Heathrow Airport is seeking regulatory approval to increase airline charges by a sixth for the period 2027-31, to support a £10 billion ($13.5 billion) investment plan aimed at expanding the UK hub's capacity and enhancing its performance. The proposed hike would raise average charges from £28.46 currently to £33.26. Expansion plans envisions that the London airport will accommodate an additional 10 million passengers annually. Last year, 84 million passengers used Heathrow. Investment will focus on improving service levels and reliability, serving to "unlock growth for Britain", Heathrow says. This includes the development of new lounges, shops and restaurants within existing terminals, but does not encompass funding for a third runway, a government-supported project to boost economic growth. Heathrow previously said that it would have firm proposals for that project by the summer. Higher fees are likely to be fiercely opposed by airlines, which have repeatedly complained that Heathrow already has the highest charges in the world. Writing in UK newspaper The Times in February, the chief executives of IAG and Virgin Atlantic called for an "urgent and fundamental" regulatory review to ensure better value and lower costs ahead of a possible expansion. Virgin Atlantic has advocated breaking the airport up into its different terminals to enhance competition, a position backed by partner and joint owner Delta Air Lines' chief executive Ed Bastian last month. He described Heathrow as both "the most important airport in the world" and the "toughest and most expensive" to access. Heathrow points out that its investment plan includes a £2 billion shareholder equity contribution, and says charges have decreased 23% over the past decade. Even with the proposed increase, fees would remain below 2014 levels in real terms, it adds. "Our five-year plan will further boost operational resilience, deliver the service passengers expect and unlock the growth capacity airlines want, with stretching efficiency targets and a like-for-like lower airport charge than a decade ago," states the airport's chief executive Thomas Woldbye. The proposal is under review by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, which will finalise the fee structure for 2027-31.

On 11 July, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau published its preliminary factual report on the 12 June crash of Air India flight 171, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board plus 19 on the ground. The report states that both of the Boeing 787's engines lost power seconds after lift-off from Ahmedabad because the fuel cut-off switches transitioned from 'Run' to 'Cutoff'. The start of the aircraft's take-off roll is given in the report as 0807:37 UTC. A speed of V1 (153kt) was reached at 0808:33, and Vr (155kt) two seconds later. The aircraft (registered VT-ANB) lifted off at 0808:39. It continued to accelerate in the climb for the next 3s, reaching a speed of 180kt, but "immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec", the report states. Both engines began to run down from take-off power. "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off," adds the report. "The other pilot responded that he did not do so." Within about 5s, both engines' N2 values had passed below minimum idle speed, and the RAT (ram air turbine) deployed at about 08:08:47. The co-pilot was the pilot flying. At 0808:52, about 10s after the fuel was cut off, the No 1 engine fuel cut-off switch transitioned from 'Cutoff' back to 'Run'. The APU inlet door began opening at about 0808:54, consistent with the APU autostart logic. At 0808:56 – 4s after the No 1 engine's cut-off switch transitioned to 'Run' – the No 2 engine's fuel cut-off switch also transitions from 'Cutoff' to 'Run'. When the fuel-control switches are moved from 'Cutoff' to 'Run' while the aircraft is in flight, each engine's full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically manages the relight and thrust-recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction. The EGT (exhaust gas temperature) began increasing for both engines, indicating relight. The No 1 engine's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. The No 2 engine was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and reintroduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery. The enhanced airborne flight recorder (EAFR) recording stopped at 0809:11 – 32s after lift-off, and 29s after the fuel to the engines was cut off.

Jet2 has renewed and upsized its revolving credit facility. The UK leisure carrier says as part of its full-year results disclosure that in May it entered into a new revolver on "improved commercial terms" with its four banking partners – Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and NatWest – increasing the facility to £500 million ($680 million), from £300 million previously. The new revolver, which remains undrawn, runs to 31 October 2029 with an option to extend by a further two years, Jet2 adds. The Leeds-based carrier entered into the previous revolver in October 2022. That was itself an upsize of a previous £100 million facility. Jet2 says net cash used in financing activities amounted to £697 million in the financial year to end-March, up from £125 million the previous year, and included the early repurchase of convertible bonds (£399m) and further repayments of aircraft borrowings and lease liabilities of £254 million, down from £290 million a year earlier. Loans advanced of £147 million related to JOLCO financing for aircraft deliveries in the period, Jet2 adds. It expects to take delivery of 10 aircraft "over the forthcoming year", although the delivery profile "remains under continuous review given aircraft and engine manufacturer supply-chain constraints".