At 6:15 p.m. on Monday June 1, a JetBlue pilot approaching Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reported a close call involving a smaller aircraft. Located in Florida, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood is the 18th-busiest airport in the United States. The incident was a near miss between the commercial jet and the smaller aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the JetBlue pilot said that the second plane is “turning towards us.” The planes were

One of America’s busiest international airports found itself at the centre of political confrontation. The Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened on 28 May that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travellers and cargo at Newark airport as local law enforcement in the Blue State of New Jersey refused to assist federal immigration officials. With fans gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer, questions over international

If you have flown anywhere this summer, you may have sensed a shift in tone. Airlines and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are converging on the same conclusion: the era of treating disruptive, alcohol-fuelled passengers as an unfortunate cost of doing business is ending. New proposals in the UK and a rare enforcement action in the US suggest the crackdown is moving from rhetoric to legislation, and in some cases to your wallet before you have even boarded. What the U

When a parent books a flight for themselves and a young child, most assume the family will sit together. For many travellers, that assumption does not survive contact with the booking page. Across several major carriers, seating a parent next to their child can mean an extra charge, a gamble on whatever is left at check-in, or an awkward negotiation with strangers at the gate. A long-running effort in Washington has sought to put an end to that. The question now is not whethe

There is a line buried in airline annual reports that tends to get overlooked in good times. Fuel costs are, the reports note, "extremely volatile and unpredictable, and even a small change in market fuel prices can significantly affect profitability." Southwest Airlines wrote that in its 2025 filing. Weeks later, it became the understatement of the year. When the US and Israel struck Iran on 28 February 2026, the airline industry's most intractable cost problem moved from ch

On 26 March 2026, United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) announced a tentative agreement covering approximately 30,000 cabin crew members. On paper, it is a landmark deal. The airline says it will make its flight attendants the best-paid in the American airline industry, with top hourly wages reaching $100 by the end of the contract's five-year term and immediate pay increases kicking in the moment ratification is confirmed. The total package is su

The framework for a safer American airspace exists on paper. The politics of building it remain, for now, one vote short. Sixty-seven people died when an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River in January 2025. Fourteen months later, the legislation designed to prevent it happening again has stalled in the House, defeated not by opposition, but by a last-minute Pentagon withdrawal that cost supporters the two-thirds maj

When 71% of United Airlines flight attendants rejected their tentative contract in July, they sent a clear message: a 27% pay increase doesn't cut it when you've lost 25% of your purchasing power to inflation over five years of working without a raise. Now United flight attendants are discovering what happens when you vote "no" and send negotiators back to the table. Federal mediation talks between United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) took an une

As we close out 2025, it's been an extraordinary year in aviation. From historic aircraft orders and supersonic breakthroughs to regulatory reforms and sustainability milestones, the industry has witnessed remarkable developments across commercial, general, and advanced aviation. Whether you're an aviation professional, enthusiast, or frequent flyer, this Altitude quiz will test how closely you've followed the year's biggest stories. Pour yourself a festive drink, settle in,