Aviation News

Earlier today, Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after departing from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft’s final signal was recorded at a low altitude of approximately 625 feet, and it came down in a residential area near the airport. While details are still emerging, authorities have indicated that there may be only one survivor among the 242 people believed to have been onboard.

An Airbus A220-300 operated by JetBlue Airways rolled off a runway at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) on Thursday. The incident prompted airport officials to close the runway, while the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop.

Finnair has confirmed the return of flights between Helsinki and Toronto. Having previously been served for many years until 2015, the route will return next May and is bound to make my jam-packed Weekly Routes celebratory article. It will mark the oneworld member's return to Canada.

On June 10, Delta relaunched flights from Atlanta to Brussels. The SkyTeam member previously served the route from June 1993 to April 2016, only to reappear in March 2017 and operate until the pandemic stopped it in March 2020. Sabena (which is now called Brussels Airlines) served Atlanta between 1993 and 2000.

According to internal US government documents obtained by 404 Media, a data broker working with major airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines, gathered extensive personal data on travelers. The broker, Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), then sold access to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The FAA has confirmed it will continue capping flight volumes at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) through the end of 2025, citing safety and delay reduction as key priorities. Starting Monday, scheduled arrivals and departures have been limited to 28 per hour during weekend construction periods from September through December. During other periods, operations will be capped at 34 per hour through October 25, under a federal order issued on June 6.

Airlines leave airports. It's a relatively regular occurrence, and Baltimore is no exception. Since April 2024, six have ceased flying there or have announced their decision to do so. They include PLAY,which will end all US flights later this year. Air Senegal did so in 2023 and is not discussed further. Two airlines joined Baltimore's portfolio in 2023/2024.

American Airlines will begin deploying its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a premium-heavy configuration on the carrier's nonstop route between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland Airport (AKL). This new service is set to begin on January 5, 2026. The aircraft serving this route will be a 244-seat jet that features lie-flat seating in business-class Flagship Suites equipped with privacy doors. The jet will also be fitted with new premium economy seats that offer extra leg support and extended reclining capabilities. In addition, the jet will feature refurbished economy-class cabins.

The Airbus A350-1000 is renowned for its long range and high capacity. The large variant entered commercial service in February 2018 with Qatar Airways. The oneworld member continues to be the largest operator. It has 24 frames, more than the other existing users: Air Caraïbes, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, French bee, Japan Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic. Various other carriers have ordered it.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) has grown into one of the largest airports in Europe, welcoming 66.8 million passengers in 2024, making it the fourth-busiest airport on the continent. It will not rest on its laurels, as, in August 2024, the airport announced a multi-billion-dollar investment program to improve its operations and make it more sustainable.

We are just days away from the 2025 Paris Air Show, which is set to take place at Le Bourget from June 16 to 22. Boeing recently confirmed its plans for the event. This year, the manufacturer says it will focus on “advancing innovation, partnerships, and collaboration” during the show.

After a difficult last few months, Silver Airways has announced that it has ceased operations. The airline, which primarily operated flights out of Florida usingATR 42 and ATR 72 twin-turboprop aircraft, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of 2024, and its fortunes have not improved since the turn of the year. Indeed, three months ago, it abruptly canceled all of its flights from Orlando.

On Monday, June 9th, United Airlines flight UA-2171 set down at Denver International Airport (DEN), but things didn’t go exactly according to plan. The Boeing737-900 (B739) overheated its brakes, and the right main gear was engulfed by smoke.

The Icelandic carrier PLAY has confirmed that it will end its three remaining North American routes and therefore pull out of the continent. This process started earlier, when flights between Keflavik to Washington Dulles ceased in December 2024, followed by Hamilton, which it served for Greater Toronto, in April 2025. PLAY has also reduced frequencies on its remaining links, while downgauging aircraft to the Airbus A320neo as its A321neos have been retired.

Boeing has withdrawn an exemption request for the 737 MAX 7, with the planemaker having asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to exempt the aircraft’s Stall Management Yaw Damper (SMYD) system from regulations related to aircraft electrical systems’ resilience to lightning exposure.

Industry insiders are predicting that Southwest Airlines is set to launch its first flights to Europe as soon as next year. The first destination is expected to be Reykjavik's Keflavik International Airport, as the US carrier looks to leverage its newly-created partnership with Icelandair.

On April 29 this year, Boeing was due to deliver two special aircraft to American Airlines, according to One Mile At A Time. These aircraft were both Boeing 787-9P models with the registrations N846AN and N845MD. The 'P' stands for Premium-Heavy, and this new super-premium configuration began flying on select routes from June 5, with more planned to become available through October. At least, that was the plan. The N846AN aircraft has experienced significant difficulty in completing its scheduled flights due to ongoing maintenance issues.

Australia's Jetstar is the lower-cost unit of the Qantas Group. According to ch-aviation, it has 89 aircraft: 49 A320ceos (used on its new route between Cairns and Christchurch), 20 A321LRs, 11 Boeing 787-8s, six A321ceos, and three A320neos. The 232-seat A321LR—one of the world's highest-capacity layouts due to its all-economy configuration—comprises over a fifth of its fleet.

For the most part, working in the ground handling industry is deemed to be a fairly safe profession. Those who work in ground handling are critical pieces of any airline's human capital, as these are the employees who do everything from checking passengers in to boarding them to ensuring that any issues with an aircraft are quickly and efficiently addressed. There are extremely few circumstances under which a ground handler will find themselves at risk of a serious injury of any kind.

United Airlines has continuously expanded its European network, with the United States-based airline adding seven new routes across the Atlantic Ocean during this summer season. While the carrier removed one route, specifically its flights to Tenerife, its European capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), is expected to grow by 4.2% year-on-year (YoY).