Air France to wet-lease A320 from SmartLynx Estonia

Nigeria lifts ban on Lufthansa, KLM, and Air France

The Nigerian government has lifted its flight ban on Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol), and Air France (AF, Paris CDG), clearing the way for the airlines to resume operations to West Africa’s most populous country.

The Federal Ministry of Aviation in a statement said it had confirmed the flight plans and schedules of the respective airlines. Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) had also been granted approval to start operations at Abuja, confirmed James Odaudu, Director of Public Affairs at the Ministry of Aviation.

In a diplomatic impasse, Nigeria had blacklisted Lufthansa, Air France, and KLM over travel restrictions imposed on Nigerian tourist visa holders by the European Union (EU). In a similar tit-for-tat, Nigeria had banned Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l) for travel restrictions imposed by the United Arab Emirates, but reversed its decision on September 30 after the UAE backed-down.

A meeting between the Federal Aviation Ministry and EU ministers in September was reported to have progressed well and...

Kenya Airways, Air France/KLM suspend longstanding JV

Belgian Air Component to retire all Embraers by YE20

Air France-KLM in talks to raise another €6bn - report

Air France-KLM is seeking an additional EUR6 billion euros (USD7.1 billion) to secure its future and is discussing the issue with its two government shareholders and other investors, unnamed sources told Le Monde on November 17.

The group has already received state-secured Covid-related bailouts amounting to EUR10.4 billion (USD12.3 billion). On top of that, according to the sources, France may provide a further EUR3 billion (USD3.55 billion) to Air France (AF, Paris CDG) and the Netherlands EUR1 billion (USD1.18 billion) to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol), while the group as a whole wants to raise EUR2 billion (USD2.37 billion) in hybrid debt on the markets in the first quarter of 2021.

Hosting a press conference on unrelated issues on November 18, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal was asked about the report. He commented that Paris would continue to back Air France-KLM as it struggles with the slump in travel demand.

“The state has always strongly supported Air France since the beginning of the crisis,” he said, adding that communication between...