Proposed remedies from IAG to address competition concerns over its acquisition of Spanish carrier Air Europa did not satisfy the European Commission, the regulator has disclosed. IAG and Air Europa have agreed to end the acquisition proposal in its current form, with a view to looking at an alternative structure. The Commission had previously expressed doubts over the competition impact on several routes, given that IAG already owns Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling. “Discussions with the companies and the proposed remedy package…were not able to adequately address the competition concerns identified,” it states. Scrutiny of the merger was being undertaken not only by the Commission but by the UK’s market regulator.<br/>
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British Airways put flights to Hong Kong on hold until March after the imposition of strict quarantine rules by the Asian financial hub’s government saw airline crews forced to isolate in a makeshift camp. The London-based carrier’s schedule shows no services to Hong Kong until the end of February. British Airways initially suspended flights there late last month, telling the BBC that it was doing so “while we review operational requirements for this route.” Hong Kong has imposed some of the strictest quarantine rules as it targets zero Covid infections, and unlike most other destinations doesn’t have exemptions for air crew. That’s led to staff from airlines including BA and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the territory’s own carrier, being compelled to isolate at a spartan government facility with no Wi-Fi and minimal facilities. A British Airways spokesman said Friday that it’s operating “a reduced and dynamic schedule” due to the pandemic and apologizes to customers whose travel plans have been disrupted. Where flights are canceled, passengers will be contacted to offer options including a full refund. Lufthansa unit Swiss is among other carriers that have adjusted their schedules due to the Hong Kong rules. Cathay Pacific has faced resignation threats after a breach of regulations saw more than 200 pilots and flight attendants quarantined, and prompted a requirement for crew to stay home for three days on returning from a trip.<br/>
Hong Kong's strict adherence to a zero-Covid strategy is damaging the hub's aviation industry and "killing" Cathay Pacific, a major shareholder in the city's home carrier told local media. Following Beijing's lead, Hong Kong has maintained some of the world's strictest quarantine measures and travel curbs, which has kept the city coronavirus-free but internationally isolated. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker took issue with a border-control rule that temporarily bans airlines that have brought in infected passengers. "You can't just shut the aviation industry (down) because somebody got infected coming in (on) someone's aeroplane," he told the South China Morning Post. Al Baker added that he was "a little disappointed" that Hong Kong has remained closed, and he had expected a major part of Cathay's fleet to be flying again. Qatar Airways is Cathay's third-largest shareholder, with a 9.6% stake purchased for HK$5.16b ($661m) in 2017. Under Hong Kong's rules, if an airline brings in too many infected passengers on a particular route, it is banned from flying that route for two weeks. Those rules have been tightened over fears of the Omicron variant, which Hong Kong has recorded 14 cases of as of Friday. Qatar Airways has been banned five times since November 2020, according to the SCMP.<br/>
Dutch prosecutors will this week set out their sentencing demands for four men on trial in absentia over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in war-torn Ukraine in 2014. Prosecutors will also formally present the indictment during three days of hearings from Monday, charging the men with the murders of all 298 people on the Boeing 777. The four suspects -- Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko -- have all refused to attend the trial in the Netherlands. A verdict at the high-security court, near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport where MH17 took off on its doomed flight to Kuala Lumpur, is not expected until late 2022 at the earliest. "The maximum penalty is life imprisonment," a court spokesperson told AFP. The hearings come as fresh tensions soar over Ukraine, with the West accusing Moscow of planning an invasion. International investigators say MH17 was shot down by a BUK missile originally brought from a Russian military base as it flew over part of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Moscow separatists on July 17, 2014. The court spokesperson said prosecutors would spend Monday and Tuesday explaining evidence including telephone and electronic eavesdropping, the circumstances surrounding the missile, and the defendants themselves. The sentencing demand is expected to follow on Wednesday and will include an "extensive justification of the requested penalty", the spokesperson said.<br/>