Air India has disclosed plans to start restoring long-haul services reduced as part of a "safety pause" following the crash of flight AI171 on 12 June. The carrier enacted the measure to enable it to conduct precautionary checks on its Boeing 787s and adjust for longer flight times amid airspace closures over Pakistan and the Middle East. Some flight frequencies will be reinstated from 1 August; full restoration is targeted for 1 October. A new route from Ahmedabad to London Heathrow will run from 1 August to 30 September, operated at thrice-weekly frequency. This will replace five-times-weekly flights from the Gujarati state capital to London Gatwick. AI171 was a service on this route. Air India will increase frequencies from Delhi to Amsterdam, Heathrow, Seoul, Tokyo and Zurich, and from Amritsar to Birmingham, UK. However, services on six routes will be reduced over the coming weeks. Delhi-Paris, for example, will have its frequency reduced from 12 flights a week to seven from 1 August, and Delhi-Milan from four per week to three. Services from Delhi to New York JFK and Newark will each be reduced from seven times weekly to six from 16 July. Bengaluru-London and Mumbai-New York services will also be reduced. A route to Nairobi from India's capital will be operated three times weekly but then be suspended for September. Ten routes with reduced frequencies will remain at their lower levels until October. “As the schedule reductions taken as part of the safety pause had been implemented until 31 July 2025 and the restoration to full operation is being phased, some services initially planned to operate between 1 August and 30 September 2025 will be removed from the schedule,” the carrier says. In addition to the suspended link between Amritsar and London Gatwick, Air India's routes from Goa to Gatwick and from Bengaluru and Pune to Singapore will remain closed. With the partial restoration, Air India will operate some 525 weekly international flights across 63 routes, it says.

Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $8.1 million in a settlement with the US Department of Justice in connection with the DOJ's allegations that the US major had exceeded employee compensation limits set under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law in March 2020 by US president Donald Trump during his first term. The CARES Act's payroll support programme (PSP) – administered by the US Treasury department – provided US passenger carriers with grants for the exclusive use of employee wages, salaries and benefits. Among the initial conditions of receiving payroll support: airlines could not conduct involuntary furloughs, reduce pay rates, buy back stock or pay dividends through 30 September 2020; annual salaries above $425,000 were to be frozen for two years. Additionally, "taxpayer protections" would enable the US Treasury secretary to receive "warrants, options, stock and other financial instruments to provide appropriate compensation for the government for the assistance". The US Treasury also administered a loan programme for US carriers under the CARES Act. The DOJ noted on 15 July that Delta had entered into PSP agreements with the Treasury department in 2020 and 2021, under which the Atlanta-based carrier agreed to the PSP compensation limits. "[Delta's] settlement resolves allegations that, between March 2020 and April 2023, Delta awarded compensation to some corporate officers and employees that exceeded the limits set by the PSP agreements," the DOJ asserts. It adds: "Delta allegedly violated the False Claims Act by inaccurately certifying compliance with PSP requirements in quarterly reports submitted to Treasury, as well as by not notifying Treasury of the breach once it was discovered by Delta, which would have given the government the right to demand the return of funds." The DOJ confirms to Cirium that under terms of the settlement with Delta, the carrier is required to pay $8.1 million directly to the federal government. "Paragraph 1 of the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement provides that 'Delta shall pay to the United States $8,100,000 plus interest'," the DOJ tells Cirium. The Justice department clarifies in its 15 July statement that "claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability". Delta tells Cirium that it "strongly believes it fully complied with all requirements of the CARES Act". The carrier adds: "At issue is a disagreement about a technical matter involving the time periods used to measure executive compensation during the pandemic. Delta has consistently maintained the claim is without merit and settled to avoid the expense and distraction of litigation. "Delta remains grateful for the Treasury department's efforts that kept essential airline employees operating our nation's air travel system."

Finnair has reached a last-minute labour agreement with two of its unions, avoiding five days of industrial action which had been planned throughout July. Late on 13 July, the Association of Support Service Industries (Palta) and the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) approved a proposal put forward by the national conciliator that will form the basis of a new collective bargaining agreement with the Oneworld carrier. The proposed agreement covers a period of 18 months and is scheduled to end on 15 January 2027. It includes a wage proposal which Finnair says, "aligns with the general labour market framework". The IAU has now called off strikes which had been due to take place on 16, 18, 21, 23 and 25 July. "Sincere thanks to our customers for their patience during this prolonged labour dispute," states Finnair chief operating officer Jaakko Schildt. "With the negotiation result covering Finnair's technical services, kitchen, airport customer service and many other companies operating in the airport area, we can now focus on operating our flights during this important summer travel season with the reliability customers expect from us." Finnair was forced to cancel hundreds of flights earlier this year when IAU members carried out a series of four-hour strikes targeting different work shifts and affecting functions such as ground handling and aircraft maintenance. The airline has said that industrial action cost it €22 million ($26 million) and shaved €31 million off its revenue in the first quarter of this year.