Qatar Airways has announced plans to resume air service to Damascus, Syria, beginning 7 January 2025. The carrier says it will operate three weekly flights connecting Damascus to Doha, providing Syrian travellers access to Qatar Airways' network of over 170 global destinations through Hamad International airport. This development represents Qatar Airways' re-entry into the Syrian market, though the announcement does not specify how long flights had been suspended prior to this resumption.

Ryanair plans to receive up to 29 new Boeing 737 aircraft in 2025, representing a $3 billion investment. The carrier says it expects to create 2,000 new aviation jobs as part of this expansion. The aircraft will be allocated to "efficient, low-cost airports in EU countries" where Ryanair says governments are "stimulating aviation growth, like Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Poland". It adds: "There will be no growth in countries raising taxes, like the UK, France, and Germany." Ryanair projects its annual passenger count will increase from 200 million in 2024 to 210 million in 2025.

The US Department of Transportation has fined Lufthansa $220,000 and its subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines $200,000 for operating flights carrying United Airlines' designator code in Iraqi airspace where flying was prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "The airlines were ordered to cease and desist from future similar violations," the DOT says. On 16 October 2020, the FAA amended and extended a special federal aviation regulation prohibiting all US air carriers, US commercial operators, and "all persons exercising the privileges of airman certificates issued by the FAA", as well as all operators of civil aircraft registered in the USA from conducting flight operations in the Baghdad Flight Information Region at altitudes below a specified flight level. An investigation by the DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) revealed that, between March 2022 and April 2024, Lufthansa operated multiple flights carrying the UA code in that airspace. "By operating flights carrying the UA code in airspace in which the FAA prohibited US operators and airmen from flying, Lufthansa's operations violated the conditions of its statement of authorisation," the DOT says in a 30 December regulatory filing known as a "consent order". In a response from Lufthansa included in that filing, the airline says its "instances of noncompliance were inadvertent and resulted from the local air traffic control centre not granting the authorisation to aircraft to ascend to FL320 [flight level 320] at ORBB FIR [the Baghdad Flight Information Region] although such clearance was duly requested and firmly believes that flight safety was not compromised". Lufthansa adds that it "fully co-operated with the department with its investigation and has implemented procedures to enhance pilot awareness and compliance with the relevant regulation". Similarly, a separate same-day consent order notes that a separate OACP investigation found that between February 2022 and March 2024 Swiss operated flights carrying United Airlines' code in the prohibited airspace. Swiss issued a similarly worded response to its parent Lufthansa as part of the consent order, noting that it "avers that it is fully confident that flight safety was not compromised". The fines are the latest in a series issued by the DOT for violations of Iraqi airspace. The docket for the investigation contains 12 consent orders, including the two for Lufthansa and Swiss. Other airlines impacted are South African Airways, Emirates, Volaris, KLM, Air Canada, Etihad, American Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines.