The Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India has decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial flights to and from the country until 28 February due to rising Covid-19 cases. “This restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the regulatory body,” it says in a 19 January statement. Moreover, flights operating under the air bubble arrangement will also not be affected. The ban, which has been in place since 23 March 2020, was extended from time to time and DGCA previously decided to resume flights from 15 December 2021. However, this was further extended until 31 January due to growing cases of the Omicron variant.

Aircraft Engine Lease Finance (AELF) is taking legal action in the UK against Surinam Airways over an alleged breach of a $4.15 million settlement agreement relating to a terminated lease on an Airbus A340-300. AELF alleges in a 21 December document submitted to the Commercial Court in London that Surinam Airways has failed to begin payments towards a $4.1 million settlement agreement reached between the two parties in June 2020. The settlement relates to an A340-300 (MSN 242), purchased by AELF from Airbus Asset Management in 2015 and operated by Surinam Airways until early 2020, when it was returned to the lessor. The aircraft is listed as having been permanently retired in September 2020. AELF says that it had agreed to Surinam Airways' request to start paying off the debt in monthly instalments of $100,000 beginning in December 2020, which it says gave the airline "a payment holiday for six months, during Covid". However, the lessor alleges that Surinam Airways "failed to make payments when due", and is now "playing for time" by claiming it was "not served correctly under the English State Immunity Act". According to AELF, the Surinam Airways claim is based on the argument that the carrier is "a sovereign state" and the aircraft lease agreement "contains an express waiver of sovereign immunity". But the lessor claims that a witness statement from Surinam Airways' chief legal officer "clearly states that [the airline] is an entity that is separate from the state". AELF adds: "This is a clear play for time. At the end of the day, regardless of whether service of process was or may need to be effectuated by a particular method, [Surinam Airways] has breached its obligations to AELF." Data shows that Surinam Airways has two in-service Airbus A320s and no longer operates any widebodies.

HAECO Hong Kong has completed the first split scimitar winglet modification in tandem with a C-check for a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800. The modification work was to change the blended winglets into split scimitar winglet configuration, to improve fuel efficiency of the aircraft, HAECO Hong Kong says in a release today. It adds that it has completed over 110 winglet modifications on 737NG, 757 and 767 aircraft as an Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) designated authorised modification centre.