unaligned

Israel’s government has approved the decision to provide assistance to El Al, adding that its share acquisition will be conducted in a manner such that the state does not exceed a 44.9% stake in the airline. El Al is planning to issue 753.3m shares to raise urgent funding amounting to 505m shekels ($145m). The government has sent a formal communication to El Al approving the measure and detailing the conditions for its participation. Tel Aviv’s stock exchange director has also approved the listing. El Al will receive notice from the government, shortly after receiving the results of the offering, relating to the manner in which securities will be allocated to the state to account for any difference between the target and the amount raised. The government says the state will sell its shareholding within 18 months of the public offering. The share issue will be complemented by a state-backed $250m debt. While the government says it “prefers” this debt be raised through a bank loan, it adds that – if no agreement can be reached with banks – it will allow El Al to raise debt in an “alternative manner”, including bonds.<br/>

South Korea's budget carrier T'way Air said it will launch flights to Wuhan, China, on Wednesday, making it the first international carrier to fly to the city after flights were suspended earlier this year due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The once-a-week round-trip flights between South Korea's Incheon airport and Wuhan have already received approval from Chinese and South Korean authorities, a transport ministry official in South Korea said. T'way in January suspended its plan to start flights to Wuhan due to the pandemic. <br/>

Alaska Airlines, along with its regional carrier Horizon Air, has suspended all flights in and out of Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, because of wildfire smoke. The Seattle-based airline said Monday those flights would be canceled through 3 p.m. Tuesday as the Pacific Northwest continues to battle intense wildfires. Alaska and Horizon have also canceled flights at smaller airports due to fire and smoke including Eugene, Medford and Redmond/Bend in Oregon, and Pasco and Walla Walla in Washington. “Across the West, fires are creating thick smoke and haze, causing very poor air quality conditions in the Portland and Spokane areas,” Alaska said Monday. “We made the difficult decision to stop our operation so that our employees and guests can remain safe.”<br/>

Before Saturday, Jodi Degyansky had traveled by air five times since commercial airlines began mandating that passengers wear masks. But she never thought she would end up being booted from a flight for her 2-year-old son eating gummy bears. "I'm superhumiliated," said Degyansky, who was flying home to Chicago with her son after visiting with family in Florida. Degyansky said the crew of Southwest Flight 2420 approached her when her son was eating at the start of the lunchtime flight with his face mask resting under his chin as the flight pushed back from the gate and began to taxi. "There was no heated discussion," said Degyansky, who described how a flight attendant told her other families of small children had shirked Southwest's policy by eating the entire flight. Degyansky said by then, her son was voluntarily wearing his mask. Southwest's policy says only children younger than age 2 are exempt from its rule that passengers wear a face covering on board a flight and in the airport. "We do acknowledge there may be times when a customer needs to briefly remove their face covering, for instance, to eat, drink, or take medicine," reads a Southwest's mask policy on its website. "However, we expect these instances to be very brief, and customers should put their face covering back on as soon as possible." Degyansky's flight returned to the gate at Southwest Florida International Airport near Fort Myers, where the pair were told they would be rebooked on a later flight. "I feel horrible that my son had to endure that," said Degyansky, who ended up buying a $600 ticket home on another airline. Southwest said it would not discuss specifics of the incident but said it would contact Degyansky "to learn more about what may have occurred."<br/>

An airline in Japan on Saturday removed a male passenger who refused to wear a face mask from a domestic flight, airline officials said Monday. A subsidiary of Japan Airlines said it forced the passenger to disembark from the flight before it took off on Saturday afternoon in northern Japan because he refused requests by the flight crew to put on a mask and would not say why. “We decided that (the man’s) actions ended up disrupting order on the plane,” an official of Hokkaido Air System said. “If there was an explanation, we would have made adjustments for him to take the flight without a mask, such as reserving other seats for him.” The male passenger, however, said after the incident that he often develops a rash or feels suffocated when he wears a mask, adding he did not want to talk about his condition in front of other passengers. The flight, connecting Okushiri and Hakodate in Hokkaido departed about 30 minutes behind schedule with 21 passengers aboard, according to the company.<br/>

Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air, which recently filed for business rehabilitation, will improve fleet efficiency, seek alternative revenue streams, and adjust its marketing efforts - all in a bid to reduce costs. The latest move comes as the troubled carrier’s securities were given the ‘caution’ sign by the Thai stock exchange, because its shareholder equity has fallen below 50% of its paid-up capital. Outlining its plans to turn the business around, Nok says it hopes to improve fleet efficiency by adding more night flights, improving its maintenance scheduling and adjusting its fleet. Nok did not elaborate, except to state that these will help reduce costs. The carrier operates 14 Boeing 737-800s and eight Bombardier Q400 turboprops. The carrier adds that it will review its network and fleet strategy “to reflect [international travel] restrictions” in the short term. “For the long-term, the company plans for international expansion as international air travel becomes viable,” states Nok, without providing any details. The carrier currently operates only a domestic network.<br/>