1. Pressure Mounts for Action on Drone Disruption in Europe
By CHARLES ALCOCK • Managing Editor
October 3, 2025
German politicians on Friday called for drones that have disrupted operations at Munich Airport to be shot down, as authorities across Europe are under mounting pressure to act in the face of a spate of similar incidents. A meeting of EU interior ministers to be held in the German city on Saturday is expected to focus entirely on security threats posed by the drone incursions.
Drones caused at least 15 scheduled flights to be diverted from Munich Airport between 10:20 p.m. local time on Thursday and 5 a.m. on Friday morning. At least 17 outbound departures were canceled.
The incursions followed a similar pattern to disruptions at multiple airports in Denmark, Norway, Germany, and Belgium. On Thursday night, a swarm of 15 drones was sighted flying over the Elsenborn military base near the German border.
Security forces have been reluctant to shoot down the drones over safety concerns at the public airports. While the Russian military is widely suspected of being behind some or all of the airspace disruptions, police in Norway detained eight Chinese nationals for allegedly flying drones near Svolvær Airport, and three Germans were arrested following an incident at the Mo i Rana Airport near Røssvoll, Norway.
On Wednesday, the French Navy boarded an oil tanker sailing from the Russian port of Primorsk. It is suspected of having been used as a launch pad for drones that disrupted civil aviation operations in Denmark between September 22 and 25.
According to Dyami Security Intelligence, the risk posed to aircraft remains elevated, in part because small drones are inexpensive, easy to use, and hard to track. Some of the drones appear to have been larger than others, fueling assumptions that they were longer-range vehicles fitting the profile of those used by Russian forces in the Ukraine conflict.
http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2025-10-03/pressure-mounts-action-drone-disruption-europe
2. Airbus Study Reveals Rising Use of Corporate Jets in Asia
By JENNIFER MESZAROS • Contributor - Asia
October 2, 2025
Business aircraft travel is increasingly becoming more of a staple for large-company executives in Asia, according to a just-released study by Airbus Corporate Jets. Conducted by Australian firm Pureprofile, it surveyed 67 senior professionals in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, including 34 executives from large corporations in Asia and 33 from Asian-based family offices, hedge funds, and private equity firms managing $141 billion in assets.
The study found that business aviation is now central to operations, with respondents saying that 63% to 69% of their business travel is now conducted via corporate jets. Nearly all reported saving two to three hours per trip compared with commercial flights, and 72% said at least a quarter of their business routes are not served by airlines.
Productivity gains were also significant, with 87% of executives estimating a 25% to 50% improvement while traveling, and 8% reporting gains of 50% to 75%. Top benefits cited were greater flexibility to handle confidential matters and more control over schedules. Operational flexibility aligns with broader expansion, as private equity and hedge funds plan to grow their global offices, and family offices anticipate relatives relocating abroad.
Beyond business and operational benefits, corporate aircraft are also widely used for humanitarian and charitable missions, with nearly all respondents citing emergency medical transport and crisis relief.
Meanwhile, more than half of Asian organizations expect business jet usage to increase by 50% to 75% over the next two years.
Airbus Study Reveals Rising Use of Corporate Jets in Asia | Aviation International News
3. FAA Worker Reps Urge Congress To End Shutdown
By KERRY LYNCH • Editor, AIN monthly magazine
October 1, 2025
Government worker unions, including the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), called on Congress to reach an agreement on federal funding. They reiterated that the government shutdown that started today is threatening critical safety operations, along with plans to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system. 
“At a time when there is much-needed focus and movement to reshape and revamp the nation’s air traffic control system, it is troubling that Congress has not been able to pass a continuing resolution or full appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026,” said PASS national president Dave Spero.
The government shut down at midnight, at the end of fiscal year 2025. With Congress at an impasse over FY2026, funding for federal operations has lapsed. Under the Department of Transportation’s contingency plan released yesterday, more than 11,000 FAA workers would be furloughed.
PASS estimated that due to the shutdown, about 60% of the FAA employees it represents will be on the job but not getting paid; another 30% are furloughed initially but subject to recall, and 10% are outright furloughed.
In total, PASS represents 11,000 FAA and Department of Defense employees who install, maintain, support, and certify ATC and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation sectors, develop flight procedures, and perform quality analyses of ATC systems.
The shutdown is halting training for the technician workforce, including new hires and those at the training academy in Oklahoma City. “It can take three to five years to fully train a technician,” Spero said. “Any lapse in training can push the clock back significantly.”
NATCA, meanwhile, estimated that more than 2,350 aviation safety professionals that it represents are furloughed, including aircraft certification engineers and aerospace engineers, affecting certain safety and technology work, as well as operational support, and comes when many air traffic controllers are already working mandatory overtime.
“Congress must act now to end this shutdown,” said NATCA president Nick Daniels. “When the federal government shuts down, it introduces unnecessary distractions, and our entire aviation system is weakened. Congress must restore federal funding so that the safety and efficiency of our National Airspace System is not compromised.”
Under a shutdown, numerous operations temporarily cease, including controller hiring and training, aviation rulemaking, random drug testing, facility security inspections, security background investigations, operations planning, NextGen technologies development and testing, FAA capital planning and implementation of facilities and equipment programs, and dispute resolution, among other programs.
Activities that would continue, according to the plan, include ATC services, but without pay; maintenance of navigational aids and facilities; flight standards inspections; airworthiness directives; airmen medical certifications; certain certification activities; UAS waivers and exemptions; hazardous materials safety inspections; limited air traffic safety oversight; on-call accident investigations; and the aircraft and airmen registry, among others.
Also this week, 50 aviation organizations collectively signed off on a letter urging against a shutdown.
FAA Worker Reps Urge Congress To End Shutdown | Aviation International News
4. Gen Z, Millennials Join Forces To Decarbonize Aviation
By CHARLES ALCOCK • Managing Editor
September 28, 2025
Achieving net-zero carbon aviation by 2050 is a generational challenge, according to a new initiative to coalesce young leaders across the industry. Emerging Leaders in Sustainable Aviation (ELSA) was launched earlier this month during the Generation 2050 panel as part of the ICAO General Assembly in Montreal. It aims to gather industry professionals 35 and younger in a common purpose that the group hopes will bear dividends over the course of their careers.
Conceived by Amy Strang, a sustainability and environment marketing manager with Airbus, the project has the backing of the Air Transport Action Group. For the past two years, she has been working with the European airframer’s ZeroE team, developing concepts for hydrogen-powered airliners.
The idea is that today’s 20- and 30-somethings can be expected to rise to more senior leadership positions in aviation from 2035 onwards and, as such, could be well placed to help the industry achieve its decarbonization objectives. “Our hope is that after someone in the industry rises through the ranks to become the next C-suite exec of a major airline or fuel producer, that they’ll know exactly who to pick up the phone to tackle a challenge,” said the group in its launch statement.
ELSA’s recruits are convening in the belief that, just as with aviation safety, sustainability is a goal that has to transcend competition between companies. “We know that aviation is a difficult sector to decarbonize, and this is something we have to do because the industry isn’t slowing down,” Strang said. “The net-zero target is possible, and it needs to happen.”
The organization is led by an executive committee of 12 young professionals that has already established a LinkedIn platform through which participants can connect. It will host online events each quarter and may also host gatherings at industry events such as IATA meetings and major airshows.
ELSA’s founders are drawn from Airbus, along with its rival Boeing, as well as from sustainable aviation fuel specialist LanzaJet and airport industry group ACI World. The group is looking to build and share knowledge around technical t