European authorities have raised concerns regarding Venezuela’s ability to maintain safety levels within its aviation industry and air transport operations. In recent years, Venezuela has been struggling with its own economic crisis which has prompted numerous international carriers to withdraw services from the country. The European Commission has stated that it will continue to consult with operators and the Instituto Nacional de Aeronautica Civil to verify compliance and safety standards throughout the nation and has confirmed it will take corrective action if deemed necessary.

The last sea vessel in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-370 has departed the search zone, signalling the end of the secondary effort to locate the missing Boeing 777 aircraft. US company, Ocean Infinity, had offered to locate MH-370 for no fee after the official government backed search was terminated in 2017. Whilst no new compelling evidence was discovered, the area in which the aircraft was likely to have come down had shrunk due to additional drift analysis data.

The European Air Safety Agency (EASA) together with Eurocontrol have issued warnings to air traffic regarding possible military action throughout Syrian airspace, particularly the use of cruise missiles. European authorities also cautioned that radio navigation systems could also be impacted. Whilst Syria is categorised as a conflict zone until early April, EASA has warned of the possibility of civil aircraft to be misidentified by military forces at all altitudes.