Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is set to face a parliamentary inquiry from the country’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over its poor management and increasing financial losses. Reports indicated the airline had incurred a loss of over USD 1.38 Billion over the past 4 years. Furthermore, it was announced in mid-October that flights to the US would be terminated. The airline’s final twice-weekly Lahore to New York service will operate until the 28th of October, after which the airline will only operate to the US via codeshare agreements with partners. The airline will continue to service Toronto (Canada) with its regular four times weekly services.

In late October, the Malaysian government announced that the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared over the Indian Ocean in 2014, will resume with the aid of private exploration company; Ocean Infinity. No additional evidence has been found to indicate any potentially new search areas and Ocean Infinity reportedly stated if the aircraft is not located, there will be no fee imposed.

Over 5,000 flights across the United States were cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 tropical storm that passed over Texas in late August. The hurricane has caused substantial damage to roads, homes and infrastructure in the city of Houston and southern Texas with the death toll rising above 30.

Larger airlines; United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, sustained the majority of cancellations with 463 and 331 respectively. Smaller regional carriers such as Mesa Airlines and Republic Airlines also suffered flight cancellations. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that due to dangerous weather conditions caused by Hurricane Harvey, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport would be closed from the 27th til the 31st August. Despite this, over 700 stranded passengers were able to depart Houston after a number of flights were granted special approval.

The cancellations are expected to cause a domino effect for the following 2 weeks as airlines attempt to deal with the backlog of passengers and flights.