A Tibet Airlines Airbus A319 caught fire after an aborted take-off caused it to veer off the runway at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport in southwestern China on 12 May. The airline says in a 12 May statement that the A319 (registered B-6425) was bound for Linzhi and carrying 113 passengers and nine crew members when the accident occurred. Flightcrew found the aircraft was behaving "abnormally" and had "interrupted take-off", which caused the aircraft to be "out of alignment" and to skid off the runway. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely. Some had slight injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment. The airline says the A319 later caught fire and suffered damage. Tibet Airlines says it has immediately launched its first-level emergency plan and has made every effort to respond and deal with the aftermath of the accident. Fleets data shows the 128-seater Tibet Airlines A319 (MSN 5157) is of 2012 vintage and powered by CFM International CFM56-5B7/3 engines. It is managed by China Development Bank. The data also shows the airline is an all-Airbus operator with a fleet of 40 aircraft, comprising 29 A319-100s, six A320-200s and five A330-200s. This accident comes within two months of the fatal China Eastern Boeing 737NG crash of 21 March, which prompted China to launch a safety overhaul of the civil aviation sector.

The price of jet kerosene has fallen sharply over the past week on the back of softer crude values, although it remains near record highs. Data provided by energy information provider ICIS, shows the value of jet fuel for delivery to Northwest Europe standing at $1,302.50 per tonne on 10 May, which represents a weekly fall of $20 per tonne and compares with around $1,600 per tonne at one point during April. "The softness seen in European jet kerosene spot prices this week has been mainly due to weakening upstream values as supply tightness and healthy demand for aviation continues to support fundamentals," writes ICIS. "Outright values have still been at multiyear highs even though trading activity in the physical market has been limited." Lockdowns in China means that jet fuel has been transported to markets in Europe instead, bringing down values, despite inventories there remaining low. Looking forward, ICIS expects prices to remain supported by firm demand from airlines as the recovery takes hold, while annual refinery maintenance planned for the summer could further restrict jet fuel supply. Europe's airlines have faced increasing financial pressure from higher jet fuel prices, which usually account for around 25% of a carrier's costs, rising to 35% for budget airlines. Although the sector has largely implemented hedging programmes to shelter them from the effect of higher prices, these cover only a portion of their needs and no airline remains completely immune from higher fuel prices.

The EU is ending its recommendation that member states mandate the use of masks in airports and onboard aircraft, as a result of high vaccination rates across the bloc and waning infections. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention (ECDP) note that although mask use should still be recommended for passengers, the measure will end on 16 May. Doing so will ease the burden of regulation placed on the aviation industry by pandemic-era regulations, it adds. The rules for individual airlines will vary, while mask-wearing may continue to and from third countries outside the block. “From next week, face masks will no longer need to be mandatory in air travel in all cases, broadly aligning with the changing requirements of national authorities across Europe for public transport,” says EASA executive director Patrick Ky. “For passengers and air crews, this is a big step forward in the normalisation of air travel. Passengers should however behave responsibly and respect the choices of others around them. And a passenger who is coughing and sneezing should strongly consider wearing a face mask, for the reassurance of those seated nearby.” The ECDP says that although the mask mandate is ending, passengers should be mindful that physical distancing and good hand hygiene remain key to reducing transmission. In addition, EASA underlines that although many countries are no longer requiring passengers to submit data through a passenger locator form, "airlines should keep their data collection systems on standby so they could make this information available to public health authorities if needed, for example in the case where a new variant of concern (VOC) emerged which was identified as potentially more dangerous."