Airbus in April reaffirmed its intention to achieve by 2027 a production rate of 75 aircraft per month on its A320-family programme. "A320-family production is progressing well towards the previously announced rate of 75 aircraft per month in 2027," the European airframer said in a fact sheet released three months ago. Simon Finn, head of aviation research at Japanese bank MUFG, views that target with a measure of urgency. "The industry requires Airbus to hit Rate 75 [on the A320-family programme]," he said on 23 July during a webinar hosted by Cirium Ascend Consultancy. "It's going to need that number of aircraft," he says, adding: "Rate 75 is another staging point along the way – it's going to have to go past that in time."

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted a one-year exemption to install and use additional barriers on new commercial airplanes to protect against unauthorised access to the flight deck. "This will allow time to facilitate FAA certification and install the barriers," the agency says in a statement. It explains that the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 mandated the additional barriers, and the agency worked with aviation stakeholders to develop standards. The FAA adopted the Secondary Barriers Final Rule in June 2023, requiring US airlines to install the barriers on all newly manufactured aircraft within two years of the rule's effective date, the FAA adds. It notes that Airlines for America had requested a two-year delay.

Heathrow Airport aims to issue its long-term proposals on expanding the London hub to the UK government by 31 July, kickstarting a process that could lead to the construction of a third runway. The airport is hoping to secure planning permission during the current parliamentary term, which runs to 2029, allowing the new infrastructure to be online by 2035. "New capacity would boost competition and choice for consumers, drive economic growth for the UK and improve operational resilience at the UK's hub airport," it argued as part of its half-year results presentation. Plans for a third runway are separate from the airport's five-year expansion plan – announced earlier this month, and focused on service levels and reliability – and includes measures to allow more customers to be handled within existing infrastructure. Heathrow has asked regulators to increase the charges that airline pay by nearly a fifth to fund the £10 billion ($13.5 billion) investment plan, a move likely to be sharply resisted by carriers. "Our new five-year investment plan will mean faster, more reliable journeys, more on-time flights and unlock room to grow – all while delivering better value for customers," states chief executive Thomas Woldbye. "We will soon submit our long-term expansion plans to the government, providing the UK with the opportunity to stay competitive, boost jobs and drive nationwide growth. Heathrow has an exciting future ahead and we are ready to get going." The airport handled record passenger numbers in the first half: 39.9 million. It attributes this to the use of larger aircraft by airlines and strong demand for Asian and Middle Eastern destinations. Meanwhile, transatlantic travel remains "healthy", says Heathrow, adding: "These links contributed to a 2.4% growth in trade through Heathrow." Across the full year, it estimates, over 84 million passengers will use the airport. First-half revenue grew 1.9% to £1.7 billion and adjusted EBITDA rose 0.8% to £959 million.