SYDNEY: Australia's Qantas Airways said on Friday (Mar 13) it would pay out A$105 million (US$74 million) to settle a class action alleging it misled customers and failed to provide ticket refunds for flights cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The class action on behalf of Australian passengers related to international and domestic flights cancelled by Qantas between 2020 and 2022.

Qantas had provided flight credits instead of cash refunds.

"Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Qantas has agreed to pay A$105 million, with no admission of liability," the airline said.

The deal is subject to court approval and will see the money to fund cash refunds paid to an administrator in the first half of 2027, Qantas said.

Echo Law, which brought the class action, alleged Qantas had "unlawfully benefited from customers by holding for years a very significant amount of customer funds that ought to have been refunded".

The court will provide details of how customers can claim refunds in the coming weeks, the law firm said on Friday.

TOKYO: Brent crude inched further above US$100 a barrel and stocks fell in early Asian trade on Friday, after Iran vowed to attack oil resources in the Middle East and keep choking the Strait of Hormuz.

Having risen above US$100 on Thursday, Brent was up 0.20 per cent at US$100.66 at around 12.20am GMT, while West Texas Intermediate was flat at US$95.75.

In Japan, the Nikkei was down 1.4 per cent at 53,687.30 points while the Kospi in South Korea fell 2.2 per cent to 5,462.97.

With Gulf states slashing production and oil tankers stuck in the Gulf, benchmark oil prices have risen 40 to 50 per cent since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb28, threatening to curb growth and stoke inflation.

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The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for crude, remains effectively shut.

Saudi forces intercepted dozens of drones on Friday and Israel came under attack from missiles launched by Tehran.

The International Energy Agency has warned that the Middle East war could lead to "the largest supply disruption" in the industry's history.

But US President Donald Trump wrote on social media that defeating Iran's "evil empire" was more important than crude prices.

SINGAPORE: The second Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft deployed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to evacuate citizens stranded in the Middle East arrived in Singapore at 5.59am.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said that 81 Singaporeans and their dependents were on the flight.

After prioritising and catering for Singaporeans who registered to be on the flight, available seats were also extended to nationals from Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, said MINDEF.

"This is in the spirit of solidarity, just as how other countries have assisted Singaporeans in returning home in past crises."

Over the two evacuation flights conducted by the RSAF, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has successfully supported the return of 299 Singaporeans and their dependents from the Middle East, MINDEF said.

Singapore had also previously mounted two repatriation flights out of Muscat, Oman. The flights served Singaporeans in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

It had also arranged a flight to Oman for foreign visitors affected by the airspace disruptions.

WASHINGTON: An American KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while a second plane involved in the incident landed safely, the US military said Thursday (Mar 13).

"One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement.

Iran's military, however, claimed in a statement carried by state TV that an allied group in Iraq had downed the aircraft with a missile, killing all its crew.

The KC-135 is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war in the Middle East, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.

KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three - a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force.

But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said.

Early in the war - which began on Feb 28 - Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed three American F-15E fighters, but all six crew members were able to eject, according to CENTCOM.

That incident occurred during combat, including "attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones", the military command said at the time.

WASHINGTON: One person was killed and two others injured on Thursday (Mar 12) when a gunman who supported the Islamic State extremist group opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia, US authorities said.

In addition to the fatality, the assailant also died in the incident, which the FBI said was being investigated as "an act of terrorism."

The shooting occurred in a building on the campus in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, south of the US capital Washington.

"The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him - actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement," Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said in a statement posted on X.

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"The FBI is now investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism."

At a subsequent press conference, the suspected attacker was identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the National Guard who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.

Jalloh was sentenced to prison in 2017 and was released in 2024.

On Thursday, "prior to this act of terrorism, he shouted - he stated 'Allahu akbar' ('God is the greatest')", Special Agent Dominique Evans of the FBI's Norfolk field office told reporters.

The suspect "wanted to conduct a terrorist attack, similar to that in Fort Hood, Texas", Evans said, referring to a 2009 mass shooting carried out by a US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and injured more than 30 others.

That shooter, Nidal Hasan, had reportedly exhibited signs of radicalisation, and he too shouted "Allahu akbar" before beginning his killing spree.

Evans, responding to a reporter's question, said the suspect at Old Dominion made no mention of Iran, the country currently at war with the United States and Israel, during his attack.

All three shooting victims were members of ROTC, the college-based Reserve Officers' Training Corps that trains students to become commissioned officers in the US military.

Evans did not say whether the victims were targeted because they were part of ROTC, but hailed students for their rapid response.

"There were students that were in that room that subdued him and rendered him no longer alive," she said. Evans noted the suspect was not shot, but she did not provide details on how he died.

"The brave ROTC members in that room subdued him and if not for them I'm not sure what else he may have done," she said.

Old Dominion University said in a statement that police and emergency personnel "responded immediately" to the attack and that "the gunman is now deceased".

School shootings are a shockingly regular occurrence in the United States, where guns outnumber people and regulations on purchasing even powerful military-style rifles are lax.

SINGAPORE: If the Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint, then the airspace over Iran and much of the Middle East has become a flashpoint since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Hundreds of missiles and drones have been fired into the skies, prompting airspace closures and flight cancellations on a scale not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. With the war into its second week, what are the implications for the global aviation industry and how will it reshape future air travel?

LASTING RAMIFICATIONS FOR THE REGION

Let’s start with some numbers. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – contribute a sizeable chunk of airline traffic, especially in international and transit segments.

Numbers from the International Air Transport Association show the region’s airports, which serve as a gateway between Europe, Asia and Africa, accounting for about 15 per cent of global international transit traffic.

Before the outbreak of the war, there were at least 2,200 aircraft movements a day at the Dubai International Airport, one of the Gulf’s major aviation hubs. Over at the Hamad International Airport in Doha, at least 900 aircraft movements were recorded daily.

The Iranian airspace is also a crucial aviation artery before the war. As airlines avoided the skies over Ukraine and Russia, it was a strategically important aviation superhighway that handled over 1,000 flights a day.

But that was then.

The ramifications of the war are proving to be disastrous. Local reports within the GCC countries estimated up to 30,000 flight cancellations in the first week of the war. These have caused massive disruptions, spilling beyond the region.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES?

While the costs vary, executives who spoke to me off-the-record reckoned that the GCC carriers can expect daily losses of about US$2 billion. These are largely due to flight cancellations, airspace closures, higher costs due to longer routes and higher war-risk insurance premiums, refunds, and severe hub disruptions.

But this does not mean an upside for other airlines which also have to contend with rerouting flights, carrying extra fuel or making additional refuelling stops to guard against sudden diversions.

Major airlines are also unable to completely absorb the capacity lost from the Gulf carriers, due to the sheer volume of about 23,000 flights.

In addition, the battle for passengers is not necessarily a zero-sum game. While airlines compete for customers – sometimes at their rivals’ expense – they also understand that flooding the market with flights, which may result in overcapacity, is risky and could result in losses for everyone.

That said, there may be some winners in the near term. Cathay Pacific, for one, stand to gain most from the Gulf fallout.

Today, Cathay is a stronger airline than in 2019 when it suffered from protests that hurt Hong Kong’s economy and later, the pandemic. The airline has recovered and is pursuing a sound geopolitical strategy that closely aligns itself with China.

Operationally, Cathay’s jets can skirt current warzones, along the relatively safe corridors of Central Asia or simply fly through the vast Russian airspace. As a Chinese airline, it is not subjected to sanctions, unlike Western carriers that have been banned from or are avoiding the Russian airspace since 2022.

WHAT LIES AHEAD?

Moving forward, the sector is in for little reprieve.

Oil prices have been volatile this week on the back of jitters caused by the halt in shipping through the critical Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for roughly 20 per cent of global oil consumption.

Correspondingly, prices for jet fuel have also risen. Jet fuel typically accounts for 30 per cent to 40 per cent of an airline’s operational costs, and is denominated in US dollars. Airlines whose revenues are in currencies that are weaker than the greenback will suffer the most on their bottom lines.

It is a given that airlines will impose fuel surcharges on passengers soon. Already, a handful of airlines have announced airfare hikes.

For the Middle East, will the glamour and glitz associated with Dubai and other Gulf cities fade away when the war is over, or will they make a full recovery?

The war in Iran has called into question the long-term economic sustainability of the GCC countries.

For Dubai, tourism, not oil, serves as the backbone of the city's economy. Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries are also focusing on other ways to drive their economies. As the world seeks alternatives to fossil fuel, a shift away from crude appears imperative to maintain the GCC’s role globally. This economic sustainability is key for the region’s airlines, which have been powered to success by their respective governments.

The war has also shown vulnerabilities of Middle Eastern carriers located in a volatile part of the world. Confidence in its hospitality and airline sectors will take a long time to recover, if at all.

Shukor Yusof is the founder of Endau Analytics, an independent aviation advisory firm based in Singapore.

JERUSALEM: Israel's military said Thursday (Mar 12) it had struck checkpoints set up in Tehran by the Basij paramilitary force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as part of efforts to undermine control by the authorities. 

"Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force, acting on (military) intelligence, has targeted the Basij roadblocks and operatives," the army said in a statement. 

"These forces led the regime's primary efforts to suppress internal protests, particularly in recent months, employing severe violence, mass arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators," it added. 

Iran was rocked by unprecedented protests against the clerical establishment that peaked in January.

They were put down with a crackdown which according to rights groups left thousands of people dead and tens of thousands arrested.

Tehran residents have told AFP that Revolutionary Guard forces have set up checkpoints across the capital in a bid to assert control in the face of US-Israeli strikes. 

"Even the smallest police stations are closed, so officers don't have anywhere to go," a Tehran resident in her 30s told AFP, withholding her identity for her safety. 

"The only way they can show that they're there and that the situation is under control is to put checkpoints around the place."

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both urged the Iranian people to rise up against the clerical authorities.

NEW YORK: Oil prices jumped Thursday (Mar 12) with Brent crude settling above US$100 a barrel for the first time since August 2022, as Iran vowed to make the United States regret launching its war against the country.

The price of Brent crude surged 9.2 per cent to US$100.46 a barrel, while its US equivalent, West Texas Intermediate, climbed 9.7 per cent to US$95.73 a barrel.

Stocks retreated as fears of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East took hold, with US and Israeli strikes on Iran continuing and Tehran's retaliation bringing trade through the Strait of Hormuz to a virtual standstill. 

Markets were not assuaged by US President Donald Trump's proclamation that stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon was more important to him than controlling oil prices.

"Markets are certainly moving with oil prices and the ongoing concerns about energy disruptions," said Angelo Kourkafas, a senior analyst at Edward Jones.

"There is less belief compared to the last couple of days now, at least from an investor's perspective, that there's going to be a quick off-ramp and a quick resolution to this conflict," he said.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged that the US military was currently "not ready" to escort tankers through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Brent is up around 38 per cent from the eve of the conflict, which began on Feb 28 when the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. It is up nearly two-thirds from the start of the year.

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei called Thursday for using "the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz", which the country's Revolutionary Guards vowed to carry out.

The call followed fresh attacks against Gulf energy targets: an attack on two oil tankers off Iraq killed at least one crew member, while a cargo ship caught fire after being hit by shrapnel.

Iran's government, however, has sent mixed messages on hitting regional targets and blocking the strait. 

On Thursday, the country's deputy foreign minister told AFP that Tehran had allowed ships from some countries to cross through the key waterway.

The International Energy Agency said the Mideast war "is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market", a day after its member countries agreed to unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves - their largest release ever.

Analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation said that if the announcements of the release of oil from strategic reserves "were supposed to cap prices, then they failed dismally".

Kourkafas said the release would provide "a temporary buffer" but it was probably not enough to offset the loss of flows through the strait.

The rise in energy prices could cause prices to rise throughout the global economy, with analysts warning of wide-ranging effects from rising inflation to slowing growth if the fighting continues.

"The longer the oil price remains elevated, the more damaging and long lasting the inflation shock will be for the global economy," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at the trading group XTB.

Wall Street's main stock indices closed down, with the Dow shedding 1.6 per cent, the Nasdaq losing 1.8 per cent and S&P 500 tumbling 1.5 per cent.

Europe's leading equity markets closed lower, as did most Asian markets.

The dollar rose further against major rival currencies.

"The dollar has strengthened, driven by safe-haven demand, fears of inflation, and higher-for-longer interest rate expectations," said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said earlier that he had ordered troops to "prepare for expanding" attacks in Lebanon, as Israel issued an evacuation warning to all residents south of the Zahrani River, some 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the border.

Israel continued striking several areas of Lebanon throughout the day, including the town of Arkey in the south, where nine people were killed and seven wounded, according to the health ministry.

Among the dead were five children, four of them siblings, according to the Arkey municipality.

A separate Israeli strike on the Christian village of Ein Ebel killed three men as they were installing a satellite TV dish on a roof, the NNA said.

HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN

"WE WON'T LEAVE"