Lufthansa Group plans to recruit around 10,000 new employees this year across a range of professions. The group says it will need more than 2,000 flight attendants, over 1,400 ground staff, and around 1,300 technical experts, with more than half of all recruitment taking place in Germany. Around 1,200 employees are also being sought for administration, plus 800 pilots. It notes that over 2,000 employees are to start at Lufthansa Technik, with Austrian Airlines and Eurowings each looking for around 700 employees. Lufthansa mainline will continue to focus on its turnaround efficiency programme in 2025 and expects to hire fewer employees than in 2024, with plans to recruit around 1,200 people over the next 12 months. Over the past three years, Lufthansa Group has brought more than 30,000 employees on board. It currently employs more than 100,000 people in over 90 countries.

Air Baltic has conducted a certification test flight of SpaceX's Starlink high-speed internet aboard an Airbus A220-300. The flight, departing from its home base in Riga, tested both the Starlink aero terminal and internet connection quality as it progresses towards obtaining certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the Latvian carrier says. "This is a game-changer in the future of air travel, and the test flight brings us one step closer to revolutionising the travel experience for our passengers," says Air Baltic president and chief executive Martin Gauss. "We are thrilled to lead the way in Europe and be the first airline in this region to offer for free Starlink's reliable, high-speed internet. By integrating Starlink, we are set to elevate the travel experience for passengers across the airBaltic network throughout Europe and beyond." Air Baltic is working with Starlink to secure the necessary supplemental type certification (STC), which is further to be approved by EASA. The airline expects to begin installing Starlink on its single-type fleet of A220-300s in the first quarter of 2025.

Jeju Air has cancelled more than 2,000 flights in the first quarter ending March as it grapples with the aftermath of the Boeing 737-800 crash that killed 179 people on 29 December 2024. The South Korean carrier had previously said it would be cutting 10-15% of its flights during the winter season to "enhance operational stability and punctuality". Schedule snapshot data comparing Jeju Air's flight schedules for the first quarter shows the total number of flights reducing from about 19,500 to 17,200 between 30 December and 6 January, representing a decrease of 11.5%. For the quarter, the carrier will suspend all flights from Muan to Nagasaki, Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu, Taipei and Zhangjiajie, according to a 3 January update on its website. Four-times-weekly flights from Busan to Clark will be cancelled from 22 January to 30 March, while daily flights to Kaohsiung will be suspended between 3 February and 29 March. Reduced domestic services include those from Jeju to Gimpo, Busan and Cheongju. Flights from Jeju to Muan are suspended for the entire quarter. As investigations into the crash continue, authorities have extended the closure of Muan International airport until 14 January, according to a 6 January update from South Korea's ministry of land, infrastructure and transport. The exact cause of the accident remains unclear, though authorities have converted audio files from the cockpit voice recorder into a transcript and the flight data recorder has been sent to the US for data extraction. Investigators are also conducting an in-depth analysis of key parts of the aircraft that have been retrieved, including its engines, cockpit panel and wings.