Kenya Airways reported a revenue of KSh117 billion ($889 million) in 2022, up 66% year on year, driven by a significant increase in passenger numbers, but foreign exchange losses due to the ongoing financial restructuring programme affected the performance. The revenue is 5% below the pre-pandemic reported revenue, indicative of the group's projected recovery by 2024, it says in a release. Passenger numbers grew by 68% to 3.7 million. The airline boosted capacity, as measured in available seat-kilometres by 75%. As a result, passenger load factor for 2022 was only 3.9 percentage points below the load factors achieved before the pandemic in 2019. Group managing director and chief executive Allan Kilavuka states: "The airline recorded forex losses occasioned by the restructuring of the guaranteed government of Kenya loans as part of the ongoing financial restructuring programme, negatively impacting the income statement by KSh26.4 billion. If you remove the impact of the forex losses and the abnormal fuel cost increase at 160%, we would have made an operating profit. We are on course to turn around the business by 2024." Kenya Airways Group chief financial officer Hellen Mathuka said the devaluation of the shilling and abnormal increase in fuel cost increased the cost of operations, negatively impacting overall financial results. Mathuka, adds: "Our overheads increased by 31% due to foreign currency losses driven by the weakening of Kenya shilling against major world currencies and the abnormally high cost of aviation fuel during the year. As a result, the group's total operating costs increased by 59%, with direct operating costs increasing by 93%, mainly driven by increased operations and a huge increase of 160% in the cost of global fuel prices throughout the year. In addition, the fleet ownership costs increased by 6% driven by the provision for early aircraft returns." Over the next five years, the airline will continue to diversify its revenue streams. The target is to grow the cargo business to contribute 20%, up from 10% at present, it says. Kilavuka adds: "The debt restructure process is ongoing and includes restructuring the government guaranteed debt. As a result, there is a charged finance cost of KSh18 billion in our 2022 income statement."

Croatia's airports have become members of the Schengen passport-free travel zone, enabling the country to classify most European flights as domestic. The Balkan nation joined the Schengen zone on 1 January, abolishing land and sea borders, but checks remained at airports until 26 March. "As of today, the Schengen travel regime has also become valid in air traffic between Croatia and the Schengen signatory countries, which makes Croatia Airlines' previous international flights domestic flights within Europe and thus makes travel faster and more flowing," states the flag carrier. Likewise, Zagreb airport says the changes should make it faster and easier for visitors to travel to the country. It means that air passengers arriving in Croatia from fellow Schengen member countries will be treated as domestic arrivals and exempted from border controls.

Asiana Airlines is adding more staff to the unit aimed at providing data and information to regulators as it seeks to close its long-planned merger with Korean Air. The Star Alliance carrier says in a statement that it has increased the unit to 42 employees, led by acting chief executive Won Yoo-seok. It adds that the strengthening of the team comes as overseas regulators are seeking more complex data and information from the airline as they weigh up whether to approve the union of South Korea’s two largest airlines. The UK recently approved the takeover by Korean Air of Asiana after it agreed to cooperate with Virgin Atlantic on its services between London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon. Korean Air still requires regulatory sign-off from competition authorities in the USA and Japan, while earlier this year the European Commission has opted to open an in-depth investigation due to concerns that the combined carrier would have too much power in both the passenger and cargo markets between Europe and South Korea. The SkyTeam carrier has stated that it would like to complete the merger this year. Korean Air announced plans to take over Asiana in November 2020 as the smaller carrier battled close to two years of uncertainty, compounded by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to that, Asiana’s troubled main shareholder, Kumho Industrial, had selected Hyundai Development as the preferred buyer of its 33% stake in the airline in 2019, as part of a wider restructuring by the conglomerate. Those talks broke down in mid-2020 before the deal with Korean Air surfaced.