The Serbian civil aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia (CADS), has successfully passed an audit undertaken by the U.S. regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA completed the audit as a part of its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. Airlines operating from a Category 1 (Meets ICAO Standards) country can undertake un-restricted operations to the U.S., while airlines operating from a Category 2 country (Does Not Meet Standards) are subjected to increased inspections at U.S. destinations and carriers not already operating to the U.S. cannot commence operations until the Category 2 classification is lifted.

The Nepalese government has initiated plans to upgrade the country’s radar system and weather monitoring equipment. Nepal’s previous system had been based at Kathmandu’s airport, Tribhuvan International Airport, and only had a limited range due to the airport being located in a valley. The new radar is being installed on a mountaintop south of Kathmandu and will provide enhanced regional coverage and improved weather monitoring. Cameras are also being installed at remote airports throughout Nepal, which will transmit images to an operations centre in Kathmandu and assist in determining if operations to that facility can be safely undertaken. This project is expected to improve the safety of the operating environment within Nepal, which has been categorised as a high-risk due to the country’s varying topography and extreme mountainous terrain. The project will likely assist in demonstrating the Nepal’s attempt at improving aviation safety within Nepal, after the country was placed on the European Union’s list of banned carriers in December 2013 due to inability of the Civil Aviation Authority to adequately adhere to internationally recognised standards in safety oversight.

The recent Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia (and to a lesser extent, Nigeria) has prompted a large number of African and international carriers to suspend or limit operations to these regions in order to limit the airline’s exposure to the effected regions and aid in limiting the spread of the virus. Airlines including British Airways, Emirates, Gambia Bird, Arik Air, Asky Airlines, Air Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya Airways have all either suspended or reduced operations to the affected West African regions.