Australia's competition regulator has formally denied an application by Virgin Australia and Alliance Airlines to re-authorise an agreement to jointly bid and coordinate services for resource charter contracts. The decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) formalises an October 2022 draft determination that proposed to deny the authorisation, which had been in place since 2017. Under the deal Virgin Australia, through its charter unit, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, and Alliance were able to jointly bid for fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) charter contracts, although the ACCC concedes that the joint coordination was rarely used. "We're concerned that continuing the charter alliance is likely to reduce the number of bidders in tender processes for charter services, particularly when there would only be one other large provider of these services, and so the potential incentives to reduce service levels or raise prices for FIFO charter services would remain," says ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb. The ACCC says that it has revoked an interim authorisation granted on 8 June, but is still permitting some conduct to "give effect to existing contracts for a short period of time until the determination comes into effect". The denial of the Virgin tie-up comes only weeks after the ACCC signalled that it would not support Qantas's proposed takeover of Alliance's parent company, Alliance Aviation Services, again citing concerns that it would lead to a reduction in competition for FIFO contacts in Western Australia and Queensland. Qantas holds a 19.9% stake in Alliance and launched an all-stock takeover bid in 2022 for the remainder of the company. Alliance wet-leases several Embraer E190s to Qantas, which predominately operate on regional routes.

South African Airways has received approval from South Africa's finance and public enterprise ministers to lease five Airbus A320s and one A330, allowing it to relaunch some international routes and increase seat capacity on its regional and domestic network from September. Interim chief executive John Lamola says that the carrier will take delivery of the six aircraft by the end of the year. Currently a request for proposals is out for four A320 narrowbodies. The other two - an A330 and A320 have already been secured from the lessor community on the same terms as the ones issued in the RFP," he adds. Fleets data shows that the carrier has seven aircraft in service, comprised of five A320ceos, one A330-300 and one A340-300, although the latter aircraft has already been slated for replacement with a similar-sized aircraft this year. They are leased from AerCap, SMBC Aviation Capital and Aergo Capital. The addition of the leased aircraft marks a significant change in fortunes for SAA, which entered a business rescue process in March 2020, but in February interim chief commercial officer Tebogo Tsimane said that the carrier could break even this year following a strong summer season. "This is a significant boost for the domestic and regional markets and underscores our commitment to expanding our route network and increasing our frequency in the African market. It will also ensure that the equilibrium between the supply of seats and the flow of traffic will benefit our passengers,” says Lamola, adding that a new route will be announced in the coming few weeks. Networks data shows that the carrier is operating international services from Johannesburg to Accra, Lilongwe, Mauritius, Blantyre, Lagos, Harare, Victoria Falls, Kinshasa and Lusaka. Domestically, it is only operating flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town and Durban, while it also flies between Blantyre and Lilongwe in neighbouring Malawi.

The World Health Organization on 5 May declared that Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency, lifting a designation in place since 2020 that signals a turning point in public response to the disease as governments continue lifting travel restrictions intended to halt the spread of the pandemic. The United Nations health organisation says that declining death and infection rates of the disease mean that "it is time to transition to long-term management of the Covid-19 pandemic," notably still labelling it a pandemic. "Covid-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern," the WHO says. Governments restricted international travel, required mandatory tests or enforced mask-wearing rules following the WHO emergency declaration for Covid in 2020. Lifting this designation is poised to enable political support for governments loosening rules for travel sectors. The US federal government is set to end its public health emergency for Covid on 11 May. These regulatory shifts are likely to encourage more travel to the USA and other nations as carriers prepare for summer flights.