”. The site is advertising sale of the business in its entirety, but is also inviting offers from purchasers for specific assets as well as investment offers from potential equity partners.<br/>
Fastjet said it’s suspending commercial flights in South Africa and Zimbabwe due to the pandemic, jeopardizing negotiations to raise emergency funds through a disposal. The shares skidded after Fastjet said talks to sell a stake in its Zimbabwe operation are on hold until it’s clear how long extended lockdowns will last. An investor group including Solenta Aviation Holdings Ltd. and Zimbabwean investors has expressed interest, Fastjet reiterated Friday. Fastjet is in a precarious situation with just enough funds to survive until the end of August. If flights haven’t reached “sustainable levels” by the start of September, Fastjet said won’t be able to keep operating without support from Zimbabwe’s central bank. Cash reserves at the end of June stood at $1m.<br/>
Air Baltic’s E250mi government bail-out, taking the form of an equity investment, has received the green light from the European Commission. The airline confirmed in a statement that the Commission approved the Latvian government’s deal on 3 July under EU state-aid rules “to contribute to overcome the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 and resume growth”. Air Baltic says the commission pointed out that Air Baltic had, like other European airlines, been significantly impacted by EU-wide travel restrictions introduced to limit the spread of the coronavirus. “The European Commission also points to the important role of Air Baltic in the Latvian economy, ensuring Latvia’s connectivity with other European countries,” adds the airline. “The European Commission has concluded that the increase in Air Baltic share capital will contribute to overcoming the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Latvian economy as a whole,” says Air Baltic CE Martin Gauss. “At the moment, we are already on the path of recovery and we greatly appreciate Latvian society and the government’s confidence in the future of the airline.”<br/>
HK Express, part of the Cathay Pacific Group, said Monday it will gradually resume flights on Aug. 2 as Asian governments ease coronavirus-related travel restrictions. HK Express suspended all flights in March as governments tightened border controls. The carrier, which normally flies 25 routes throughout Asia, gave no details of its planned schedule.<br/>