Aviation News

On July 3, the Swiss leisure carrier Edelweiss will inaugurate the first flight ever from Zurich to Halifax, Canada's eighth-busiest airport by passenger volume. While the Nova Scotia capital and most populous city has had Airbus A340 diversions and other irregular operations in the past, it has not had regular service aboard that quadjet.

JetBlue is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a loyalty promotion unlike anything it has offered before. The airline has launched a ‘25 for 25’ challenge, which gives its TrueBlue loyalty program members a rare opportunity to secure long-term elite status. The initiative is being positioned as a thank-you to long-time frequent flyers.

The United Kingdom plans to buy 12 F-35A fighter jets that can carry nuclear and conventional weapons. The news comes in the wake of the NATO summit, which is taking place in the Netherlands on June 24–25, 2025.

After hoovering up the orders at the 2025 Paris Air Show, Airbus is looking set to continue its hot streak by getting another major aircraft deal over the line that is reported to be valued at more than $2 billion. The customer in question is said to be the Taiwanese flag carrier and SkyTeam member China Airlines, which has reportedly committed to acquiring both narrowbodies and widebodies from Airbus.

A United Airlines-operated Boeing 777-200ER en route to Rome was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Iceland on Sunday, June 22. The widebody descended to 21,000 feet and broadcast a distress signal before making a safe landing at Keflavik International Airport (KEF), according to NBC Bay Area News.

JetBlue will be bringing its Mint business class experience to Orlando International Airport (MCO) for the first time. Starting in late October, the airline will be offering two daily flights between Orlando and Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) using its Airbus A321s with Mint. These flights will operate throughout the winter season, with one of the flights continuing year-round.

On June 23, Etihad Airways' last Airbus A380 flight left New York JFK. It is unknown if the Gulf carrier's double-decker quadjets will be deployed to the US's leading widebody airport again. It was replaced by the lower-capacityAirbus A350-1000, which has the airline's newest business class but no first-class seats or The Residence suites.

On Tuesday morning, June 24, a United Airlines Boeing 767-300 operating flight UA12 from Zurich to Chicago O’Hare International Airport rejected takeoff at high speed on Zurich International Airport's runway 16. The cause of the rejected takeoff remains unclear.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blames Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration for the January 2024 Alaska Airlines door plug incident, with NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy saying, “I have lots of questions where the FAA was during all of this.”

Welcome to my 173rd weekly routes article! It includes eight mini-stories about subjectively exciting services that took off between June 17 and 23. While dozens of routes worldwide started in the examined period, only a selection of intriguing additions are covered in this article.

The ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East has posed a significant challenge for airlines flying to, from, and within the region in recent days, with carriers having to come to terms with multiple airspace closures, often at short notice. Qatar Airways has been among the most heavily hit by these alterations, with significant disruption impacting its flights atDoha Hamad International Airport.

Yesterday, Delta Air Lines announced that the $4 billion transformation of LaGuardia Airport (LGA) Terminal C has been completed, just in time to take advantage of summer vacation travel spikes. The renovation involved consolidating the old Terminals C and D and transforming them into a new state-of-the-art terminal facility; it was undertaken by Delta in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

As we know, over the past few days, tensions in the Middle East have intensified, especially after the US carried out strikes on Iran last weekend. Retaliation was widely anticipated, and Qatar, which is home to the United States' largest military base in the region, took immediate precautionary measures. On Monday, the country temporarily closed its airspace, citing the safety of its residents and visitors.

Emirates has passenger flights to 40 European airports from its Dubai hub. In the upcoming winter, schedule analysis shows that they'll be served an average of double daily. However, nine airports will have at least triple daily services, including Barcelona.

An American Airlines flight from Miami International Airport(MIA) to Raleigh–Durham International Airport(RDU) experienced severe turbulence on Sunday evening, resulting in five people on board being taken to hospital for treatment of their injuries. Flight 1286 was operated by an Airbus A321-200 (registration N189UW), and managed to land safely at RDU, where it was met on the tarmac by airport rescue personnel and emergency services.

Air Transat has confirmed that flights from Toronto to Istanbul will begin. While details are currently scarce, a twice-weekly Airbus A330-200 operation will start on December 6. Given how cold Istanbul is in winter, this is an odd month to launch, especially for a leisure carrier that ordinarily focuses on outbound leisure travel. The reason seems to be its new interline agreement with Turkish Airlines, with Air Transat growing that carrier’s access to Toronto.

Yesterday, an Airbus A321 aircraft flown by Delta Air Lines was diverted from its planned route from New York to Orlando, as reported by 10 WAVY Norfolk news the same day. The aircraft, which had around 200 people onboard, made its way to Norfolk, where it landed safely, and was then grounded for around 10 hours. Following this, it continued to Orlando, and has resumed normal operation of its New York to Orlando return route.

JetBlue has reportedly scheduled its final Embraer E190 flight, in line with plans to retire the aircraft later this year. While there is no confirmation from the airline, the latest flight schedules show that the final flight is set for September 4, 2025.

Over the past few days, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have intensified, which is causing further disruptions across the region. Qatar has now closed its airspace, citing regional circumstances and the need to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. All the Qatar Airways flights bound for Doha have started to divert away from the Qatari Capital following the closure.

Iberia was the launch customer of the much-awaited Airbus A321XLR. In the carrier's latest schedule update to Cirium Diio, the oneworld member added a brand-new but temporary XLR-operated service from Madrid to Santo Domingo. It will become the carrier's longest route on the new variant by distance, but not by block time.