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The EPA is ordering a halt to sales of Allied BioScience’s SurfaceWise2 product amid concerns about the effectiveness of the disinfectant used to combat coronaviruses in some American Airlines Group planes and airport facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it had ordered Allied BioScience to immediately stop selling and distributing the product amid “scientific concerns regarding product performance.” The agency also revoked emergency exemptions that had allowed the product’s use in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. “EPA laboratory testing indicates the product’s performance is less reliable under real-world conditions, particularly when it is exposed to moisture or abrasion,” the agency said. “Based on all the available efficacy data for SurfaceWise2, EPA does not support its continued emergency use.” American Airlines said Thursday that it had stopped using SurfaceWise2, which was only applied to aircraft routed through Texas. “We will continue to follow all EPA and federal guidance on this matter,” the company said.<br/>

Desperate for cash as global air travel ground to a halt in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Latam Airlines Group reached out to two of its largest shareholders, Delta and Qatar Airways, in an effort to raise liquidity. The result was the termination of two deals for Airbus A350 jets in exchange for cash in the days leading up to Latam’s US Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. At least that’s the narrative presented by Chile-based Latam in a growing disagreement with the unsecured creditors committee in its Chapter 11 proceedings. The committee alleges that, rather than helping Latam, Delta and Qatar deliberately took advantage of the ailing carrier to cut their own costs and exit deals for aircraft they no longer needed amid the grounding of most of the global fleet. The back-and-forth is the latest high-stakes drama in the restructuring of South America’s largest carrier. Story has more.<br/>