### No.2-1 Global Aviation Chaos Triggered by Middle East Conflict, “Similar to Early COVID-19” 🔴

After the US-Israel airstrikes on Iran, Middle Eastern airspace entered a virtually lockdown, causing unprecedented shocks to global air networks this week. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) extended its flight ban order over Iranian airspace until October 31, and this week newly included Jordanian airspace as a ban, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, along with the UAE and Oman, the airspace of six countries has been blocked by European airlines. British Airways completely suspended its Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Tel Aviv routes, and declared the permanent discontinuation of the London-Jeddah route. Virgin Atlantic also suspended the London-Dubai route throughout this winter season. In just one day, more than 1,800 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines were canceled. A travel agency in London stated, “We had to cancel or reschedule thousands of bookings,” and in Sri Lanka’s case, 77 out of 87 flights connecting from Europe were via the Middle East, so bookings plummeted by 20~30% due to this incident.

👉 [TravelPulse Travel alert] https://www.travelpulse.com/news/impacting-travel/state-department-issues-fresh-middle-east-travel-advisory

### No.2-2 Riyadh Air to Launch New Flights to Four South Asian Cities from the First Week of August 🟡

Riyadh Air, a newly established national airline in Saudi Arabia, has begun a large-scale route expansion starting this week. From August 4, daily flights between Riyadh and Mumbai (India) began, and on August 7, the Riyadh-Dhaka (Bangladesh) route was also launched. Following this, the Riyadh-Islamabad route on August 14 and Riyadh-Lahore (both Pakistan) will open consecutively on August 16. These routes, which use Boeing 787-9 aircraft, target the South Asian community—the largest group of foreign workers and Koreans in Saudi Arabia—and are part of a strategy to develop Riyadh into a hub connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Riyadh Air, currently operating in nine cities, plans to expand to 22 cities by March 2027. Meanwhile, Etihad Airways also added a new route between Abu Dhabi and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on August 9 this week.

👉 [Aviation Week 50 new routes announced in August] https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/50-new-routes-launching-august-2026

### No.2-3 Eve Air Mobility Successfully Achieves First Transition Flight for eVTOL 🟢

Eve Air Mobility, a Brazilian Airbus subsidiary, announced on August 3 that it had successfully completed the first conversion flight test (from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight transition) of its engineered prototype electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL). This flight, which lasted 3 minutes and 9 seconds, marked the first verification of a core technology that enabled the aircraft to switch from helicopter mode to wing flight mode. A focused flight test campaign is underway throughout 2026, with certification scheduled for 2028. It is seen as a concrete step toward the era of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and a milestone heralding a shift in the future paradigm of tourism and transportation.

👉 [Eve Air Mobility Official Announcement] https://www.eveairmobility.com/eve-air-mobility-achieves-first-transition-flight-milestone-advancing-evtol-program-toward-wing-borne-flight/