El Al Israel Airlines said Monday it will start direct flights from Tel Aviv to Tokyo from next March, two years after the launch was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline has been looking to expand eastbound flights since its Q2 results showed a rebound from the slump in travel during the pandemic. The plan has been buoyed by Saudi Arabia's announcement, during a visit by US President Joe Biden in July, that it would allow overhead flights by all foreign carriers. That would spell shorter flight times for Israeli planes headed to Asia. When that corridor - which would include neighbouring Oman - will be formally opened remains unclear. Israel does not have bilateral ties with either Arab country, and previous Saudi overflight permission for its jets has required US mediation. "I really don't have an answer on this," Israeli Transport Minister Merav Michaeli told Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM on Friday when asked about the timing for implementation of Riyadh's decision. "The diplomatic issue is, unfortunately, still out of my hands." To meet demand on long-haul routes, El Al said it planned to add a 16th Boeing 787 in 2023. The new twice-weekly flights to Japan's capital will be aboard these aircraft.<br/>
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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed that it has restored the Air Transport License of Azman Air and that its commercial operations have resumed after the airline submitted the necessary documents and a payment plan for outstanding fees. A spokesman for the NCAA confirmed to ch-aviation by telephone that all outstanding issues had been resolved and that the airline was operating again from Friday, September 16, 2022. Azman Air also confirmed on social media that its flight had been restored and would operate as scheduled from September 16. Earlier last week, the NCAA suspended the carrier’s ATL – but not its air operator’s certificate – until it provided the required documentation for the renewal of its license and had signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) on how it would pay off it’s NGN1.2b naira (US$2.7m) debt to the regulator from outstanding passenger service charges on tickets. NCAA Director General Nusa Nuhu told the Vanguard newspaper that “Azman Air must provide tax clearance as one of the documentation for its ATL and must sign the MoU to negotiate its debt remittance." <br/>
Indian start-up Akasa Air is to ‘aggressively scale-up” its operations in the coming weeks, as it reaches over 250 weekly flights by 10 October, about two months since it began operations. In a statement issued 16 September, the airline also announced it was to start operations to Delhi, its sixth point in its domestic network. It will launch daily flights linking the Indian capital with Bengaluru, while Ahmedabad will see twice-daily flights. Akasa adds that it will be taking delivery of its fifth Boeing 737 Max 8 imminently, and will continue to add new 737s every 15 days. This will take its fleet size to 18 jets by end-March 2023. “Akasa Air has been aggressively scaling up its operations and will have crossed 250 flights per week by October 10… along a total of nine routes,” the carrier states. Akasa began operations on 7 August, with an initial network of four points. The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max 8 in Seattle in June. It is the first of 72 737 Max jets that Akasa ordered at the 2021 Dubai air show. That order comprises a mix of Max 8s with 189 seats and high-capacity Max 8-200s with 197 seats.<br/>