Sunwing Airlines says the network-wide system outage that has grounded travellers and delayed flights to and from sun destinations is still not resolved. The Toronto-based carrier continues to advise customers travelling over the next few days to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Sunwing has apologized for the ongoing delays, which it says are the result of a data security breach affecting its third-party provider of passenger handling systems. Sunwing employees have been forced to manually check in passengers while the technology platform is not working. Sunwing has subcontracted aircraft from other Canadian airlines, including WestJet, Air Transat, and Nolinor Aviation, to help relieve the backlog at some airports. Sunwing customers continue to report flight delays and long wait times at airports in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.<br/>
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The CEO of Flair Airlines argued on Thursday the Edmonton-based company meets federal regulations amid a review by the Canadian Transportation Agency. On March 3, the CTA raised concerns about the possibility that Flair Airlines' Canadian shareholders did not have full control of the company and that shareholder 777 Partners, based in Miami, Fla., exerted too much power. In order to be a licensed domestic airline, Flair Airlines must be incorporated in Canada and at least 51 per cent of voting shares must be owned and controlled by Canadians, according to the CTA. Flair Airlines is incorporated in B.C. and 58% of voting shares are owned by Canadians, CEO Stephen Jones said on Thursday. However, Jones said the CTA told Flair Airlines its unanimous shareholders agreement did not show Canadian control "explicitly enough." Jones said Flair Airlines accepted that the document, created in 2018, needed revisions to clarify that, and in consultation with CTA, the company made amendments and "the CTA has confirmed to Flair that these amendments address all of the corporate governance concerns that it has raised."<br/>
Icelandic low-cost carrier Play operated its first US flight on 20 April, with a service to Baltimore/Washington International airport. The carrier began operations in June 2021 with flights between its Keflavík International airport base and London Stansted, before adding several European destinations to its network. Following its US debut, Play plans to add Boston Logan flights from May and New York Stewart International services in June. “The transatlantic flights will be the main focus in play’s operations and it was a huge project to establish a connection in a new continent,” says Play CE Birgir Jonsson. The Play chief’s vision is to turn the carrier into “a profitable airline operating a hub-and-spoke transatlantic network”, he said in March. Jonsson has been keen to stress that Play will not repeat the missteps that ultimately led to the demise of predecessor Wow Air. Play currently operates three Airbus A321neo jets and two A320neos, with an outstanding order for one of the latter variant.<br/>