Brazilian airline Gol believes that quality issues across the aviation industry must be assessed and mitigation plans put in place so risks can be minimized, it told Reuters in a statement on Thursday. The carrier's remarks follow the mid-air Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 panel blowout last week, when a so-called door plug snapped off the fuselage of the Boeing aircraft, leaving a gaping hole on the plane next to empty seats. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged errors by the US planemaker. "Across the entire aviation industry, all quality problems must undoubtedly be assessed, with the creation of action plans to mitigate problems and risks," said Gol, which is Brazil's second-largest carrier in terms of passengers transported. Gol noted that Boeing itself and other manufacturers have their processes audited by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) "so that problems like these can be solved and avoided in the future." The airline operates nearly 40 MAX 8 aircraft and has orders in place for the MAX 10, but it does not operate the MAX 9. The Alaska Airlines accident has put Boeing back under scrutiny as it awaits certification of its smaller MAX 7 as well as the larger MAX 10, which is needed to compete with a key Airbus model.<br/>
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Wizz Air on Thursday lost its fight against E36.66m of rescue aid granted by Romania to airline TAROM four years ago, after Europe's top court backed EU regulators' decision to approve the aid. The EC approved billions of euros in state aid to European airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, much of which was subsequently challenged by rivals in court. Romania granted a loan to finance TAROM's liquidity needs repayable after six months. The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said the EU competition watchdog was right to clear the aid. "The Court dismisses Wizz Air's appeal concerning the rescue aid granted by Romania to TAROM. That aid, amounting to 36,660,000 euros, is compatible with European Union law," judges said. The Commission has a mixed record defending its decisions in court. Last month, a lower tribunal threw out its 2020 approval of E7b in French state aid to Air France.<br/>
Ryanair called on Germany to lower its aviation taxes and airport charges on Thursday, raising the prospect of a doubling of its traffic in the country in the next six years if Berlin meets its demands. "German aviation taxes/charges are amongst the highest in Europe," CE Michael O'Leary said, repeating the budget airline's appeal for lower costs in Europe's largest economy. Cypriot carrier Tus Airways has announced that Israeli firm Holiday Lines Group has signed an agreement to take a significant stake in the business. Completion of the deal will see Holiday Lines – which already owns Greek airline Bluebird Airways – joining Ken Woolley and Global Knafaim Leasing as equal shareholders in Tus Airways, according to an 11 January statement from the carrier. Woolley currently holds a controlling stake in the airline. The agreement is pending regulatory approval, Tus notes. “The announcement secures a bright future for Tus Airways, placing us in a unique position within a robust and formidable aviation family,” says Tus chief executive Ahmed Aly. “By welcoming Holiday Lines Group as new investors, we are gaining a strategic partner with innovative businesses that closely complement our commercial activities and with whom we share a vision for success.” Tus further suggests that once the agreement is approved, it and Bluebird Airways “will be able to collaborate and offer customers an expanded choice, outstanding service and an enhanced network with improved connectivity across the region”. Tus operates a small fleet of Airbus A320-family jets on services mainly within the Mediterranean region. Holiday Lines markets holiday packages across the Mediterranean and Europe, Tus says. <br/>
Latvian carrier Air Baltic is continuing to prepare for its long-discussed IPO amid fresh reports linking the Lithuanian and Estonian governments with stakes in the state-owned operator. Lithuania’s publicly owned news outlet LRT reported on 9 January that transport minister Marius Skuodis has held discussions with his Latvian counterpart about Lithuania taking a stake in the airline. Estonia’s publicly owned ERR then ran a story on 10 January suggesting the head of Tallinn airport, Riivo Tuvike, believed the Estonian state should also consider taking a stake in the Riga-based carrier. Tuvike is quoted by ERR as saying that an Estonian government stake in the airline would given it a degree of control over expanding capacity in the country on a national-interest basis, whereas a publicly owned Air Baltic could be more beholden to the economic rationale of each route. Lithuania’s Skuodis similarly cites the potential for more aircraft being based at Vilnius, should the government have a stake in the airline. Air Baltic said on 11 January that it could not provide any details on discussions between governments, saying it was continuing to work on its IPO. “The possible listing of shares on the stock exchange is an important step in the process to reach a new level in the development of Air Baltic,” the airline says.<br/>
The Gambia squad travelling to Ivory Coast for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations "could have died" during a flight that was aborted, coach Tom Saintfiet claimed. The Air Cote d'Ivoire flight turned around just minutes after leaving the Gambian capital Banjul on Wednesday. Saintfiet believes there was a lack of oxygen, saying conditions prompted many of the delegation to fall asleep. The coach praised quick thinking by the pilot for keeping his team safe. Officials from the airline confirmed there had been a pressurisation issue. Saintfiet told BBC Sport Africa: "The local crew said there was a problem with the air conditioning before we took off but that it would be all fine when we took off. After a few minutes, it was very hot in the plane. We all fell asleep because there was a lack of oxygen - some of the players couldn't be woken up. The pilot noticed and we had to return. People got headaches and if the flight had gone on for another 30 minutes, the whole team would have died. The strange thing is that the oxygen masks didn't come out - it's good that the pilot realised that this was a deadly situation and so turned back. But we are still in shock." Air Cote d'Ivoire is the official airliner of Afcon 2023, and a statement from the company said the air crew decided to turn back because of a pressurisation problem. It added that the issue could have been resolved by a mechanic on the ground, but that the flight was ultimately cancelled because of the impact earlier delays had on the crew's working hours.<br/>
Two Siberian airlines have asked the Russian government to extend the service life of Soviet-era Antonov aircraft, many of which are over 50 years old, as Russian planemakers scramble to plug the gap left by the exodus of foreign manufacturers. The small, propeller-driven An-24 and An-26 planes carry up to 50 passengers and are well-suited to the harsh conditions in Siberia and Russia's far north. But the cost of maintaining them will only increase after Western sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine have hit investment and access to parts, airline executives, pilots and industry experts say. The sanctions, which have banned supplies of new aircraft and parts for planes made by the likes of Boeing and Airbus, caught Russia's aviation industry by surprise. Antonovs make up a fraction of Russia's fleet of over 1,000 passenger planes, but the call to extend their service life from the typical 60 years highlights the problems domestic planemakers are having to keep pace with demand. "It's a very reliable aircraft, all the systems work properly, there are no issues at all," Polar Airlines pilot Konstantin Nazmutdinov told Reuters. "It is very well suited to the conditions of the far north, it can withstand temperatures up to minus 55 (degrees Celsius) (-67°F). There have even been cases when we flew in up to minus 60." The Antonovs were designed in the 1950s and produced in Kyiv from the 1960s, but none has been made for almost a decade. In Yakutia, Russia's largest region almost the size of India and the heart of Russia's diamond industry, the planes are crucial.<br/>
AirAsia Aviation expects to resume deliveries of new Airbus A321neos this year, as the newly-merged carrier continues to return stored aircraft to service. According to updated fleet plans, the airline will take delivery of seven examples this year, with another 19 to be delivered in 2025. AirAsia Aviation advisor Tony Fernandes says deliveries will resume in June, “provided there are no more delays”, referring to ongoing supply chain issues affecting the aerospace sector. Fernandes, who founded AirAsia more than 20 years ago, was speaking at a press conference on 8 January, where he announced the merger of AirAsia with medium-haul unit AirAsia X. The airline has an orderbook of more than 370 A321neos, coupled with commitments for 20 A330neos and 15 A321XLRs, both of which were formerly under AirAsia X’s orderbook. Fernandes also discloses that the airline is “looking at” whether to convert some of the A321neo commitments into longer-range A321LR orders. “That gives us a lot of flexibility if we do that. We can start going to a lot more places [with the A321LR],” he adds. In the long-term, the A321neos will fully replace the existing fleet of more than 200 A320s currently operated by the short-haul AirAsia units. <br/>
MYAirline Sdn Bhd has secured and signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) in late December 2023 with an investor from the Middle East, sources said. Without citing the name of the investor, sources hoped MYAirline could now work towards resuming operations by the middle of this year. "The first action item hopefully is the payment of salaries and refunding passengers,” a source told Bernama. As the new investor is now on board, the airline is believed to have applied to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for a conditional air service licence (ASL), thereafter uplifting the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) before obtaining a full ASL to operate. According to Civil Aviation Directives 6004 -- Issuance and Renewal Requirements for Air Operator Certificate (AOC), a fleet shall consist of a minimum of two airplanes or helicopters for scheduled operations; the specification may, nevertheless, be reduced to one aircraft or helicopter for non-schedule operations. Meanwhile, an application for an ASL will require a minimum of 90 days to process. "They have to clear the debt as soon as possible to start operating like before,” a source said.<br/>