Emirates will reinstate services from Dubai to Beirut and Baghdad from 1 February. The UAE carrier says flights to Rafic Al Hariri International airport in Lebanon will be operated daily using Boeing 777-300ERs. A second daily service to Beirut will be added from 1 April. It adds that daily flights to Baghdad will be operated using 777 aircraft.

Oman Air has reported an EBITDA loss of OR24 million ($62 million) for 2024 as it begins to see the results from a planned widescale transformation of its business. The figure represents a 40% improvement on 2023, and the Middle Eastern airline attributes this to its strategy of focusing on the most profitable connections and retiring older aircraft in favour of latest-generation jets. During the year, it slashed its headcount by a quarter to save OR18 million and paid down OR45 million in "long overdue" debts without having to borrow, it adds. "Overall revenue quality was significantly enhanced, attributed to the comprehensive study undertaken to modernise the fleet and network, emphasising the focus on point-to-point traffic," says the airline. Point-to-point traffic generated 40% of revenues last year, compared with 27% in 2019. Load factor rose by a percentage point to 75%, which is four percentage points below 2019. Passenger numbers, however, fell 13% and were 44% below 2019's. Chief executive Con Korfiatis, who joined from Saudi low-cost Flyadeal in May, said during a Future Skies podcast hosted by insurer AIG in June that there was "no stone that we are going to leave unturned" in his bid to remodel Oman Air, which has struggled financially in recent years. He explained that he was planning a "far deeper dive" into reform than had already happened, and that this would include digitisation, the reviewing of contracts, fleet simplification and product modifications. This, he added, represented a "multi-year" effort to renew Oman Air and "transform the airline into one that's much more commercially focused". Oman Air had previously launched a restructuring plan in September 2019, aiming to deliver sustainable profits following a loss of OR160 million in 2017. The airline's recent financial performance up to 2023 and its levels of debt have not been published.

South Korean low-cost carriers (LCCs) have been asked to reduce their aircraft utilisation rates and secure more maintenance time as part of aviation safety enhancement plans. For example, Jeju Air will reduce its aircraft utilisation by 9% – from 14.0 to 12.8 hours daily – and increase maintenance personnel by 41 to 350 within the year, states the transport ministry in a Korean press release. Jeju has an all Boeing narrowbody fleet of 38 737NGs and two 737 Maxes. The plan follows a 23 January meeting between the country’s transport ministry and nine low-cost carriers, including Jeju Air, T'way Air, Eastar Jet, Air Busan, Jin Air, Air Seoul, Air Incheon, Air Premia and Aero K. Asset Watch data shows that average monthly tracked hours for 737 family and A320 family aircraft utilised by Korean LCCs are slightly higher than the global average. On top of that, the ministry also plans to impose greater oversight of new aircraft acquisitions by the carriers, and stricter evaluation of the launch of new routes. Carriers are expected to submit their own safety enhancement plan including the above; detail plans to strengthen pilot training in times of emergency; and state how they are investing in safety through new aircraft acquisition and expansion of maintenance facilities. “As LCCs account for more than half of Korea's air transport, which ranks ninth in global air transport, the Ministry will stress that the future of the aviation industry cannot be guaranteed if LCCs focus only on profits without implementing fundamental safety reforms,” it adds. Carriers that fail to meet the safety standards could face suspension of their air operator certificates while those with repeated violations and safety incidents may be named publicly, the ministry adds.