Ryanair has suffered a 24 percent slump in profits after losing €50m of business due to Iceland’s volcanic ash cloud. However Europe’s largest low-cost carrier vowed to continue expanding across the continent, where it sees the potential for most growth.

Lockheed Martin Donates $3.5 Million Canadian Training Package to Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies

The British government has mooted the possibility of changes to the deeply unpopular Air Passenger Duty in an emergency budget. Addressing the House of Commons, chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne suggested the government was willing to “explore changes to the aviation tax system”.

Nigeria’s central bank is extending a US$3.3bn bail-out to its struggling aviation industry as a number of carriers have sunk heavily into debt due to aggressive expansion, the rising price of oil, and fierce competion within the domestic market.

Shares in Virgin Blue, Australia’s second largest carrier, fell as much as 30 per cent on Friday after it revealed that full-year profits could be as much as 75 percent lower than forecast only weeks ago. It blamed a “rapid deterioration and increased volatility” in trading, with leisure bookings hit particularly hard.

BMI expects a major restructuring programme will halve losses this year, and save the airline from imminent break up. The £100m cost savings aim to reverse the fortunes of the Lufthansa-owned carrier, which lost £156m last year. These will include 800 redundancies, cutting 10 aircraft and axing unprofitable routes.