Belarusian national carrier Belavia cancelled flights to eight countries on Thursday, as more EU states applied airspace restrictions in response to the forced landing of a passenger jet in Minsk. The tightening restrictions on Belarus came as its main ally Russia denied access to a second European carrier seeking to skirt Belarus en route to Moscow. Belavia announced the cancellations “due to flight bans from a number of countries”, after neighbouring Poland joined a growing list of territories that have barred it from flying over them, making more routes unviable. “We regret that our passengers have to face this situation for reasons beyond the airline’s control,” Belavia said as it scrapped flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hanover, Kaliningrad, Milan, Munich, Rome, Vienna and Warsaw until Oct. 30.<br/>
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Following a series of incidents aboard aircraft, including an assault that left a flight attendant with facial injuries and two missing teeth, the union representing Southwest Airlines' flight attendants is urging the company to take stronger steps to protect its members from an "epidemic of aggression and assault." "We are asking our carrier, the government and the flying public's help in ending this epidemic of aggression and assault. Flight attendants are first responders in the sky who are focused on safety. As people return to the skies, we are asking for everyone's help in complying with flight attendant requests to help ensure a safe and fun atmosphere for all," TWU Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery said. Montgomery said that there were 477 passenger misconduct incidents on Southwest aircraft between April 8 and May 15, in an open letter to CEO and Chairman Gary Kelly that was sent to union members and posted on its Facebook page. "This unprecedented number of incidents has reached an intolerable level, with passenger non-compliance events also becoming more aggressive in nature," she wrote. On Sunday, a Southwest passenger was arrested on suspicion of felony battery causing serious injury after she allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego, according to a statement from the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department.<br/>
A human rights group says in a new report that Iran has harassed families of passengers killed aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Human Rights Watch says from last fall until January, it spoke with 31 family members of victims and "people with direct knowledge" of how Iranian authorities treated relatives. In all, 176 people were killed when an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down a passenger jet destined for Kyiv minutes after takeoff near Tehran on Jan. 8, 2020. Among the dead were 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents. Human Rights Watch says those it spoke with say Iranian security agencies have mistreated victims' families through arbitrary detainment, interrogation and intimidation. It reports 16 people said security officials threatened them not to speak with foreign media or followed relatives and friends who attended memorials. "Family members said that in several instances, the authorities interfered with burial and memorial services, pressuring families to accept the government's 'martyrdom' status for their loved ones, and published photos and videos without the permission of the families at services," it read.<br/>
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), which represents the crew of 17 airlines, on Thursday entered a pre-hire agreement with Norway’s budget airline Norse Atlantic for at least 700 flight attendant jobs in the United States. Airlines are ramping up the hiring of pilots and flight attendants ahead of an expected boom in air travel, as economies open up and vaccination efforts expand. The contract with Norse Atlantic includes job protection, healthcare and 401k retirement accounts, among other key benefits, the U.S.-based union and the company said in a joint statement. Norse will maintain these jobs in the United States and protect against furloughs if flight attendants are also employed outside of the United States, the contract, subject to ratification by the flight attendants, stated. Norse said the deal with the union would give it “even more urgency” to seek all regulatory approvals to start operations “as soon as possible”. Norse Atlantic hopes to fill a gap left by Norwegian Air, which offered low-cost transatlantic flights but was forced to trim down its operations due to mounting debt in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic leaving it to focus on Nordic and European routes.<br/>
The first Breeze Airways flight took off from Tampa International airport at 10:44 local time on 27 May, marking the launch of a new US airline and another chapter in the start-up-studded career of founder David Neeleman. Most of its 118 seats occupied, including one by Neeleman, the Embraer 195 climbed over Tampa Bay and banked north, headed for Charleston in South Carolina as Breeze flight 1. “It’s a monumental task,” Neeleman says of achieving Federal Aviation Administration certification and getting Breeze airborne. “It was really a difficult [process] getting this… certification.” Neeleman predicts discounter Breeze will generate demand by its very presence on routes that currently have little or no commercial air service. “We will see these markets [be] five to ten, even 20 times what they are today,” he says. Breeze begins operations with the Tampa-Charleston flight and an onward flight (number 2) from Charleston to Hartford, Connecticut. In the coming months it intends to add nine routes from Tampa and several dozen others from cities including Charleston, New Orleans and Norfolk. The airline, which has an operations center in Islip, New York, chose to start in Tampa partly due to surging economic and population growth in Florida. <br/>
An improvement in Gol’s domestic flight sales in May has led the Brazilian carrier to revise its outlook for Q2, for which it expects to report net operating revenues of R$1b ($188m). “The successful completion of the vaccination roll-out expected in Brazil this year, combined with our already improved cost base and stronger balance sheet, gives us confidence in our performance for the second half of 2021,” states CE Paulo Kakinoff. “We will also benefit from a reduced fleet cost for the next decade as we take more deliveries of the 737 Max aircraft that will compose a significant part of the Gol fleet.” For the second half of this year, the carrier is expecting net operating revenues of R$6b, it said in its preliminary guidance on 26 May. EBITDA excluding non-operating expenses and depreciation related to fleet idleness and personnel-related costs is expected to be R$100m in the quarter and R$2b in the second half-yearly period. Total liquidity is anticipated to stand at R$4.2b in the quarter and R$4.5b in the second half. The carrier also anticipates average domestic routes served to reach 114 in the quarter and 159 in the second half.<br/>
The family of the founder of British airline easyJet sold a small stake in the company, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday, reducing the Haji-Ioannou family’s holding to 25.3% from 26.7%. Stelios Haji-Ioannou founded easyJet in 1995, and along with family members remains its biggest shareholder, although their holding has reduced from around 34% last year due to a share sale and after a placing by the airline. During the pandemic, Haji-Ioannou criticised easyJet’s strategy, calling on it to scrap a large order for new Airbus jets.<br/>
Israel’s Global Knafaim said on Thursday it bought a 49.9% stake in the small Cypriot airline Tus Airways with a $5m investment. Global Knafaim is a unit of Knafaim Holdings, which lost a controlling stake in Israel’s flag carrier El Al last year when the airline applied for a government bailout. Tus Airways has two Airbus A320 aircraft and will begin flying in Europe this summer and is considering buying Airbus A330 planes suitable for longer flights, Global Knafaim said. It said that a previous investor, US businessman Kenneth Woolley, who owns the small, rebranded Eastern Airlines, will inject $4m and control a 50.1% stake.<br/>
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said Thursday that a financial recovery is two years away as rising COVID-19 cases in major operating countries force prolonged border closures and travel restrictions. Fernandes, the budget carrier's co-founder, spoke as the airline reported a revenue decline of 87% in Q1 ended March 31 to 298.22m ringgit ($72m) from 2.31b ringgit posted in the same period last year. AirAsia also recorded a net loss of 767.42m ringgit, slightly better than the 803.85m ringgit in red ink registered in Q1 2020. The group had racked up its worst ever annual earnings for the full year 2020 as a result of domestic and international border closures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged global travel and airline industries. Fernandes said the carrier is optimistic a recovery is achievable in two years given immunization efforts in major Southeast Asian economies, better testing capabilities, expected global digital health passports and more travel bubbles within the region. "In most of our operating markets, inoculations are in progress and the majority will have had at least 50% of their population receiving at least one dose by the end of 2021," Fernandes said, adding that he recently received his first shot. "This is expected to deliver a huge boost for air travel demand for our key ASEAN markets, on top of strong pent-up demand," he said.<br/>