Members of European parliament have approved an updated EU-US air transport agreement which removes the time limit for aircraft-with-crew wet-lease agreements. The parliamentary committee on transport and tourism backed an amendment to a 2007 treaty which had stated that authorisation for the provision of an entire aircraft with crew would be issued for a limited term, for example six to nine months, or on an "exceptional" basis. MEPs on the committee cast 48 votes in favour of the amendment. There were no votes against, and no abstentions. The updated agreement was signed in August 2019 and covers Iceland and Norway, which joined the EU-US aviation agreement in 2011. "It confirms the establishment of clear and non-restrictive wet-lease arrangements between the parties and states that no party shall impose time limitations on the operation of any wet lease," says parliament in its statement. The amendments have been provisionally applied by the EU and USA since the signing of the agreement. The full house of the European parliament is now set to vote on the wet-lease agreement "in one of the next plenary sessions".

UK regulators have cleared JetBlue Airways to launch flights to London from New York and Boston, a further step in the carrier's plans to begin transatlantic services this year. In a short statement the UK Civil Aviation Authority says it has today provided regulatory approval to the US carrier for the transatlantic services. "This approval marks the first scheduled foreign carrier permit that has been issued to a new operator since the UK's exit from the European Union," the CAA notes. It was in 2019 that JetBlue first announced its intent to operate to London from the US East Coast using its fleet of Airbus A321LRs and, later, A321XLRs. These plans were pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier has most recently been targeting the launch of flights between the USA and the UK for the third quarter of this year. The carrier is still to formally state which airports in London it will serve, though in late March it appeared to secure slots at London Heathrow for the services, after information released by UK slot co-ordinator ACL showed slots were allocated to JetBlue from the start of August. JetBlue's website shows no flights currently bookable to London.

Qatar Airways' rapid restoration of capacity throughout this year and last has made the Doha-based Oneworld member the largest carrier in the Middle East by capacity for the period since June 2020. The airline's available seat-kilometres (ASKs) rose from a low of 91 million in May 2020 to 447 million in late March 2021, since when it has declined slightly. Across the period it has flown more seats than its closest rival in the region, Emirates. The Dubai carrier's highest ASK level was 338 million in late December – only slightly below Qatar Airways' at the time. Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, Emirates operated around 40% more ASKs than Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways recently stated its plan to expand its summer season network to over 1,200 weekly flights and 140 destinations across the world. "Having never stopped flying throughout the pandemic, we have used our unrivalled experience and modern, fuel-efficient fleet to operate a sustainable and reliable network our passengers, trade partners and corporate customers can rely on," stated group chief executive Akbar Al Baker on 29 March. "We also continue to offer the largest international network, including launching seven new destinations, to provide the connectivity our passengers and cargo customers need." The airlines with the third and fourth largest capacities in the region during the period were Etihad and Saudia, respectively, followed by Flynas in fifth. Data shows that the region's carriers have dialled backed their capacity slightly since late March. This correlates with sharply rising Covid-19 cases across several of the region's countries and India, a key travel market for Gulf airlines. By a slightly different metric – the number of flights tracked – Saudia is currently the largest carrier in the region, running 331 daily flights on 15 April. Since June 2020, Saudia and Qatar Airways have alternated as the largest carrier in the region by number of flights, with Emirates in third place.