Aviation Week
• Chen Chuanren
Bamboo Airways has effectively stopped selling individual domestic tickets, with its website showing no flights on major Vietnam routes including Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi, Hanoi–Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City–Da Nang. The move intensifies questions about the carrier’s viability as its operating fleet contracts to three aircraft.
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Bamboo Airways has effectively stopped selling individual domestic tickets, with its website showing no flights on major Vietnam routes including Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi, Hanoi–Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City–Da Nang. The move intensifies questions about the carrier’s viability as its operating fleet contracts to three aircraft.
Thai Airways International plans to sign a 50-year lease on Aug. 4, 2026, for a 210-rai, or 336,000-square-meter, site at Thailand’s Utapao airport. The lease will take effect Sept. 1, establishing the contractual basis for the airline’s planned MRO presence at the facility.
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Willie Walsh officially began his tenure as IndiGo’s CEO on Aug. 3, 2026, succeeding Pieter Elbers after nearly six years away from leading IAG, the parent of British Airways and Iberia. His arrival comes as IndiGo assesses its next phase, with domestic operations strong and its long-haul ambitions still developing.
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Indonesian authorities detained a Malaysia Airlines first officer in Jakarta after allegedly finding 70,114 ecstasy pills and methamphetamine in his bags following a Kuala Lumpur flight. The pilot reportedly tested positive for methamphetamine, prompting Malaysia’s aviation regulator to launch a security review; he could face the death penalty.
Air China will begin operating a three-times-weekly fifth-freedom service between Beijing Capital, Copenhagen Kastrup and Reykjavik Keflavik on October 26, 2026. The routing will provide an additional transatlantic connection linking China, Denmark and Iceland through Air China’s network.
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Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways has halted scheduled flights after years of restructuring, with its fleet reduced to just three aircraft and an unpaid tax debt of approximately $16.8 million. The suspension underscores the carrier’s continuing financial and operational deterioration despite repeated efforts to stabilize the business.
China’s People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command conducted joint air and naval combat drills around Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, describing the exercises as a response to regional instability. The patrols were intended to test combat readiness and reinforce China’s territorial defense capabilities.
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India’s IndiGo will discontinue its widebody operations from Oct. 25 and end its ACMI agreement with Norse Atlantic Airways on Oct. 31, returning five Boeing 787-9s. The decision brings an early end to the budget carrier’s long-haul experiment after difficulties operating European routes.
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