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Brégier: Airbus confident of A320neo delivery in 2015

Agreement on Capitol Hill: Drones are on collision path with airliners

With airline pilots reporting close encounters with unmanned drones more than three times a day, it’s just a matter of time before there is a mid-air collision that could carry deadly consequences. That was the virtual consensus on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as lawmakers, pilots, experts and...

Taranis to enter third testing phase

The UK’s BAE Systems Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator will carry out a third phase of flight tests towards the end of the year, the Ministry of Defence has revealed. The test programme had gone quiet after two phases of testing in Woomera in Australia, but it will now...

UK claims to be ahead of international UAV regulators

The UK’s Department for Transport has claimed the country is pioneering ahead of European and international airspace regulators to rapidly look at integrating unmanned air vehicles into national airspace. EASA and ICAO are both looking at higher level integration of UAVs, with EASA in particular looking at introducing a new proportionate ruling for UAVs in 2016, but the UK is striving to...

Norwegian and UNICEF to fly aid to Syrian refugees

Low-cost airline Norwegian and UNICEF will send an aircraft loaded with emergency aid and school supplies to help Syrian children living in refugee camps. In November, Norwegian’s UNICEF aircraft will take off for Amman in Jordan, a couple of hours’ drive from one of the largest refugee camps on the Syrian border. The initiative between Norwegian and UNICEF is aimed at helping so...

EU Air Navigation Service Providers to modernise air traffic management system

The leaders of Europe’s leading Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) have renewed their commitment to work together to help modernise Europe’s air traffic management system – and expanded their agreement to draw in other European ANSP groupings. The Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 2011 by members of the original A6 Alliance – which united the ANSPs of France, Ger...

‘Orange’ aviation code assigned to Kamchatka’s Shiveluch volcano spewing ash

The Shiveluch volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula has spewed ash to an altitude of 5.5 kilometers above sea level, the press service of the emergencies ministry’s regional department reported on Thursday "According to video data of the Kamchatka Volcanic Response Team (KVERT), ash fall has been registered on Shiveluch," it said, noting that there were no settlements on...

Transaero was going to suspend flights in Russia on October 15th

Transaero was going to suspend transportation of passengers, who already have tickets, to foreign countries on October 5th and suspend flights within the territory of Russia on October 15th, Interfax reported with reference to Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev. According to him, passengers would have been transported only from foreign countries back to Russia. The passengers, who have tickets f...

Baggage scanners plan further weekend strike at Stansted Airport

GMB members who operate the security scanners for checked in luggage at Stansted Airport will take further strike action this weekend. Around 30 employees are expected to take industrial action on Saturday, October 10, and on Sunday October 11 in a dispute over pay. The strike begins at 3.45am on Saturday and continues until 1.45pm on Sunday.

Air France may cut 5,000 more jobs in new restructuring

Air France will cut a further 5,000 jobs if a second phase of its cost-cutting plan goes ahead, on top of an already announced plan to cut 2,900 jobs.  Air France, having failed to secure pilots' agreement for a plan to increase working hours for the same pay, had to come up with a more draconian one earlier this week, unveiling 2,900 job cuts and prompting violent protests among staff...

SNC's updated Dream Chaser to resume flight tests

Sierra Nevada Corporation is preparing its full-scale Dream Chaser engineering test vehicle for the second round of atmospheric free-flight flight testing, and the reusable spacecraft is scheduled for delivery to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Test Centre in California by early 2016. The company has been enhancing the test vehicle since its first free-flight in October 2013, which ended in a cra...

Qantas’s Joyce named airline CEO of the year

Aviation consulting house CAPA – Centre For Aviation has recognised Qantas and its chief executive Alan Joyce for the airline’s recent revival. Qantas received the airline turnaround of the year award, while Joyce was named airline chief executive of the year, at the World Aviation Summit held in Helsinki. CAPA executive chairman Peter Harbison described Qantas’s retur...

Are Airline Passengers Ready to Climb into Flying Bunk Beds?

Airlines and aircraft manufacturers keep coming up with wackier ideas for squeezing more people into airplanes. Remember the saddle-seat? And the hexagon sardine scheme? The latest zany proposal is outlined in a patent filed in Europe by aircraft manufacturer Airbus to offer passengers a flying version of bunk beds. Passengers would climb stairs or a ladder to reach the upper le...

A Conversation with Media Mogul Bob Pittman

The man who gave us MTV and now heads the largest radio-station company in the U.S. doesn’t like to waste a minute. That’s one of many reasons why he loves business jets. Bob Pittman’s resume testifies to his obsession with productivity. Perhaps best known for having led the team that founded MTV, he has also been CEO of AOL, Six Flags Theme Parks, Quantum Media, Century 21 Re...

European flight activity continues to decline in September

There were 4.3% fewer business aviation flights in September 2015, versus the same period in 2014. According to WINGX Advance’s September Business Aviation Monitor, there were significant drops in flight activity in key business aviation markets in western Europe. The steepest drop was in the UK, where an eight percent year-on-year drop was recorded, with similar declines also seen in...

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Top of the week

HondaJet Echelon advances to next phase with successful wing assembly

Honda Aircraft Company announced the completion of the first wing structure for the HondaJet Echelon test aircraft, marking a pivotal advancement in the program and moving the new light‑jet platform i...

Electra and The Atlas Group formalize airframe agreement for EL9 ultra‑short

Electra and The Atlas Group today announced a landmark airframe agreement for the EL9 Ultra‑Short aircraft, uniting Electra’s next‑generation design with Atlas’s established aerospace manu...

Airbus is expanding its delivery capacity for the A320 family in Toulouse with a new integrated center

Airbus has officially unveiled a new delivery center at its Jean‑Luc Lagardère site, northwest of Toulouse, marking a significant milestone in the industrial ramp‑up of the A320 Family. Purpose...

Qantas unveils Adelaide Product Innovation Centre, accelerating growth, employment and skills pathways

Qantas has inaugurated its new Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide, with South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas joining Qantas Group Chief Technology, AI and Transformation Officer Rachel Yangoy...

Ten years of Riga Aviation Forum — insights from Zigmars Vestfals on growth, milestones and the road ahead

As the 10th edition of the Riga Aviation Forum was getting ready to open, 50SkyShades — a long‑standing Media Partner of the event — took the opportunity to sit down with Zigmars Vestfals,...

Boeing, American Airlines complete first 737 MAX landing gear exchange

Boeing and American Airlines announced the successful completion of the first landing gear exchange for a 737 MAX, marking a key milestone as the company extends its longstanding Landing Gear Exchange...

Drukair, Royal Bhutan Airlines selects CFM LEAP-1A engines to power 5 Airbus A320neo family aircraft

Drukair – Royal Bhutan Airlines, the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan, has announced its decision to equip five Airbus A320neo‑family aircraft with CFM International LEAP‑1A engine...

Samson Sky secures $80 million to launch switchblade flying car production

Samson Sky, developer of the Switchblade Flying Car, announced it has secured an $80 million investment from Dubai‑based Matin Group. According to Sam Bousfield, CEO, Founder...

Global Jet Capital releases its annual 2026 Business Jet Forecast

Global Jet Capital has released its sixth annual Business Jet Market Forecast, outlining a confident outlook for the sector. The updated analysis anticipates steady expansion over the next five years,...

Uzbekistan Airways signs long-term support agreement

Uzbekistan Airways and Lufthansa Technik have renewed their cooperation with a long‑term agreement extending comprehensive component support for the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A3...

Gol connects Europe to El Calafate and Ushuaia through its network in Brazil

Gol Airlines continues to expand its South American reach, leveraging its Brazilian network to open new travel possibilities. European passengers can now access southern Argentina through São P...

flydubai Launches dedicated freighter operations to accelerate regional trade growth

flydubai unveiled the launch of its dedicated freighter operations, a dynamic expansion that advances the airline’s diversification strategy and further elevates Dubai’s standing as a glob...

ExecuJet MRO Services to showcase MRO capabilities at AAD 2026

ExecuJet MRO Services South Africa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, will be exhibiting at the Africa Aerospace & Defence (AAD) Expo 2026 at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria (1...

TAROM took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX

Boeing, TAROM and CDB Aviation have celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first 737‑8, marking the arrival of Romania’s first Boeing 737 MAX and a key milestone in the national carrier&...

KVE celebrates 30 years of innovation and accelerates its growth within the Daher Group

KVE by Daher is marking its 30th anniversary with the inauguration of a significant expansion of its production facility in The Hague — a development that signals the start of a new acceleration...

TARMAC Aerosave and AerFin deepen their partnership, processing over ten new‑generation aircraft for dismantling and recycling this year

TARMAC Aerosave, Europe’s leading specialist in aircraft storage, maintenance, dismantling and recycling, has announced an expanded collaboration with AerFin, the global aviation asset‑managemen...

Air Charter Expo achieves third consecutive year of record‑breaking attendance

Global trade body The Air Charter Association (The ACA) celebrated another record‑setting edition of Air Charter Expo (ACE’26) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, delivered in partnership with Busines...

F1 Spanish Grand Prix Week | EHang showcases EH216-S and a 3,000-drone light show at the FIA Sustainable Innovation Series

EHang announced its extensive involvement in the FIA Sustainable Innovation Series held in Madrid during the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix week. Organized by the Fédération Internationale...

Is Australia’s regional turboprop fleet aging well? Why OEM support matters more than build year

Regional turboprop fleets show stark disparities in age, reliability, and economic viability. Many aircraft are approaching end‑of‑life, while others are increasingly difficult to operate as spare‑par...

BGS begins fueling cooperation with Airest at Kaunas and Riga airports

Baltic Ground Services (BGS), a global provider of ground handling and aircraft fueling services, has initiated cooperation with Airest, taking over into‑plane fueling operations at Kaunas (KUN) and R...

Vista House makes exclusive Asia debut amid Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix excitement

Vista is set to debut its signature hospitality concept, Vista House, in Singapore, elevating one of Asia’s most anticipated sporting weekends with a refined, members‑only experience. Conceived...

FlyBy Aviation Academy opens new pilot course (batch 26500) with 44 cadets from 14 nationalities

FlyBy Aviation Academy, one of the largest and most international EASA-approved pilot training organisations in Europe, is pleased to announce the start of a new pilot training course — internal...

Qantas charters NFL teams to Melbourne ahead of historic first game

The Los Angeles Rams have touched down in Melbourne on a Qantas charter flight ahead of Friday's NFL game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the first regular season game the league has played in Au...

AIRCAIRO places order for 15 Airbus A320neo aircraft

AIRCAIRO, Egypt’s National growing Air-carrier, has signed a firm order for 15 Airbus A320neo aircraft at the El Alamein International Airshow 2026. The agreement marks an important mi...

Daher Aircraft is ranked No. 1 in Pro Pilot magazine’s Product Support Survey for the sixth consecutive year

Daher Aircraft has reaffirmed its leadership in turboprop aviation, securing the No. 1 position for the sixth consecutive year in Professional Pilot magazine’s Product Support Survey. In the 202...