Nepal's army said on Monday it had located the crash site of a plane that went missing with 22 people on board during cloudy weather on Sunday. "Search and rescue troops have physically located the plane crash site," army spokesperson Narayan Silwal said on Twitter, posting a picture of the wreckage with the plane's tail number clearly visible and parts of the aircraft shown scattered on the edge of a mountain. Four Indians, two Germans and 16 Nepalis were on board the plane, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter operated by privately owned Tara Air, according to the airline and government officials. The aircraft was on a 20-minute flight before losing contact with the control tower. It had taken off from the tourist town of Pokhara, 125 kilometres (80 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, and was bound for Jomsom, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Pokhara, a popular tourist and pilgrimage site. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the aircraft, with registration number 9N-AET, made its first flight in April 1979. Deo Chandra Lal Karna, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), said five helicopters were ready to help with the rescue process. Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and airstrips are typically located in mountainous areas that are hard to reach.<br/>
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Norse Atlantic Airways said Friday it had begun ticket sales for flights between London and New York as the budget carrier seeks to take market share on one of the world's busiest long-haul routes. Round-trip fares for journeys between London's Gatwick and the John F. Kennedy International Airport will start at 255 pounds ($322), including taxes, with the first flight scheduled for Aug. 12, the airline said. Norse Atlantic will offer a daily service, with other US destinations to be announced soon, it added. The airline, which has its maiden flight scheduled for Oslo-New York on June 14, hopes to succeed where Norwegian Air failed, offering transatlantic flights at budget rates after securing cheap leases during the pandemic. It operates a fleet of 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, although with four of the aircraft currently on sub-lease to Spain's Air Europa.<br/>
Airlines will need to continue to attract passengers and remain profitable if they are to invest in a sustainable future, according to EasyJet CE Johan Lundgren. Sweden-born Lundgren, speaking at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce UK’s Impact sustainability conference in London, said that so-called ’flight shaming’ was not the solution to aviation’s environmental challenges. It will take billions of dollars of investment to address environmental challenges, says Lundgren, who argues that revenue growth will be vital to allow investment in sustainability initiatives. However, he cautions that the shift to a more environmentally friendly future must be an industry-wide effort in order to make the transition viable; suppressing demand is not the solution, he stresses. Anko van der Werff, CE of SAS, says that sustainable aviation fuel will remain the industry’s short-term focus given that zero-emission aircraft with sufficient range and capacity for airline operations will not be available until the 2030s.<br/>
The Democratic Republic of Congo said it will suspend RwandAir flights and summoned Kigali's ambassador after authorities accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group. Kinshasa this week said Kigali was backing the March 23 Movement, which Rwanda denies, amid renewed clashes between the Congolese army and the militia in the east of the country. DR Congo authorities said late Friday it would take "conservative measures" against Rwanda, which included blocking flights from the national carrier, an official said. The decision was taken after an extraordinary meeting of the Superior Defence Council chaired by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. "It was decided to immediately suspend flights from the RwandAir aviation company to the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya. "It was also decided to summon the Rwandan ambassador to notify him of the total disapproval of the Congolese government", he added. RwandAir responded Saturday by cancelling "with immediate effect" all flights to Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Goma, the airline said. The Congolese government alleges that the Rwandan government is supporting M23 rebels in the country's east, citing military equipment apparently found, along with testimonies from locals and images captured by soldiers.<br/>
The aviation business of Capital A – formerly AirAsia Group – has seen revenues nearly quadruple year on year in the first quarter of its 2022 financial year. For the three months ended 31 March, Air Asia Aviation Group (AAAGL) generated MYR601m, up from MYR185m a year earlier, according to Capital A’s quarterly results. Aviation accounted for 75% of Capital A’s overall revenue. Capital A’s logistics business generated revenue of MYR147m in the quarter, while the digital business generated just MRY63m. Capital A saw an EBITDA loss of MYR309m in the quarter, widening from an EBITDA loss of MYR202m a year earlier. Capital A’s net loss widened to MYR911m from MYR794m a year earlier. Specific to the aviation business, aircraft fuel expenses surged five-fold year on year to MYR348m in Q1. “The AirAsia Aviation Group posted an encouraging [quarter on quarter] trend, says AAGL CE Bo Lingam. “In 1Q2022, the aviation group posted a healthy load factor of 76%. Significantly, the increase of capacity and additional frequency of domestic flights supported the strong resurgence in air travel demand. In 1Q2022, demand spiked during the festive season and boosted the overall group capacity to 4.9m available passenger seats with 3.7m passengers flown.” ASKs more than tripled and RPKs nearly quadrupled year on year. As of 31 March 2022, AAAGL operated 152 aircraft, up from 149 a year earlier.<br/>
Australia’s Regional Express has axed a number of regional routes – the second network reduction in a week – as it seeks to “improve” its financial performance. Rex on 30 May confirmed it would stop flying to four cities in New South Wales state – Bathurst, Grafton, Lismore, as well as Kangaroo Island – from 30 June. It will exit Ballina, another regional city in New South Wales, from 2 July. The move coincides with the end of the Australian government’s regional airline support scheme, which subsidises regional operations. Rex says two other routes in the same state are “pending further review”, and that “further adjustments” to the wider regional network are likely in the coming months. The carrier doubled down on criticism of arch-rival Qantas, accusing the national carrier of “bullying and heartless behaviour” that led it to exit the five routes, which it has served for over 20 years. The latest cuts come barely a week after it announced it was axing Sydney-Canberra from its domestic network. The route was first launched in April 2021, as part of the airline’s expansion into mainline domestic operations. <br/>