Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
The US Department of Transportation has extended its enforcement pause on four provisions of the 2024 Wheelchair Rule from December 2026 to April 2027, and has added a fifth: the annual hands-on flight attendant training requirement for on-board wheelchair and lavatory accessibility, due to take effect on 2 October 2026. The addition follows a request […]
EirTrade Aviation Maintenance has secured authorisations from the Bailiwick of Guernsey 2-REG, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands and the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority for its facility at Ireland West Airport Knock, opening the site to the offshore registries on which much of the aircraft leasing industry places its assets. FOLLOWING THE REGISTRIES
Northrop Grumman and Boeing have demonstrated enhanced interoperability between the uncrewed MQ-4C Triton and the crewed P-8A Poseidon in a jointly funded technology demonstration, with Triton’s system responding to a request from the Poseidon by using AI algorithms to collect, process and share maritime intelligence across a standardised interface. A REQUEST SENT BETWEEN SYSTEMS RATHER
SAS has been named Europe’s most punctual airline in Cirium’s On-Time Performance report for July 2026, recording an 84.32 per cent on-time arrival rate during peak summer — a figure below its own full-year 2025 average, which illustrates how much harder July is than the rest of the calendar. A RANKING WON IN THE MONTH
Boeing is donating $250,000 from the Boeing Charitable Trust to the Innovia Foundation to support wildfire relief in Eastern Washington, directing the funding to a community foundation that established its Spokane Complex Wildfire Response Fund on 2 August and whose earlier fire fund has completed 13 rebuilt homes for survivors. CORPORATE FUNDING ROUTED THROUGH LOCAL
Bombardier’s fourth annual Flight Attendant Safety Summit was held in Montreal on 5 and 6 August, expanded to two days for 2026 and open free of charge to all flight attendants and aviation professionals regardless of the aircraft type they operate, with sessions covering ICAO cabin safety initiatives, evacuation training, medical emergencies and accident investigation.
Netherlands-based trading and leasing specialist APOC Aviation has appointed Darren Naughton as Vice President Engines, with a global remit covering leasing, exchange, teardowns and component piece-part sales, as demand for green time engine leasing rises against a backdrop of high shop visit costs and constrained MRO capacity. A DIVISION EXPANSION TIMED TO A MARKET CONDITION
Emirates and South African Airways have expanded their codeshare into a reciprocal agreement covering nine new routes — three South African domestic and six regional links from Johannesburg into the DRC, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Regulatory approvals have been secured, ending an arrangement that has operated on a unilateral basis since 1997. FROM UNILATERAL
Lufthansa Group second quarter revenue rose 8% to €11.1 billion, but Adjusted EBIT fell to €383 million from €870 million as fuel costs ran approximately €750 million above the prior year and strikes added at least €150 million. Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Technik both improved, and full-year guidance has been converted from a point ambition
FedEx has opened a dedicated non-stop freighter service between its Asia-Pacific hub in Guangzhou and Sydney, operating five times weekly with Boeing 777 freighters and delivering select shipments from seven Asian markets into Australia in as little as two business days. A DIRECT ROTATION REPLACING A CONNECTED ROUTING Federal Express Corporation has enhanced its