Airbus intends to complete by the end of this month a series of flight tests with a fully sustainable aviation fuel-powered A321 in co-operation with research partners, to determine SAF emissions and potential reduction in condensation trials.
On 9 March, the European airframer completed the first flight with the test aircraft (D-AVZO) from Toulouse, using 100% SAF in both of the twinjet’s CFM International Leap-1A engines. The aircraft was followed by a Dassault Falcon 20E business jet of German aerospace research centre DLR, equipped with probes for emission measurement. Since the end of February, the two aircraft had conducted flights in reserved airspace outside France's coastline with conventional fuel – for emissions comparisons – under a project called VOLCAN, short for vol avec carburants alternatifs nouveaux or “flight with new alternative fuels”. CFM shareholder Safran, Dassault, French aerospace research centre ONERA and the national transport ministry are additional participants in the project, co-funded by the French council for civil aeronautical research, CORAC. DLR says the aim of the flight tests is to measure emissions from lean-burn engines and to determine their influence on contrails. One key question, the institute adds, is whether particles other than soot can cause contrail formation. Soot particles in the exhaust gas act as "strong" condensation nuclei for water droplets at altitudes with sufficient humidity, and therefore cause contrails, which play a significant role in aviation's impact on global warming, DLR notes. Emissions from engines powered by SAF contain less soot particles than conventional fossil-based fuel, previous research has shown. DLR says around 15 test flights are planned with the A321 and that the team will trial different variants of SAF based on hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, across different engine operating modes. During the trials, the Falcon chases the narrowbody in close proximity – down to 100m – to measure emissions as near as possible to the engines' exhaust and also at a distance of several kilometres, where contrails will be fully formed. Airbus and DLR previously measured emissions of an Airbus A350 powered by 100% SAF on both its Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. In 2021, the airframer conducted an A319neo test flight for which one of the aircraft’s Leap-1As was powered by 100% SAF.

Air Canada pilots have overwhelmingly voted to authorise leaders from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) to call a strike in an attempt to break an apparent deadlock on a new labour agreement. Negotiations for a new agreement began in June 2023 and progressed to private mediation during the first half of this year. In June, however, the union filed a notice of dispute and pushed to enter conciliation because the two sides were unable to reach a new collective agreement, ALPA says. The union adds that 98% of eligible members voted in favour of the strike authorisation. "Our goal is to avoid a strike, and our focus remains on modernising our contract for Air Canada pilots," says Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA Master Executive Council. "However, management continues to force us closer to a strike position by not listening to our needs at the negotiating table regarding fair compensation, respectable retirement benefits, and quality-of-life improvements." Air Canada pilots will be in a legal position to commence job action as early as mid-September if no agreement has been reached by the end of the cooling-off period, according to ALPA. In a statement provided, the airline acknowledged the vote but downplayed the likelihood of operational disruptions in the short-term. "Such a vote is a normal step in a negotiation process and does not mean that any disruption will take place. In fact, a strike cannot take place before the end of the current conciliation period, followed by a 21-day cooling-off period," Air Canada states. The airline adds that it "remains committed to the bargaining process and will continue to work towards a fair and equitable collective agreement with ALPA that recognizes the contributions of our pilots and supports the competitiveness and long-term growth of our company".

The General Court of the European Union has dismissed an attempt by Southwind Airlines to overturn a European flight ban enacted due to its alleged Russian links. In a ruling on 6 August, president Marc van der Woude dismissed an application from Cortex Havacilik ve Turizm Ticaret, which operates flights under the name Southwind, which sought to overturn a flight ban enacted in March 2024 under EU regulation No 833/2014. The airline also sought to overturn EASA's decision to remove its aircraft from an approved list of those that are authorised to operate in the EU territories under a third-country operators authorisation. Southwind in March been refused permission by Finnish authorities for its aircraft to operate to the country. On 23 March, Finland's transport and communications agency Traficom issued a statement in which informed Southwind Airlines that it would not be permitted to operate flights to Finland. Based on Traficom's overall assessment, the substantial ownership and effective control of the airline was "not vested in the contracting party designating it or in its nationals, as would be required by the applicable air services agreement. Therefore, the operations by Southwind Airlines would not be permissible under the EU Sanctions Regulation (Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014)." "Our overall assessment shows that the substantial ownership and effective control of Southwind Airlines is not held by the stated Turkish individuals or companies. We have concluded that the airline and its control are linked to Russian stakeholders", stated director general Jarkko Saarimaki. In his ruling, van der Woude states that EU regulation No 833/2014 does not constitute an act against which annulment under the separate article 263 TFEU may be brought and that the application for interim measures must therefore be dismissed as "inadmissible on that basis".