Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has, from today, resumed allowing some transit passengers to use the airport.
"From 1 June 2020 until further notice, only transit/transfer passengers who have been checked through at the origin port and take transit/transfer flights operated by the same airline group are accepted at HKIA," the airport says in a statement.
"Passengers should confirm in advance that they are able to enter the final destination. Please check with airlines for details." The ban on non-Hong Kong residents entering the city remains in place, and all non-Hong Kong residents coming from overseas countries and regions by plane will be denied entry to Hong Kong, the airport says. As has been the case since 25 March, non-Hong Kong residents coming from mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan may enter, but are subjected to a 14-day compulsory quarantine. However, if they have travelled to other countries or regions within 14 days before coming to Hong Kong, they will be denied entry. The special administrative region's flag carrier Cathay Pacific says on its website that its passengers will be able to transit Hong Kong if their itinerary is contained in a single booking and the connection time to their next Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon-operated flight is within eight hours. "Subject to both requirements being met, from 1 June 2020, transit connections will be available between Hong Kong and the destinations that we operate flights to," the airline says. However, in this "first phase" of reopening, transiting to and from destinations in mainland China is not allowed. In a 30 May report, local newspaper The South China Morning Post cited sources who said transport officials in Hong Kong had instructed Cathay and Hong Kong Airlines, in a meeting with company representatives last week, that they may not fly transit passengers to the mainland. According to a third source cited by the newspaper in the report, which Cirium has not independently verified, officials at that meeting explained that they did not want to overwhelm transit facilities.

Source: Cirium

French investigators are to handle the downloading of flight-recorder data from the Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 which crashed in Karachi on 22 May. The cockpit-voice recorder has been located, days after the flight-data recorder was retrieved, French investigation authority BEA states. BEA says it has received a request from Pakistani authorities to “repair” the recorders and handle data download operations in France. French representatives from Airbus and engine manufacturer Safran are supporting the Pakistani-led inquiry into the crash involving flight PK8303 from Lahore. Preliminary evidence strongly indicates the aircraft touched down with its landing-gear either retracted or only partially deployed, resulting in damage to the engines from runway contact and a loss of power during the subsequent attempted go-around. Pakistani investigators have yet to release any formal details of initial findings on the accident. Only two of the 99 occupants survived.

Source: Cirium

All Nippon Airways' parent company has decided to undertake a fresh round of debt financing from the Development Bank of Japan, amounting to Y350 billion ($3.3 billion). The agreement is subject to a 29 June borrowing deadline and the debt financing will be repaid over the long term, "determined by negotiation with the lender", ANA Holdings said in a 28 May statement. This is based on the company's financing plan for the current financial year ending 31 March 2021, approved at a 28 April board meeting. ANA says: "Though the consolidated forecast of the company for [the financial year ending 31 March 2022] is yet to be determined at the present time while it is unknown when the outbreak of coronavirus will end, the impact of this financing on the business results for the current year is expected to be minor." In the recently concluded financial year, the company carried on its balance sheet Y843 billion of interest-bearing debt, which has a 6.5-year repayment period against operating cash flows. This was Y789 billion in the preceding year, with a 2.7-year repayment period.

Source: Cirium