Nok Air has received approval from Thailand's Central Bankruptcy Court for its rehabilitation plan at a 29 September hearing, clearing the final hurdle to implement the plan. "After consideration of the rehabilitation plan, its amendment, objections against the plan and planners’ clarification, including the official receiver’s opinion on several issues, the Central Bankruptcy Court issued an order to approve the plan and its amendment," the airline says in a same-day filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The court also appointed the four plan administrators named in the rehabilitation plan, who are authorised to operate the business, manage company assets and implement the plan. They include chief executive Wutthiphum Jurangkool, directors Tai Chong Yih and Chavalit Uttasart and independent director Prinya Waiwatana. Nok Air says it is confident that the plan administrators will “successfully” implement the plan soon. The court accepted Nok's application for business rehabilitation on 30 July 2020, and approved it for the process on 4 November 2020, appointing planners to prepare the rehabilitation plan. Nok Air's creditors accepted its rehabilitation plan at a 4 August meeting.

Qatar Airways annual losses doubled to QR14.9 billion riyals ($4.1 billion) for the 12 months ending in March, as Covid-19 decimated its long-haul business model and led to write-downs across its fleet. Describing the period as "the most challenging and extraordinary" of its history, the Gulf carrier recorded impairments of QR8.4 billion across its Airbus A380s, A330s and Boeing 737 Max aircraft, adding that they are "not likely to be used in operation in the near future". However, the group highlights a slight narrowing of its operating losses to QR1.1 billion, as well as growth in EBITDA to QR6 billion in the period from QR5 billion in 2019/2020. This was despite revenue from scheduled passenger services collapsing by 78% to QR7.97 billion, with passenger numbers down 82%. Qatar Airways has pointedly striven to operate as much of its network as it can throughout the pandemic, with chief executive Akbar Al Baker underlining the carrier's commitment to enabling the flow of people and goods around the globe, providing a lifeline to some industries. Not only does the group expect this strategy to result in a greater market share, but also to play a role in bolstering customer confidence in returning to the skies – a core tenet of its recovery strategy. "Whilst our competitors grounded their aircraft and closed their routes, we adapted our entire commercial operation to respond to ever-evolving travel restrictions and never stopped flying, operating a network our passengers and customers could rely on", comments Baker. "With the support of our varied fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, we were able to ensure that more of our scheduled flights operated than any other carrier and fulfilled our mission of taking stranded passengers home, whilst maintaining global supply chains to transport medical aid and supplies essential to the fight against Covid-19," he adds. From a low of just 33 destinations at the peak of the crisis, Qatar Airways has rebuilt its network to operate on 140 routes today, "ensuring the airline is well-positioned to take advantage of the recovery of international travel", it notes. Weakness in passenger revenues were somewhat offset by gains in the Doha-based carrier's cargo unit, which more than tripled its daily services and recorded an overall 4.6% rise in freight carried to 2,727,986 tonnes. This, in combination with a "significant increase" in cargo yield, saw revenues at the unit more than double to QR18.5 billion - over twice that of its passenger operations. Although the carrier did not receive state support in the form of salary support, tax relief or grants, the Qatari government did provide an equity injection of $3 billion to support the "business continuity" throughout the period, it adds.

South African Airways has signed a co-operation agreement with Kenya Airways that envisages the establishment of a pan-African airline. Having recently restarted its services after a process of business reconstruction and the Covid-19 crisis, SAA foresees that such an initiative could "seek to enhance mutual growth potential by taking advantage of strengths of the two airlines' busy hubs." The broader agreement between the companies includes steps towards expanding their passenger and cargo networks, standardising products, and enabling the exchange of expertise, innovation, and best practices. "As well as being a strong local carrier, part of our broader growth strategy is to become a major player in regional travel, and this joint memorandum with Kenya Airways, one of the continent's strongest and most respected carriers, will do just that," states SAA interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo. "Part of SAA's core remit is to be a significant enabler of business and trade in Africa, and it's through a strategic understanding like this that real progress will be made in advancing South Africa and the continent's growth." SAA says the airlines will now establish a joint working group to further the memorandum of co-operation's objectives. The agreement does not mandate exclusivity that would prevent either carrier from pursuing commercial co-operation with other airlines.