United States President Barack Obama has said that it was a “systemic failure” in security that helped a Nigerian man to attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.

Prominent airlines in India – including Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines – and even budget carriers are considering increasing the fares by as much as 25% in January 2010. The move has been prompted by a rise in air travel as well as a higher passenger load factor recently.

SA Airlink, based in South Africa, continues to refund its passengers after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of South Africa grounded 14 of its Jetstream aircraft a few days ago after withdrawing the planes’ airworthiness status over safety concerns.

Canada has banned most carry-on baggage for United Stats-bound passengers in the wake of the attempt on Christmas Day to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane flying from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Detroit in the United States.

Ryanair, the budget airline based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, has threatened to stop domestic flights in Italy from January 23, 2010, following a dispute with Italy’s aviation authorities over new rules on ID documents which the passengers have to show at airport-gates.

United States President Barack Obama has ordered a review of the ‘US no-fly watch-lists.’

Security at airports as well as for airlines across Europe has been stepped up after the attempt to blow up a plane of the United States-based Northwest Airlines, flying from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Detroit in the United States, was foiled.

Air Comet, based in Madrid, Spain, has suspended all its flights owing to financial difficulties and has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) and Austrian Airlines – both subsidiaries of Deutsche Lufthansa, the flag-carrier airline of Germany – are launching additional flights to and from India.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation has entered production of the S-76D, the next-generation, medium-twin helicopter, at the facility of Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic.

Qantas Airways, the national airline of Australia, has announced that it will restore the domestic services that it had cut during the economic recession, as the airline is forecast to earn pre-tax profits of about Australian $150 million (US $133 million) for the 6-month period till December 31, 2009.

The federal government of the United States has ordered US-based airlines to allow passengers of delayed flights who are stuck in aircraft on airport tarmacs to disembark after 3 hours.

Continental Micronesia, headquartered in Tamuning, Guam, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the United States-based Continental Airlines, has launched non-stop services between Guam and Nadi, in Fiji.

The European Union (EU) is liberalizing air transport with Canada, Iceland, Norway, as well as a few countries in Africa.

Paramount Airways, the all-business-class airline based in Chennai, India, has announced plans to add about 700 flights, within the next 2-3 months, to its network.

Three major airlines based in the United States as well as the Air Transport Association have sued the United Kingdom against its efforts to bring them under the  first-stage of implementation of the emissions trading plan of the  European Union (EU).

Southwest Airlines to add 65 flights, scrap 24 flights for summer schedule from May 9, 2010, to August 13, 2010

Air Arabia, the budget carrier based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is operating 8 extra flights between Sharjah and Goa, the popular tourism destination in India, in response to a strong demand for air travel during for the approaching holiday season.

Thousands of passengers with plans for the Christmas-season travel have been affected and stranded abroad after Flyglobespan, the low-cost airline based in Edinburgh, Scotland, the United Kingdom, collapsed on December 16, 2009.

Australia’s federal government has decided to relax some of the foreign-ownership curbs clamped on Qantas Airways, the national airline of Australia.

The Boeing 787 passenger airliner, nicknamed the Dreamliner, has finally taken to the skies, after a delay of 28 months.

Delta Air Lines, based in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, and the Virgin Blue Airlines Group, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, have announced jointly that their code-share flights will take off in January 2010.

And so it has finally happened - the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has taken off, after many delays and much handwringing.Sadly, shares of Boeing dipped a bit despite what looked like a successful maiden flight of the airliner.

India is all set to test-fly the first prototype of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), which has been indigenously designed and built, between December 26 and 29, 2009.

The United Stated and Japan have signed a crucial agreement to ease limits on flights between the two countries, resulting in the possibility of wider cross-border airline pacts as well as more choices for travellers.

Finally, after delays of over two years, Boeing Company has announced that the much-awaited first flight of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet will take place on December 15, 2009, as scheduled.

Japan and Taiwan have signed an aviation agreement aimed at expanding flights between the two countries.

easyJet Airlines, the budget carrier based in London, the United Kingdom, has announced that it will withdraw from East Midlands Airport, in North-West Leicestershire, England, on January 5, 2010.

Jetstar Airways, the low-cost airline based in Melbourne, Australia, has announced that it will add as many as 700,000 domestic seats as well as 77 new return flights in the first half of 2010, as the airline is embarking on one of its biggest expansions since its inception in 2004.

American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, and GOL Airlines, headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, have expanded their alliance by signing a new codes-share agreement.