Israeli flag carrier El Al is demanding compensation of $100 million from the government, to offset the effect of state decisions on the airline’s operations. “It is no secret that El Al is in the deepest crisis in its history,” the carrier says, in a communication to the finance ministry, adding that it has been forced to take “drastic measures to ensure the company’s survival” – including dismissing nearly 2,000 personnel, about a third of its workforce. El Al states that the crisis is “deepening” as a result of government measures in response to emerging virus variants in June-July. While the carrier insists it is not criticising the measures, it points out that they are nevertheless having a “devastating effect” on the airline, and the recovery in Israel is not reflecting that in European countries. Earlier this month the ministry had offered $50 million to the airline as part of a conditional support package. But El Al says it wants “immediate compensation” of $100 million for “damages” caused by the government’s decisions during the pandemic, and is also insisting on easing of tourism restrictions, warning that it is “on a slippery slope”. El Al says it has recorded negative cash flow of $108 million over the three months from July to September. The company stresses that time “is not working in our favour” and adds that other airlines operating to Israel have received compensation from governments, putting El Al at a “competitive disadvantage”. The ministry’s conditions for support include sale of aircraft as well as a substantial portion of the carrier’s loyalty programme. El Al says the uncertainty in recovery has required scaling back its fleet from 45 aircraft to 29, and it says further “painful” workforce reductions and compensation for employees will need to be addressed. It also points out that the carrier needs to maintain “significant activity” in order to retain the value of its loyalty programme. El Al claims a number of major businesses have expressed interest in it.

Australia's Regional Express is further extending the suspension of its domestic services and reduction of regional services up until 31 October. This is due to the current rate of Covid-19 infection, the announced intentions of the various state governments concerning lockdowns and border closures, and the need for lead time for advanced ticket sales, the operator said today in a disclosure to the Australian Securities Exchange. The stand-down period for staff will be extended up until this time, Rex says. On 1 September, the operator extended the stand-down of about 500 frontline workers while extending temporary schedule reductions until 10 October. The new date for the resumption of most services will coincide with the date when Rex’s customer-facing staff will be fully vaccinated, it says in today's statement. Rex has made it mandatory for its frontline, customer-facing staff to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by 1 November.

Restructured South African Airways has resumed flights, carrying out its first service since last year on the Johannesburg-Cape Town domestic route. SAA – which has been through a formal business restructuring process – was forced to suspend passenger flights in March 2020 when South Africa locked down to counter the pandemic. While it continued to operate cargo and repatriation flights, the carrier suspended all operations at the end of September 2020 as it sought to finalise a funding package. The carrier has since secured a government bailout to support its restructuring to enable it exit business rescue, which it had first entered before the pandemic in December 2019. New investors were identified in June this year, though the deal with the Takatso consortium is still to be finalised. In August the slimmed-down carrier regained its operating licence, enabling SAA to resume services. Alongside the thrice-weekly domestic link, SAA is also planning to start flights to five African capitals: Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo. SAA's interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo states: "Our journey back to the skies has not been easy. We restart this business with a new vision of pride in the brand and one that has been inculcated into every staff member. "Our first order of business is to service our start-up routes efficiently and profitably and then look to expanding the network and growing our fleet, all depending on demand and market conditions." SAA chairman John Lamola says SAA's return will provide "more market equilibrium" in fares. "Since the carrier went into and then out of business rescue there has been less local capacity and that means tickets have become more expensive. Our return to the skies will mean more competitive pricing and will enable more South Africans to fly," he states. Kgokolo has previously said he expects SAA to resume operations with a fleet of around eight aircraft.