The prospect of a summer of strikes at Ryanair has ratcheted up further as unions in Italy pledge to back their Spanish counterparts in action later this month, to be joined by labour groups in Portugal, France and Belgium. Italian unions UIL Trasporti and FILT-CGIL say cabin crew and pilots will walk out for 24h on 25 June at Ryanair, Malta Air and CrewLink. Malta Air is part of Ryanair Group, while CrewLink is its recruitment and training agency. The protest over improved pay and conditions "will also affect Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium on the same day", add the unions, which describe the 25 June protest as "part of a co-ordinated mobilisation at the European level". Ryanair argues that unions pushing for strike action are not supported by the company's crews and says they are not recognised by the airline. "These same unions held a failed strike attempt on 8 June at our Italian bases. However, zero Ryanair crew participated in that failed strike," the airline contends. It adds that the company's crews in Italy are covered by collective labour agreements signed with three other unions. In recent days, trade unions SITCPLA and USO, representing Spanish cabin crews, have announced plans for six days of industrial action against Ryanair in late June and early July after negotiations on a collective labour agreement broke down. Staff across the low-cost carrier's 10 bases in Spain will stage 24h walkouts on 24, 25, 26 and 30 June and on 1 and 2 July, according to USO. SITCPLA and USO added that five other unions in Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal had on 19 May signed an agreement that they would "not hesitate to launch a Europe-wide strike action this summer" if negotiations with Ryanair broke down. Portuguese union SNPVAC has scheduled cabin-crew strikes on 24, 25 and 26 June, according to a Publico report and a posting on the labour group's Facebook account. Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Ryanair strikes in France led to cancellations on 12 and 13 June.

Qatar Airways made an operating profit of QR10.8 billion ($3 billion) during the fiscal year ended 31 March, reversing a loss of QR1.05 billion the previous year. Revenue increased 78% to QR52.1 billion, a figure 2% higher than that for the pre-Covid financial year 2019-20, the Middle Eastern carrier notes. Net profit reached QR5.6 billion, rebounding from a loss of QR15 billion a year earlier. "These record earnings are the result of decisions made during the pandemic to expand the Qatar Airways' passenger and cargo networks, with a more accurate forecast of the global market recovery, building further customer and trade loyalty and product excellence combined with strong cost control," says the Oneworld member. It carried 18.5 million passengers during the 12-month period, a year-on-year increase of 218%. The airline's network grew to more than 140 destinations, opening new routes including Abidjan in Ivory Coast, Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe, Almaty in Kazakhstan, and Kano and Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Additionally, Qatar Airways resumed flights to key markets across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. At 31 March, the group's cash and cash equivalents stood at QR39.9 billion. It ended the year with 257 aircraft in its fleet, comprising of 205 passenger aircraft, 30 freighters and 22 executive jets. "This year Qatar Airways Group celebrates a quarter of a century of history since its relaunch, whilst maintaining strong performance and growing profitability," states chief executive Akbar Al Baker. "Our strategic investments in a varied fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft has helped us overcome the significant challenges related to capacity constraints while balancing commercial needs as swiftly as possible."

The US Federal Aviation Administration on 15 June proposed a rule that would require greater fuel efficiency for most large aircraft that would be manufactured after 1 January 2028 or that have not yet been certificated by the agency. The proposed rule that would affect "new subsonic jet aircraft and large turboprop and propeller aircraft" is aimed at meeting the goal set by ICAO of reaching net-zero emissions from aviation by 2050 and would also follow a law enacted in 2021 by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Public comments on the proposed rule must sent to FAA by 15 August. Aircraft already in operation would not be impacted by the proposed rule, FAA states, while noting that aircraft not yet certificated that would be impacted include Boeing 777X aircraft; future 787 models; and Airbus A330neo jets. "Civil aircraft such as these were responsible for 10% of domestic transportation emissions and 3% of total US greenhouse gas emissions prior to the pandemic," FAA says. "The emission standard in the proposed rule uses a metric that equates fuel efficiency and consumption with reductions in carbon dioxide. The proposed rule also accommodates a wide variety of fuel-efficient measures when manufacturing planes, including improvements to aerodynamics, engine propulsion efficiency and reductions in an aircraft’s empty mass before loading." A push by environmental activists and government officials during recent years to reduce emissions with the aim of minimising the damage of climate change has spurred companies including United Airlines and Boeing to invest in sustainable aviation fuel and other technologies to reduce emissions. Airlines during the Covid-19 pandemic also accelerated the retirement of older aircraft in favor of leasing or purchasing more fuel-efficient jets. Rising fuel prices are already increasing pressure on the aviation industry to increase fuel efficiency.