ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 31, 2026--
TA Connections, a Corpay (NYSE: CPAY) company and global leader in crew logistics and passenger disruption services, today announced the expansion of its disrupted passenger support services for Aircalin, the international airline of New Caledonia.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260331632569/en/
Building on a successful relationship spanning nearly five years, TA Connections has previously supported Aircalin with manual disrupted passenger services across select stations, including Auckland Airport (AKL), Brisbane Airport (BNE), Melbourne Airport (MEL), Sydney Airport (SYD), and Nadi International Airport (NAN).
Under the expanded agreement, TA Connections will now extend its disrupted passenger support services across Aircalin’s broader international network. Newly added destinations include Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok (BKK), La Tontouta International Airport in Nouméa (NOU), Faʻaʻā International Airport in Papeete (PPT), Bauerfield International Airport in Port Vila (VLI), and Hihifo Airport in Wallis (WLS).
Through TA Connections’ passenger disruption services, Aircalin will benefit from faster access to available hotel inventory during disruption events, globally negotiated hotel rates, and comprehensive invoice reconciliation and coordination managed by TA Connections’ dedicated support teams. These enhancements are designed to reduce administrative burden, improve operational responsiveness, and ensure passengers receive timely and reliable assistance when travel plans are disrupted.
Support for Aircalin’s existing airports remains in place, with newly added destinations scheduled for full implementation in the coming months as coordination with airport and hotel partners progresses.
“We’re proud to expand our support for Aircalin as they enhance disrupted passenger care across their growing network,” said Rob Miller, Senior Vice President of Business Development at TA Connections. “Our services are designed to help airlines streamline disruption logistics, control costs, and deliver a consistent, high-quality experience for passengers when it matters most.”
To learn more about TA Connections’ full suite of airline support solutions, including TA Disruption Hub, visit TAconnections.com.
About TA Connections
TA Connections, a Corpay company, is the world’s leading provider of technology and services for crew and passenger lodging and logistics management. Our next-generation suite of solutions automates travel, payments, and scheduling for crews and disrupted passengers—all while reducing costs and enhancing the customer experience. TA Connections transforms the way airlines manage operations for the world’s most mobile workforce. Get connected at TAConnections.com.
TA Connections + Aircalin
Authorities in Dubai said Tuesday morning they “contained” a Kuwaiti oil tanker after it came under attack from Iran. Officials said there was “no oil leakage and no injuries reported.” The Dubai Media office earlier said a drone hit the Kuwaiti tanker in Dubai waters.
Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 as fuel prices continue to soar worldwide. The last time U.S. drivers were collectively paying this much at the pump was nearly four years ago, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump on Tuesday said nations upset by high fuel prices should “go get your own oil” as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
Also, Israel and the U.S. launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, hitting Tehran in the early morning hours.
Here is the latest:
China and Pakistan agreed to promote a five-point proposal aimed at restoring peace in the Middle East after a monthlong war.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday received his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, and both agreed on the five points they’ll pursue: an immediate cessation of hostilities, the start of peace talks as soon as possible, ensuring the safety of non-military targets, guaranteeing the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and safeguarding the primacy of the U.N. charter.
Chinese state media and Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced the agreement.
Both countries called on all parties to follow the proposals, but they didn’t mention any other concrete steps.
Dar traveled to Beijing as Pakistan has been acting as a mediator between Iran and the United States. The South Asian country is using its relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran to try to help end the war.
President Trump is threatening to deploy ground troops to seize critical oil infrastructure on Iran’s Kharg Island, a military gambit experts say would risk American lives and could still fail to end the war.
If Trump wants to hobble Iran’s oil industry for leverage in negotiations, a better option might be setting up a blockade at sea against ships that have filled up at Kharg Island’s oil terminals, the experts said.
The island — located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — is the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass.
“Putting people on the ground might be the most psychologically compelling way of striking a blow at Iran,” said Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“On the other hand, you’re putting your own troops at jeopardy,” said Eisenstadt, a retired Army reserve officer who served in Iraq. “It’s not far from the mainland. So they can potentially rain a lot of destruction on the island, if they’re willing to inflict damage on their own infrastructure.”
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U.S. stocks are bouncing back as the spike for oil prices caused by the war with Iran slows.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.2% early Tuesday. A day earlier, it closed more than 9% below the all-time high it set early this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 410 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.6%.
Steadying oil prices took some pressure off Wall Street. The worry is that if oil prices stay high for a long time because of the war, it could set off a brutal blast of global inflation. Treasury yields ease again in the bond market.
The Health Ministry in Beirut said Tuesday that 21 people were killed and 70 wounded over the past 24 hours.
The ministry says 1,268 have been killed and 3,750 wounded since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began March 2.
The dead include 125 children and 88 women, the ministry says.
That’s according to health officials at Nasser hospital, where the casualties were taken Tuesday.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the courtyard of Nasser hospital, the family and acquaintances of the father and his son gathered for the funeral prayer, carrying their bodies in white burial shrouds, in tears and agony.
The Gaza Strip has seen near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October and nearly 709 Palestinians have been killed since, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of violating the ceasefire.
Gaza’s militants have sat out the current Iran conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday issued a warning against Israel “unashamedly” bombing pharmaceutical companies as part of the Iranian infrastructure the U.S. and Israel have been targeting since the war began.
“Their intentions are clear. What they’ve gotten wrong is that they’re not dealing with defenseless Palestinian civilians. Our Powerful Armed Forces will severely punish aggressors,” he wrote on X.
Speaking to military officials, minister Israel Katz reiterated that the military aims to control the area south of the Litani River — some 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) north of the border.
He said Israel will prohibit the return of 600,000 Lebanese who fled the area over the last few weeks until safety and security were “ensured” for residents of Israel’s north.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged consistent cross-border fire since the latest flareup that began March 2. He said all homes in the Lebanese villages directly across the border from Israel would be demolished “in order to remove once and for all the threats near the border from residents of the north.”
The Indonesian government has started to implement a work-from-home policy for civil servants as an adaptive and proactive measure in response to global developments of the ongoing war in the Middle East that’s straining global supply chains, particularly in the energy sector.
“Implementing work-from-home arrangements for civil servants at the central and regional levels, with one workday per week on Fridays,” Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a broadcasted conference Tuesday.
The government is also implementing mobility efficiency measures that include a 50% reduction in official vehicle use, except for operational purposes and electric vehicles, and encouraging the use of public transportation.
The measure include a reduction of up to 50% in domestic business trips and up to 70% in international business trips, Hartarto said.
Recommendations regarding working from home and efficiency have also been provided to the private sector, taking into account the needs and characteristics of each business.
“At some point I will, not quite yet, but countries have to come in and take care of it,” he told CBS News in a telephone interview Tuesday. “Iran has been decimated, but they’re going to have to come in and do their own work.”
The conversation followed Trump’s social media post in which he lashed out at allies over their unwillingness to help the U.S. reopen the critical passageway. He said Iran has been “decimated” and no longer poses a “real threat.”
“Let them come up and take it. They didn’t want to give a hand to anybody. NATO is terrible, and they’re all terrible,” Trump said. “So if they want oil, come up and grab it.”
“There are countries around the world who ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well,” Hegseth said Tuesday, speaking at a news conference from the Pentagon. “It’s not just the United States Navy. Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.”
In a social media post Tuesday, President Trump said nations upset by high fuel prices should “go get your own oil” as as average U.S. gas prices shot past $4 a gallon.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the U.S. undertook the war in Iran for the “free world” and questioned the value of the NATO alliance if those countries don’t stand with America.
Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine have wrapped up a news conference at the Pentagon. Hegseth pointed to a social media post from President Donald Trump about allies and said Iranian missiles don’t reach the U.S. but could hit allies and others.
“The president’s pointing out you don’t have much of an, an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them,” Hegseth said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to tell reporters Tuesday whether or not the U.S. military will deploy ground troops against Iran.
“You can’t fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do to include boots on the ground,” he said.
Hegseth added: “Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are. ”
Hegseth also said talks with Iran to end the conflict are ongoing.
“We don’t want to have to do more militarily than we have to,” he said. “But I didn’t mean it flippantly when I said, in the meantime, we’ll negotiate with bombs.”
Speaking at a news conference from the Pentagon on Tuesday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. military action in Iran remains focused on “targeting their minelaying capability, their naval assets.”
“We’ve taken out again more than 150 ships,” Caine said, adding that attack helicopters are now joining in the effort targeting Iranian naval targets.
Another key objective of the war is disabling Iran’s defense industrial base, including nuclear research sites, Caine said.
“This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons research and development labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability,” Caine said.
The agency says the tally follows renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the war and covers a period from March 2 to March 27.
The vast majority – nearly 180,000 – were Syrians returning to their war-battered country, in addition to more than 28,000 Lebanese.
“Most are people fleeing the intense Israeli bombardments. They arrive exhausted, traumatized and with very, very few belongings,” UNHCR’s representative in Syria, Aseer Al-Madaien, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva by video from Damascus.
The agency has already helped more than 3 million people displaced both within Syria and abroad who’ve returned home following the fall of President Bashar Assad in December 2024.
Unlike the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war, when Lebanese could flee across the border without visas, the current Syrian government has restricted the entry of Lebanese unless they have residency in Syria, a Syrian spouse or parent, or other exceptional circumstances.
Speaking at a news conference from the Pentagon on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he visited American service members in the Middle East. He said he wouldn’t disclose the base names or locations for operational security.
Hegseth said he visited areas under the responsibility of U.S. Central Command on Saturday for about half a day.
“Suffice it to say, the trip was in honor,” Hegseth told reporters. “I had a chance to bear witness, and I witnessed the best of America.”
Israel’s military says it has begun a new wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut.
The Italian government says its relationship with the U.S. is “solid and based on full and loyal cooperation,” following reports it denied the use of a Sicilian base to U.S. aircraft headed to the Middle East.
The government of Premier Giorgia Meloni said in a statement that Italy is acting “in full compliance with existing international agreements and the government’s guidelines expressed in parliament.”
It said each request for military use of Italian bases is examined on a case-by-case basis, its longstanding procedure.
“No critical issues or frictions with international partners have been registered,” it added.
Airstrikes hit Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Tuesday afternoon as air defenses could be heard firing.
U.S. President Donald Trump says nations upset by high fuel prices should ‘go get your own oil’ as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
His comments in a social media post on Tuesday came as average U.S. gas prices shot past $4 a gallon.
He expressed his frustration toward allies that have been unwilling to help the U.S. reopen the critical passageway. He also said they should buy from the U.S. because “we have plenty.”
The United Arab Emirates set sharply highly gasoline and diesel fuel prices on Tuesday for the coming month, with gasoline going up by over 30% and diesel jumping up more than 70%.
The UAE government sets the price monthly in line with international pricing, which has spiked over the Iran war and Tehran maintaining its chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz.
In the UAE, diesel fuel will jump to 4.69 dirhams ($1.28) a liter, up from 2.72 dirhams (74 cents). The new price is $4.38 a gallon for diesel, lower than the average gallon of diesel in the U.S., which sits at $5.45 a gallon.
Premium gasoline in the UAE will be 3.39 dirhams (92 cents) a liter. That’s $3.49 a gallon, where premium on average in the U.S. is $4.90 a gallon.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi briefed Russian leader Vladimir Putin about Egypt’s efforts to de-escalate in the region during a phone call Tuesday, according to el-Sissi’s office.
He said Russia is able to help put an end to the war, a statement from the office said.
Italy has refused permission for U.S. military assets to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the Middle East offensive, an official said.
The refusal was issued a few days ago and concerned U.S. aircraft including bombers, which were intended to land at the base before continuing toward the Middle East, the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Under agreements governing U.S. military use of bases in Italy, Rome must be formally consulted and grant approval before operations can proceed.
The request was denied because Italian authorities were not alerted in time and the U.S. assets included bombers, the official said.
Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government has pledged decisions involving military actions would require parliamentary approval.
Italy’s defense ministry did not immediately issue a statement on the decision.
Turkey has denounced attacks targeting personnel with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon as a serious violation of international law.
The statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued Tuesday added that those responsible for attacking UNIFIL peacekeepers must face justice.
The statement criticized Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, saying it was deepening regional instability, and issued a call to the international community to end “Israel’s expansionism, aggression, and occupation.”
Korean Air says it is entering an “emergency management mode” to cope with soaring fuel costs triggered by the war in the Middle East.
South Korea’s biggest airline said Tuesday it is setting internal targets to reduce costs that are not essential to flight operations.
The company said cost-cutting measures would be implemented in phases starting in April, but didn’t specify what they would be or whether they would include major flight reductions.
It added that fuel costs for April are expected to be more than double its previous projections stated in annual business plans.
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show damage after an Iranian attack targeting Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base.
The March 15 photo from Planet Labs PBC shows damage to one of the massive air base’s buildings.
Qatar and the U.S. have not acknowledged the damage.
Al Udeid serves as the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command, which is prosecuting the war.
Information has so far been scarce about the damage being done across the Middle East, particularly inside closed military facilities, since the war started Feb. 28.
The images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets, including the AP.
Planet Labs has put a two-week delay on its imagery becoming public, citing concerns its imagery could be used by “adversarial actors.”
Egypt Foreign Minister Badr Abdelattay briefed foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan about the latest round of mediation efforts.
Abdelattay and Pakistani and Turkish counterparts met over the weekend in Islamabad for talks aimed at bringing Iran and the United States back to the negotiating table, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
Abdelattay discussed the meeting’s outcome and ongoing efforts to stop the war with his counterparts, Egypt’s ministry said without elaborating.
Displaced children talk inside Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, now used as a shelter for people displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Residents inspect a damaged house following an Iranian missile strike in Shefaram Israel, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A woman waves an Iranian flag during a campaign in support of the government at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, is seen, as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A displaced woman walks next to tents set up inside the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, which has been turned into a shelter for people displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
