African airlines are continuing to suffer the effects of not being able to access millions of dollars’ worth of earnings that are blocked behind national borders, IATA warns. Of the roughly $1.8 billion of airline funds that are blocked globally, around half of this is within African countries, the airline association states. Within the continent, Algeria is the worst offender, blocking $286 million, followed by users of the Central African CFA franc – which encompasses Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon – totalling $151 million, Ethiopia ($148 million), and Eritrea ($75 million). Funds become blocked when airlines are unable to access their sales because national authorities impose restrictions on capital flows. This has long been a problem for African airlines, due to governments on the continent imposing the practice in a bid to stabilise their currencies. “When you can’t get your money out [of a country] it strangles the airline itself," says IATA’s regional vice-president for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Alawadhi, speaking as part of the association’s AGM taking place in Dubai. "Africa is a challenging environment for the aviation industry. Adding something like blocked funds to the mix is even more complicated when you consider the logistics of getting, for example, supply chains and spare parts, fossil fuel charges and so forth. The last thing you want it to get your money trapped,” he adds. Alawadhi believes that when governments engage with the industry, changes can be rapid. He cites the example of Nigeria, which, last year was the worst nation globally with $850 million blocked. In response some carriers reduced their operations into the country and one to temporarily cease flying there entirely. Since then, the “government has been extremely active” he comments, and “things moved positively since November last year and now we have almost nothing blocked," Alawadhi states. Likewise, Egypt has also taken action to clear its blocked funds. However, in both cases, IATA notes that airlines were nevertheless hit by devaluations of the Egyptian pound and the Nigerian naira. Although a global problem, the amount of blocked funds has dropped by $708 million since December last year, IATA notes. Outside of Africa, Pakistan accounts for $411 in blocked funds and Bangladesh $320 million, followed by Lebanon on $129 million. IATA describes the situation in the former two countries as “severe”, threatening the ability of airlines to operate into the two countries.

The US Department of Transportation has assessed civil penalties against Lufthansa, South African Airways and KLM for extreme delays in providing refunds to passengers. The DOT notes that it has secured from the three carriers more than $900 million in refunds owed to passengers whose flights had been cancelled or significantly changed during the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Consent orders issued on 3 June by the DOT assess a $1.1 million penalty against Lufthansa for delays in providing $775 million in refunds to passengers; a $1.1 million penalty against KLM for $113.3 million in refunds not paid in a timely fashion; and a $300,000 penalty against South African Airways related to $15.2 million in required refunds paid. "When a flight is cancelled or significantly changed, you shouldn't have to fight with the airline to get [your] money back – and we're holding airlines accountable when they fail to give passengers the refunds that they're owed," US Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg states.

Belavia has failed to convince the EU's General Court it should lift a flight ban imposed over allegations that the Belarusian flag carrier was being used to facilitate illegal migration to the bloc. The ban, imposed in 2021 by the Council of the EU, relates to concerns that Belavia was being used to transport thousands of migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere to Minsk, where they were then moved to the borders of the EU. The Council argued that Belavia, under instruction by its government, opened several new routes and expanded other connections specifically for this purpose. "Local tour operators have acted as intermediaries in selling [Belavia] tickets to prospective migrants, thereby helping [the airline] to keep a low profile," the court notes, referencing the original flight ban. Belavia argued that several airlines operated to Belarus from migrant transit destinations in the Middle East – citing specifically Beirut, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates – often with higher capacities than Belavia. It said that the council had not only made an incorrect assessment of Belavia's actions, but that it had also failed to reach the burden of proof. But the court rejected these assertions, ruling that the facts "do not show that the applicant did not contribute – by its own operations transporting persons from Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Turkiye to Belarus – to the activities of the [Belarusian president] Lukashenko regime facilitating the illegal crossing of the external borders of the European Union." It notes that Belavia’s own data shows that the number of passengers from Istanbul to Minsk, for example, rose from under 3,000 in May 2021 to nearly 7,000 in October, "which supports the Council's allegations". Moreover, in response to a claim by Belavia that it was not relying on its government's instructions when it operated the routes in question, the court found that as the airline is entirely owned by the government of Belarus, this "renders implausible" the argument that it was operationally independent. The court continues that the "grounds on which the assessment that the applicant benefits from the Lukashenko regime" were correct, "and constitute in themselves a sufficient basis for maintaining the applicant's name" on a list of banned carriers. As a result, the case was dismissed as unfounded, and Belavia ordered to pay legal costs.