Thai airlines have suspended several domestic services until the end of July, amid tightened movement restrictions to combat a spike in infections in capital city Bangkok and nine neighbouring provinces. The measures include restrictions on inter-provincial travel and are in place for two weeks starting today, according to a 9 July report by state broadcasting arm National News Bureau of Thailand. Bangkok Airways has cancelled five domestic roundtrip flights from Bangkok from 13 to 31 July, to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Sukhothai, Lampang and Trat. Flights to Phuket and Koh Samui – where special travel arrangements, the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ scheme and the ‘Samui Plus’ programme, are in place – will continue to operate as usual. This includes a twice-daily Bangkok-Samui service, as well as thrice-daily special transit flights from Bangkok to Samui for vaccinated international passengers. The airline will also operate Samui-Phuket roundtrip flights from 16 July, four times a week, and from 1 August, a Samui-Singapore roundtrip service three times weekly. Meanwhile, low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia has suspended all scheduled domestic flights from today until the end of July, "in support of the [Covid-19] containment efforts by the government of Thailand"."[Asia Aviation] and Thai AirAsia will continue to evaluate the situation closely and we are prepared to reinstate our services as soon as the situation improves," the airline says in a statement today. Phuket has confirmed its second and third Covid-19 cases among tourists entering under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ scheme, according to an 11 July update by the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office. Among local residents, the province confirmed its first case of the Delta variant and has closed schools until 23 July due to the surge in infections, according to a 11 July report by English-language newspaper Bangkok Post.

Ryanair Group is launching a recruitment drive targeting 2,000 new pilots over the next three years as it looks to rebuild its services following the Covid-19 crisis. Deliveries of the low-cost carrier's new Boeing 737-8200 Max aircraft will drive the requirements. Captain positions are set to filled with internal candidates, creating opportunities for replacement first officers and new cadets. "As we take delivery of more than 210 Boeing 737-8200 game-changer aircraft, Ryanair will recruit 2,000-plus pilots over the next three years to fill positions created by this growth," states Ryanair people director Darrell Hughes. "This is great news for experienced and aspiring pilots but also for our own pilots who will enjoy fast-tracked promotions . "Throughout the pandemic, Ryanair has worked closely with our people to save jobs and we are delighted to start planning for a return to growth over the coming years as we recover from the Covid-19 crisis and grow to 200 million guests by FY2024’’ The carrier expects to run training courses through 2021 in order to be ready for strong demand in summer 2022. It asserts that Ryanair pilots receive "great pay, industry-leading five-on/four-off rosters, outstanding career development, and world-class training".

Air France-KLM has "reasonable prospects" for recovery this summer after battling the Covid-19 pandemic for 16 months, in the view of its chief executive. In a video message uploaded to YouTube on 8 July, Ben Smith says the group is committed to seizing the opportunity for recovery and saving the summer. "We now have reasonable prospects for recovery. With the gradual reopening of borders, the easing of travel restrictions and with the introduction of the European health pass last week, traffic is resuming for the summer season. But nothing is certain, the pandemic is still present," he says. Smith sees the group's low-cost brand as set for a "buoyant summer": Transavia France is operating at full capacity and Transavia Holland at 80%. Transavia France is also launching new routes domestically and in other "high growth" markets. However, the picture remains tougher for the group's main brands. Air France and KLM are operating around 65% of long-haul capacity and close to 80% on medium-haul. "This is far from ideal, especially with such historical low margins," Smith acknowledges. "While leisure bookings are picking up, we must remain vigilant. Air France and KLM's long-haul activity is in decline and the business segment has not yet recovered." Smith also reiterates that Air France-KLM must accelerate its transformation programme in order to adapt to the ever more competitive landscape emerging from the crisis. "All major airlines are significantly restructuring their business model, fleet and overall size. Low-cost airlines are becoming more of a threat due to their more favourable cost structure and financial reserves," he warns. He says Air France-KLM has made exceptional efforts to meet its two main goals of improving its competitiveness and sustainability, noting staff departures and the simplification of its fleet structure.