Judges overseeing the murder trial of four suspects in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over rebel-held eastern Ukraine viewed the wreckage of the plane on Wednesday, two weeks before prosecutors are due to present their case. MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was hit with a missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels during fighting with Ukrainian government troops, international investigators have concluded. All 298 people on board were killed, two thirds of them Dutch nationals. The Netherlands, citing the use of a Russian missile launcher brought from a Russian military base, holds Moscow responsible for the deaths. Russian denies involvement. So far, the trial hearings, which began in March 2020, have been taken up by procedural issues, with no evidence heard or witnesses called. On June 7, prosecutors are due to make their opening statements in the case. They have brought charges against three Russians and a Ukrainian, all of them at large, accused of playing a part in shooting down the aircraft. The remains of the plane were recovered from the crash site and reconstructed in a hangar at an air base in the Netherlands, where they were viewed by judges, lawyers, prosecutors and relatives of the victims. Arlette Schijns, a lawyer representing the families, stressed the importance of giving the court a first-hand impression of the extensive damage. "We cannot get closer to the death of the 298 victims than this," she said.<br/>
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Brazilian airline Azul has approached Chile’s bankrupt LATAM Airlines Group with the aim of buying its Brazilian operation, a source familiar with the situation said. Azul’s shares rose more than 9% in Sao Paulo on the news, while LATAM’s shares in Santiago, where the airline is listed, were down 20%. LATAM filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago and, while it has secured new liquidity in that process, it has yet to present a formal restructuring plan. Azul, controlled by JetBlue Airways Corp founder David Neeleman, said in a securities filing on Monday that it was ready to lead a wave of consolidation in the Brazilian airline industry, which has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the newspaper Valor Economico also said Azul was trying to lure LATAM and talking to its aircraft lessors. A LATAM spokeswoman said the airline had not received any offer from Azul, that talks were not in progress and that LATAM had no intention of selling any of its parts. In addition to extensive international routes, LATAM has domestic operations, not just in Brazil but also in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Industry analysts had said throughout 2020 that Azul might try to buy LATAM in Brazil. <br/>
Luis Gallego, CE of BA-owner IAG, said Wednesday he expects COVID-19 to spur further airline consolidation, eventually leaving just two or three carriers per continent. The pandemic has ravaged the industry, grounding thousands of planes worldwide and sending airlines scrambling for cash as countries shut borders and restricted travel. "We will all have a huge amount of debt after this crisis so all of us will be smaller for some time," Gallego told a virtual event on the prospects for the tourism sector. "Some won't survive: there will be opportunities for consolidation we'll participate in." Asked whether the trend would lead to two or three dominant airlines in each continent, Gallego agreed and stressed the importance of better combining different flight networks. He also said he hoped the North Atlantic corridor would open by late June, early July and said the United States should be included on Britain's green list of safe destinations due to its high vaccination rate. Gallego described IAG's joint businesses in the North Atlantic and Middle East as a key driver in its recovery and expansion, particularly the partnership with Qatar Airways.<br/>