On 29 November 2024, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) officially lifted its flight ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), allowing the country’s national carrier to fly to Europe again after more than four years. The decision followed a long process of safety reforms and independent assessments of Pakistan’s aviation regulator.
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On 30 October 2024, Airbus handed over the world’s first production A321XLR to Iberia at its Hamburg delivery centre, marking a defining moment in the commercial aviation industry. The aircraft’s entry into service heralded a new era in which single-aisle jets — long confined to short and medium-haul operations — could credibly challenge widebody aircraft on transatlantic routes.
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More than 33,000 Boeing workers walked off the job on 13 September 2024, beginning the biggest strike at the US aircraft manufacturer in 16 years. Workers rejected a pay offer and demanded better wages, bringing production of the 737 MAX, 777, and 767 to a standstill.
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On 9 August 2024, a Voepass ATR 72-500 fell from cruising altitude and crashed into a residential neighbourhood near Vinhedo, São Paulo State, killing all 62 people on board. The accident was captured on video by ground witnesses and circulated widely on social media, becoming one of Brazil’s worst aviation disasters in recent memory and drawing urgent international attention to the hazards of airframe icing on regional turboprop aircraft.
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On 19 July 2024, a faulty software update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike caused millions of Windows computers to crash simultaneously around the world. The failure brought airlines, banks, hospitals, and broadcasters to a standstill, and led to the cancellation of more than 5,000 flights globally in a single day.
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On 18 June 2024, Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun appeared before a US Senate subcommittee investigating the aerospace manufacturer’s safety culture and quality control failures. The hearing, which featured new whistleblower allegations released just hours earlier, represented one of the most significant moments of congressional accountability in the company’s turbulent recent history.
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