The United States Department of Transport (DOT) has imposed fines on Qatar Airways after it was discovered that the airline had operated code-share flights, on behalf of US-based airlines, in airspace that had been restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In late 2014 and early 2015, the airline had reportedly performed a number of flights carrying the American Airlines flight code designation. These flights took place in foreign airspace that had been listed as conflict zones, and therefore had been subjected to an FAA prohibition. Both airlines share an extensive partnership through their association within the Oneworld airline alliance.

In December 2016 the European Commission released an updated EU Air Safety list. Commonly referred to as the EU Ban list, it consists of airline carriers that are banned from operating within European Airspace due to the lack of adequate regulatory oversight. As a result of this revision, all air operators from Kazakhstan were removed from the EU Ban List and can now operate unrestricted flights to the EU. In addition to these changes, Iranian operator; Iran Aseman Airlines, was added to the list of banned carriers due to safety concerns.

Regional Canadian operator, Hawkair, has reportedly filed for bankruptcy in mid November 2016. Throughout 2016, the airline had removed a number of aircraft from operational service, opting to utilise aircraft wet leased from its parent, fellow Canadian airline; Central Mountain Air. The airline had operated a very small and ageing fleet of turbo-prop aircraft to perform flights throughout the British Columbia and Alberta regions. Hawkair’s route network and flight operations will reportedly be absorbed by Central Mountain Air.