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The pilots had met China’s standards for flying a commercial jet. No problems were found with the aircraft before it took off. No dangerous cargo had been loaded aboard. Communications with the plane appeared normal until its deadly plunge. A preliminary report released on Wednesday by China’s aviation safety regulator failed to dispel much of the mystery about why a China Eastern jet suddenly went into a nosedive in clear weather last month and crashed into a muddy hillside, killing all 132 people aboard. The report mainly cataloged what was previously known about the crash. “The investigation found that the flight and cabin crew onboard, as well as the maintenance and clearance personnel, met qualification requirements,” the report said. “Before it deviated from cruising altitude, there was nothing abnormal in wireless communications between the crew and air control or in the control commands.” The report also suggested that obtaining more evidence from the plane’s two flight recorders could take some time. “The two recorders on the plane were severely damaged in the crash,” it said, “and data recovery and analysis is proceeding.” As a signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, China’s regulator was under an obligation to produce a preliminary report on Wednesday, 30 days after the crash. But a summary statement issued by the regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, did not put forward any theories to address why the plane, a Boeing 737-800, suddenly turned almost vertical while cruising at 29,000 feet and maintained that position except for a brief surge upward about two-thirds of the way down to the ground.<br/>

Delta said Wednesday it plans to restore flight privileges to about 2,000 customers who were barred from flights after failing to comply with mask rules. The Biden administration on Monday said it would no longer enforce a US mask mandate on public transportation and airlines after a federal judge struck down the directive as unlawful. Atlanta-based Delta Reuters it will restore passengers "only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior when flying with us. Any further disregard for the policies that keep us all safe will result in placement on Delta's permanent no-fly list." The change will not impact Delta's separate list of about 1,000 people "who demonstrated egregious behavior and are already on the permanent no-fly list." Delta's announcement follows a similar decision by United Tuesday to allow some of the roughly 1,000 people who have been banned for not wearing masks to return to flights on a "case by case basis." United said those people would be allowed to return to flights "after ensuring their commitment to follow all crewmember instructions on board."<br/>

Air France said Wednesday that flights from Senegal's capital Dakar to Paris will make refuelling stops in Spain's Las Palmas, due a refined products shortage in the West African nation that has also seen motorists queue for fuel. Senegal is facing what the Energy Minister Sophie Gladima called a "tense supply situation," due to difficulties getting supplies from the global market, but she insisted the country has not ran out of fuel. Gladima told state television RTS on Tuesday evening that Senegal was expecting the arrival of a supply ship with at least 1,000 tonnes of jet fuel on Wednesday. Senegal's airport authorities on April 18, warned airlines at Dakar international airport that they are required to make arrangements to have enough fuel for return flights. The warning came after the airport's jet fuel supplier said in an internal memo that it would not be able to refuel flights for two weeks, until the end of April, due to difficulties it was facing getting supplies from the market. Air France in an email response to Reuters said its Dakar-Paris flights are currently making a technical stopover in Las Palmas in Spain for refuelling until further notice. Senegal's 27,000 barrels-per-day SAR refinery has been offline since November for a scheduled maintenance. It is expected to resume production by the end of April.<br/>

Air France-KLM is poised to quit the central Paris headquarters established by the group’s French arm after World War II. The firm will ask shareholders meeting on May 24 to back the move from the 3,800 square-meter site near the Invalides monument to new offices across the Seine River in the area of France’s presidential palace, according to resolutions published in advance. An airline spokesman said the transfer is set for July. The building dates to the 1900 Paris Exposition or world’s fair, and is being taken back by city authorities to be transformed into an exhibition space, children’s museum, food hall and public area leading to a commuter-train station. After opening the base in 1946, Air France initially used it to check in passengers before transporting them to Le Bourget airport outside the capital. Customer services that were still operating there shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, though the plan to reinvent the space was put on hold. The move comes as Air France-KLM explores ways to pay back aid granted at the height of the crisis. The group, now 29% owned by the French government with the Dutch state holding 9.3%, has set out options to raise E4b that include a rights issue, quasi-equity instruments and the refinancing of E500m in assets.<br/>

Russia is considering spending around 107b roubles ($1.34b) from its National Wealth Fund (NWF) to recapitalise flagship airline Aeroflot, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed source. The planned move is part of a new package of measures that the government is preparing to support economic development following Western sanctions over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. The NWF, which accumulates the country’s oil revenues, will buy into a new share issue by Aeroflot via an open subscription and spend a further 57b roubles on equity stakes in other Russian airlines to help them pay debts, Interfax reported. According to Interfax, the government’s stake in Aeroflot must not fall beyond the current 57.34% as a result of the new share sale. Russia spent 80b roubles buying Aeroflot shares in 2020 to help it weather the coronavirus crisis. Aeroflot and the Russian finance ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<br/>