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FAA Cuts Flights at 40 Airports During US Shutdown

On 6 November 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that scheduled flights at 40 of the United States’ busiest airports would be reduced by up to 10 percent, citing a severe shortage of air traffic controllers caused by the ongoing federal government shutdown. The decision — among the most consequential peacetime interventions by the FAA in the modern history of commercial aviation — triggered widespread cancellations across the national airspace system and reignited a long-running debate about the vulnerability of critical aviation infrastructure to political dysfunction in Washington.

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Airlines Tighten Lithium Battery Rules for Passengers

Airlines around the world tightened their rules on lithium batteries and smart luggage in October 2025, making it harder to carry power banks and electrically powered suitcases on board. The changes follow a growing number of battery fires on aircraft, which can be extremely difficult to control in flight. On 15 October, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched a global campaign to help passengers understand the new restrictions before they travel.

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Air France Launches Free Starlink Wi-Fi on Flights

Air France launched free, ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi on board its aircraft in September 2025, becoming one of the first major European airlines to offer complimentary in-flight internet to all passengers. The service is powered by SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network and is available to anyone with a free Flying Blue loyalty account. Air France plans to install the system across its entire fleet by the end of 2026.

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European Airlines Slash US Routes Amid Travel Slump

Throughout the summer of 2025, a succession of European carriers began withdrawing capacity from transatlantic routes to the United States, citing a sustained collapse in bookings that went well beyond the seasonal fluctuations airlines typically manage. The retreat — led by Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM, Iberia, and Norse Atlantic, among others — reflected a confluence of economic anxiety, geopolitical discomfort, and declining consumer confidence in travelling to the US, and prompted one of the sharpest reappraisals of North Atlantic route networks in years.

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American Airlines Receives First Long-Range A321XLR

American Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR in late July 2025, becoming the first US carrier to receive the newest and longest-range member of the A320 family. The aircraft, collected from Airbus’s delivery centre in Hamburg, Germany, features a brand-new premium economy cabin and is capable of flying routes that were previously too long for a single-aisle narrowbody jet. American plans to use the aircraft on transcontinental domestic routes before launching its first transatlantic services in 2026.

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Air India 787 Crashes on Takeoff, Killing 260

The crash of Air India Flight 171 on 12 June 2025, 32 seconds after departing Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport bound for London Gatwick, claimed 241 of the 242 people on board and killed a further 19 on the ground, making it the deadliest aviation accident of the 2020s and the first fatal hull loss suffered by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since the aircraft entered commercial service in 2011. The single survivor, a passenger seated near the rear of the aircraft, was pulled from the wreckage of a doctors’ hostel belonging to B. J. Medical College, into which the aircraft plunged after losing thrust from both engines within seconds of becoming airborne.

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