A lawyer for relatives of people killed in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine told a court hearing Thursday that 290 relatives and partners of the victims have filed compensation claims for “emotional distress" against the four suspects charged in the downing. Lawyer Arlette Schijns was speaking at a preliminary hearing in the long-running legal proceedings against three Russians and a Ukrainian charged with involvement in shooting down the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board the Boeing 777 were killed. None of the suspects have appeared in court and the case is proceeding in their absence. “No compensation can offset the losses suffered by relatives. That said, compensation can provide a feeling of recognition when it comes to moral damage and can also offer a certain feeling of justice,” Schijns told judges. She said around 90 relatives want to make victim impact statements during the trial, which is expected to begin hearings on the substance of the charges in June.<br/>
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Workers are putting the finishing touches on a new concourse at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, one of the few major airport projects that was able to use the coronavirus pandemic to open its doors early. The 14-gate facility will begin handling flights for American Airlines on April 20, in what operator the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) calls a “soft opening.” In the works for the better part of a decade, the concourse will open roughly three-months early thanks to the drop in passengers — and flight levels — during the pandemic. “What a great time to accelerate a new facility — [we can] work out all the kinks on an easier schedule,” said American Vice President of Network Planning Brian Znotins referring to opening when flight numbers remain depressed. But that time savings — and the opening itself — is the outlier, rather than the norm, in the crisis. Most airports have been forced to delay or indefinitely postpone major capital projects amid the drop in revenues that comes from fewer travelers, said Airports Council International-North America CEO Kevin Burke. <br/>
Russia’s S7 Group is looking to sell its 36.9% stake in Cyprus Airways. S7 secured the right in 2016 to use the trade name of Cyprus Airways, which ceased operations in 2015, to launch its own Cypriot start-up, Charlie Airlines. It said at the time that it would take about a 40% stake in the airline, the rest being held by local private investors. However, the Russian airline group confirms to Cirium that it now plans to sell its stake in the Larnaca-based carrier.<br/>