Southwest was sued for $10m on Tuesday by a 68-year-old Florida woman who said the carrier ejected her from a flight because she periodically needed to remove her mask to drink water. Medora Clai Reading said she was wrongly removed from a Jan. 7, 2021, flight to Palm Beach, Florida, from Washington, D.C. after a hostile flight attendant kept demanding that she keep her mask on despite medical issues, including a heart condition and low blood sugar, requiring that she stay hydrated. Southwest had no immediate comment, having yet to review the complaint. Reading's lawsuit in federal court in Brooklyn differs from disputes focused on travelers who are unwilling to wear masks. The FAA said airline crews in 2021 submitted 5,981 reports of unruly passengers, including 4,290 incidents related to masks. In her complaint, Reading said that she offered to show the attendant her medical exemption card but was told, "we don't care," and that the attendant objected to her later sipping water by shouting: "You were talking!" Reading said a gate attendant eventually ordered her off the flight, as an unmasked pilot "laughed mockingly" as she tearfully exited. She said nearby police helped her to a chair and offered water, while commenting that similar occurrences were "happening far too often" and "it is usually Southwest." Kristina Heuser, a lawyer for Reading, in an interview said a "planeload full of witnesses" saw the encounter, and some may have videotaped it.<br/>
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Delta partners Virgin Atlantic and LATAM Airlines are to begin codesharing on flights between and beyond London and Sao Paulo. US carrier Delta has partnerships and investments in place with both carriers and in December further commited to them as part of recapitalisation plans under which it would retain its 49% stake in Virgin and hold a roughly 10% share of LATAM Airlines. Under the co-operation, Virgin will add its code to LATAM’s flights between London Heathrow and Sao Paulo, as well as its flights to a dozen domestic airports in Brazil. LATAM will add its code to Virgin flights, notably to Delhi, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv. Juha Jarvinen, CCO at Virgin Atlantic, says: ”As we recover from the pandemic, partnerships are more important than ever, and we look forward to building on the incredibly successful interline relationship we have had in place for a number of years. We also see opportunities beyond Brazil and look forward to expanding our relationship even further to serve destinations throughout South America including Peru and Colombia. This new partnership aims to respond to the large, fast-growing demand for leisure travellers looking to enjoy new experiences after a challenging 20 months. We know there is pent-up demand for long-haul travel.”<br/>
Sky Mali will on Saturday launch flights from Bamako to Conakry, the private airline company has said as Mali seeks to counter regional sanctions that have isolated the West African country. Neighbours Mali and Guinea, both led by juntas after military coups, have stepped up efforts to cooperate to alleviate the sanctions imposed by the ECOWAS regional bloc in a bid to force early elections and a return to civilian rule. Guinea was suspended by ECOWAS following the September 5 coup last year and has announced it will not close its land or air borders with Mali as decreed by the regional group. Mali's military government sent a sizeable delegation to Conakry on Monday and another team to neighbouring Mauritania on Tuesday. Sky Mali commercial director Salifou Telly told AFP Tuesday the airline was launching the service to Conakry. "Yes, it's true, we will open the service on Saturday," and run four flights a week, he said. Sky Mali was set up as a private venture in 2020 to serve domestic airports across the sprawling nation. It went on to open links with Benin and Gabon but had announced the suspension of all flights after the ECOWAS embargo. Following two coups since 2020, Mali's military reneged on a promise to hold elections next month, instead saying it could be up to five years before polls are held. In response, leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed economic and diplomatic sanctions on January 16, in a decision backed by the US, the EU and former colonial power France.<br/>
Indian Ocean carrier Maldivian is ordering three ATR turboprops, comprising two 72-600s and a 42-600, which are set to be delivered this year. Maldivian’s ATRs will be fitted with the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT engines, the development of which was unveiled at the Dubai air show last year. The carrier has a small fleet which includes Airbus A320-family jets as well as older-variant Bombardier Dash 8 turboprops, plus Viking Air DHC-6s. ATR says the purchase contract for the three new aircraft will enable the airline to replace ageing airframes in the turboprop fleet. “We believe the new generation of ATR aircraft with the XT engines offers something we have been looking for in our fleet modernisation,” says Maldivian managing director Mohamed Mihad. He says the fleet replacement means the carrier is “taking a step towards sustainability while keeping an eye on the operating costs”. The airline is supporting a Maldives government policy on air mobility intended to bring greater connectivity to the archipelago.<br/>