Israel El Al Airlines has cancelled 15 flights scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the carrier said on Saturday as hostilities with Iran surged and Israel closed its airspace as a precaution. Foreign destinations affected include Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Milan, Bucharest, Sofia, Athens, Dubai and Moscow, the El Al statement said.<br/>
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UAE airlines are among several cancelling and rerouting flights as tensions between Iran and Israel escalate. Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai have scrapped some flights and rerouted others after Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Iraq temporarily closed airspace in light of Iran's attack on Israel. Etihad, the national airline, cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Amman on Sunday. It has also rerouted a number of European and North American flights to avoid closed airspace in the region. “This is likely to cause some disruption and delays to a number of flights over the course of the day,” a representative for the airline told The National. “Etihad Airways flights only operate through approved airspace. Safety is always our highest priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so.” Dubai's Emirates also cancelled and rerouted flights due to temporary airspace closures. The airline is now resuming operations to Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq after these countries lifted airspace restrictions. “With the re-opening of these airspaces, we are resuming our scheduled operations to/from Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq from the afternoon of April 14," an airline representative told The National. "We are closely monitoring the situation in co-ordination with the relevant authorities. Safety is always our top priority. Customers can check their flight status on emirates.com for the latest information.”<br/>
An Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Tehran which took off on Saturday evening will land in Makhachkala in Russia's Dagestan region and a number of flights to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates will be postponed, the airline said. "Flight SU514 Moscow - Tehran ... will land at the Makhachkala airport," Aeroflot said on its Telegram messaging app. "In order to ensure flight safety, the plane will return to Moscow after refuelling." The return flight from Tehran to Moscow has been cancelled, it added. The Russian flagship carrier also said it was postponing until at least later on Sunday flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg to the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada in Egypt, from Moscow to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, and from Moscow to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE.<br/>
Long-haul budget carrier Norse Atlantic Airways has obtained additional liquidity through a $20m shareholder loan. The loan has been granted by Scorpio Holdings and BT Larsen & Co, the two largest shareholders in the airline company. Scorpio has 21.2% of Norse while BT Larsen – which is controlled by CE Bjorn Tore Larsen – has nearly 18.9%. Norse says the loan provides a “liquidity buffer”, ahead of the cash-generating spring and summer seasons, and adds that it illustrates “continuing strong support” to the airline from its main stakeholders. The carrier’s cash position at the end of March was $32.6m. It says the loan facility – which is on “market terms” and unsecured – is available to mid-October, and it will be able to access the funds immediately if required. Drawn sums will have a 15% annual interest rate. Norse is expecting a “promising summer”, pointing out that business is improving, with revenues increasing “substantially” over the year so far and “significantly” higher charter income either booked or under discussion.<br/>
The Montenegrin government has revoked Pegasus Airlines’ permission to run flights between Istanbul Sabiha Gocken Airport and Podgorica and has prevented the budget carrier from introducing services from Turkey’s largest city to Tivat. The decision comes as a response to the effects Pegasus Airlines’ presence on the route has had on Air Montenegro’s performance. Pegasus Airlines, which commenced operations between Istanbul and Podgorica last July, will be forced to discontinue operations on the route as of next week. The last flight is scheduled for Monday, April 15. Both Air Montenegro and Turkish Airlines maintain services between Istanbul’s main airport and Podgorica. Pegasus also runs flights from Ankara and Izmir to Montenegro’s capital, which will remain unaffected. It maintained daily flights between Istanbul and Podgorica with a mix of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. Pegasus Airlines was able to commence operations to Montenegro last summer after the Montenegrin government relaxed the stringent bilateral air service agreement between the two countries, which had previously only enabled the flag carrier of each nation to operate flights.<br/>
Russian carrier Ural Airlines appears to have abandoned ambitions to rescue the Airbus A320 which landed in a field after running low on fuel during a diversion. The carrier has told the Izvestia newspaper that it considered several options for retrieving the twinjet after it touched down on rough ground some 186km short of Novosibirsk. It had been diverting from Omsk on 12 September last year, after a hydraulic failure on approach, but the attempt to reach Novosibirsk was thwarted because the failure prevented retraction of the landing-gear – leading to increased fuel-burn. All the occupants survived the emergency landing in the field and Ural Airlines had been optimistic that the aircraft could be recovered and returned to service. The carrier told Izvestia that it has considered several options to retrieve and transport the A320. These included preparing a frozen surface from which the jet could take off, but the soil density has proven insufficient and an artificial platform would have to be constructed. Building a runway suitable for the aircraft would be impractical and expensive, the airline added, given the distance from Novosibirsk across which materials would have to be conveyed. The airline also highlighted the expenditure of renting the field in which the A320 is situated, plus maintenance costs and security measures to protect the jet.<br/>
Lessor Azorra has delivered an Embraer 190-E2 regional jet to Singapore low-cost carrier Scoot, the first time an airline based in the city-state has introduced an aircraft from the Brazilian airframer. The delivery took place at Embraer’s production facility in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. “We are honoured to be the first Singapore carrier to take delivery of this modern and fuel-efficient aircraft and the E190-E2 jets are crucial to our overall network growth strategy,” says Scoot CE Leslie Thng. “The delivery of the first E190-E2 reflects our confidence in the demand for air travel and our commitment to connect our customers to more destinations at the same great value. We thank Azorra and Embraer for supporting us in this next chapter as we become the first major operator of the E2 in Southeast Asia.” Scoot will commence E190-E2 operations in May with services to the Thai resort destination of Krabi. In February 2023 Scoot announced that it would take nine E190-E2s from Azorra.<br/>