On 27 January 2026, Southwest Airlines made history by ending its 54-year-old open seating policy. For the first time since the airline began flying in 1971, passengers now choose an assigned seat at the time of booking. The change, driven by shifting customer preferences and intense pressure from investors, marks the end of one of the most recognisable traditions in American aviation.
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A Dassault Falcon 50 business jet carrying Libya’s most senior military leadership crashed on the evening of 23 December 2025, killing all eight people on board, including Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Armed Forces. The aircraft, which had departed Ankara Esenboga International Airport bound for Tripoli, disappeared from radar just 26 minutes after take-off following a rapidly developing electrical emergency that left the crew with insufficient time to return to the airport.
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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 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 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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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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