An off-duty pilot travelling as a passenger stepped in to provide assistance after the airline captain suffered a mid-air medical emergency. The Southwest Airlines flight 6013 from Las Vegas to Columbus in Ohio on Wednesday returned to the departing city two hours after takeoff when one of the pilots became incapacitated and required “medical attention”. A pilot from a different airline who was on the flight reportedly provided assistance with radio communication while the other Southwest pilot took control of the aircraft. The aircraft flew over Utah north of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument before eventually returning to Las Vegas. “The flight landed safely, and an alternate flight crew is operating the flight to CMH (Columbus),” Southwest said. “We commend the crew for their professionalism and appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding regarding the situation.”<br/>
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Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary said he was optimistic about striking a major new aircraft order after the low-cost airline restarted talks with Boeing in the latest sign of the revival in aviation. O’Leary said there was a “deal to be done” with negotiations between the Irish airline and Boeing in “the early stages” for a new order of Boeing 737 jets, 18 months after discussions collapsed over a disagreement on prices. “We are back talking to them, which I think is an indication there is some movement on pricing . . . I think there is a deal to be done,” he said. He said the new multibillion-dollar order could be for the 737 Max 10, the largest aeroplane in the family of single-aisle aircraft, or for the smaller Max 8200. The potential boost for Boeing came as its CE Dave Calhoun told the FT he was optimistic the worst of the jet manufacturers’ delivery problems was “in the rear-view mirror”. The company, which declined to comment on the Ryanair talks, has experienced delays and setbacks in the delivery of its aircraft in the past two years because of production problems. Ryanair is one of Boeing’s biggest and most important airline customers, and O’Leary has regularly criticised the manufacturer over prices and its record in delivering aircraft. O’Leary has accepted that the new planes will be more expensive than the “ridiculously low price” he paid for his most recent order, signed in the depths of the coronavirus pandemic when the industry was virtually grounded. Ryanair ordered 75 Max 8200 in December 2020, which analysts said would have come at a “screaming” discount, taking its total orders for the single-aisle plane to 210. O’Leary has since regularly chided Boeing for delays in the deliveries of these aircraft, but said the company has recently made “real strides” in clearing its backlog. “The supply chain is sorting itself out,” he said.<br/>
El Al said on Thursday it would resume flights to India in October after a three-year absence, citing shorter flight times due to the ability to fly over Saudi Arabia and Oman. Israel's flag carrier will operate four weekly flights to Mumbai from Tel Aviv using Boeing 737 aircraft, with the route expected to take 5.5 hours, down from 7.45 hours previously. It will also fly twice weekly to New Delhi using larger Boeing 777 or 787 planes. The flight time on that route will fall to 6.5 hours from 9, El Al said. "The launch of the new routes is now possible following the recently received approval to fly over the skies of Saudi Arabia and Oman," El Al said. India is popular with Israeli tourists and businessmen. Last month Muscat joined Riyadh in allowing Israeli civilian overflights and El Al has been using the new route on flights to Asia. El Al has said the new Saudi corridor will allow it to expand routes in Asia and to Australia.<br/>
NEOM Airlines, an airline dedicated to serve the mega NEOM project in the north west of Saudi Arabia, is expected to begin operations at the end of Q4 2024, its CEO says. The airline will be focused on enabling travel for tourists, residents, and commercial partners to and from NEOM, says Klaus Goersch in an article on NEOM's website. The airline will be an extension of NEOM: the place, the company, the vision. "We are there to enable the destination. Our goal is a holistic and interconnected approach, with NEOM Airlines enabling the gross domestic product of NEOM," says Goersch, a former COO of British Airways and Air Canada. "The airline will be an ambassador, a showcase for NEOM. Therefore, it has to be a very good product and it has to reflect the values of the overall project. It’s not just an airline, it’s a brand extension and a linear part of the travel experience because you remember the way you got there as well as the place itself, says . Our ultimate ambition is that you will not think about being on a plane or in an airport, you will simply enjoy the experience. Wouldn’t that be something? NEOM's resorts will be going live in early 2024, so we need to service that demand quickly, initially retrofitting existing aircraft with existing technology. But come 2026 onwards, there will be new innovative aircraft – whether it be electric, hydrogen-powered or supersonic – and next-generation interiors coming online from us. We are already in discussions with plane, interior and seat manufacturers." <br/>
Dozens of passengers on a Cebu Pacific Air plane forced to make an emergency landing at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) in eastern Malaysia state Sabah have chosen to make their own way back to Singapore, their original destination, instead of waiting for a replacement flight. The travellers from Cebu, a mix of Filipinos and Singaporeans, had been put up in a hotel in Kota Kinabalu by the Philippine airline. But despite on-site assistance from airline staff, passengers who spoke to The Straits Times said they decided not to wait another night to complete what was meant to be a routine four-hour journey to Singapore. They would have been expected to go through another layover in Kuala Lumpur with Cebu Pacific Air, as the airline does not offer direct flights from Sabah to Singapore. Their original plane, which left the Philippines at around 7.55pm on Wednesday, was scheduled to land in Singapore just before midnight but encountered problems with its left engine during the flight, a KKIA official said. The pilot made an emergency landing in Kota Kinabalu at about 10.20pm. There were 92 crew members and passengers on the plane, which was in the air for just under two hours – around half the usual flight time from Cebu to Singapore – according to data from flight trackers.<br/>
AirAsia Philippines and Philippine Airlines (PAL) said they are both working with the Manila International Airport Authority for the planned reassignment of all domestic flights to Terminal 2. “We are working with the airport authorities as we gear up for the eventual use of Terminal 2 as an all-domestic terminal,” PAL Spokesperson Maria Cielo C. Villaluna said. The MIAA is presently engaged in consultation with stakeholders on the terminal changes. “We will disclose details of the final plans when these are ready. We support initiatives that aim to enhance the total passenger experience,” she added. AirAsia said that it will also work with the MIAA on the planned transfer to Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport effective July 1. “As an airline that is guest-obsessed, we are one with MIAA with the intention of optimizing the utilization of our airport terminals,” AirAsia Head of Communications and Public Affairs Steve F. Dailisan said.<br/>