Typhoon Dolphin brought torrential rain to Shanghai on Monday, August 10, 2026, flooding roads and commercial areas and severely disrupting air travel in the city.

The weather system forced Shanghai’s two airports to cancel a combined 943 flights, while their overall passenger capacity was reduced by nearly 40%.

The disruption followed Dolphin’s landfall in Zhejiang province on Sunday evening. The typhoon struck areas south and west of Shanghai with maximum sustained winds of 151 kilometres per hour near its centre.

Dolphin later weakened into a tropical storm, but its remaining rain bands continued to bring heavy precipitation across large parts of eastern China.

Shanghai, the country’s second-most populous city, experienced widespread flooding, including in several major commercial districts.

China Eastern Airlines said it was working to gradually restore flights to Shanghai, Zhejiang and other affected destinations as weather conditions improve.

Source: Asia News Network

Thousands of WestJet cabin crew members began strike action on Aug. 2 after nearly 11 months of contract negotiations failed to result in a new labor agreement, triggering widespread disruptions across the airline's network.

The industrial action involves around 4,400 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 8125. The strike officially started after talks between the union and the airline ended without a new collective agreement.

The labor dispute has already forced WestJet to cancel more than 300 flights, affecting travel plans across its domestic and international routes.

Ahead of the strike, the airline had begun grounding portions of its Boeing 737 fleet as a precautionary measure to minimize operational disruption and reduce the risk of leaving passengers and aircraft stranded during the work stoppage.

Source: Aero Time

Oman Air has warned passengers of potential delays on selected flights following temporary airspace restrictions and exceptional operating conditions that have disrupted aircraft movements across parts of its network.

In a travel advisory issued on Saturday, the national carrier said the operational challenges had affected flight schedules and that its teams were working continuously to minimise disruption, maintain services, and restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

The airline did not identify the routes impacted by the restrictions or provide a timeline for when normal schedules are expected to resume.

Oman Air said passengers affected by schedule changes will be notified directly via WhatsApp, email, or SMS, provided their booking records contain current contact details.

To reduce the impact on travel plans, the airline added that it may rebook eligible passengers on flights operated by other carriers where suitable alternatives are available.

Source: Gulf News

Global commercial aviation reached a new milestone on July 23, with flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 recording 153,359 commercial flights in a single day, the highest daily total in the platform's history.

The record comes despite recent signs of weaker passenger demand, softer ticket sales and disruptions caused by conflict in the Middle East, highlighting the resilience of airline operations during the peak Northern Hemisphere summer travel season.

The milestone reflects a contrast within the aviation industry, where airlines continue to operate extensive summer schedules even as demand has weakened in some major markets.

Industry observers say the record was driven by peak holiday travel, with carriers deploying maximum capacity to meet seasonal demand. Many airlines, including major U.S. operators, have maintained record summer schedules as travellers continue to prioritise leisure travel despite economic uncertainty and higher travel costs.

Earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that global passenger demand fell 2.2% year-on-year in May, marking a second consecutive monthly decline. Domestic traffic dropped 3.1%, with demand down 1.9% in the United States and 6.2% in China's domestic market.

IATA also reported weaker forward ticket sales for the second half of 2026, signalling a more cautious outlook for the industry later in the year.

Analysts noted that flight activity and passenger demand do not always move in tandem, as airlines can maintain high flight frequencies through larger schedules and pricing strategies designed to stimulate demand.

According to IATA, the May slowdown was largely driven by the conflict in the Middle East, where traffic among regional airlines declined 28.4%. Excluding the region, global passenger demand increased 0.7% year-on-year, indicating that the weakness was concentrated rather than widespread.

Despite ongoing challenges, including elevated fuel prices and geopolitical uncertainty, the record number of daily flights underscores the continued strength of global airline operations during the summer travel season.

Source: Newsweek

A rapid surge in jet fuel prices is weighing on the financial outlook of major US airlines, highlighting the industry's vulnerability to rising operating costs even as passenger demand remains strong.

American Airlines has become one of the clearest examples of the pressure. Earlier this month, the carrier was preparing to raise its 2026 earnings forecast, but reversed course less than two weeks later after its projected fuel bill for the remainder of the year increased by nearly $1.6 billion.

The airline said fuel prices can rise much faster than airlines are able to increase fares, since higher ticket prices only apply to future bookings and typically take weeks or months to influence revenue.

Although strong travel demand and disciplined capacity growth have enabled carriers to raise fares, the additional revenue has only partly offset soaring fuel costs.

Jet fuel spot prices climbed almost 30% between July 2 and July 22 as the ceasefire between the United States and Iran began to weaken, adding fresh uncertainty to the aviation industry's financial outlook.

American Airlines Chief Financial Officer Devon May told Reuters that the industry is likely to face weaker profit margins if fuel prices remain elevated.

"If we had guided on the same day as Delta, we'd have been guiding up for the year," May said.

Earlier in July, American expected full-year pretax earnings to approach $1.5 billion, roughly four times its 2025 result. However, the airline has since revised its guidance to a range stretching from a loss to a profit, with break-even at the midpoint.

The revised outlook came despite American reporting record quarterly revenue and forecasting stronger unit revenue growth during the second half of the year. The airline warned that persistently high fuel prices could slow debt reduction efforts, limit investment and increase pressure to reduce less-profitable routes.

Other major US airlines have responded differently depending on when they issued their forecasts.

Delta Air Lines maintained its full-year earnings outlook, while United Airlines raised the lower end of its guidance. Southwest Airlines lowered the bottom end of its forecast, and Alaska Air declined to reinstate full-year guidance.

The differences largely reflect the fuel price assumptions used by each airline. Delta based its outlook on fuel prices from July 2, while American used prices from July 21. During that period, jet fuel spot prices rose by 78 cents to $3.59 per gallon, rapidly changing the industry's cost outlook.

American said higher fares offset nearly half of its $2.2 billion year-on-year increase in second-quarter fuel expenses. Delta recovered about 60% of its additional fuel costs, while United recovered roughly half. Alaska reported recovering only a small portion of its increased fuel bill, while Southwest did not disclose a comparable figure.

May said American's projected fuel costs for the rest of the year increased by about $550 million in just one week. According to the airline, every one-cent increase in its average fuel price adds around $46 million to annual operating costs, meaning a 10-cent increase would raise expenses by approximately $460 million.

United Airlines also cited the rapid rise in fuel prices when updating investors. Chief Executive Scott Kirby said the company had expected year-on-year earnings growth before fuel costs surged in the days leading up to its earnings announcement.

United estimated that higher fuel prices since July 1 would add about $575 million to its third-quarter fuel bill and said it has revised its guidance policy to reflect the latest available fuel prices.

Alaska Air said booking demand for September and October remains strong but acknowledged that profitability remains highly sensitive to fluctuations in fuel costs.

American said it will continue seeking to recover as much of the higher fuel expense as possible through fare increases, although the proportion it can pass on to customers will depend on future fuel price movements.

Source: Reuters