Air France has suspended flight paths over Red Sea area as a precautionary measure "until further notice" after cabin crew reported seeing a "luminous object" while flying over Sudan. In a statement released on Sunday, Air France confirmed "as a precautionary measure, it has decided to suspend overflight of the Red Sea area until further notice." "This decision follows the observation by a crew of a luminous object at high altitude in the Sudan area," it added. The French national carrier said that the itinerary of some of its flights had been changed and that some aircraft had turned around and returned to land at their departure airport. Flights between Paris and the Indian Ocean territories of Reunion Island and Mauritius reportedly operated as normal, having their itinerary changed and extending their flight time, the French airline said. However, two flights that had taken off to Kenya and Madagascar returned to Paris. The airline has said they will depart again "as soon as possible".<br/>
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Indonesia is considering switching the CEO at the Garuda Indonesia airline, part of the new government’s push to advance the carrier’s profitability and support its expansion, according to people familiar with the matter. Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan, the acting CE of the low-cost carrier Lion Air, has emerged as the leading candidate for the position, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. The other potential candidate is Garuda CFO Prasetio, according to one person familiar with the matter. A new CEO could be appointed as early as the middle of the month, the people said. The job is currently held by Irfan Setiaputra, a former telecom executive who was appointed to the post in 2020 after his predecessor was fired for allegedly smuggling a classic Harley-Davidson motorcycle on a flight to Jakarta. Representative of Lion Air, which is formally known as PT Lion Mentari Airlines, declined to comment. An official at Garuda said the appointment of board members is the “prerogative of the state-owned enterprises ministry” and that the airline had no additional comment.<br/>
China Eastern Airlines has taken delivery of its first pair of Airbus A321neos. The two narrowbodies (B-32HX and B-32HY) arrived at the airline’s Shanghai hub on 29 and 31 October following a ferry flight from Airbus’ Hamburg facility. They are the first two of 68 A321neos on order. China Eastern’s A321neos are powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines and are configured with 198 seats in two classes – 12 in business class and 186 in economy class. The SkyTeam carrier adds that it has selected Airbus’ AirSpace interiors for its fleet of A321neos. China Eastern will now be the newest A321neo operator in Mainland China, joining fellow ‘Big Three’ compatriots Air China and China Southern, both of which operate large numbers of A321neos.<br/>