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American Airlines COO David Seymour on Tuesday told employees the company expects the airline industry "will experience major operational disruptions" if new 5G wireless deploys on Wednesday. "Until a long-term technical solution is developed and implemented and as long as 5G is deployed, we anticipate we’ll experience delays, diversions and cancellations that are well beyond our control," Seymour said in a note to employees. "The entire U.S. airline industry is facing major disruption as new wireless technology is activated." AT&T said it had agreed to delay some 5G deployment on Wednesday, while Verizon has not yet commented.<br/>

Cathay Pacific is offering bonuses of up to HK$29,000 ($3,700) to pilots willing to endure Hong Kong’s strict quarantine regime in a bid to get more planes in the air. Captains who fly two so-called closed loop flights will get a HK$22,000 bonus, rising to HK$29,000 for four or more closed loops, according to a staff memo seen by Bloomberg News and confirmed by the airline’s press office. First officers will get HK$17,000 for two loops and HK$24,000 for four or more. Closed-loop flights involve aircrew operating flights for three to four weeks non-stop, staying in hotel isolation between flights and then spending up to two weeks in quarantine at the end of their deployment before being allowed to return home. The onerous conditions and long absences from family and friends have made it difficult for Cathay to adequately staff and operate its services. Cathay Pacific has lurched from the crisis of the 2019 pro-democracy protests that triggered a management overhaul, to the two-year pandemic that has crippled the carrier. Without a domestic market to fall back on and Hong Kong largely isolated from the rest of the world by its strict Covid-Zero policy, the airline has had to rely on a HK$39 billion government bailout and 6,000 jobs cuts to survive. The carrier is operating just 2% of pre-pandemic passenger capacity and 20% of pre-Covid cargo capacity -- the lowest level at any time since the start of the pandemic. <br/>

SriLankan Airlines has been directed to pay US$30m to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation on the 20th of each month to avoid delays in procuring jet fuel for its operations. Sunday Morning Business reports a senior CPC official, who asked not to be named, said CPC imports jet fuel every 20 days at a cost of USD30 million. It wants the airline to pay this amount in advance of receiving the fuel to avoid the accumulation of credit bills. Should SriLankan Airlines fail to make the payment, the official said: “Then we can’t keep ordering fuel as the payment has to be settled to the CPC on time. Sri Lankan is supposed to settle payments in advance to get these cargoes.” The official noted that SriLankan Airlines payments so far were insufficient for the CPC to procure jet fuel. This follows comments made in December by CPC chairman Sumith Wijesinghe that the national carrier must settle its fuel payments in US dollars through the state banks. SriLankan Airlines spokesman Deepal Perera said the airline had started settling its payments to the CPC in US dollars from the day the request was made.<br/>