Germany formally blamed Russia on 1 September 2026 for the 4 August attempted attack, after an explosives-laden drone was discovered near Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport; the device failed to detonate. Berlin describes the incident as part of a wider campaign of Russian hybrid warfare, and has responded with diplomatic closures, tighter controls and calls for additional EU sanctions. Russia strongly denies responsibility

AirAsia has signed its first-ever codeshare agreement with Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines, connecting its Kuala Lumpur–Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen service with onward flights to London Stansted, Moscow Vnukovo, Ankara, Zurich and Athens. AirAsia currently operates four weekly Istanbul flights and plans to increase these to daily from February 2027. The partnership strengthens AirAsia’s European connectivity following the cancellation of its planned Kuala Lumpur–Bahrain–London Gatwick service amid the Middle East conflict.

SpiceJet has agreed to wet-lease 20 aircraft – 15 Boeing and five Airbus – from three operators, with deliveries scheduled between mid-October and mid-November 2026. The additional capacity, including some A321s, will support domestic and international services and help increase operations from around 45 daily flights currently to approximately 200 during the winter schedule. The expansion comes despite ongoing financial pressures, including aircraft repossessions and insolvency petitions from lessor-linked entities.