As 2024 draws to a close, we reflect on a year that has been packed with aviation news. From bankruptcies to devastating crashes, the past 12 months have kept the AeroTime team busy reporting events as they happen.
Here is a selection of our top stories and trends that have shaped commercial aviation news in 2024.
A bad start to the year that set the tone for aviation news
They say that bad luck comes in threes, and that certainly seemed to be the case for 2024 as the year kicked off with three significant negative events.
First, there was a shocking runway collision in Tokyo on the second day of the year. Japan Airlines flight 516 was landing at Haneda Airport (HND) when the Airbus A350-900 collided with a Japan Coast Guard DHC Dash 8 that was already on the runway. Five of the six people in the Dash 8 were killed, but amazingly all 367 passengers and 12 crew of the Airbus were safely evacuated.
AeroTime journalist Luke Peters noted that “Not only did this accident result in the first hull loss of an Airbus A350 while in commercial airline service but raised a series of questions regarding runway safety protocols, communications between air traffic controllers and pilots, and possible issues relating to pilot fatigue, particularly when operating at night in poor weather conditions. The investigation’s complete findings, when published, could have far-reaching implications for future commercial air operations.”
Just days later, on January 5, 2024, another incident rocked the aviation world when a door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 as it was taking off from Portland. AeroTime journalist Ian Molyneaux commented, “The incident would come to dominate the news agenda this year and lead to huge questions over Boeing and its reputation.”
The third event, although not an aviation incident, would set the stage for the fortunes of two particular airlines, and it wasn’t the news they wanted. JetBlue’s $3.8 billion takeover of Spirit Airlines was blocked by the US Department of Justice on January 16, 2024. Both companies suffered financially, with JetBlue trimming routes in a bid for profitability. Spirit’s share price dropped in the wake of the block. It attempted to revive merger discussions with Frontier but ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2024.
Financial troubles saw airlines fail
Spirit wasn’t the only airline struggling financially. In the first half of the year, US airlines in particular engaged in an airfare war that saw many posting losses. Slower aircraft deliveries from manufacturers led to the industry growing more slowly than anticipated, putting pricing power in the hands of the carriers.
As the competition subsided, airlines returned to profit, with IATA estimating net profits to reach $30.5 billion by the year-end. However, not all airlines came out unscathed, and we said goodbye to some notable and historic brands. These included:
Lynx Air – February 26, 2024
Air Malta – March 31, 2024
Bonza – April 30, 2024
Rex Airlines – July 30, 2024
Canada Jetlines – August 15, 2024
Czech Airlines – October 28, 2024
“The collapse of Bonza in late April 2024, followed swiftly by Rex halting all of its Boeing 737-operated services in July 2024, brought to close the latest chapters in a very long line of independent airlines that have tried and failed to break the steadfast duopoly of Qantas and Virgin Australia in the Australian market,” said Luke Peters. “Over recent decades, many carriers have tried and failed to carve a niche for themselves in the Australian air travel market, and with proposed startup Koala Airlines planning on being the next to try, time will tell whether history repeats itself once more.”
As well as trouble down under, Bonza’s sister airline in Canada has been struggling financially. Flair Airlines saw four of its aircraft repossessed in 2023 as it missed rent payments, and has been revealed to owe various parties substantial amounts of money. It has since been noted to be seeking investors and a restructuring of its balance sheet. As the only remaining ultra-low-cost airline in Canada, travelers are watching closely to see if it survives.
Turbulent trips reinforce the importance of wearing a seatbelt in flight
Extreme turbulence is nothing new in aviation, but 2024 has seen several events that served to shine a light on this dangerous phenomenon.
The first, and most attention-grabbing, was Singapore Airlines flight 321 which hit severe turbulence over Myanmar. At least 71 people were injured, with dozens requiring treatment in intensive care. Sadly, one 73-year-old British man died of a heart attack as a result of the incident.
Following this shocking event, several other incidents occurred over the course of the year. In July 2024, Air Europa’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner made a sudden descent over the Atlantic Ocean, injuring three passengers and one crewmember. In August 2024, a Korean Air A330 ran into turbulence, injuring 10 passengers and four cabin crew. And Lufthansa’s Boeing 747-8 ran into a similar issue over the Atlantic in November 2024, injuring 11 people.
Several other notable turbulence events in 2024 have seen the industry questioning whether enough is being done to keep passengers and crew safe. Some carriers, like Korean Air, have revised their rules around crew serving times to ensure staff are safely strapped in when the skies get bumpy, but as yet, no blanket changes have been made to regulations.
The industry is doing a great deal to predict and detect turbulence, even involving AI in prediction modeling. While regulators have so far shied away from introducing tougher seatbelt legislation, the message to passengers is clear: keep your belt fastened at all times when in flight.
The deadliest year for aviation since 2018
A flurry of accidents in the final month of the year added up to make 2024 the most deadly year for aviation since 2018. This comes in stark contrast to 2023, which went down in history as the safest year for air travel since records began.
Two crashes in the summer led to multiple fatalities. In July 2024, Nepal’s Saurya Airlines crashed after taking off from Kathmandu, killing 18. Then, in August a VoePass turboprop was captured in shocking videos freefalling from the sky and killing 62.
Alongside a number of incidents with single-figure fatalities, this put the industry at 101 fatalities by the end of November 2024. However, two high-profile crashes at the very end of the year ramped up the numbers dramatically.
On Christmas Day, 38 people were killed when an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer lost control and crash-landed in Kazakhstan. Miraculously, 29 people survived the crash thanks to the valiant efforts of the flight crew in getting the plane to the ground. Russian air defenses have been blamed for the incident, although investigations are ongoing.
Then, on December 29, 2024, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 landed on its belly at Muan International Airport, careering down the runway and smashing into a concrete barrier. All but two of the 181 people onboard perished in the fire that immediately consumed the plane.
While not included in the commercial incidents reported, there was another accident that was rather close to home for the AeroTime team. As our journalist Goda Labanauskaitė explained, “Not to be subjective as a native Lithuanian, but for me, the Vilnius DHL aircraft crash was a huge story. Not only for me – local aviation experts are calling the crash one of the biggest aviation disasters to have occurred in independent Lithuania.”
“Currently the investigators have begun the process of decrypting data from the black boxes, so hopefully soon we will learn the cause behind the crash,” she continued. “Most importantly, the whole AeroTime Editorial team has been working closely together in order to analyze the developments.”
Crowdstrike and labor strikes
Technology problems are nothing new in the aviation industry, but the massive CrowdStrike outage in July 2024 really highlighted how reliant airlines are on IT. Delta alone reported around 7,000 flight cancelations across five days, leading to losses of more than $500 million. The incident has sparked discussions on the balance of cybersecurity practices and the need for improved industry standards.
But when CrowdStrike wasn’t striking, workers were. From flight attendants to catering teams, labor disputes have been rife in 2024. One of the most high-profile was, of course, the Boeing machinists strike, which went on for much longer than expected. Goda covered it for AeroTime, and told us this:
“The Boeing strike has been one of the longest and most fascinating topics I’ve covered and followed this year. It drew my attention because it touches on many important issues, such as labor and employee rights, economic impacts, and production challenges impacting not only the planemaker, but the whole aviation industry. The seven-week strike, involving 33,000 US West Coast workers, resulted in a net loss of $6.17 billion, led to layoffs of 10% of the workforce, and stopped production of Boeing’s 737 MAX, 767 and 777 models.”
Hot on the heels of Boeing’s strike came another at a US company, as Textron Aviation workers voted to strike. Goda had the pleasure of covering that too, and remarked that “it was interesting to explore the strike action of both companies and follow their progress.”
Goda added that “The Textron strike unfolded differently and ended much quicker, lasting four weeks. It significantly affected the company’s financial results for the third quarter of 2024, leading to a revenue decrease of about $50 million and a profit drop of around $30 million. It also caused production issues and stoppage to aircraft deliveries.”
Our personal favorite aviation news stories of 2024
Luke Peters loves aviation history and highlighted the news of NASA retiring its Douglas DC-8 in May 2024 after more than 37 years of research missions. He added, “The retirement of this aircraft marked not only the end for this particular plane from flying duties but also the retirement of one of the very last Douglas DC-8s left flying worldwide.
“The type was integral in shrinking the planet through the introduction of the jet age in the 1950s but was also loved by passengers and crews alike for its sleek lines, spacious cabin, and impressive range and speed capabilities. With the era of four-engined commercial jet aircraft all but over, the retirement of this plane was another sad step towards confining the type to the aviation history books.”
As well as covering the main news stories, AeroTime journalists get to the heart of the matter and explore niches of the industry in depth. One such interview was undertaken by Jean Lim, our Asia-Pacific reporter, when she spoke with Airbus APAC President Anand Stanley regarding widebody demand and sustainability.
Jean noted that “it was wonderful to get insights from Anand Stanley, who is known for his remarkable foresight with trends. In this interview, I found his perception and thoughts on SAF sourcing in Southeast Asia to be particularly valuable because some of them are being applied now months later.”
Jean also dove into the growth of aviation in ASEAN, and how it is driven by small aircraft, islands and middle class power. She mentioned that she was particularly proud of this long read as she’d been “keenly following and observing the direction of commercial aviation in Southeast Asia the past year, and this piece is a culmination of the shift coming to fruition.”
Finally, a story that shouldn’t happen in these modern times but did nonetheless, Luke Peters reported that two elderly British travelers had publicly slated UK-based charter carrier Jet2 after it flew them to the wrong Mediterranean island on holiday in January 2024.
“The pair were said to have been left in “an awful state” after they mistakenly boarded a flight to Menorca (MAH) rather than their desired destination of Majorca (PMI) at Bristol Airport (BRS),” Luke explained. “While regrettable for the passengers involved, the story just goes to show that, despite all the automation being introduced to make air travel safer and more efficient for all involved, there is still some way to go to eradicate the element of human error.”
We’d like to take the opportunity to thank our readers for their support over the year, and to wish you health and happiness in the new year. Keep following AeroTime for all the important aviation news in 2025.
