The passenger accused of punching a Southwest flight attendant and breaking three of her teeth on a May flight now faces federal felony charges. Vyvianna Quinonez is accused of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and interference with flight crew members and attendants, according to court documents. This incident is one of more than 4,000 reported to the Federal Aviation Administration this year of disruptive and sometimes violent passengers onboard aircraft. Nearly 3,000 of those incidents involved passengers accused of violating the federal requirement to wear a face mask on airplanes, according to the FAA. In the Quinonez case, court records say a flight attendant, identified by the initials S.L., asked Quinonez to stow her tray table, buckle her seat belt, and wear her face mask prior to landing at San Diego International Airport on May 23. It is unclear from the documents whether Quinonez complied, but the documents indicate the flight attendant approached her again. Quinonez then pushed the flight attendant, "stood up and knowingly assaulted S.L. by intentionally punching S.L. in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbing S.L.'s hair," according to the documents. Several other passengers intervened, according to the documents, including one who instructed Quinonez to sit down. Quinonez claimed after the incident she "acted in self-defense," according to court documents. She is set to make an initial appearance in court on September 17.<br/>
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Swiss carrier Helvetic Airways has conducted the first commercial service with an Embraer 190-E2 into London City airport, following approval for the type to carry out steep-approach landings. The E190-E2 secured steep-approach certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in May this year. London City has a runway length of just over 1,500m and its glideslope involves a descent angle of up to 5.5°, nearly twice that of the standard 3°. The re-engined E2 family is equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW1900G engines and the improved fuel-burn brings more distant destinations from London City – such as Moscow, Casablanca and Istanbul – into range, says Embraer. The initial aircraft (HB-AZG) arrived at London City on 2 September as the LX456 service from Zurich, operated on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines. “We are convinced that the Embraer E2 is perfectly suited to the requirements of business customers flying between the financial centres of London and Zurich,” says Helvetic Airways chief Tobias Pogorevc. London City chief operating officer Alison FitzGerald says the E2’s arrival is a “significant milestone” in the drive to introduce lower-noise and lower-emissions types to the downtown airport.<br/>
Pakistan's Lakson Group and Middle Eastern budget carrier Air Arabia said Friday they would launch a low-cost airline serving domestic and international routes from Pakistan. The new carrier, Fly Jinnah, will operate as a joint venture between the pair, they said, adopting the low-cost model operated by Air Arabia. The statement said the new airline would help Pakistan’s travel and tourism sector and contribute to the country’s economic growth and job creation. Air Arabia operates from Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, and has similar joint ventures in Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Morocco and Armenia. Its shares are listed on the Dubai Financial Market. The airline has been pushing ahead to expand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak last year as low-cost carriers bet on a post-pandemic surge in travel.<br/>
Philippine Airlines said on Friday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States which will allow the airline to restructure and reorganize its finances impacted by COVID-19 crisis. The proposed restructure plan which was filed in the Southern District of New York and needs court approval will allow the airline to consensually reduce its fleet capacity by 25% and aims to cut $2b in borrowings, the company said. The restructuring plans also includes $505m in long-term debt equity and debt financing from the airline’s majority shareholder and $150m of additional debt financing from new investors, the company said. PAL Holdings the listed parent company and PAL Express are not included in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company added. Rolls-Royce and Lufthansa Technik are among the largest unsecured creditors in the company, according to the court filing. Ongoing trade creditors and suppliers are expected to be unimpaired by the restructuring plan, the company said.<br/>