Ural Airlines has suspended services to Kazakhstan, citing “the current geopolitical situation”. Flights to the Central Asian country will remain suspended until 30 April, the Russian carrier adds. Affected passengers can rebook with a departure before 30 May or apply for a refund.

Qantas has signed a deal with US biofuels company Aemetis to purchase almost 20 million litres (5.3 million USgal) of blended sustainable aviation fuel each year for its flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Australia, starting in 2025. This is Qantas’ second major offshore purchase of SAF with flights from London using a blend of sustainable fuel since the start of this year, the Australian airline says in a release today. The sustainable fuel will be produced at Aemetis’ plant currently under development in Riverbank, California. It will come from certified feedstock from waste products that is then blended with normal jet fuel. Qantas is pursuing a number of additional deals to add more SAF in the USA and other international airports. The national carrier says it is aiming to be net carbon neutral by 2050 and will outline an interim target later this month. Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce says “operating our aircraft with sustainable aviation fuel is the single biggest thing we can do to directly reduce our emissions”. Joyce adds: “We’re actively looking to source sustainable aviation fuel for our operations, and the deal we’re announcing today is hopefully one of many we’ll make as the market catches up to demand globally.” He states that Qantas has already committed A$50 million ($36 million) to support the development of a SAF industry in Australia.

Scottish regional carrier Loganair will add a fuel surcharge to tickets later this month, to help it cope with rising oil prices.
The airline will from 21 March add a £3.95 ($5.17) surcharge to the price of each one-way flight, across its network, with the exception of public service obligation (PSO) routes. Loganair says it has hedged more than 50% of its fuel for the 12 months from 1 April, but the recent spike in oil prices that has followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that it cannot absorb the additional costs without introducing the extra charge. “For the remainder of our fuel volume, the rise in global oil prices equates to an additional cost of £4.7 million in the coming year at today’s oil price,” says Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles. “It is simply impossible for us to absorb this impact, especially where airlines including Loganair still face significant uncertainty over the pace of recovery in passenger numbers from the pandemic.” The airline says it will halve the surcharge if the price of Brent crude oil falls below $110 per barrel for six consecutive weeks, and remove it if the price drops below $85 per barrel for the same consecutive time period.