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Portugal's government fired the CE of flag carrier TAP last month without a legal assessment of the move, Finance Minister Fernando Medina has acknowledged, deepening a high-profile scandal around the state-owned airline. His remarks in parliament late on Thursday contradicted claims by two fellow ministers a day earlier that the government had obtained a legal opinion backing the decision. This heightens chances of the state losing a potential lawsuit by the sacked executives worth millions of euros. The growing controversy around TAP, which has already led to resignations in the government, could hinder Lisbon's preparations to privatise the airline, with bigger foreign rivals Lufthansa, and British Airways owner IAG laying the groundwork for potential bids. CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener and chairman Manuel Beja, were dismissed with just cause on March 6 after an inspection found that a E500,000 severance payment to former board member Alexandra Reis was illegal. After Ourmières-Widener called her sacking "illegal", the main opposition Social Democrats warned that unless the decision had proper legal backing, the state could lose an eventual court dispute. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ana Catarina Mendes and Cabinet Minister Mariana Veira da Silva said on Wednesday the government had obtained a legal opinion backing the decision, but refused to send it to parliament to "safeguard the public interest". But late on Thursday Medina said that the reasons behind the dismissals were "very clear" due to the illegal nature of the severance payment, as established by the official finance inspection, and had no legal opinion attached.<br/>

Norwegian investigators are reiterating the importance of fastening seat-belts, even if not instructed, after an SAS Boeing 737-800 encountered unexpected severe turbulence which injured cabin crew – one seriously – and a passenger. The aircraft was descending towards Oslo Gardermoen at 21,000ft in clear air, following a service from Stavanger on 22 May last year. Although light to moderate turbulence featured on meteorological charts between 21,000-37,000ft, there was no indication of severe turbulence. No SIGMET advisory regarding significant weather had been published, and no reports were received from other pilots. At the time the cabin crew was still carrying out a trolley service and the ‘fasten seat-belt’ signs were not illuminated. Norwegian investigation authority SHK says the turbulence occurred “suddenly and unexpectedly” with a strength that the pilots “could not have predicted”. Cabin crew and seated passenger – whose seat-belt was not fastened – were thrown into the ceiling of the aircraft. Three cabin crew suffered fractures – one of them with serious “extensive” injuries – while the passenger’s head struck a rack when he was lifted into the air. Meteorological analysis found that the upset could have arisen from clear-air turbulence combined with turbulence associated with cumulonimbus clouds peaking up to 24,000ft. “It cannot be ruled out that the combination of these two phenomena can produce stronger turbulence overall,” says SHK. “Pilots have limited opportunities to detect turbulence in clear air in higher air layers before they fly into the turbulence itself.” <br/>

The South African government expects to finally conclude the long-winded semi-privatisation deal of South African Airways in the next four months, according to newly-appointed interim chairman Derek Hanekom. A former Minister of Tourism, Hanekom told South Africa's News24 it was premature for him to comment on the pending 51% sale of SAA to the Takatso Consortium, the government's preferred strategic equity partner, but said Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan had indicated the transaction would be concluded within four months. "I can't comment on the Takatso deal. Minister Gordhan indicated that he expects it to be concluded in the not-too-distant future. He is confident that it means within the next four months," Hanekom said following the appointment on April 15 of a new interim board that will serve until the introduction of the Takatso Consortium. Announcing the board on April 17, Gordhan said its primary focus was to provide strategic leadership to the transitional management team and oversee the integration of the Takatso Consortium. The deal - first announced almost three years ago - is still under regulatory review. According to Treasury disclosures to a parliamentary oversight committee on February 17, two outstanding issues are holding up the deal: outstanding liabilities to concurrent creditors and unflown ticket liabilities.<br/>

Japan's largest airline ANA Holdings on Friday raised its profit estimate for the just-ended fiscal year, citing a decline in fuel costs and an uptick in the yen. The company now expects operating profit of 120b yen ($897m) in the year through March 2023, up from an earlier guidance of 95b yen, it said in a statement. Official full-year results are scheduled for release on April 27. International passenger revenues were strong in Q4 due to a recovery in demand for business and inbound travel following Japan's easing of pandemic border controls, ANA said. International cargo revenue remains stagnant, it said. ANA said in a mid-term plan in February it expects operating profit to grow to 200b yen in fiscal 2025. The airline's fleet will rise to around pre-pandemic levels of 295 in fiscal 2025 and exceed that level in fiscal 2030. <br/>

Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines saw continued traffic growth in March, on the back of robust travel demand across their respective networks. Cathay carried more than 1.3m passengers during the month, a jump of nearly 20% compared to February. The airline’s commercial and customer chief Lavinia Lau says traffic from North Asia - including Japan, South Korea and Mainland China - were the main drivers for demand. Cathay, together with low-cost unit HK Express, operated at 50% pre-pandemic by end-March, with a network of more than 70 cities. Lau notes that demand remained strong through April, particularly through the Easter holidays, where the airline carried more than 50,000 passengers per day - a new high since the pandemic began three years ago. “We are actively working to add more flights to our schedule to satisfy customer demand, in particular between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. Between now and the end of October, the number of return flights will be progressively increased to about 160 per week, covering 16 airports in 15 cities,” adds Lau. On the cargo front, Cathay saw an improvement in tonnage carried in March, following a post-Lunar New Year lull, but warns that demand will soften again in April. “We will adjust our freighter capacity in an agile manner to reflect the demand picture, which remains variable but overall softer than prior periods. We are nevertheless continuing to expand market coverage for our customers, as the cargo belly space and network offered by our widebody passenger fleet continues to grow,” states Lau. Like Cathay, SIA reported “strong passenger traffic and load factors” across its network. In March, the carrier and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot carried 2.7m passengers, more than three times higher year on year, and a 14% jump against February. The SIA Group grew capacity by nearly 11% month-on-month, and are operating at 79% pre-pandemic levels.<br/>

Air India is mulling a joint venture with Lufthansa Technik and Air France-KLM's engineering arm to bid for state-owned Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), according to a report by India's Economic Times. Operating the biggest Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)-approved MRO facilities in India, AIESL has a presence at major airports around the country, including Delhi International, Mumbai International, Kolkata, Nagpur, Hyderabad International, and Thiruvananthapuram. Formerly a subsidiary of Air India, the Indian government did not include AIESL in the sale of Air India to Tata Sons in early 2022, a decision which reportedly took the airline's new owners by surprise. Last month, ch-aviation reported that the government was looking to sell off the Air India subsidiaries they retained after the airline's privatisation. The Indian government, which is yet to formally approve the divestment, is hoping to secure between INR18b (US$219m) and INR19b (US$231m) for AIESL. The mooted sale will involve issuing an expression of interest to invite bids. Since the sale of AIESL was first announced, Air India has been flagged as a potential buyer. "One of the negative surprises with privatisation is that Air India's engineering capabilities disappeared," CEO Campbell Wilson has said. "AIESL will provide services till the end of next year (2024). But what happens after that is a matter of deep consideration, given our expansion."<br/>