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UK Department for Transport (DfT) announced (02-May-2026) a series of contingency plans to reduce the likelihood of last-minute flight cancellations in summer 2026, in the event of "significant disruption due to ongoing global uncertainty caused by the Middle East conflict". The Government confirmed that while there are "no immediate supply issues", the measures are designed to enable airlines to "plan realistically and lock in schedules earlier so that people are less likely to be affected by short‑notice changes at the airport". These temporary measures would allow airlines to, for example, consolidate schedules on routes where there are multiple flights to the same destination on the same day.  Instead of cancelling flights at the last minute, the measures would:

• Help move passengers onto similar services much earlier, helping avoid stressful delays at the airport;
• Prevent running flights which have not sold a significant proportion of tickets;
• Reduce wasted fuel from flying near-empty aircraft.

Measures being considered will allow airlines to proactively hand back a limited proportion of their allocated take-off and landing slots without losing the right to operate them the following season. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander discussed the plans with industry figures on 30-Apr-2026 including representatives from London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and easyJet. Ms Alexander stated: "This legislation will give airlines the tools to adjust flights in good time if they need to, which helps protect passengers and businesses. We will do everything we can to insulate our country from the impact of the situation in the Middle East". [more - original PR]

General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA UAE), via its official Twitter account, announced (02-May-2026) "the full resumption of normal air navigation operations across UAE airspace". The authority added: "Following a comprehensive evaluation of operational and security conditions, we have officially lifted the temporary precautionary measures previously in place".

Doha Hamad International Airport, via its official Twitter account, announced (04-May-2026) the following additional airlines resumed or plan to resume services to/from Doha Hamad International Airport:

• 01-May-2026:
  • Air India;
  • Air India Express;
  • IndiGo;
• 11-May-2026: SriLankan Airlines;
• 12-May-2026: Pegasus Airlines;
• 19-May-2026: flynas.

Spirit Aviation Holdings confirmed (02-May-2026) Spirit Airlines commenced a wind down of operations, effective immediately. All services operated by Spirit have been cancelled. The company stated: "The recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit's financial outlook", adding: "With no additional funding available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind down". [more - original PR] [more - Aviation Week]

IATA Economics confirmed (01-May-2026) the depreciation of the Japanese yen to "its lowest level since the 1970s" has contributed to growth in international inbound passenger traffic. International travel to Japan increased 47.1% year-on-year in 2024 and 15.8% in 2025. IATA noted that demand from short and medium haul markets, such as South Korea, Southeast Asia and India, has been "especially robust". The weaker yen has conversely made international travel more expensive for Japanese residents. The number of international trips by Japanese travellers was yet to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2025 and is "comparable to levels seen in the mid‑1990s". IATA commented: "The weak JPY has been a double edged sword for Japan's airline industry: boosting inbound travel and passenger volumes, while suppressing outbound demand and raising USD‑denominated costs to JPY-based airlines". [more - original PR]

Qantas Group extended (01-May-2026) previously announced schedule changes across its international and domestic network between Jul-2026 and Sep-2026. Details include:

• International:
  • The carrier will continue to redeploy some aircraft to operate more flights between Australia and Europe, providing customers already booked to travel on partner airlines with an alternative option should they wish to change;
  • Select schedule changes initially operating between 20-Apr-2026 and 26-Jul-2026 have been extended to continue through to 24-Oct-2026:
    • Perth-Singapore: Frequency increased from daily to 10 times weekly, timed to connect with Qantas' Singapore-Paris service;
    • Perth-Rome: Additional frequencies have been extended another three months until the end of Oct-2026;
    • Paris service will continue to operate from Sydney via Singapore until 24-Oct-2026. Frequency will increase to up to five times weekly between 18-May-2026 and 26-Jul-2026, before reverting to three times weekly from 27-Jul-2026;
    • Sydney-Vancouver: Additional weekly frequency continues to 24-Oct-2026;
    • The changes will provide an additional 2000 seats to and from Europe each week;
  • Qantas and Jetstar Airways have also reduced capacity to and from other markets. This includes Qantas' Sydney-Bengaluru service being temporarily suspended from Aug-2026 and resuming at the end of Oct-2026, while both carriers have reduced capacity in New Zealand;
  • These changes reduce previously planned Group International capacity by 2% for Q1FY2027.
• Domestic:
  • The group extended previously announced capacity reductions of 5% until the end of Sep-2026, predominantly on "Qantas and Jetstar flights on major capital city routes". [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II] [more - original PR - III]