The head of Lebanon’s airline said Sunday the carrier would at some point need to demand payment for tickets bought in Lebanon using “fresh dollars”, or recently transferred currency that is not subject to restrictions imposed since a financial crisis. Middle East Airlines (MEA) Chairman Mohamad El-Hout did not say when this rule would be introduced, but the warning will raise concerns for holders of dollars who have been virtually locked out of dollar accounts since late 2019. The authorities have limited dollar withdrawals to about $500 a month, with a few exceptions, and imposed an exchange rate of about 3,900 Lebanese pounds, effectively slashing the value of those deposits as the unofficial street rate is now over 8,000. Before the crisis, 1,500 was the freely-used rate. Buying airline tickets was one way those dollars held in local banks could be used, in a nation with a large diaspora and where hard currency has grown scarce. Dollars transferred to Lebanon in more recent months, known as “fresh dollars”, are held in new accounts and not subject to withdrawal or other restrictions. “If the company wants to ensure its stability, we will reach a time when we will need to have sales in ‘fresh dollars’,” Hout said, adding that MEA would need to do this because the carrier’s expenses for fuel and other items were in dollars. He said the alternative was to stop operating the carrier, which is majority owned by the central bank.<br/>
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Aeroflot has approved plans to transfer over 40 Sukhoi Superjet 100s from its fleet to sister carrier Rossiya, as part of a restructuring of its short-haul network operations. Over the course of December this year to August 2021 it intends to shift 17 aircraft leased from Sberbank, another 20 from VEB-Leasing, and five from an entity identified as PSB Aviaprofleasing. Aeroflot Group’s board cleared the proposals during a meeting on 17 December. Rossiya has been preparing to take on the role of providing short-haul feeder operations to hubs, as well as intra-regional links, with Russian-built aircraft as part of a strategic plan which involves Aeroflot’s concentrating on long-haul services. Under the plan Rossiya will become a “centre of competence” for domestically-built aviation development, says Aeroflot Group. Aeroflot Group has identified 10 Superjets which will be moved to Rossiya before the end of this year.<br/>