The transcript from the black boxes of a Ukrainian jet accidentally shot down by Iran on Jan 8 confirm illegal interference with the plane, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister wrote on Twitter on Friday. Yevhenii Yenin said Kyiv was expecting an Iranian delegation to visit Ukraine next week for talks. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday an international team examining the black boxes from the jet had completed a preliminary analysis of the data in France. "Grateful to all partners who helped bring this moment closer. Black boxes from #PS752 were read out and deciphered successfully. The transcript confirmed the fact of illegal interference with the plane," Yenin wrote. Iranian forces say they downed the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 jet after mistaking it for a missile at a time of high tensions with the United States. All 176 people on board were killed.<br/>
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Iran lodged a formal complaint with the UN civil aviation agency after a passenger plane flying from Tehran to Beirut was intercepted by a US fighter jet in Syrian airspace. The Islamic Republic called on the ICAO to investigate the incident Thursday involving a Mahan Air aircraft, which it described as a “clear violation of international law,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Several passengers were injured as the Mahan jet dropped in altitude to avoid a collision, according to reports and social media posts. A spokesman for US Central Command said an American F-15 fighter jet “conducted a standard visual inspection” of the airliner at a “safe distance of approximately 1,000 meters” and in accordance with international standards.<br/>
Ryanair has threatened to take the government to the High Court if it does not expand the so-called green list of safe countries to include Britain and the 27 EU member states.The airline wrote to Micheál Martin last week threatening an injunction and judicial review within seven days if the government did not revise its list of lower-risk countries to include popular travel destinations including Britain, France, Spain and Germany. Solicitors Arthur Cox, acting for Ryanair, claimed the government’s travel restrictions had not been subject to the democratic safeguards, checks and balances inherent in “the constitutionally mandated process of law-making provided for under the constitution” because they had been put in place on a non-statutory basis, meaning without legislation.<br/>
Southwest says it will not furlough any employees for now, despite COVID-19's crushing blow to major airlines. "We have no intention of seeking furloughs, layoffs, pay rate cuts, or benefits cuts through at least the end of this year," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a memo. But Kelly cautioned that he "can't guarantee it will never happen, especially during these dark pandemic times." Restrictions attached to federal bailout money barred airlines from implementing furloughs or layoffs through September. Southwest says 17,000 of its workers have already taken voluntary separation packages and extended time off. Even still, Kelly said the airline is losing $20m a day. Kelly outlined the airline's efforts to cut costs in the memo. "To deal with the financial crisis, we scrambled to cut spending and raise more cash from multiple sources," he said, specifying that the company cut capital projects, shareholder returns and operating costs accounting to $7b for 2020. <br/>
El Al has called a shareholders’ meeting for 18 August in order to seek approval to raise the company’s registered share capital. The carrier is planning to raise $400m through a $150m share issue and a state-backed staggered $250m loan. El Al says that, in order to issue the shares, an amendment to the company’s articles of association, to hike the registered capital, is necessary. Its capital currently stands at 1b shares plus a special state share. El Al says it wants approval to increase this by 500m shares, to 1.5b. The airline says it is holding discussions with the ministry of finance on the terms and conditions for the funding, adding that the government will undertake to purchase, at the average May price, any shares not taken up by the public. If the government takes shares they will be placed with a trustee whose role and powers have yet to be decided. But El Al says the conditions for the financing scheme will include restrictions on the use of the funds, and a prohibition on dividends, until the loan is repaid. Another condition requires the airline to improve its efficiency by reaching collective agreements with personnel.<br/>
As the domestic travel and tourism industry slowly bounces back, low-cost airline AirAsia says it is experiencing green shoots for a promising recovery after being severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. AirAsia.com CEO Karen Chan said although the journey might be tough, the airline company would ramp up efforts accordingly to attract more customers whilst realigning its business priorities from travel to businesses related to local consumption. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, AirAsia has launched businesses such as Ourshop, an e-commerce marketplace; Ourfarm, an e-commerce platform to help connect farmers directly with businesses; as well as Ourfood, a seamless, fuss-free and affordable solution for customers and restaurateurs. "Given the new reality we are all facing, AirAsia.com’s top priority is to maintain a growth trajectory amidst a slowdown in the economy. "Domestic travel will be the key driver of sales until borders reopen and quarantine restrictions are relaxed. This, in turn, is a great opportunity for AirAsia.com given that the airline holds 73% of Malaysia's market share, ” she said. AirAsia has survived for 18 years in a hyper-competitive industry and became the leader of the low-cost carrier segment by providing the best prices, best ASEAN connectivity and best customer experience, she noted.<br/>
Grounded Indian carrier Jet Airways has received two bids as part of its sale process, according to a Thursday filing to the BSE. The airline’s resolution professional has received resolution plans from two prospective applicants, and these will be placed before the airline’s committee of creditors for its consideration, the filing adds. Indian business and financial news service BloombergQuint reported on 22 July that one of the bidders is a consortium led by Imperial Capital and includes Flight Simulation Technique Centre and Big Charter. The other is a consortium of UK-based Kalrock Capital and UAE businessman Murari Lal Jalan. Jet Airways is now in its fourth round of seeking expressions of interest. <br/>