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The European Union must not back down from imposing sanctions on Belarus state airline Belavia after several countries in the bloc expressed doubts over the measure, Estonia's prime minister said on Wednesday, warning that it could weaken the EU's hand. The EU and NATO have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of using migrants as a weapon to pressure the West by sending people fleeing the Middle East to Minsk and then onto the borders of Poland and the Baltic states. The bloc agreed last week to press ahead with more sanctions on Belarus, targeting some 30 individuals and entities including the foreign minister and Belavia. However, EU diplomats said Germany and Italy were among EU countries arguing that Belavia’s promise to stop flying migrants from Syria and Iraq was enough for now. "We have heard that there are doubts for some countries regarding Belavia," Kaja Kallas said after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. "I think it would be a weak signal if Belavia was left out, because it's a state-managed company directly involved in bringing these people and opening new routes for smugglers and definitely should be sanctioned."<br/>

Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian has named Hans-Jorgen Wibstad as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Geir Karlsen. Karlsen retained the top financial post after he took over as the airline’s chief executive in mid-year. Wibstad will step into the role by June 2022. He is a former CFO of the maritime and aerospace firm Kongsberg Group, and currently occupies the equivalent post at Oslo-based energy and construction management firm Multiconsult. Multiconsult says Wibstad has been with the company since May 2019 and refers to his “strong contribution and dedication”, adding: “He has played a key role in the transformation and improvement processes that have taken place [at the company].” Norwegian says Wibstad has extensive experience in finance and strategic management. “I am convinced that the company will benefit greatly from his solid background and experience in the time ahead,” says Karlsen.<br/>

The group CE of Ryanair has praised the role of the European Union’s Digital Covid Certificate in the recovery of air travel in the region, while suggesting the UK’s departure from the bloc is behind its slower progress in that regard. “Brexit has been a disaster, as we predicted it would be,” Michael O’Leary said during a Eurocontrol event 23 November. “Travel to and from the UK has become much more friction-fuelled.” The UK relaxed its international travel rules relating to Covid-19 from early October, having faced much criticism from airlines over its ‘traffic light’ system, but still requires fully vaccinated arrivals to undertake a day-two test and all passengers to complete a lengthy locator form. The UK’s current border policies are “a challenge, both for EU citizens travelling to the UK and for UK citizens travelling to Europe”, O’Leary states, adding: “I don’t think anybody wants to see that extended.” In contrast, he describes as a “huge success” the EU’s Digital Covid Certificate, which allows testing-free travel for fully vaccinated travellers. O’Leary urges the EU to “uphold” the certificate amid moves by some governments to reintroduce lockdown measures as cases of the virus spike again in the region. Speaking earlier this week at the Airlines 2021 event in London, IATA DG Willie Walsh said that policies implemented by the UK government during the Covid-19 recovery are the “principal reason” for the slow recovery of the country’s airlines, although the former IAG chief did not mention Brexit in that context.<br/>

Nigeria aims to launch a new national airline by April and will seek to sell a minority stake to a foreign airline or financial institution, Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, said on Wednesday. The plan, one of President Muhammadu Buhari's 2015 election campaign promises, has been on and off the table. The government suspended it in 2018, with no reason provided. Sirika said the government will source a strategic partner via a procurement process to take a 49% stake in the new carrier, called Nigeria Air. The government would not own more than 5%, while local entrepreneurs would hold a 46% stake. "The best case is that the airline will pick up... April 2022 if all things go equal," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Abuja. The government has said the airline will require initial capital of between $150m and $300m. Nigeria has been seeking to set up a national airline and develop its aviation infrastructure - currently seen as a barrier to economic growth - to create a hub for West Africa. But decades of neglect and lack of investment have left Nigeria with low-quality infrastructure. The government has said that upgrading it will require private investment. The West African country's previous national carrier, Nigeria Airways, was founded in 1958 and wholly owned by the government. It ceased to operate in 2003. British billionaire Richard Branson set up domestic and international carrier Virgin Nigeria in 2000, but pulled out in 2010 in frustration at what he said was interference by politicians and regulators.<br/>

A new report is accusing Iranian authorities of tampering with the electronic devices and misidentifying the remains of some of the passengers killed on Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752. The findings are among new revelations contained in a lengthy report by the Association of the Families of Flight PS752 Victims that examines the Jan. 8, 2020 shootdown of the commercial airliner by the Iranian military. All 176 people on board the Kyiv-bound airliner were killed when the Boeing 737-800 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired by Iran's Revolutionary Guard minutes after taking off from the Tehran airport. Those killed included 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents and dozens of others bound for Canada, as well as nationals of Britain, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sweden. Iran initially lied about the cause of the tragedy in the days following but ultimately admitted to shooting down the plane. The new report says several mobile phones and tablets of dead passengers showed signs of tampering in what could have been an attempt to cover up the cause of the crash. "One likely explanation is that these electronics may have been bulldozed over in an attempt to destroy any potential evidence that victims recorded in the last minutes of their lives," the report says. Story has more. <br/>

Israeli airline El Al reported a narrower loss in the third quarter and said it expected further improvement in the final three months of the year after Israel started to open its borders to foreign tourists. El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, was hurt badly by the COVID-19 pandemic. It said it lost a net $136.2m in the July-September period that is typically its strongest, compared with a $146.6m loss a year earlier. Revenue jumped to $253m from $39.2m a year ago, when borders were largely shut. The airline’s bottom line was impacted by a write down of $43m for the value of aircraft taken out of service. Seat occupancy rose to 71.4% from 23.1% a year ago and 67.3% in Q2. Typically its load factor reaches around 83%. El Al said sales for the fourth quarter will be higher in the wake of the government’s approval for tourists vaccinated within the prior six months to enter Israel as on November 1. That “will reflect the recovery trend and a gradual return to the company’s operations,” El Al said. It said it expects “continued positive momentum in the industry and activity throughout 2022” spurred by stronger transatlantic travel, the easing of Israeli entry rules and rollouts of COVID-19 vaccinations for children and booster shots for adults. Israel had closed its borders in March 2020 at the outset of the pandemic.<br/>

Middle East Airlines has disclosed full-year losses of LL68.1b ($45m) for 2020, a year in which the country faced an economic crisis, the effects of the pandemic, and the fallout from the Beirut port explosion. The loss contrasted with the near-LL130b profit for the carrier in the previous year, as passenger revenues fell by nearly 60% to LL442b. Around 55% of its revenues derived from Middle East sectors from Beirut, another 30% from European services and 15% from African operations. MEA says Lebanon has been experiencing “severe events” since October 2019 which set off an interconnected fiscal, monetary and economic crisis – to the point of sovereign default in March 2020, even before the Covid-19 pandemic engulfed global air transport. The airline says it has substantially reduced network capacity, made structural changes to the fleet, and taken other cash-management measures in response to the impact of the pandemic. But it adds that, despite a gradual resumption of activity, its financial performance will “continue to be affected…for a duration that currently remains uncertain”.<br/>

Vacationing Britons are taking longer overseas breaks as coronavirus travel curbs are relaxed, according to Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline. Trips to Dubai -- traditionally a short-stay destination -- of between one and two weeks are up 11% compared with 2019 levels, Emirates said Wednesday. Holidays elsewhere are showing a 5% increase. More than two-fifths of bookings over the Christmas period are for trips in excess of two weeks, and 20% for at least three. December reservations are exceeding pre-pandemic levels for long-distance leisure destinations including the Maldives and Mauritius, as well as Dubai itself, the company said. Demand has surged since the UK largely opened up international travel in September, with passenger numbers at Emirates 69% higher in the last two weeks of October compared with the first half of September. The airline plans to resume flights to London Gatwick on Dec. 10, expanding its UK operation to six airports and 84 weekly flights. The upbeat figures for Emirates come as spiraling coronavirus infection rates in Europe have raised concerns the travel rebound may be at risk. Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said Tuesday steps such as a return to lockdown conditions in Austria mean airlines face a “fraught” period through Christmas. Even so, “people are booking the holidays they wish they could have taken over the last 18 months, and going away for longer to make up for lost time,” said Richard Jewsbury, Emirates’ vice president for the UK.<br/>

Nusli Wadia, the chairman of the Wadia group of companies, is gearing up for a new battle. The 77-year-old billionaire is planning to sell shares in Go Airlines (India), his low-cost carrier, just as the Indian stock market comes off record highs and after the nation's biggest IPO, by Paytm, bombed soon after its listing. Huge losses suffered by airlines worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic are also casting a long shadow. Yet Go Airlines (India)'s 36b rupee ($480m) IPO will launch in the second week of December -- making it only the fifth company in the group to be listed. Analysts expect the carrier, which operates 57 aircraft under the Go First name, to achieve a valuation of between 80b and 100b rupees. It plans to use funds from the sale to repay debt and pay aircraft lease rentals. In a rare interview, Wadia told Nikkei Asia he was focusing on the long term. "Our group has been in existence since 1736, which is the longest living corporate group at least in India, and our 150-year-old group firm, Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, is the oldest company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange," said Wadia of the group's track record. "Our airline has been profitable for the last nine years before COVID and we were contemplating an IPO even before the pandemic. Over the years, we have brought in the necessary funds in the form of equity and promoter supported facilities for the airline's growth." He said he expects investors to focus on the near-term recovery of air travel as borders reopen, as well as the longer-term prospects for the Indian travel market. Story has more.<br/>

Long-haul, low-cost carrier AirAsia X has reported an operating loss of MYR82.5m ($19.6m) for Q1 of its 2022 financial year. The carrier generated revenue of MYR99.3m for the three months ended 30 September, and a net loss of MYR149m, it says. The carrier did not provide corresponding figures for the same period in 2021, given that it changed its financial year. Still, its performance improved across key metrics. In the three months to 30 September 2020, it generated an operating loss of MYR498m, revenues of MYR60m, and a net loss of MYR308m. The airline adds that it remains largely grounded, apart from a “limited number of cargo and charter flights.” AirAsia X also provided some details about Thai AirAsia X and Indonesia AirAsia Extra, in which it holds 49% stakes, during the three months to 30 September. TAAX suffered a net loss of MYR353m, while Indonesia AirAsia Extra generated a net profit of MYR12.3m. The group adds that there is “meaningful uncertainty about the reopening of international borders,” which affects its prospects.<br/>