Lufthansa said it cancelled all flights to Russiafor the coming week due to the "emerging regulatory situation." Germany's Transport Ministry announced the measure in a tweet. "The Federal Minister Volker @Wissing supports the blocking of German airspace for Russian aircraft and has ordered everything to be prepared for this," the ministry said in its post. Lufthansa was in close contact with national and international authorities and would continue to monitor the situation closely, a company spokesperson said. "Flights that are in Russian airspace will leave it again shortly," the spokesperson said. Two Lufthansa flights between Germany and Asia on Saturday appeared to have turned back, returning to their departure airports, Reuters monitoring of flight-tracking service FlightRadar24 showed.<br/>
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LOT Polish airlines says it is suspending flights to Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia from 1400 GMT on Friday due to the current situation, Polish state news agency PAP said. <br/>
US discount carriers won the right to add 16 coveted flight slots at congested Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, the government announced Friday. The U.S. Department of Transportation said instead of awarding the slots to one low-cost carrier, as it had proposed in September, it will heed requests from the industry and split them up. “This decision to open up access at Newark means lower fares and more choices for the traveling public,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. The decision is a step toward an eventual reshuffling of a New York-area airport dominated by a major airline, giving passengers more options for discounted fares. Low-cost carriers often have difficulty getting access to capacity-constrained hubs such as Newark. United Airlines Holdings Inc. carries the majority of passengers at Newark now, dwarfing competitors. Southwest Airlines Co. originally gained the slots during the merger of United and Continental Airlines, but gave them up when it stopped flying from Newark in 2019. The Federal Aviation Administration initially said it was not planning to award the slots to another low-cost carrier, prompting Spirit Airlines Inc. to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for a review. The new arrangement was partly in response to a court decision in the case, the DOT said. “Given that Newark is historically the most delay prone airport in the United States, United continues to believe that reducing airspace delays for the benefit of our customers and the regional economy is an urgent priority,” United Airlines said in an emailed statement. The carrier currently operates around 350 departures per day from Newark. <br/>
Portuguese carrier TAP is offering a batch of slots at Lisbon airport to other airlines as part of financial restructuring measures agreed with the EC. The slots are the subject of a new request for proposals from a Commission monitoring trustee, which is offering up to 18 daily slots to carriers. Under the Commission’s approval of E2.55b in aid to TAP, in December last year, the airline must transfer the slots free of charge. “The [successful] carrier will be selected by the European Commission following a transparent and non-discriminatory procedure,” says the trustee, Alcis Advisers. It says the slot package will allow another carrier to establish a new base or expand an existing base at Lisbon. But the offer is limited to European Union carriers, and candidate airlines must not be subject to competition remedies having received pandemic-related recapitalisation of more than E250m. Candidates must also indicate the number of aircraft to be based at Lisbon using the slots, and commit to operating them until the end of 2025. Parties expressing interest by 24 March will be sent a list of available slots. Restrictions will apply to the number of slots offered at particular times of the day – TAP will not be obliged, for example, to provide more than half the slots before 12:00.<br/>
A Hindu nationalist group close to India's ruling party is calling on the government to block the appointment of Ilker Ayci as CE of Air India, citing his previous political links in Turkey, with which New Delhi has strained relations. The call from the economic wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, comes as government agencies carry out what one government official said were more intensive than usual background checks on Ayci, who was an adviser in 1994 to Tayyip Erdogan, when the Turkish president was mayor of Istanbul. Ayci, a former chairman of Turkish Airlines, did not answer repeated calls by Reuters for comment. Tata Group, the Indian conglomerate which announced Ayci's appointment as CEO of previously state-run Air India after recently taking over the debt-laden airline in a $2.4b equity and debt deal, also did not respond. In its Feb. 14 statement announcing Ayci's appointment, Tata said Ayci was "an aviation industry leader" who would "lead Air India into the new era". Ayci said in the same statement that he was delighted to lead "an iconic airline". India's main government spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, which is seen as having significant influence on Indian policy making, said the government must not approve Ayci's appointment as Turkey had been sympathetic to India's rival Pakistan. "It (Air India) has been a national carrier and it still carries the same importance ... Tata should not get clearance for this," Mahajan told Reuters.<br/>