Colombia's transport minister filed a criminal complaint against low-cost air carrier Viva Air on Wednesday, alleging flight cancellations caused damages of at least $57.3m, according to a document. Viva Air, which said it had no immediate comment, abruptly suspended operations in late February, leaving passengers stranded in airports across the country. The carrier, which is undergoing restructuring amid deep financial difficulties caused by coronavirus, rising fuel prices and the depreciation of Colombia's peso, is awaiting a ruling by Colombia's civil aviation authority on a proposed merger with Avianca. The airline committed aggravated mass fraud, engaged in false offerings of products and services, and caused a disturbance of public transport, Transport Minister Guillermo Reyes said in the filing made with the attorney general's office. Payments for tickets and from travel agencies for canceled flights amount to more than 271b pesos, the filing saidd, equivalent to more than $57.3m. The airline has so far not sent refunds to the thousands of people affected and continued to makes sales until just hours before it suspended operations, the ministry said in a separate statement. The superintendency of transportation is already investigating the airline over the cancellations. Viva Air said at the time it would work to ensure it could restart operations in the future, assuming the regulator approves the Avianca merger.<br/>
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Flair Airlines has filed a $50m lawsuit against several plane-leasing companies over the "unlawful" seizure of four of its aircraft last weekend, the latest update to the ongoing drama in Canadian aviation after the budget carrier fell behind in its payments. The filings in Ontario Superior Court state that Airborne Capital Inc. and a trio of affiliated leasing corporations "secretly" found a better deal for the Boeing 737 Maxes with a third party and then "set Flair up" for default, amounting to an illegal termination of leases. "The seizures were orchestrated in a bad faith and malicious manner that inflicted the maximum possible harm on Flair, including by interfering with its passenger relationships and trust," the statement of claim reads. The lessors sent agents to seize the aircraft in the middle of the night as passengers were boarding planes for spring break vacations." Flair said it received no notice, precluding the discount carrier from alerting or rebooking customers. The agents arrived at airports in Toronto, Edmonton and Waterloo, Ont., at 3 a.m. EDT on Saturday to confiscate the registration certificates and technical logs on board — the aviation equivalent of taking the car keys — the company said. None of the allegations in Flair's lawsuit have been tested in court. The suit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice is the latest blow in a back-and-forth fight between the discount carrier and lessor Airborne Capital, which stated this week that Flair "regularly" missed payments over the past five months, prompting the plane seizures.<br/>
Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier will “move with real pace” to expand into a major airline as the oil-rich kingdom seeks to improve connectivity to the rest of the world, CEO Tony Douglas said a day after the country placed a $37b order for widebody aircraft with Boeing. Owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Riyadh Air will buy more planes after announcing the purchase of 39 Boeing 787-9 jets, with options for 33 more, Douglas said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The deal announced on Tuesday was the result of a “rigorous campaign” involving Boeing and rival Airbus SE, Douglas said, adding that the company would declare the winner of the next deal soon, without providing details. “Historically we’ve been nowhere near as well served as the hubs of the other airlines,” Douglas, who previously led Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, said in an interview from Riyadh. “There will be more orders to follow and it will enable us to put connectivity into places that fulfill the ambition of the nation, but for the avoidance of doubt, this will be commercially sustainable.” The launch of Riyadh Air, which was formally announced on Sunday, is part of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to help kick-start its tourism industry and make it a more popular destination for leisure and business. Largely closed off to foreign visitors until 2019, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is investing in resorts and airports as part of a plan to wean the economy off a reliance on oil sales. Riyadh Air will take delivery of its first 787s in early 2025, Douglas said. The fledgling carrier doesn’t plan on leasing aircraft before then as “we don’t want to start with a product that is not consistent” with the experience the carrier hopes to offer its customers, the CEO said. <br/>