France's Corsair adjusts B737 wet-lease operator

Réunion investors to take majority stake in Air Austral

EC okays €138mn in French state aid for Air Austral

The European Commission (EC) has authorised French state aid of EUR136.8 million euros (USD144.3 million) to Air Austral (UU, St. Denis de la Réunion), of which EUR119.3 million (USD125.9 million) is earmarked for restructuring the airline and EUR17.5 million (USD18.4 million) in compensation for damages suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a January 5 statement, the EC also announced it had approved the restructuring plan, which runs from January 2022 to March 2025. Air Austral will contribute towards its funding through its own or private sources of funds. The new aid followed a loan of EUR20 million (USD21.1 million) from the French state to Air Austral on January 18, 2022.

Measures aimed at limiting distortions in competition will remain in place during the above-mentioned restructuring period. These include limitations on the number of seats and routes operated by Air Austral and a ban on acquiring stakes in other undertakings and business agreements with other airlines.

Brussels believes the restructuring plan will ensure the airline's long-term viability and prevent it from being wound up, which it...

Malta's Maleth-Aero takes first A330-200(P2F)

EU okays French domestic flight ban on 3 routes

The European Commission has okayed a limited version of a French law banning domestic flights on routes with feasible rail alternatives, dismissing complaints about its anti-competitive nature.

The French parliament adopted the law in August 2021. Due to environmental reasons, the country's government hoped to force a modal shift to much more environment-friendly railways by prohibiting air services on all routes where "several" daily direct high-speed train connections that take less than 2.5 hours already exist.

On June 21, 2022, Paris clarified that under the revised scope, the ban would cover only three routes: from Paris Orly to each of Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon St. Exupéry. A further three routes - from Paris CDG to Rennes and Lyon, and from Lyon to Marseilles - would also be banned subject to an improvement in rail services, particularly the launch of new early morning and late evening connections allowing passengers to reach their morning and evening connecting banks. In turn, trunk services from CDG to Bordeaux and Nantes, which were also listed...