China Airlines expects its short- to medium-haul passenger network to recover first, with long-haul recovery expected to be “full of challenges” in the near-term given rising fuel prices. Still, the SkyTeam carrier notes that when — and how — it resumes regular international flying will depend on the governmental regulations. Taiwan still restricts general travellers from entering, though it recently eased measures to allow business travellers and selected migrant workers to enter. In a statement issued following the release of its full-year financial results, China Airlines says it will “strengthen” its regional routes first with its newly-delivered fleet of Airbus A321neos. “In the future, depending on the relaxation of Taiwan border and transfer restrictions, we will gradually put [the aircraft] into operation on routes in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” the airline says. China Airlines took delivery of its first A321neo in 2021, and expects to take eight more jets this year. On cargo, the airline — which reported record revenue on freight operations in 2021 — expects further “growth momentum” this year. <br/>
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China Eastern Airlines Wednesday asked the US DoT for approval to temporarily shift New York to Shanghai flights over COVID-19 measures. The carrier said because of “evolving coronavirus pandemic control measures in the Shanghai region, China Eastern has been instructed” by Chinese aviation officials “to divert Shanghai-bound passenger flights arriving from the US to certain alternate airports in China.” China Eastern asked approval starting March 31 to move existing twice-weekly Shanghai westbound passenger flights from New York to China’s Fuzhou Changle International Airport through the end of April. China’s aviation regulator said on Tuesday it will divert 106 international flights scheduled to arrive in Shanghai to other domestic cities from March 21 to May 1 due to COVID-19. The impacted flights include those operated by Air China, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines, Juneyao Air and Spring Airlines, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.<br/>
State-controlled carrier Garuda Indonesia has asked a Jakarta court for another extension to its deadline for its debt restructuring process, its CEO and a curator said, as it has yet to verify over $10b worth of claims. Garuda is seeking to slash liabilities totaling $9.8b to $3.7b under a court-led process, called PKPU, but creditors, plane lessors and vendors have submitted $13.8b of claims against the struggling flag-carrier. Garuda wants a 60-day extension time to verify the claims and finalise negotiations with all parties, CEO Irfan Setiaputra said. The court had previously granted a two-month extension for the PKPU on Jan. 21. Garuda made the request on Tuesday and judges will decide on March 21, one of the court-appointed curators for the process, Martin Patrick Nagel told Reuters, adding that some creditors had submitted a similar request. As of Monday there were claims worth $9.72b by 229 creditors yet to be verified, Nagel said. So far $3.26b of claims by 248 creditors have been cleared, with $885.5m disputed due to differences between the airline and claimants’ books, he said, without elaborating. Claims include $500m in Islamic bonds that Garuda defaulted on in June 2021.<br/>