unaligned

Passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight from Jamaica to Florida were told to prepare for a water emergency Saturday after a possible mechanical issue. Flight NK270 took off from Montego Bay on Saturday afternoon, headed to Fort Lauderdale, before returning to its origin shortly after takeoff "following a suspected mechanical issue," the airlines said. Passengers were told to put on life vests and prepare for a water landing out of an abundance of caution, the airline said. The Airbus A321 landed safely at Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport (MBJ) and guests deplaned normally, the airline said, adding that "the mechanical issue did not affect flight safety." Passengers were put on a new flight to Fort Lauderdale, where they arrived just under 45 minutes behind schedule, according to FlightAware data. "The pilot told us to prepare for a water landing and the highest emergency activated at MBJ," one passenger told the Jamaican daily newspaper The Gleaner, adding, "We were told the aircraft lost pressure." The passenger added: "It was nerve racking." The airline said the aircraft would be thoroughly evaluated by its maintenance team.<br/>

Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes plans to raise $1.5b in fresh equity to repay its existing debtor-in-possession financing and shore up its balance sheet, according to its new five-year financial plan. The company, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, also plans to refinance $2b in secured debt, Gol said in a filing released on Monday. The plan is still subject to approval by Gol’s creditors and the US Bankruptcy Court. Existing unsecured debt faces “a substantial reduction from par value,” the filing stated, while common and preferred shares are also likely to have “minimal value” at the end of the process. Gol shares fell as much as 6.4% to BRL1.32 on Monday morning in Sao Paulo. The company also intends to conduct a competitive process to evaluate exit financing proposals, and that any alternative sources of debt and equity capital would need to be approved by the US Court. That process is expected to begin in early June and could last into Q4 of 2024, the filing stated. Gol forecast that its Ebitda margins will shrink in 2024, and then recover as the company rebuilds its fleet capacity. The Brazilian airline is projecting net leverage ratios of approximately 3.6x, 2.9x and 1.7x in 2025, 2026 and 2029, respectively. <br/>

Lynx Air hopes to sell off everything from life jackets to oxygen masks as it tries to recoup a portion of the losses it suffered before filing for creditor protection earlier this year. In court filings last week, the defunct discount carrier said it has worked out deals with a pair of aviation companies abroad to sell plane parts and equipment ranging from seats to tires and transponders. Any hope of gains on the airline's nine aircraft themselves was dashed after the half-dozen leasing companies behind them cancelled their deals and took back the planes, according to an affidavit from interim CFO Michael Woodward. The filings ask Alberta's Court of King's Bench to approve agreements that would see New Hampshire's Aero 3 repair company buy more than 50 wheels and brakes and the Cayman Islands-based BOC Aviation leasing company snap up 79 other items, from food carts to a single garbage can. Lynx, which owed $186m when it sought creditor protection in late February, says a third company "unexpectedly terminated negotiations" around four turbofan jet engines. The shutdown of the Calgary-based carrier three months ago came as budget airlines that have cropped up in recent years face ongoing financial pressures — if they've survived at all — amid industry consolidation and fallout from the travel sector implosion during the COVID-19 pandemic.<br/>

A freelance BBC weather presenter says she was kicked off a flight from London Gatwick to Turkey after asking passengers not to eat peanuts.<br/>Georgie Palmer, 49, says she and her family were escorted off the SunExpress flight to Dalaman on 21 May, after making the request due to her daughter's allergy. Posting on social media, she said the SunExpress crew ignored her requests to do an announcement to all passengers - so she instead spoke to people around her on the flight. SunExpress said it takes the safety of passengers seriously, but said the airline refrains from making announcements like the one Palmer requested as it "cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment". Palmer had boarded the flight with her husband Nick Sollom, 48, and daughters Rosie, 12, and Annie, 14. She told the BBC the family asked for the crew to make an announcement for no one to consume peanuts because of Rosie's anaphylactic reaction them. She posted on Instagram saying: "The SunExpress captain and cabin crew refused to make the standard announcement on behalf of our daughter. "We gently asked the passengers at the front of the plane to share our request. Row by row, all the passengers turned back to kindly ask the row behind to please not eat nuts on the flight." Palmer said she was "calm" and that "nobody working on that plane showed one ounce of compassion".<br/>

FlyArna has reportedly informed its employees by email that it has started liquidation proceedings, local investigative news site Hetq reported citing anonymous informants. The government has also approved the dissolution of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF), a 49% shareholder in the carrier. The sources said that the airline had terminated all remaining employment contracts, although it also reportedly failed to pay salaries for April and May 2024, which legally it still has to do. ANIF's acting director, Tigran Ghazaryan, had already said that the sovereign fund was looking to appoint a director to FlyArna as it was impossible to approve any payments without an executive in place; once the manager is hired, payments are expected to be processed. However, ANIF itself is set to cease to exist. On May 23, the government approved a proposal from the Ministry of Economy to liquidate the fund, which was set up in 2019, and integrate its activities into the existing State Property Management Committee under the Ministry of Regional Administration and Transport. Liquidation is already in progress.<br/>

Amidst the ongoing merger and acquisition where AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) is acquiring Capital A Bhd’s aviation business, AAX has committed to fully activating its fleet by the second half of this year. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the airline, which saw its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status uplifted last November, reported that as of the end of March, its fleet size stood at 18 aircraft, with 16 already activated. It said the focus remains on the full activation of its fleet by the second half of the year. "The group expects to activate one aircraft in July 2024 and the final one in November 2024," the filing noted. AAX said the activation of its full fleet is imperative for the implementation of the group's network strategy, including the continued relaunch of key profitable routes in China. “With the recent announcement of the visa-exemption policy to China until 2025, the group aims to capitalise on the potential the market has demonstrated historically,” it said. Additionally, the group is also assessing new destinations to be incorporated into its network and apart from, most recently, Central Asia, the group looks forward to bridging the connectivity for more regions soon.<br/>