Major US carrier, Delta Air Lines, was forced to cancel over 600 of its regular scheduled flights after a power outage disrupted the airline’s computer systems on the 8th August 2016. The outage caused all domestic and international operations to be suspended whilst the airline worked to rectify the issue. Flights resumed approximately 6 hours later; however, the delays caused by the outage resulted in the cancellation of a further 700 flights over the subsequent several days.

As part of Iran’s air transport modernisation initiative, the Civil Aviation Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran (CAO.IRI) announced in August that a number of ageing aircraft types are to be removed from airline fleets across the nation. The CAO.IRI reportedly stated that several aircraft types, including the Boeing 727, Airbus A300 and Fokker 100 (among others), will be gradually phased out over a three month period. The modernisation program aims to improve the overall safety and efficiency of Iran’s aviation operations. Iran Air, Mahan Air, Iran Aseman Airlines and Pouya Air all operate the aircraft types earmarked for retirement.

Despite initial concerns that introducing a two-person minimum rule within the cockpit would potentially create an additional risk to flight operations, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has advised that implementing this rule would not pose a greater risk than a pilot being deliberately locked out. The need to implement a two-person minimum rule stemmed from the Germanwings Flight 9525 fatal accident, where the captain was locked out of the cockpit by a suicidal co-pilot, after which time the aircraft was deliberately flown into a mountain in the French Alps. EASA subsequently moved to implement a two-person minimum rule within the cockpit in order to avoid a pilot being locked out. The amended guidelines also reiterated that operators must ensure that the designated crew member is aware of their role and responsibilities whilst stationed within the cockpit.