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A team of bee removal experts were summoned to Louisiana's largest airport to remove more than 15,000 swarming insects that had taken up residence on a piece of equipment. Craig Forsythe of Bee Guyz said he and his team responded Sunday to Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans after being contacted by Delta Airlines workers. Forsythe said about 15,000 honeybees were found swarming on a piece of equipment used for loading and unloading luggage from planes. Forsythe told WDSU-TV the bees were safely removed and relocated to a "special place."<br/>

Environmental groups on Tuesday launched legal action against KLM, saying the Dutch aviation giant is misleading the public over the sustainability of flying. It is thought to be the first time that the airline industry has been challenged over so-called “greenwashing.” Netherlands-based campaigners Fossielvrij NL, supported by Reclame Fossielvrij and environmental lawyers from ClientEarth, argue that KLM’s advertising campaigns and “compensation” schemes violate European consumer law by giving a false impression about the sustainability of its flights and its plans to tackle climate breakdown. KLM was notified of the lawsuit on the same day as the firm’s annual general meeting. “KLM’s marketing misleads consumers into believing that its flights won’t worsen the climate emergency. But this is a myth,” said Hiske Arts, campaigner at Fossielvrij NL. “We’re going to court to demand KLM tells the truth about its fossil-fuel dependent product. Unchecked flying is one of the fastest ways to heat up the planet,” Arts said. “Customers need to be informed and protected from claims that suggest it is not.” Climate litigation has notched a number of notable wins in recent months, with a dramatic increase in cases seen targeting a wider variety of private sector and financial actors. The greenwashing case against KLM is thought to be the first corporate lawsuit about airlines and net zero — and one of the first cases about carbon offsets.<br/>

Air France-KLM Tuesday launched a E2.26b share sale to shore up its balance sheet and repay some French state aid as it seeks shareholder backing to look beyond the pandemic and invest in resurgent air travel. The second rights issue in just over a year brings Europe's second-largest airline by revenue closer to repaying government pandemic support and meeting European Union conditions for participating in any future airline consolidation. European airlines are experiencing a surge in ticket sales clouded by fears of a recession triggered by inflation and the war in Ukraine. CE Ben Smith said the widely anticipated move was part of efforts to "strengthen our financial autonomy" and regain strategic and operational flexibility. "As the recovery continues and our economic performance recovers...we want to be in a position to seize any opportunity in a changing aviation sector and to be able to accelerate our environmental commitments," he said. Air France-KLM shares were down 6.9% by late morning. The group confirmed a goal of reducing the ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to around 2.0-2.5 by 2023. "With good outlook for its EBITDA in the coming quarters plus further improvement of its operations mid term, in our view the rights issue will be received well," ING said in a note. But it cautioned there were open questions on issues including the strength of airline competition. Analysts say some low-cost carriers have emerged strengthened from the crisis by using it to drive down costs. Air France-KLM said E1.7b of the share proceeds would be used to repay French aid granted in the form of subordinated bonds in April last year.<br/>

Vietnam Airlines has cut its losses for the three months to 31 March, helped by an easing of pandemic curbs both globally, as well as within the country. For Q1 of the year, the airline group reported a consolidated loss after tax of D2.7t ($116m), compared to the D4.1t loss incurred in 2021. In a brief stock filing on its results, the airline says its quarterly revenue rose nearly 66% year on year, led by domestic travel revenue, which nearly doubled. Vietnam Airlines also saw an uptick in revenue from aircraft sale-and-leasebacks. Costs for the quarter rose nearly 24%, mainly due to a rise in fuel prices. The airline also attributes the better financial performance to the stabilised pandemic situation in the country, which recently reopened borders to vaccinated travellers. That, coupled with cost reduction measures, have helped the airline narrow its first-quarter loss, it states. The airline is optimistic about its future prospects, adding that it is “preparing for conditions of future recovery and development”. <br/>