American Airlines has removed the Boeing 737 Max from schedules to the end of September, as questions over when the jet will return to service continue to swirl. The Texas-based carrier has cancelled all flights operated by its fleet of 24 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft through 3 September, it says today. It will cancel approximately 115 flights a day as a result. "American Airlines remains confident that impending software updates to the Boeing 737 Max, along with the new training elements Boeing is developing in coordination with our union partners, will lead to re certification of the aircraft soon," the airline says in a statement, adding that they are "pleased with the progress to date".

Hong Kong’s data watchdog has rapped Cathay Pacific’s “lax attitude” towards data governance in a report on a 2018 data breach that compromised the personal details of nearly 10 million passengers. “The fact that personal data is less tangible than other personalty [like bank notes] or realty does not absolve businesses of their failures to keep it safely and to obliterate it when it is no longer necessary for [its purpose],” states privacy commissioner for personal data Stephen Wong. “It is quite clear that contraventions aside, Cathay adopted a lax attitude towards governance, which fell short of the expectation of its affected passengers and the regulator.” Unknown attackers bypassed the cybersecurity of Cathay’s IT systems and exploited vulnerabilities in the system that led to the data breach. Cathay announced on 25 October that the personal information of 9.4 million passengers had been compromised in a data breach. Compromised information included names, identity and passport numbers, as well as contact details.

Scandinavian operator SAS is to remove duty-free sales on board its aircraft in a bid to reduce weight and save on fuel costs. The airline says the measure will be implemented in autumn, as part of its overall strategy to cut emissions by 25% by 2030 compared with the 2005 baseline. SAS says duty-free sales has been in demand among those customers who have used it. "But our passengers’ buying behaviour has changed and sustainability has become more important than ever before," the carrier says. “Every step on the way to sustainable travel is important," says executive vice-president, commercial, Karl Sandlund. "Every initiative to reduce weight and thereby cut fuel consumption helps."