Airbus has blamed supply chain issues for a further delay in delivery of the first 'Project Sunrise'-configured A350-1000ULR to Qantas to April 2027. The airframer states that the first aircraft has entered the paint shop in Toulouse and will be progressively painted in Qantas livery over two weeks before progressing to interior and engine installation. It adds however that the aircraft will not join Qantas's fleet until April, around three months later than the late 2026 plan previously disclosed by the carrier. "The adjustment to the schedule is largely due to the impact of supply chain issues," Airbus adds. Despite that, the airframer states that preparations for the first flight of the A350-1000ULR are "at an advanced stage" and is expected to take place within the coming weeks. "This will mark the start of a two-month flight test programme focused primarily on the modified fuel system, which will enable non-stop flights of up to 22 hours," it adds. Cirium fleets data shows that Qantas has 12 of the ultra-long-range variants on order, as well as 12 standard -1000s. The ULR is designed to allow the carrier to operate nonstop flights from Australia's east coast to Europe and the US east coast in a four-class layout with 238 seats. Qantas selected the A350-1000 to meet its Project Sunrise requirement in 2022 after a competition that included the Boeing 777-8X.

Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has voted to reverse an increase in the country's air traffic tax that came into force in May 2024. The measure, which was confirmed in November 2025 as part of the government's coalition agreement, will reverse the air traffic tax to its previous stance on 1 July. This means reductions in the per-passenger charge from €15.53 ($18) to €13.03 for short-haul flights, from €39.34 to €33.01 for medium-haul, and from €70.83 to €59.43 for long-haul. This will cost around €330 million through 2027, the government anticipates. German airlines have long complained that the country's tax system discourages air travel, with a related knock-on impact on economic competitiveness. This has been cited by several carriers as a reason to pull back capacity from the German market, which has seen one of the slowest recoveries from the pandemic in Europe. Last month, Lufthansa Group announced 20,000 cancellations from its hubs at Frankfurt and Munich, which it said was designed to save 40,000t of fuel. However, it correspondingly increased services to and from countries outside Germany. That came on top of previous heavy cuts to the carrier's domestic services announced last year. Lufthansa estimates that the cost of operating in the country had broadly doubled since 2019. "We welcome the reversal of the recent increase in air passenger duty as a commitment to Germany as an aviation hub. This is an important signal, because Germany is among the top countries in Europe in terms of the burden of government-imposed location costs," says Jens Bischof, president of German aviation association BDL. However, the industry body believes the decision must be followed by further relief measures, estimating that reversing the tax increases reduces the burden by around €2.50 per passenger. "To make Germany a competitive aviation hub in Europe again, we need relief of €15 per passenger," says the BDL.

European air connectivity flatlined in 2025, as high costs and regulatory pressures constrained growth, according to new data from IATA. The airline association says the total number of routes across the EU expanded by just 1% last year, below the 1.5% compound annual growth recorded over the previous decade. IATA data shows that 1,127 routes were cancelled in 2025, while 1,281 were added, resulting in a net gain of 154 routes. The overall network now totals 14,797 routes. "The growth of airline route networks reflects both developments in demand and the operating environment," says Thomas Reynaert, IATA’s senior vice-president for external relations. "That the European Union's air connectivity virtually flatlined in 2025 is no surprise. The regulatory burden is onerous, costs are high, and the EU's well-documented underlying competitiveness issues have not been seriously addressed." He adds that attempts to update pieces of legislation which would in theory make them more palatable to airlines "appear to be doomed to just make them worse". Reynaert's comments echo those of 35 chief executives from Europe's regional airline industry, who warned this week that a proposed update to EU261 passenger rights legislation, first promised in 2013, risks becoming "the last straw" for the sector, rather than the relief initially envisaged. Revisions to EU261 compensation legislation are intended to provide stronger passenger protection amid travel disruption while also regulating airline costs and clarifying legal definitions, according to the European Parliament. There will be a defined list of scenarios that exempt airlines from paying compensation, and potentially a mandate allowing passengers to carry one free personal item and one small hand-luggage item free of charge. Changes to the legislation were agreed by the European Parliament in January, but the EU Council, which represents member states, rejected these amendments in March. They are currently in a conciliation committee. "At a time of soaring fuel prices and geopolitical uncertainty," the executives wrote, the new rules "could simply push us to breaking point." IATA emphasises the economic importance of aviation, noting that more than 9.2 million jobs and €760 billion ($882 billion) in GDP are supported by air transport and related tourism across the EU. As well as reform EU261, IATA is requesting changes to passenger rights rules, to reduce the cost of sustainable aviation fuel, strengthen oversight of airport and air navigation charges, allow greater flexibility on airport slots during crises, and eliminate national passenger taxes.