Ireland and Aer Lingus are engaged in discussions about the government providing further financial support for the former flag carrier, Deputy PM Leo Varadkar said Thursday. Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund said earlier this month that it had provided a E150m three-year loan to the airline that is also a recipient of the state’s wage subsidy scheme for firms hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. “To say very clearly, Aer Lingus will not be allowed to fail. It is already receiving substantial financial support from government. Discussions are underway on further support for the company so it is there when we need it again,” Varadkar told parliament. He later added that when the government said it would not allow Aer Lingus to fail, he did not want to create the impression that such a development was likely. “What I am saying is that we will provide more (financial support) to enable us to retain essential connectivity, like for example (London) Heathrow, the United States and those key hubs in Europe,” he said.<br/>
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WestJet said Thursday that it will suspend service to four Canadian cities amid slumping demand due to COVID-19 restrictions. Starting March 19, the airline plans to suspend all flights to St. John's, London, Ont., Lloydminster, Alta. and Medicine Hat, Alta. until June 24. The cuts are the latest in a series of service reductions over the last few months, many of which have affected regional air routes. "We have continued to operate in the face of uncertainty as domestic and international travel restrictions and quarantines have caused demand to plummet," WestJet president and CE Ed Sims said. "Unfortunately, with new and increasingly restrictive policies, we are left once again, with no other option than to suspend service to these communities." Sims added that the company's ability to return service in certain market depends on the government's policies, including whether it prioritizes domestic travel for aid.<br/>
Flydubai will start the process of bringing back its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into service. This follows a 20-month review which involved the manufacturer, regulators, engineers, scientists, researchers, mechanics and pilots whose sole objective has been to safely return the aircraft to service, said flydubai. Flydubai’s announcement comes a day after UAE’s aviation regulator lifted its ban on Boeing 737 MAX. The jet was grounded worldwide after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. “The Boeing 737 MAX is an integral part of flydubai’s fleet and I have full confidence in the aircraft as it returns to passenger service," said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai. "Safety is the founding principle of our business. We said that we would only return the aircraft to service when it was safe to do so and that time is now. The GCAA has outlined a clear and exacting framework of enhancements and modifications to the aircraft that must be met before returning the aircraft to passenger service along with additional and mandatory pilot training. flydubai will comply with each and every one of the requirements before we allow the aircraft to rejoin our fleet.”<br/>
Tunisair workers will strike on Friday to protest the lack of a reform plan by the company and over the freezing of company accounts by an airport operator, their labour union said on Thursday. The strike is expected to affect flights, the Tunisair syndicate official for the country’s main UGTT labour union Elyess Ben Miled said by phone. Tunisair officials reached by Reuters declined to comment. The Tunisian government, the union and foreign lenders have urged reforms at state-owned Tunisair. The airline has a higher proportion of staff to planes than almost any other aviation company and requires expansive state subsidy. The UGTT, Tunisia’s most powerful organisation with more than a million members, opposes any reform plan that would involve privatising the company but says it wants reforms to make it more profitable. It has said it is open to reducing the workforce.<br/>
Ivory Coast’s national airline Air Cote d’Ivoire reported turnover of 48b CFA Francs ($88.7m) in 2020, down 42% from 83b the previous year because of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Thursday. The airline received 14b CFA francs from the government last June to keep it afloat as flights were halted. Travel curbs have hit heavily-indebted airlines in the region, forcing some into liquidation. The Ivorian flag carrier took delivery of a new Airbus A320neo on Thursday and aims to start serving South Africa in the second half of this year, said Laurent Loukou, deputy CEO. “We are confident that with this aircraft we will gain market share,” Loukou said.<br/>
The Montenegrin government has decided to buy two Embraer 195s on lease to Montenegro Airlines from GECAS, rather than incur charges from early cancellation of the leases. In a statement on 16 February, the government says that by acquiring the two aircraft it avoids both $43m in costs, including an early termination fee of $39m, and the loss of rights to the two aircraft after lease expiry. What the government terms “painstaking and direct” negotiations, conducted on a daily basis in January, yielded an agreement under which the two aircraft are being acquired for $21.8m. Montenegro Airlines operates two owned Fokker 100s and three E195s, including the two leased from GECAS and one owned by the carrier. The government statement blames the previous administration’s “poor management” for putting Montenegro Airlines in an “extremely unfavourable financial situation”. <br/>