Airlines across Europe are preparing for another summer of flight disruptions, as French air traffic controllers (ATC) prepare to strike for the first time this summer later today and operators face restrictions related to ATC capacity issues. Network manager, Eurocontrol indicated that it is hard to predict disruptions, but has asked operators to reduce flight schedules by 30% at Paris Orly, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse airports. UK low-cost carrier EasyJet, said around 65% of its flights pass through French airspace on a daily basis. Eurocontrol said that ATC staffing issues, weather, an increase in traffic and a lack of capacity had resulted in 25.6 million minutes of air traffic flow management (ATFM) delay in 2018. With each minute costing users approximately €70, resulted in an additional cost of €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion) for airspace users. Eurocontrol, added that 2019 "could be just as bad, as the overall network capacity is less than it was in 2018".

The federal air transport authority of Russia, Rosaviatsias have stated that the Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 involved in the landing accident at Moscow Sheremetyevo had suffered a lightning strike at 6,900ft.
The aircraft experienced a “discharge of atmospheric electricity” at 2,100m (6,900ft) after departing Sheremetyevo for Murmansk at 18:02 on the 5th of May. The crew subsequently lost radio communication with Air traffic control and the captain opted to return to the airport, squawking 7600- in line with signaling loss of communication.
Indications showed that the jet landed hard on runway 24L and then bounced several times and a fire erupting at the fourth contact with the runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration has instructed airlines to inspect Boeing 787 ailerons and elevator power control units due to risk that lightning strikes could make the aircraft hard to control. A new airworthiness directive, which takes effect on the 3rd of June, follows “reports of hydraulic leakage caused by damage to aileron and elevator actuators from lighting strikes”. The problems comes in when hydraulic fluid leaks from the power control units at the same time the aircraft loses two hydraulic systems, says the FAA. Such a scenario “could result in an inability to maintain aileron or elevator actuator stiffness and lead to airplane control surface oscillations, which could damage the control surfaces and cause reduced controllability of the airplane”.