A key union claims managers at Boeing retaliated against two of its members who raised issues about its compliance with Federal Aviation Administration requirements, although the airframer says those allegations are "unsubstantiated". A complaint filed on 18 April by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) to the US National Labor Relations Board states: "Yesterday's news covered the Congressional hearing in which a whistleblower, a Boeing engineer, testified that employees who raise alarms, and/or resist Boeing shortcuts, concerning safety are 'ignored, marginalised, threatened, sidelined and worse'." It adds: "Such was Boeing's response to two engineering bargaining unit employees who, acting on behalf of the FAA as Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) Engineering Unit Members (E-UM), pushed back against Boeing's resistance to make changes necessary to comply with FAA regulations and insisted that Boeing make the FAA-required changes." The complaint goes on to say that in those two employees' next performance management assessments, they received "identically" downgraded marks on the "Performance Values" portion of the assessment. One of the employees, according to the complaint, filed a "Speak Up Report" challenging this "apparent retaliation". SPEEA claims Boeing completed an investigation into the claim but has "expressly refused" to provide a copy of the report to the union. About the complaint, Boeing says: "We have zero tolerance for retaliation and encourage our employees to speak up when they see an issue. After an extensive review of documentation and interviewing more than a dozen witnesses, our investigators found no evidence of retaliation or interference. We have determined the allegations are unsubstantiated." Boeing goes on to say: "Investigations into interference claims are conducted as confidential investigations; providing the report to any party outside the FAA would be a departure from our standard practice, which is why we shared with SPEEA that we are looking into the union's requests." Following a 17 April hearing before the US Senate's committee on homeland security and governmental affairs during which a Boeing quality engineer, Sam Salehpour, accused the company of having created a "culture that prioritises speed of production over safety and quality and incentivises management to overlook significant defects", Boeing insisted all employees can raise safety concerns. The US airframer said at the time it has taken "important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to raise their voice" since 2020.

AirAsia Consulting and FitsAir have emerged as two of six bidders for SriLankan Airlines, according to Sri Lanka's finance ministry. AirAsia Consulting is a subsidiary of AirAsia Aviation Group, Capital A’s holding company for its airline investments, while FitsAir is a privately owned low-cost carrier in Sri Lanka. The other bidders for the carrier are Dharshaan Elite Investment Holding, Sherisha Technologies, Treasure Republic Guardians and Hayleys PLC, states the finance ministry. The request for qualification ended on 22 April after multiple extensions to the deadline. The evaluation and selection of bids are expected to take place in August, with a cabinet approval planned in September, according to a timeline by the ministry. Sri Lanka's government agreed in March to take over about $312 million of SriLankan Airlines’ debt to sweeten the deal for potential bidders..With that, the carrier has an outstanding $175 million, 7%, five-year bond issued and backed by sovereign guarantee due in June, of which it has failed to make three coupon payments. The carrier currently has an all-Airbus fleet of 24, comprising A320s, A321s and A330s, of which 19 are operational,

A decommissioned Airbus A330 previously operated by Cathay Pacific was destroyed by fire at Ciudad Real airport in Spain on 18 April. The aircraft had been undergoing disassembly at the site, local fire and rescue service SCIS says on X, formally known as Twitter. No injuries were reported in the accident. Cathay Pacific confirms the aircraft was previously part of its fleet and was deregistered with the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department in 2022. The Hong-Kong-based carrier did not disclose the aircraft's MSN. Fleets data shows three retired ex-Cathay A330-300s at Ciudad Real airport and another five listed as being in storage. All the aircraft are managed by Cathay, with all but one being owned by the airline. The remaining jet is owned by NBB Dragon Lease. All aircraft were built in the 1992-98 period.