South America

The Federal Aviation Administration's acting chief said that U.S. Army helicopter flight around the Pentagon remains suspended. Two passenger airline flights had to abort their landings at Reagan Washington National Airport on May 1, due to a Black Hawk helicopter nearby. The acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau said at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing that, as the agency revisits its letter of agreement with military, it has barred the Army's training flights or priority transport flights. Rocheleau stated that "they are not flying at this time." "We have shut them down until we are comfortable with what we call...

Ethiopian Airlines' chief executive said on Monday that the airline is planning to purchase at least 20 small regional jets or narrowbody aircraft to replace older aircraft and expand its domestic fleet. In an interview, CEO Mesfin Tassew Bekele stated that "we are evaluating three aircraft types, the E-2 by Embraer, A220 by Airbus and the 737 MAX 7 by Boeing." He added that the final order amount will depend on which type is chosen. Boeing's 737 MAX 7 has yet to be approved. It is a plane with a higher seating capacity, but it falls at the bottom of...

Fabio Campos said in a Friday press conference that the Brazilian airline Azul hopes to end Chapter 11 proceedings by early next year. Campos responded that Azul would now concentrate on its financial restructuring. Azul filed for Chapter 11 in the United States this week. Abra, Gol's majority shareholder, and Colombian Avianca announced to Azul in January that they had signed an non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the intention of merging their businesses in Brazil. Campos noted also that the MoU between Azul and Gol remains valid, even though it is not Azul's priority at this time. Azul finished this...

United Airlines and American Airlines are fierce competitors in the U.S., but have decided to support Azul after the Brazilian airline filed for bankruptcy earlier this week. This move is being made as major U.S. carriers look to improve connections in Latin America’s largest country. American's support of Azul is noteworthy given its own ties with its local competitor Gol, which has just emerged from its own Chapter 11 proceedings. According to a filing by Azul, U.S. firms are planning to invest up $300 million in a equity offering for Azul to repay its debtor-in possession financing after it emerges...

The Brazilian airline Azul filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on Wednesday. This was despite its efforts for months to restructure debts mostly from the pandemic era. This move could scupper any merger plans with Gol. It is the latest Latin American airline to declare bankruptcy following the depressed conditions the industry experienced in the first months of COVID-19. According to Brazilian airline, the deal involves a commitment to finance of $1.6 billion throughout the entire process, the elimination of more than $2 billion in debt and a further commitment to up to $950 millions in equity financing...

The newspaper Valor Economico, citing reliable sources, reported that the Brazilian airline Azul will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on Tuesday. This move will make the airline the latest Latin American carrier to declare bankruptcy following the depressed state of the industry in the first months of the COVID-19 epidemic. Azul would be following in the footsteps Aeromexico and Colombia's Avianca, as well as its two biggest rivals Gol and LATAM Airlines. All of these companies have filed for bankruptcy in recent times. Azul struck deals with bondholders and lessors last year to raise more financing....

The net loss of the Portuguese airline TAP in its first quarter increased by 20% compared to the same period last year, as aggressive competition at Portugalia and a strike of pilots at their low-cost carrier impacted revenue. The airline reported on Friday a loss between January and the end of March. This period did not include this year's busy Easter holiday. Luis Rodrigues, the Chief Executive of Portugalia, said that the beginning of the year had been "challenging". He estimated the impact of the strike of 20 days at Portugalia as well as the late Easter holiday to the...

Panama's Aviation Authority announced on Thursday that flights between Panama and Venezuela can resume after a diplomatic standoff. The suspension of the flights occurred nearly a full year ago due to a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. The Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino refused to acknowledge the victory of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the July elections. This led Venezuela to withdraw its diplomatic representation and to halt air travel between Venezuela and Panama. The United States, as well as other Western nations, have condemned the Venezuelan election results that forced opposition candidate Edmundo Gonz to leave the country....

The Brazilian airline Gol announced on Tuesday that a U.S. Court had approved its Chapter 11 restructuring plan, clearing the way for them to emerge from bankruptcy protection on 6 June. The Brazilian carrier filed for bankruptcy in the United States early in 2024, as it was struggling with high debt, a drop in traffic caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, and delays in Boeing aircraft delivery. Gol's Sao Paulo traded shares closed Tuesday's session up over 12%. They outperformed the Bovespa index which rose 0.3%. The airline said that it will convene a meeting of shareholders at the end the...

Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's interior minister, said that he had ordered the suspension of flights to Venezuela from Colombia after more than 30 people were arrested, including 17 foreigners, on suspicion of "conspiracy." Venezuelan authorities have repeatedly warned of conspiracies, planned attacks and other threats against President Nicolas Maduro and the power grid in Venezuela. Both the United States and the opposition have denied the accusations. Cabello told local media during a conference that 38 people had been arrested for the alleged conspiracy. The minister added that all flights to and from Colombia were suspended immediately. Cabello stated that "we have...

The Brazilian government does not plan to provide specific assistance for Azul, as the airline is facing financial challenges. However, money from a fund in Brazil will be made available soon for airlines, Tourism Minister Celso Sabino announced on Monday. The Brazilian government has no intention of granting any type of benefit to one particular company. Sabino, on the sidelines an event in Rio de Janeiro, said that the government views the entire sector. Sabino stated that the "national aviation fund", as it is called, will be available in the first half 2025. The move, he added, would allow local...

Six sources claim that the Trump administration may soften its proposed fee for China-linked vessels visiting U.S. port after receiving a lot of negative feedback. The industries said it could be financially devastating. Six sources familiar with the issue said that the six changes being considered include a delayed implementation as well as new fee structures aimed at reducing the cost of visiting Chinese vessels. Sources asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the subject. The White House, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative(USTR), the government agency involved in the draft of the proposal, have...

Abiove, the traders' association, and a toll-road operator announced on Tuesday that indigenous Brazilian protesters had lifted their blockade of Brazil's Trans-Amazonian Highway. This reopened a vital grain shipping route connecting farmers to the Miritituba River Port. On March 25, Munduruku activists shut down the road (also known as BR-230) to pressure Brazil's Supreme Court into overturning a law that limits indigenous land rights in 2023. Grain traders reported that the protests prevented the shipment of around 70 000 metric tons worth nearly $30 million of grains every day. Abiove reported that it had learned on Tuesday morning the indigenous...

In recent days, protests by indigenous peoples and poor roads disrupted the shipping of Brazil's bumper soya crop via the river port Miritituba within the Amazon rainforest. This has caused concern for global companies such as Cargill and Bunge who have important operations. Abiove, the association of grain handlers in Nigeria, reported on Friday that road access to Miritituba had been partially or totally blocked for two weeks. This has prevented the shipment of almost 70,000 tons per day of grain, equivalent to almost $30 millions of product value. In a statement issued jointly with the farm group Aprosoja Brasil,...

The tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump on Mexican imports pose a significant risk to farmers in Jacksonville. This is because Mexico's retaliation could cause corn buyers to switch to South American rivals. Mexico is the top corn-importing country in the world. At a time when prices of grains have plummeted and chemical and seed costs for crops are on the rise, this market is crucial for U.S. producers. Farmers in Jacksonville, a small city of 17,000 residents, are more likely to benefit from Mexican demand than other farmers. The residents live near a grain loading facility where corn...

Analysts said that the sale of Brazil's soy crop was lagging, due to high freight costs, an increased local currency, and the extra caution taken by trading companies to complete purchases. According to the consultancy Safras & Mercado, Brazil's soybean crop for 2024/25 has already sold 39.4% more than total production expected. This is higher than the 31,9% recorded in the same time period of 2024. It is still below the average for five years of 43.2%. Guilherme Palahares, Santander Research's head of food and beverage research, said that "Freight was the biggest factor in limiting business." To reduce risk,...

Brazilian conglomerate Cosan has actually sold some 173 million shares it owned in Vale, it stated on Thursday, dumping a stake that made it a crucial shareholder of the mining giant as it looks to reduce financial obligation. Cosan, which did not divulge monetary information, stated in a. securities filing that its decision to sell the stake of approximately. 4.05% in Vale was based exclusively on the goal of enhancing its. capital structure. According to a source familiar with the transaction, Cosan. raised around 9 billion reais ($ 1.5 billion) with the sale,. permitting it to decrease its financial obligation...

A freight lobby has alerted of the threat of logistical collapse after Brazilian transport agency ANTT changed payment system guidelines for trucks moving millions of lots of farming products and other cargo, according to a statement on Thursday. The intro of electronic tags as the only accepted means of payment comes as Brazil begins collecting a huge soybean crop of almost 170 million tons, stated Carley Welter, executive director at ANATC, an association of freight firms. ANATC, whose members move a combined 150 million tons of freight including soybeans, corn and soybean meal and have 2.2 million registered truck motorists,...

A freight lobby has actually warned of the risk of logistical collapse after Brazilian transportation firm ANTT altered payment system guidelines for trucks moving countless lots of agricultural commodities and other freight, according to a declaration on Thursday. Intro of electronic tags as the only accepted ways of payment comes as Brazil starts gathering a huge soybean crop of nearly 170 million heaps, stated Carley Welter, executive director at ANATC, a national association of freight companies. ANATC, whose members have actually 2.2 million signed up truck drivers, said firms supplying the tags have been not able to meet high demand....

Brazil could have its BAB overthecounter (OTC) market for soy and corn in place previously the end of the year, the new market's CEO stated on Friday. BAB has been given the green light from Brazil's securities commission, CEO Eric Cardoni told press reporters. Backed by regional train operator Rumo, BAB was developed to enable hedging by regional traders and farmers to better reflect Brazilian market prices, Cardoni said. Grain costs in Brazil, the world's top soy manufacturer and one of the biggest corn farmers, frequently diverge from those sold Chicago since of various crop durations and logistics costs. Cardoni...

Nine individuals passed away when the van they were traveling in hit a truck in southern Brazil late on Sunday, local authorities said. Seven of the victims were teenage members of a rowing team from Pelotas, in Rio Grande do Sul state, who were traveling back from a competitors in Sao Paulo when the crash happened in Guaratuba, Parana state. According to Brazil's federal highway cops, only one of the van's 10 residents - a 17-year-old rower - survived. The truck chauffeur, a 30-year-old-man, had minor injuries, they added. Police said the truck stopped working to brake and collided with...

Native individuals who see a threat to their ancestral lands from the building and construction of a. railway to bring grains to a port in the Amazon on Monday pulled. out of a work group developed by the government last year to. advance the task. The Munduruku and Kayapo people, along with tribes from the. Xingu appointment said in a letter to the Transportation Ministry. that the work group was refraining from doing its job of discussing the. 1,000-km (620-mile) Ferrograo railway with all celebrations. The ministry did not right away reply to an ask for. remark, nor did state...

A fire that ruined a conveyor belt and electric systems at the Tiplam terminal in the port of Santos, Brazil's biggest, caused a suspension of sugar loading on piers 2 and 3 on that terminal, according to a note from the business. The fire broke out on Thursday night on the website and was managed on Friday morning. There were no victims, however the destruction of the conveyor belt stopped loadings in the berths, said the note to customers of VLI, the company handling the terminal. The note was seen . Damage to the electrical infrastructure at the terminal likewise...