Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that global capacity growth eased to 3.3% year on year (YoY) in March 2026 and predicts it will slow even further in April 2026. On March 31, 2026, IATA said that the results represent a “notable downward revision from the 5.2% YoY growth that had been projected in earlier schedules”. Perhaps unsurprisingly the adjustment was primarily linked to the war in Iran with airlines forced to make “substantial capacity cuts”. IATA said that the revision was also a result of airspace closures which have forced carriers to cancel or reroute flights. “Looking…

Italian airline ITA Airways has marked its official accession to Star Alliance, which will become effective on April 1, 2026.   ITA Airways’ CEO and Chairman, Jörg Eberhart and Sandro Pappalardo, respectively, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of the Lufthansa Group, Dieter Vrancx and Star Alliance CEO, Theo Panagiotoulias marked the occasion with an event at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (FCO), in which they all highlighted the significance of this moment for the world’s largest airline alliance.  Miquel Ros / AeroTime The executives highlighted that one of ITA Airways’ main contributions to both the German-led airline group and Star Alliance is its…

The deployment of additional A-10Cs to the Middle East, the first of which arrived at RAF Lakenheath, demonstrates the continued reliance on the close air support aircraft for operations in Iran. The U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II jets have been actively supporting Operation Epic Fury in Iran since the early days, with the attack aircraft also targeting fast attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the presence of the A-10 in theater is set to further increase with at least 188 additional aircraft transiting in Europe on their way to the Middle East. New Coronet Flights Twelve A-10s…

The United States has informally asked Poland to consider redeploying one of its two Patriot air defense batteries to the Middle East and to transfer PAC-3 MSE interceptors already in Polish military possession, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita reported on March 31, 2026, citing sources familiar with the discussions. Poland’s defense minister rejected the idea the same day.“Our Patriot batteries and their armaments serve to protect Polish skies and NATO’s eastern flank. Nothing is changing in this regard and we are not planning to move them anywhere,” Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X on March 31, 2026.Nasze baterie Patriot i ich…

By R. Michael Baiada ATH Group, Inc. Special to Leeham News Michael Baiada.  March 31, 2026, © Leeham News: “We’ll tell you where we want you to be in three dimensions…and we’ll tell you where we want you to be to hit that top of descent mark to [meet] the constraints of the runway.” Bryan Bedford. Credit: Federal Aviation Administration. So said Bryan Bedford, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, during an appearance at the Washington Aero Club, on Jan 22. Bedford believes telling airlines/users how to operate their aircraft is a good thing. As a 45-year pilot (USAF,…

Low-cost-carrier IndiGo has named the former British Airways boss and current director general of International Air Transport Association (IATA) as its new CEO. On March 31, 2026, IndiGo announced that following the departure of ex-CEO Pieter Elbers, industry heavyweight Willie Walsh would be taking over the role. In a letter to the National Stock Exchange of India from Indigo’s parent company InterGlobe Aviation, it said that the airline’s board of directors had approved the appointment Willie Walsh as the new CEO. Walsh is expected to bring his tenure at IATA to a close on July 31, 2026, and take the…

The United States has informally asked Poland to consider redeploying one of its two Patriot air defense batteries to the Middle East and to transfer PAC-3 MSE interceptors already in Polish military possession, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita reported on March 31, 2026, citing sources familiar with the discussions.  The approach was made in unofficial conversations between US and Polish officials, according to the report. Poland reached full operational readiness with both Patriot batteries in late 2025. The systems include 16 launchers capable of engaging targets at distances of up to 100 kilometers. The PAC-3 MSE interceptors now in Polish hands were acquired through a contract signed in 2019…

The University of Sheffield has developed a new way of making sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using solar energy and believes it could be scaled to industrial levels. On March 30, 2026, the UK-based university said that an international team of engineers has been researching techniques which could reduce the reliance on used cooking oil to produce SAF. The new process captures CO2 from the air, combines it with hydrogen and then heats it using concentrated solar energy to produce the fuel. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers used computer modelling and simulation to understand how…

Two EA-37B Compass Call aircraft stopped at RAF Mildenhall for fuel during what may be the type’s first operational deployment abroad, reports suggesting Turkey as their destination. Two U.S. Air Force EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft have arrived at RAF Mildenhall, UK, on Mar. 31, 2026. The aircraft departed on Mar. 30 from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and arrived in the UK after a fuel stop at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. Our friend and contributor Glenn Lockett was able to snap some images of the two aircraft upon their arrival at RAF Mildenhall. The EA-37s, flying with…

Embraer’s KC-390 Millennium demonstrator has completed short takeoff and landing operations at Sweden’s Vidsel Test Range as part of the aircraft’s ongoing world demonstration tour, with the manufacturer reporting full mission success under extreme cold weather conditions.  The stop at Vidsel, one of Europe’s largest and most remote test and evaluation facilities, included operations on ice-covered surfaces. Located within the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, the test range regularly experiences the kind of extreme cold the Swedish Air Force would expect to operate in.  Embraer said the aircraft completed all planned sorties with 100% mission accomplishment, pointing to the type’s suitability for high-latitude and dispersed basing scenarios.  Cold weather validation…