Garuda Indonesia has terminated a lease for 12 Bombardier CRJ-1000 planes amid a bribery probe into the procurement of the aircraft, a cabinet minister said Wednesday. The contract with Nordic Aviation Capital was initially due to end in 2027, but Garuda will return the planes to the lessor early, State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir said. “There are two issues, first was obviously the legal case, and the second is a force majeure because of the COVID-19 situation,” Erick told a virtual briefing. In its decision for the early termination, Garuda took into consideration the bribery probe conducted by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the procurement process of the planes in 2011. The SFO announced in November it was investigating Canadian industrial group Bombardier over suspected bribery in airplane sales to Garuda Indonesia. “For the avoidance of doubt, NAC is not party to any investigation into the selection of the aircraft by Garuda in 2012 and there has been no allegation of any wrongdoing on the part of NAC in relation to the placement of the aircraft,” NAC said Wednesday. Garuda is also in discussion for early payment settlement of its lease of six planes of the same model from Export Development Canada, which is supposed to end in 2024, Erick added.<br/>
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Kenya Airways has received 10b shillings ($91.49m) from the government, the Business Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday, part of efforts to prop up the carrier after the pandemic grounded global aviation. The airline, which is majority owned by the government with Air France-KLM holding a small stake, secured 8b Kenyan shillings from the Treasury and 2b shillings from the ministry of transport, the paper reported, citing a supplementary budget presented to parliament on Tuesday.<br/>
Ryanair urged Wednesday that Air France be forced to give up lucrative French airport slots if it receives more state aid. Paris is in talks with EU officials on the delicate issue of state aid to the French flag carrier, which has already received substantial help from the government. "Should yet another enormous and illegal state aid bailout occur, then effective remedies must be applied to ensure fair competition in the French market and to protect the interests of the French consumer / visitor," a Ryanair statement said. The low-cost airline is based in Ireland and regularly underscores the amount of money being allocated to keep struggling rivals in the air. In exchange for more aid, Air France must be prepared to give up "a substantial number of its take-off and landing slots at key French airports including Paris Charles De Gaulle, Paris Orly and Lyon," Ryanair argued. French officials and the EC are currently discussing the terms of a further recapitalisation of the Air France-KLM group, which has suffered from the Covid-19 crisis. EU officials have already indicated that in exchange for their approval, Air France should give up coveted slots at Orly, which is essentially saturated now.<br/>