US-based airline, Southwest, grounded 128 aircraft after the airline discovered that one of the aircraft’s standby hydraulic systems had not been inspected during scheduled maintenance. The airline discovered the non-compliance in late February and subsequently immediately notified the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the incident. The airline then moved to ground the effected aircraft until a proposed response and operational plan could be approved by the FAA. The FAA subsequently approved the airline’s plan, which involves gradually carrying out the required checks over a 5 day period.

After recently re-commencing operations to the EU, Afriqiyah Airways has now been forced to suspend operations to European destinations after the airline’s leasing provider, which provided Afriqiyah Airways with aircraft and crew for its EU operations, moved to cancel its contract with the Libyan-based airline. Afriqiyah Airways had recently established a wet-lease agreement with a Georgian-based aircraft leasing provider, VistaGeorgia. However, a recent fatal attack on foreign flight crew residing at a Tripoli-based hotel has subsequently prompted AeroVista to terminate its operational contract with Afriqiyah Airways, after significant concerns were raised regarding the security of its crew within Libya.

The Moroccan and Egyptian civil aviation regulators have both moved to formally suspend all operations to Libya. The regulators have also closed their airspace to all Libyan operators entering due to the deteriorating security situation within Libya. Both regulatory authorities stated that the failure of Libyan operators to adhere to internationally recognised standards in safety and security oversight prompted the regulators to close their airspace to Libyan operators. The ban prohibits any Libyan operator from entering Moroccan or Egyptian airspace, which also includes any over-flying transit operations.