ARC NEWS
Rex gains new loan as it eyes up bidders, extends administration
June 18, 2025
The Australian Government will provide an additional A$30 million ($19.5 million) loan facility to the administrators running Rex Airlines that will keep it operational as they assess bids for the regional carrier. Administrators Adam Nikitins, Samuel Freeman and Justin Walsh of Ernst & Young say in a 17 June statement that as of the 2 June deadline there have been "a number of offers from interested parties in connection with the sale process for the sale and/or recapitalisation of the Group". They administrators state that they have been able to narrow down the bidders, which "are well-funded and see real value in the business and its future". To complete negotiations with the interested parties, however, the administrators will apply to the Federal Court of Australia to extend the voluntary administration period from June to December 2025. In a separate statement, transport minister Catherine King says that the Federal government will continue to support Rex's services to regional communities by providing a ticket guarantee to passengers on its services and providing a further loan to the administrators on top of the A$80 million facility provided in November 2024 "which is yet to be fully expended". "In order to support the extension, if an application is granted by the Federal Court, additional financing of up to A$30 million from the Australian Government to the administrators will also be made available should it be required to keep regional routes in the air until December," she adds. King also clarifies that the government is not a bidder in the process but it still "undertaking necessary work on contingencies should a market-led solution not be achieved". The government is expected to play a key role in deciding the winning bidder as it is Rex's largest secured creditor after acquiring A$50 million in debt owed to PAG Capital Asia. Neither the government nor the administrators of Rex have identified the parties that remain in the bidding, but The Australian newspaper reports that local firm Anchorage Capital Partners is believed to be in the running, and administrators have rejected a debt-for-equity proposal from Renaissance Partners. Since ceasing its Boeing 737 operations when it entered administration on 30 July 2024, Rex has been operating Saab 340s on regional routes across Australia's east coast and in Western Australia. Excluding the jet operations, Cirium schedules data shows that Rex has been operating fewer flights over months of the past year compared to the previous year, but the gap has narrowed significantly.


El Al cancels all flights until 19 June
June 17, 2025
El Al has cancelled all flights until 19 June as Israeli airspace remains closed amid escalating tensions between Tel Aviv and Tehran. Meanwhile, flights to and from Israel from Berlin, Tbilisi, Barcelona, Batumi, Warsaw, Rhodes, Munich, Tivat, Lisbon, Tokyo, Krakow, Venice, Thessaloniki, Marseille, Crete, Kefalonia, Santorini, Chisinau, Belgrade, Tirana, Porto, Mykonos, Lefkada, and Moscow will be cancelled till 23 June, states the carrier in a 15 June announcement. The carrier adds that flights scheduled to depart up to and including 30 June have also been closed on the booking system. "This is until the security situation becomes clearer and with the aim of providing solutions for Israelis whose flights were cancelled," states the carrier. "We are working in full coordination with governmental security authorities and prioritizing the safety and security of passengers and crew," it adds. Israel's transport ministry announced 13 June that its airspace will remain closed until further notice, as the two countries engage in retaliatory missile strikes despite global calls for restraint. Several other carriers have also cancelled and diverted their flights to Israel and other Middle East destinations following the strikes.


Indian government convenes 'high-level committee' for AI171 probe
June 17, 2025
India's government has established a high-level committee to investigate the cause of the fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 on 12 June, and ordered urgent inspections of all 33 of the carrier's 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft. The committee – which is being led by India's home secretary and includes officials from the country's ministry of civil aviation, the Gujarat state government, the Indian air force and the directorate of forensic sciences – had its first meeting scheduled for 16 June. It plans to publish an initial report within three months. The committee's probe will run alongside the investigation that is being conducted by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The AAIB investigation will examine the technical aspects behind the crash, while the high-level committee will provide a "holistic, policy-oriented roadmap for future safeguards", says the ministry of civil aviation. Addressing journalists at a filmed press conference on 14 June, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said: "The composition of the high-level committee involves people from various backgrounds and the people we feel can bring in a lot of expertise and value to the committee, which is going to investigate the incident in a holistic way. "We have put a time limit of three months for them to sit down, talk to various stakeholders, and involve and discuss with any other important expert that is necessary as per their investigation." The Indian government has also ordered an "extended surveillance" of all Boeing 787-series aircraft in India's fleet. Cirium fleets data shows that Air India has 26 remaining 787-8s as well as seven 787-9s. All 33 widebodies are powered by GE Aerospace GEnx engines. Inspections on eight of Air India's 787s have already been carried out, says the government, and the remaining aircraft are being checked "on an urgent basis". The civil aviation ministry says it has also "intensified ongoing surveillance of maintenance protocols and airworthiness procedures for all widebody aircraft operating in India". Air India flight 171 crashed on 12 June within one minute of take-off from Ahmedabad airport, bound for London Gatwick. It was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. Indian authorities are in the process of matching DNA to determine the total number of people killed, including those on board and those on the ground. Media reports have indicated that all but one of those on board died as well as at least 30 people on the ground. Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) have been recovered, the BBC and others are reporting.


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