Former Air India Express chief executive Aloke Singh has been appointed as chief strategy officer at IndiGo. The carrier says in a statement that Singh will lead its long-term strategic planning function, which includes enterprise-wide transformation initiatives. His LinkedIn profile shows that he recently finished his tenure as managing director and chief executive at Air India Express, having started in the role in November 2020. "Aloke brings an exceptional blend of strategic vision and operational depth. His comprehensive understanding of the aviation ecosystem will be invaluable as we build a more agile, resilient and future-ready organisation, and accelerate our next phase of growth," says IndiGo managing director Rahul Bhatia, to whom Singh will report until a new chief executive is appointed.

New Caledonian carrier Air Caledonie has stood down around half of its staff as it has cancelled all domestic flights due to protests that have made it impossible to operate flights to key airports around the French overseas territory. The carrier's commercial director Marion Gentelet tells Cirium that staffing levels are fluctuating daily, while it is still carrying on international flights and some other operations. "There is no specific period [for the stand down] and it will last as long as islands airports are closed," she adds. The airline has had limited operations since 2 March due to protests that have blockaded airports at the Isle of Pines and Loyalty Islands. Protestors have been opposing the carrier's move from Noumea-Magenta airport to the more distant La Tontouta airport, which had previously only handled international flights. Cirium schedules data shows that the airline had been scheduled to operate 74 domestic flights per week, plus twice-weekly services from La Tontouta to Port Villa in Vanuatu. The carrier owns and operates three ATR 72-600s, one of which is encumbered, Cirium fleets data shows.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has confirmed that the two pilots of an Air Canada Express MHIRJ CRJ900 were killed in a ground collision at New York's LaGuardia airport on 22 March. In footage broadcast by Sky News, the port authority's executive director Kathryn Garcia tells reporters that the aircraft collided with a firefighting vehicle on the airport's runway 4 at around 23:47 local time. The aircraft, operated by Air Canada partner Jazz under the flight code AC8646, had arrived from Montreal. It carried 72 passengers and four crew members, according to a "preliminary passenger list", Jazz says. Garcia says 41 of the people on board, along with the fire vehicle's two occupants, were taken to hospital, and that some have suffered serious injuries. Jazz states: "The exact number of injuries and fatalities is not available at this time." The airline's president Doug Clarke adds: "We are fully committed to co-operating with the relevant authorities to determine what happened. We will share updates as soon as verified information becomes available." LaGuardia has been closed until 23:00 today. The US National Transportation Safety Board says it has launched an investigation into the accident.