The Civil Aviation Administration of China has granted type certification for the Airbus A330neo, paving the way for operations of the type in the country. “The Civil Aviation Administration of China confirmed that the design of the Airbus A330neo aircraft complies with relevant provisions of China’s civil aviation regulations, and also approved the A330neo type certificate issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),” states Airbus China in a 13 January WeChat post. “Mainland Chinese airlines currently operate about 200 A330ceos. As the retirement of some A330ceos approaches, the A330neo is seen as a better alternative, improving efficiency, performance and passenger comfort while retaining the A330ceo’s advantages of versatility, and reliability,” says Xu Gang, Airbus China chief executive. Speaking to reporters at the Zhuhai Airshow in November, Xu had said he expects the first delivery of the type in the country as soon as this year. In June 2024, Bloomberg reported that the European airframer was in talks to sell over 100 of the type to China, though no announcements have been made as of now. Separately, in April 2024, Hainan Airlines revealed in a filing on the Shanghai stock exchange that it planned to purchase 20 galley sets from interiors firm Safran Cabins Germany "for assembly on the company's A330-900", indicating that the carrier could place an order for the type.

Azerbaijan Airlines has indefinitely suspended all flights from Baku to the Russian city of Kazan. The carrier says the decision has been made to ensure flight safety following recent regular closures of airspace over the city. It adds that it "continues to monitor the current situation closely".

The president of Venezuela's state-owned carrier Conviasa, Ramon Velasquez Araguayan, is among eight officials added to the US Treasury Department's sanctions list for their role in supporting the regime of the country's president Nicolas Maduro. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says Velasquez has served as Maduro's transportation minister since May 2023 while also helming the carrier, which is also under US sanctions. Others affected by the 10 January sanctions included officials from other state-owned oil companies plus police and military officials "who lead key economic and security agencies enabling Nicolas Maduro’s repression and subversion of democracy in Venezuela," OFAC states. The announcement coincided with Maduro being sworn in for a third term as president on 10 January and are part of a coordinated action with the European Union, Canada and the UK. However, the US is the only one of those jurisdictions that has individually sanctioned Velasquez. According to a 2 January article in The Economist, Maduro's inauguration will "defy the popular will" as in July "a clear majority of Venezuelans voted against him, only for the electoral authority, which the regime controls, to declare that Mr Maduro had won the election with 52% of the vote". Conviasa has 21 aircraft in service, comprised of nine Embraer 190-E1s, seven Cessna 208B Grand Caravans, four Airbus A340s and one A319 corporate jet, fleet data shows. A further nine aircraft, including six E190s and two A340s, are listed as stored. The airline manages all of its aircraft itself, although four A340s are owned by Iran's Mahan Air. Data shows that the carrier has a limited international network from Caracas to Bridgetown, Santa Cruz, Havana, Managua, Cancun and Mexico City, and operates on several domestic routes.