Airline News in Brief 18 August 2026

Hong Kong Air Cargo commences ops from Navi Mumbai International: Hong Kong Air Cargo has achieved a landmark milestone with the commencement of its dedicated freighter operations from Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), becoming the first international carrier to operate from Mumbai’s new airport. The freighter operations commenced on 16 August 2026, marking a proud historic moment for Hong Kong Air Cargo, Aeroprime Group, and Navi Mumbai International Airport, while opening a new chapter in India’s international air cargo connectivity. The milestone has been made possible through extensive planning, commercial coordination, operational readiness, and regulatory efforts led by Aeroprime Group, Hong Kong Air Cargo’s Cargo GSSA in Mumbai, in close collaboration with the Hong Kong Air Cargo team, Navi Mumbai International Airport, and relevant regulatory stakeholders. The successful launch reflects the teams’ ability to work seamlessly across commercial, operational, and regulatory requirements to bring international freighter connectivity to NMIA within a short timeframe. Vietjet expands Asia network: Vietjet is expanding its international network with five new direct routes: Hanoi–Cebu, Ho Chi Minh City–Cebu, Ho Chi Minh City–Clark, Ho Chi Minh City–Chiang Mai, and Da Nang–Osaka. The Philippines expansion will see Vietjet introduce three new services from November 10, 2026, connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with Cebu, as well as Ho Chi Minh City with Clark. Each route will operate three round-trip flights per week.  From October 25, 2026, Vietjet will resume the direct Ho Chi Minh City–Chiang Mai route.  The airline will also launch a new route between Da Nang and Osaka (Kansai) on December 20, 2026, with four round-trip flights per week. The new service will directly connect one of Japan’s most dynamic cities with Da Nang, a vibrant coastal destination and gateway to central Vietnam’s UNESCO-listed heritage sites, including the ancient town of Hoi An and the former imperial capital of Hue. The new service will further expand Vietjet’s Japan network, which currently connects Hanoi with Tokyo (Narita), Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Shizuoka, and Ho Chi Minh City with Tokyo (Narita, Haneda) and Osaka. Singapore Airlines releases operating results: In July 2026, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group’s passenger traffic rose 2.6% year-on-year, while passenger capacity, driven mainly by network expansion to East Asia, Europe as well as the South West Pacific, increased 5.5%. The Group’s passenger load factor (PLF) was 86.0%, with SIA and Scoot posting monthly PLFs of 84.8% and 90.2% respectively. The two airlines carried a combined total of 3.7 million passengers, 4.0% higher than a year ago. Cargo loads were stable year-on-year, even as reduced freighter aircraft activity due maintenance contributed to a 1.5% decline in cargo capacity. Consequently, the cargo load factor rose by 0.8 percentage points to 57.9%. During the month, Scoot suspended services to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia from 14 July 2026, following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. SIA’s services to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates remain suspended. As of 31 July 2026, the Group’s passenger network1 covered 136 destinations in 35 countries and territories. SIA served 78 destinations, while Scoot served 84 destinations. The cargo network1 comprised 139 destinations in 36 countries and territories. Air India Express commences ops from Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport: Air India Express commenced operations from the newly inaugurated Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram on 17 August, with 10 daily flights linking Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Vijayawada. The inaugural flight departed for Bengaluru at 08:00 hrs, with guests receiving ceremonial boarding passes to mark the occasion. Air India Express operates two daily flights each between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, and between Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru, along with a daily service to Vijayawada. The schedule also includes additional Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam services on Thursdays and Saturdays. CDB Aviation delivers Airbus A321neos to Jet2: CDB Aviation, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (“CDB Leasing”), announced the completion of delivery mandates for three Airbus A321-251NX aircraft with the U.K.’s leading leisure travel airline, Jet2. The three aircraft joined the carrier as part of Jet2’s fleet modernisation program that began in March 2023, following its firm order for 155 brand-new A321neo aircraft. The A321neos, featuring Jet2holidays livery, are configured with 232 seats in an all-Economy layout. “Cultivating customer relationships is at the heart of everything we do at CDB Aviation. We strive to be a company that our customers can trust and rely on to execute,” commented Gavan Daly, CDB Aviation’s Head of Commercial, EMEA. “The addition of Jet2 in a key market, such as the U.K., is a testament to our commercial team’s razor focus on meeting our customers’ needs. We are delighted that the Jet2 team opted to engage us in securing the leasing of these A321neo deliveries with Airbus.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]